Geocaching on Your Winter Hike
Sometimes being at a loss for what to do when the seasons change can keep us from heading outdoors when we know we could use some fresh air. Often, we just need to take an activity that may seem relegated to the warm weather months and try it out even when the temperatures seem formidable. One such activity is geocaching. You can do it year-round as long as you take proper winter hiking precautions.
First, pack well for a winter day hike. Make sure you have extra socks, gloves, and hats for each family member in case you get wet. Wear appropriate layers with a moisture wicking layer as a base. Check the weather report to assure you’re not stranded in a snow squall. Bring your first aid kit and plenty of water and hot drinks. Those are the basics for any winter hike.
Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunt shared by millions of people around the world. Anyone can set up a cache and go searching for them. It will be a small container with a log book for visitors to record their names. Many caches also have a “take one, leave one” system of little trinkets.
Next, decide which cache you want to find. There are websites and social media groups dedicated to posting geocaches and providing a community for this hobby. Those are a great place to start. There are geocaches in 124 of the PA State Parks and 20 state forest districts. The DCNR website can give more details for each park. Another excellent resource is TrailLink.com. It’s excellent for finding trails and it has trail descriptions, maps, photos, and reviews of hundreds of geocaches. You can use their website or download the app.
Once you’ve decided on a cache to hunt for, you need to decide if you want a dedicated GPS device or to use your smartphone. If you are new to geocaching and not sure if you want to continue, a smartphone app is an excellent place to start. Here are some of the most popular ones.
Geocaching App is a highly rated app available for Android and iOS. The free tier has basic geocaches and digital souvenirs. You can see descriptions of caches including size, difficulty, and terrain. This is valuable information for beginners. There are also lots of features like premium caches and charting your activity on the subscription level.
Cachly is for iOS and has a variety of extra tools and features. However, there is no free level. The current app price is $4.99 with other in-app purchases available. It has five stars with 3.2K ratings.
CGO (Cachly Geocaching Only) is for Android devices and focuses specifically on the essential features needed for geocaching. Cachebot is another Android app. It has offline maps, trackable logging, and easy access to cache details. It also has a free version and a subscription level. It seems comparable to the Geocaching App.
Many experienced geocachers still like having a dedicated GPS device for areas where there is no cell service. For the purposes of adding some treasure hunting to your family trail time, you’re likely to be good to go with some apps. It all depends on how deeply you get into the hobby. It’s definitely a fantastic way to add a new activity to a familiar stretch of trail.