High-Tech Scavenger Hunt Sends People World Wide
By:CHRISTIE CAMPBELL, (Washington) Observer-Reporter
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Call it a high-tech scavenger hunt.
Geocaching is a new game (some call it a sport) to find hidden treasure by combining the Internet and Global Positioning Systems with a good pair of walking shoes.
Unlike scavenger hunts, which are confined to small areas, geocaches can be found anywhere in the world.
Since its beginnings four years ago, geocaching is gaining momentum among out-of-door enthusiasts and computer geeks. Today, the official geocache site, www.geocaching.com, lists 107,000 caches in every country.
“I guess speechless would be a good word for it,” said Jeremy Irish, chief executive officer of Groundspeak in Seattle, which operates the game’s Web site. Irish thought geocaching activity eventually would slow but instead sees it growing. He notices an upsurge every January _ after people receive GPS units for Christmas.