Geocaching marks 20th year with statewide events

Think of it as an outdoor treasure hunt, with the help of a GPS.
Geocaching is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the Minnesota Geocaching Association (MGA) is throwing a party. Seven parties, to be exact.
“We decided this year to really celebrate it, and celebrate Minnesota,” said Christine Traxler, a member of the group.
They’re holding events “all over the state to help spread the word about geocaching,” she said. Steele County — specifically, Beaver Lake County Park near Ellendale — is host to the second regional event, planned for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 18.
The park, a half-mile north of Ellendale on Steele County Road 28, was selected by other geocachers from the region, Traxler said.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, you’re not alone. Traxler herself is what’s called a “COVID-cacher.”
When the pandemic shut down nearly everything she did, Traxler said, “I was one of those people who realized there was nothing to do, so I googled ‘what can I do?’ and geocaching was the first thing to come up. I’d barely heard of it.”
Now, she’s so taken with the activity that she’s a member of the MGA Board.
“I love the physical and mental benefits of doing this,” Traxler said, “and we’re hoping to get a lot of new people” with the summer anniversary events.
Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor adventure that’s happening all the time, all around the world.
To play, participants use the Geocaching app and/or a GPS to find containers — the “geocaches” — that are hidden. Their coordinates are listed online at geocaching.com and can be found using a smartphone or a hand-held receiver.
To access the coordinates, you will need to create a free account.
The caches range from the very small to the enormous; some are easy to find, others are well-camouflaged. Typical containers are peanut butter jars, film canisters, mint tins, or other nondegradable objects.
The geocaches can be as demanding as climbing a mountain, or as easy as reaching under a park bench. Each cache has a terrain rating from one to five, one being the easiest.
Once you find the geocache, open it and sign the logbook inside. There may be something else inside: small toys, keychains, trinkets, or other items. The general rule of thumb is if you take something, leave something of equal or greater value, then put the container back exactly how you found it, then share your experience online with the rest of the community.
Though Traxler is a board member, she has no idea what the geocaches will contain.
“I’m responsible for the southwest region, so it’ll be a surprise to me, too,” she said of the cache at Beaver Lake. “We’re collaborating with the regional people to make it special.”
In addition to whatever items the cache may hold, Traxler said there will be giveaways of commemorative coins, T-shirts and other prizes, as well as food at each event.
The first is planned for June 11 at Lake Elmo; the final event, at the geographic center of the state, will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 30 at Oscar Kristofferson Park in Baxter.
The events are free and open to the public.