Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 26
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ASHLEY BERRY
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
LAURA RAINES
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A passion for geocaching
takes adventurers on multistate quests
BY LAURA RAINES
"If you hide it, they will
come" was the mantra of
early GPS (global positioning system) users in 2000, as
they placed containers of "treasure"
in the woods and posted coordinates
for others to find. They came indeed,
and the phenomenon of geocaching
was born. Today, more than 2 million geocaches are hidden around
the world and are being sought by
new converts to the game/sport/obsession every day.
Combining technology with the
great outdoors and the thrill of a
treasure hunt, geocaching appeals to
people of all ages and walks of life.
Be forewarned: This activity could be
habit-forming.
Doing it is the best way to learn,
says Peter Bowden, president and
CEO of the Columbus Convention &
Visitors Bureau. "You pick up more
skills, get in better shape and gain
more confidence being in the natural
world as you go-but sometimes it's
just dumb luck when you find one."
He remembers being at West
Point Lake on the Georgia-Alabama
border in the middle of winter.
"It was cold and windy, and I
couldn't feel my nose. It wasn't fun
anymore. We'd been hunting for 45
minutes, and I wanted to leave, but
my friend, Lee Brantley, wouldn't
give up," Bowden says. "I picked up
a stick and began hitting things with
it, and a tree sounded funny. I tugged
on it, and it fell over. The cache was
in a box with a hinged lid and attached to an 8-foot-tall, dead tree. It
was one of the most amazing finds
I've ever come across."
Knowing he liked the outdoors,
a friend introduced Bowden to geocaching in a natural wildlife area, and
"I caught the fever," he says. In May
and June 2015, he celebrated his 60th
birthday and 10 years of geocaching with a 19-day, almost-10,000-mile
"big trip" to geocache in 48 states.
He goes most weekends.
"I've been to every Georgia state
park twice and many in other states-
26
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org
and lots of other places," he says.
He's discovered an abandoned
Revolutionary War cemetery and an
old Civil War-era fort hidden behind
a sagging barn.
"I've wondered how many times
people had driven by that barn and
never knew what was behind it,"
Bowden says. "It really resonates with
me when I challenge myself to hike 8
miles and see something that I didn't
even know was there."
Bowden helped set up the RiverWalk GeoTour in Columbus with
31 caches, geocaching.com/play/geo
tours/columbusriverwalk.
1 Hannah Warner, interpretative ranger at
Red Top Mountain State Park in Acworth,
shows off a toy spider from one of the park's
27 caches. 2 A cache at Fort Yargo State
Park in Winder features the distinctive
image of Scout, the Georgia State Parks &
Historic Sites gopher mascot. 3 Colton and
Abby Berry get ready to record their find in
the log book at Dreher Island State Park in
Prosperity, S.C.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE
https://www.geocaching.com/play/geotours/columbusriverwalk
https://www.geocaching.com/play/geotours/columbusriverwalk
http://www.georgiamagazine.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - October 2016
Contents
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - Intro
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - Cover1
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - Cover2
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 3
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - Contents
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 5
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 6
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 7
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 8
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 9
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 10
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 11
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 12
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 13
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 14
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 15
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 16
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 17
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 18
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 19
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 20
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 21
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 22
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 23
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 24
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 25
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 26
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 27
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 28
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 29
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 30
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 31
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 32
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 33
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 33A
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 33B
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 33C
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 33D
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 34
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 35
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 36
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 37
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 38
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 39
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 40
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 41
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 42
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 42A
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 42B
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 42C
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 42D
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - Cover3
Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - Cover4
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