Geocaching celebrates 25 years of treasure hunting
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Geocaches can be in large boxes or in tiny containers. Photos: Tracy A. Woodward/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Tyler Buchanan/Axios
Brian Klinger has dug under bushes, climbed up trees and waded through swamps to find hidden treasure.
The reward? Usually just the chance to sign his name in a logbook.
- The Columbus teacher is a geocacher, and for millions like him, the hobby is more about the journey than the destination.
Why it matters: Geocaching, a global treasure hunting game, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
- The free game encourages people to explore places familiar and new.
State of play: The first cache was placed in Oregon by a GPS enthusiast in 2000, and now there are over 3 million around the world.
- That includes nearly 700 located within 10 miles of downtown Columbus, per Chris Ronan, spokesperson for the official Geocaching website.
👀 They're all around you: tucked inside tree hollows, under park benches or hanging on chain-link fences.
- The locations are just sneaky enough that non-players (known as "muggles," like in Harry Potter) are unlikely to discover and take them.
How it works: Anyone can post caches to the Geocaching site with coordinates guiding seekers to an approximate spot. Clues sometimes offer help.
- It's an accessible game for all ages and abilities — caches range in difficulty, from quick grabs to requiring all-day hikes or lengthy puzzles to solve.
Flashback: Klinger, the Columbus teacher, had never heard of geocaching when his daughter brought home a toy found inside a cache near their home in 2008.
- He set out to find others across town and was quickly hooked.
- Then came whole geocaching trips all over the country, and Klinger became the leader of the Central Ohio GeoCachers group.
Stunning stat: Klinger logged his 10,000th cache last year in Oklahoma City, a milestone involving a horror-themed escape room.
- He especially loves group outings and "experience" caches like that one.
The other side: Others find joy in simply locating as many as possible. One friend has racked up nearly 50,000 over the years.
- "That's what I love about geocaching," Klinger tells Axios. "Everyone makes it what they want it to be."
Klinger's advice for getting started
