The pandemic revives the world's largest treasure hunt - Action News
Home WebMail Thursday, November 14, 2024, 11:39 AM | Calgary | 6.4°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Ottawa

The pandemic revives the world's largest treasure hunt

The COVID-19 pandemic has led geocachers to swap their ancient GPS for a new app, dust off their hiking shoes, and head out on what's been dubbed the worlds largest treasure hunt.

Why a new generation has pushed geocachers to swap the GPS for a new app and hunt again

Why this family says the pandemic is the perfect time to go geocaching

3 years ago
Duration 2:34
12-year-old Sarah Boucher first introduced her stepdad Marc Steigerwald to the outdoor treasure hunt game. Now Boucher says it's a fun way for the whole family to get exercise, stave off boredom and get out of the house.

It may sound unpleasant, but Megan Maloney says one of her fondest geocaching memories was when she and a friend found themselves knee-deep in swampy water, in the middle of nowhere, on what they thought would be a dry path to treasure.

It turns out the co-ordinates on the old GPS led them straight through murky waters. Undaunted, the soaked pair trudged through, hauling themselves out on dry land to discover a small capsule containing a piece of paper, where they triumphantly logged their names.

For Maloney, exploring the unexpected makes geocaching so much fun.

"It's just a really good way to go and find new areas,"she said. "I've been able to find really cool trails ... that I had never even known existed until I started geocaching."

Megan Maloney shows off the latest version of the Geocaching app that maps caches around the Ottawa area. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

An early 2000s phenomenon,geocaching has been called the world's largest treasure hunt wherepeople hide capsules of varying sizes in all kinds of locations around the world, each with a small token inside.

To find one with a GPS, mobile device and other navigational techniques, cachersare provided with one thing: a set of co-ordinates. If they find the cache, they can take what's inside, and replace it with something of their choosing.

Some of Megan Maloneys geocaching essentials include a box to hold caches and a small capsule to hold written logs. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Maloney was a student when she first triedthe outdoor hobby, and 10 years latershe suddenly found herself out of photography work during the pandemic. This gave her time to dust off her hiking shoes, and she's not the only one.

"I was surprised to see how many people were still participating and how many new geocaches there were," she said after downloading the Geocaching app.

"Every other day there are new ones being put out, which was kind of crazy to me."

You never know what small items you'll discover inside a geocache. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

As Maloney discovered, the pastime has gone through a technology upgrade, with GPS devices replaced by a more precise mapping app, making it that much easier to spontaneously hunt.

"It's weird. I could be driving somewhere and just be like, 'I wonder if there's any geocaches around,' and open up the app," she explained.

She used to have to input the GPS co-ordinates before leaving the house.

Though geocachers began by locating finds using a GPS, there's now an app for that. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Like daughter, like stepfather

That accessibility has helped people like Marc Steigerwald try geocaching almost daily.

After his stepdaughter Sarah Boucher introduced him to it last year for a school project, Steigerwald started heading out on hunts. For him, half the fun is figuring out how to get to the cache once you've located it, no matter the obstacle.

"I got to a spot and saw the cache sitting about 15 feet up a tree. I realized there's no way that I could get to it from where I was," said Steigerwald, 38.

"So I came back and found a stepladder and I managed to crawl up the last couple of branches and got to it."

Steigerwald says during the pandemic it's been a good way to spend time outdoors with his stepdaughter and young son. Though for the kids, showing off the hidden treasure was more exciting than the hunt.

"My son who is three years old will straight up ask me on a Saturday morning, 'can we go walk in the forest to find a geocache?' He always wants to get his picture taken with it.

"It's something fun and I have around 100 caches now," added 12-year-old Boucher.

Marc Steigerwald says half the fun is getting to hard-to-reach geocaches, like ones hiding up in trees. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

All day treasure hunting

For Coreen D'Angelo, a 76-year-old retiree, the pandemic has created the motivation to level up her geocaching interest.

When she was introduced to geocaching in 2014, she would head out occasionally with her husband. Since finding themselves cooped up indoors they've turned their geocaching outings into day-long trips with a dinner out at the end.

"It's become quite an expensive hobby," laughs D'Angelo, who's now logged over 1,400 caches.

Coreen DAngelo says she keeps her geocaching backpack by the door in case she decides to go on impromptu treasure hunts. Inside, she keeps tweezers, rope and knick-knacks that she can put in capsules for the next geocacher. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

For her, these outings have become a good way to relax and reconnect.

"Definitely going out in the country away from all the city, the noise, the construction ... you have these peaceful drives in the country, you see places you've never seen before."

Just because it's relaxing, doesn't mean she doesn't take it seriously.

On a recent outing with her sister Darlene, D'Angelo found herself barrelling head first down a hill, then tripping on a fallen branch. Luckily she escaped with just a few scrapes.

"My sister had asked 'are you okay?'" she said with a laugh.

"The first thing I said was, 'log the cache!'"

DAngelo has logged over 1,400 caches over seven years of treasure hunting, and collected these trinkets along the way. (Francis Ferland/CBC)