I was fortunate to check my old Geocaching account to discover the local Yuma AZ, Geocachers had organized a Mega Event the first weekend in February.
So, what is a Geocaching mega-event?
First, lets define “Geocaching,” which is an outdoor recreational activity with participants who use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, mobile device/smart phone or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers of various sizes, called “geocaches” or “caches,” at specific locations marked by GPS coordinates all over the world. There are Geocaches accessable via water crafts of all type.
The Geocaching organization, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and it went live May 30, 2000.
Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed the newest orders of geocaches, and instantly with the accuracy of GPS technology, hundreds of thousands of GPS receivers worldwide identify the caches.
So, what is a Mega-Event?
Mega-events are attended by at least 500+ people offering geocachers several days of planned activities, usually over a weekend to collect geocaches in the area, like Yuma, AZ. Hundreds of these events occure annulally attracting participants from all over the world.
The photos above are from a hike to a cache located near the crash site of a World War Two plane. The desert area surrounding Yuma is filled with hundreds of Geocaches. There are several geocaching downloabble applications options called Munzee, Wherigo, Virtuals, and Adventure lab.
Utilizing all of these applications count towards your statistics for geocaching however the Adveture labs application guides participants through the process of finding clues, solving puzzles, and completing Adventures one Location at a time and are great for everyone of any age, and they are located worldwide.
I have met people who have found, fifty -sixty thousand different types of geocaches. There are three millions of hidden geocaches worldwide, and growing. Geocaches are located at the Artic, Antarctica, every continent in between and along waterways.
Download the geocaching application to discover a Geocache near you, as an outdoor adventure for excercise as you will find them located in local, state and national parks.
The S*W*A*G Yuma Mega Event #18 I attended has been in operation for 18 years and is looking for new leadership for next year’s event. So if you are interested and are planning to winter in the Yuma area, click the link above for more information.
This was a incredibly fun event meeting people while social distancing with masks on was not an issue and a great way to prepare for the hiking season ahead. So, checkout the sites, become a geocacher, and I hope to see you outside on a geocaching trail.
Oh, my geocaching name/moniker is “007pandas.”
http://yumaevent.com/2022/#loaded