Geocaching with Kids: What We Are Trying

My kids pretty much hate hiking. Except they don’t really hate it. They think they hate it. So they never want to do it. But once we actually do it, they like it. But liking it has no effect on how they feel about wanting to go the next time. Enter Geocaching with Kids. It’s kind of like a spoonful of sugar to get the medicine to go down!

We downloaded a Geocaching app, which makes the whole experience really easy. But maybe I should back up. Do you all know what geocaching is? It’s like a modern day treasure hunt. People hide heavy-duty canisters in nature and then you can use your phone’s GPS to find them.

This past weekend, we used the app to locate the geocache closest to our home. It was only 0.2 miles away, so we set off on a walk to locate it.

It wasn’t the most popular geocache. In fact, it had only been searched for and/or found a couple of times in more than 10 years! But we had fun nonetheless.

When we got to the bridge where it was hidden, Henry had the courage to start looking around in the tall grasses/weeds. But first he had to borrow Tate’s shoes because he was shoeless. It was a good life lesson about how going shoeless is not always the best idea.

The app will tell you exactly how many feet you are away from the hidden geocache. So you can use it to kind of play of game of “hotter/colder.” As you get closer, the number of feet between you and the object decreases. As you get farther away, it increases.

We thought the whole thing was going to be a bust when Henry couldn’t find it. But then Tate took a turn. He stayed up on the bridge and realized it was hidden somewhere on the bridge. Then I spotted a a rusty tin attached to the metal railing with magnets.

There was nothing but a paper log inside the tin, but it was exciting nonetheless! We left a necklace behind in the tin for the next seeker.

As we walked home, the kids talked about what a “bust” the experience was. I shared my opinion that the biggest “bust” would’ve been not finding the tin at all. Finding an empty tin was the second biggest bust. So at least it wasn’t the worse. It was a good little life lesson about finding the silver lining.

Henry immediately wanted to start searching for the next one.

I’m so excited about taking our newfound geocaching hobby with us on the road! We leave in 22 days. Eep! I’m hoping it will bring a little more excitement and eagerness to our hikes while we travel. We’ll be making rubberband bracelets to leave behind in caches as we discover them. So fun!