Geocaching- The High Tech Treasure Hunt

Part sport, part treasure hunt, geocaching has become one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities since it was launched in 2000. More than 90,000 "treasure chests" -- mostly plastic or metal boxes containing logbooks and sometimes items such as CDs, photos or games -- are hidden in parks, cities or the wilderness of 202 countries. You get coordinates to each one from Web sites (like geocaching.com) devoted to the sport, then find it with the help of a GPS receiver, a device that uses satellite signals to calculate positions. What's the appeal? "It comes down to our basic nature as hunter-gatherers," says Geoff Matter, a Hopkinton, Mass., geocacher. "I feel like I'm doing something instinctive." Most caches take from 15 minutes to an hour to find; some people go to great lengths to make things difficult, such as by leaving puzzles as clues. Some caches require equipment to, say, hang off the side of a cliff. Once you find a cache, you jot a note in the logbook, then leave it for others to uncover. Geocaching is not without controversy: Some land management groups worry about cachers' potential impact. But rules prohibit altering the landscape, and most players leave things better than they found them.y.