GPS stands for Global Positioning System and is involved (in 2004) with 24 satellites that weigh 2 tons each,orbit Earth twice daily at an altitude of 12,000 miles. The users receiver at some point is triangulated from three satellites to give exact location. Sample Cache: You read somewhere ... usually on the Internet Three stages starting at Coordinates: N xxxx W xxxx, Clue: yyyyyyyy ... then the race is on to find the cache, record your number or otherwise indicate a find.

GPSence is a new organization involved in all aspects of geocashing. It combines excitement, adventure, knowledge, and strategy. Typically each person is given a GPS unit (or use their own) with vital coordinates of a cache. The location is very precise. The individuals or team collaborate to find the cashes (hidden boxes, metal stakes, marked trees, etc.) The game may be played ...

• to find the place and take the cache
• to find the cache first (in some games)
• to become known as an active or expert cache-finder
• to find 3 spots and fit together 3 things found as pieces of a puzzle
• to find 5 places over a month
• for personal or team competition: to find challenging places or operate in timed conditions or events
• for ecological studies: eco-cache: to go to a spot and observe (writing down) all species seen in a 1-hour period
• for special bird watching from a blind at a site ( in early morning with results reported to the web site and special observations to Natureseen)
• Autumn leaf color viewing points will be presented as as special seasonal event.
• Participation in slope and aspect analyses for improving GIS data bases will be offered as a special project.
• The Stoneworms developing and maintaining trails will provide GPS point locations along many trails, both for location as well as for the sport of hiking and finding (and being recorded as one who has completed the trail) all of the spots along official trails of the enterprise.
• GPSence will arrange creative team-building events for businesses, agencies, and organizations. Two-day events are arranged with The Wildland Crew.
• GPSence will also arrange GPS equipment introductions and workshops.
• (a recurring theme is that litter that is found will be removed along the routes to and from the cashes).

History When the GPS signal degradation called Select Availability (SA) was removed by the Clinton Administration May 1st, 2000 , it opened up the possibility of games like geocashing. On May 3rd, a container of goodies was hidden by a someone outside of Portland, Oregon - in celebration of the removing of Selective Availability. By May 6th the cache was visited twice, and logged in the logbook once. Mike Teague was the first to find the container, and built the first web site to document these containers and their locations that were posted to the sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup. In July of 2000, Jeremy Irish found Mike Teague's web site and found his first cache outside of Seattle, Washington. Recognizing the potential of the game (but never expected the growth), Jeremy approached Mike Teague with a new site design, used the name Geocaching, and developed a new web site adding virtual logs, maps, and a way to make it easier to maintain caches as the sport grows. The site was alive for a while, but the official torch was passed to Jeremy on September 6. Since the launch of the web site, the Geocaching sport has grown to caches in all 50 states and over 100 countries. There are now many variations of the game, including virtual caches, offset caches, puzzle caches, and multi-stage caches. New ideas and new games crop up every day. From its inception, Geocaching.com has been developed and maintained by Jeremy, with the assistance of Geocachers around the world. Many thanks to the Geocaching community for making the game it is today. The official website is www.Geocashing.com.

GPSence is an organization and an activity using GPS units to find "treasures." Sites are specified with exact coordinates and members seek out these sites using the GPS to discover the treasure there. It may be physical, a code, a piece of a puzzle, a direction to another location, or instructions about activities at or nearby the site. It provides a web site for members and introductions and education for new members. It starts with activities within western Virginia, then expands as much as possible,even internationally, especially within the interests of geocashing generally.

It sells and rents GPS units. Official games use units provided by the organization. It sells and rents various equipment, clothing, bandannas, and supplies for treasure hunting and the pleasure of group membership.

It has sub-groups of people with various interests ...

• Sport
• Exercise and healthful activity
• Scenery and sightseeing
• Biological and geological
• GIS improvements and relations
• Adventure, challenge, and and "extreme" searches
• Diverse outdoor experiences and outdoor hobby

There are many projects available to members ...

Centurions One hundred permanent numbered markers are placed within the County. Members may hunt these at any time and it may take years to visit them all. It can become a contest for some, a pastime for others. With honesty rules (as in golf) there is no overview, simply the rule that to gain credit for a code number or name at each location provided by the organization, a person (a member) must have personally (or in a team) found the site using a GPS unit. Scenes from each site are available so that choices can be made. A list of successful members (with number of treasures found) will be posted on the web site.

Rabbit Rescue An announced, planned team-event, a domestic rabbit in a cage is the treasure.

In connection with The Rabbit Group ...

With The Stables Group...

The Electronic Trail A strategy for finding a site, even if it is precisely known (using precise equipment ... but field work involves using only hand-held relatively inexpensive units of limited accuracy), is part of treasure hunting. This becomes very interesting and challenging if the trip includes only members on horseback.

Some programs require that a digital camera be used to photograph the site and that is returned before a stated time as evidence of having reached the treasure. Prizes are given in such events ... real treasure.

Plant Collection Widespread plant collection is needed. Points are selected using GIS to locate places where there is unknown plant life. Members find the site and collect plant samples and return them for identification and permanent storage. Ecological communities need to be described. Members go to a site and record tree species and their sizes and make other observations.

Pond Peering Markers are placed on buoys (on anchors) under water. With the user in a boat, the GPS unit is used to find the spot and read the number or word just under the surface. Nearby incorrect markers can be distracting.

With The Ponds Group of The Fishery and The Trevey

With The Wilderness Group of Nature Folks ...

Into the Wilderness Members of The Wilderness Group make special outings to ancient forests including Trip Reports on the website.

Silver Waters Work Hidden under water in mountain streams on special days, there are treasure boxes. There is also a set of other underwater or near-surface treasure points in the stream or at stream edge. People interested in the beauty and complexity of trout waters like to seek out these sites for beauty, finding good fishing spots, as well as for the extra treasures at the spots (on special days).

It works with "Silver Waters" of
The Fishery

An affiliate of Trimble gps products, Earth Vector Systems, and GPSOutfitters have been contacted to begin exploring potentials. Early thought is for using Garman or Magellan GPS units for field work (and accuracies to within about 30 feet), renting a major unit for short periods to get precise locations for major or permanent points, then to purchase major units (high accuracy) for future uses.

Robert H. Giles, Jr., August 24, 2002 based on ideas from Mr. Brad Rimbey of Tampa, Florida, and Mr. York Grow, Charlottesville, Virginia.

See Virginia Cashing and Letterboxing in Virginia Tourism