If you are looking for a fun family outing, there is no need to go any further than your local ditches, fields and town site.
Geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunt, has been around for about 10 years. The idea is to locate containers hidden outdoors, using a GPS device.
With more than one million geocaches hidden around the world, there is something for everyone. All one needs is access to a computer to set up a free account at geocaching.com. From there, adventure seekers can learn the coordinates of local or international caches. Then the search can begin.
Geocaches can be relatively simple to find, or it may be extremely challenging. The constant is the thrill of discovering that hidden treasure.
Local geocacher Harry Brugmans, 54, has scaled mountains, flown on a Lear Jet and driven hundreds of miles while looking for caches.
“It gets me out of the house,” said Brugmans, who pursues the sport year round, both alone and with others. “You get to see things you wouldn’t normally get to see.”
Brugman has logged almost 1,300 caches in three countries during his five years of geocaching and hidden 23.
“Some you really have to do some research for,” said Brugman.
“You could get as difficult or as easy as you want.””
Brugman has discovered caches in Arizona, California and Mexico, which have come complete with lizards and puzzles that needed solving.
One of his most memorable experiences was a cache in the Kananaskis area.
“Someone has doctored up the area,” said Brugman. “It is pretty spooky.”
Despite the puzzles and spooky adventures, Brugman says the sport is great for kids too, as many of the caches have collectibles to trade. The only rule is that you can’t take anything from the cache without replacing it with something of equal or greater value.
Between four and five million people are involved in geocaching. That number is growing quickly, creating an opportunity for local towns hoping to promote tourism.
Irricana is just one of those towns.
“From a tourism standpoint, it is a great way to get people to come through our town,” said Larry Martin, Irricana’s director of economic development and tourism. “And hopefully while they are here, they will stop at the gas station, or a restaurant and just enjoy the town.”
In April, Martin hid four caches in the Irricana area. The response has been excellent.
“People are coming from all over,” he said. “We have had probably 15 to 20 different groups.”
Because the visits are logged on the geocaching website, the town has been able to determine the exact numbers of geocachers. Comments have been left about the town’s murals on the website as well.
“We have had excellent comments about our murals,” said Martin. “From a tourism and economic development standpoint, it has been excellent already.”
Other local towns benefit from geocaching tourism as well.
The Town of Three Hills recently received $270,760 from the Alberta government for a geocaching initiative in the Canadian Badlands and the Boomtown Trail Region, which includes the town of Irricana.
“It is hard for a small town to promote itself as destination,” said Bob Cuthill of the Town of Three Hills. “Our hope was to slow people down to show them some of the things that we locals know.”
There are many caches hidden within the Canadian Badlands and along the Boom Town Trail. Many of them are located near historic places, viewpoints, attractions and places of interest.
Rather than just having tourists visit the large attractions near Drumheller, Three Hills is hoping visitors will spend more time in local towns while geocaching.
“The response has been very positive,” said Cuthill. “We have a very unique area, geographically speaking. Anything we can do to promote this area is a good thing.”
