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Sunday, April 20, 2008

A Geocache Crash Course
Got a GPS? Well, snag some swag and hit the trail for treasure

By CHRISTOPHER DAY
Daytona Beach News-Journal Staff Writer

I stepped outside and immediately reached for my sunglasses. Sunny and cool. It was a good day for an adventure.

First, I had to drive to New Smyrna Beach to meet Jetskier911 — my nearly fearless guide for my first geocaching excursion.

News-Journal/PETER BAUER Michelle LaMoia, wearing a visor, also known as Jetskier911, and Carmel Shearer, aka FLwaterdog, sort through the contents of a cache they found at All Children’s Park in Spruce Creek. The pair, after using clues on the Internet, maps and a GPS unit, then logged their find so other geocachers know they’ve been there. They also restocked the container with other "goodies" for other geocachers to find.

Thirty minutes later, I was whisked inside the house where Jetskier911 introduced me to FLwaterdog who was busily typing and downloading cache sites from a laptop to her GPS unit.

News-Journal photographer Peter Bauer already had been briefed. I was quickly brought up to speed.

Jetskier911, also known as Michelle LaMoia, and FLwaterdog, Carmel Shearer, proposed a four-pronged mission that would let us see a gamut of cache sites. The mission’s first leg would take us to a closed rest stop on I-95. The second, third and fourth legs were in All Children’s Park in Spruce Creek. A shopping center at the corner of Nova Road and Dunlawton Avenue would be our final hunting ground for the day.

As we gathered the backpacks, GPS units and water bottles, our guides asked if we had brought any News-Journal swag.

“Swag,” I asked.

“Yes, trinkets, key chains, lanyards. Anything that could be traded for items in the caches we find,” LaMoia said.

I admitted I had come swag-less.

They added some more swag to their packs.

As we piled into the pickup and headed to the first site, LaMoia filled me in on the finer points of geocaching in our downtime.

“When we reach our destination, I will set a waypoint for the pickup. That way we can always get back to the pickup if we got lost hunting for a cache,” she said.

LaMoia explained caches were hidden everywhere. There’s a set of caches on either side of I-95. The chirp of a GPS unit ended the conversation. We had reached the closed rest area off I-95. Shearer eased the pickup onto the shoulder. We leapt out and followed the GPS unit’s directions to a fence line. A quick look around yielded our first find of the day — an ammo case. The log book was signed. Swag examined — a couple of neat Hot Wheels cars.

Off to the park. A chirp again said we were close to our destination.

Muggles everywhere.

Geocachers have taken a page from the Harry Potter books. Instead of referring to the nonmagical, the term muggles is used for nongeocachers, especially ones who might endanger a cache.

The first cache is abandoned after a brief search because it’s too close to the muggles. New coordinates for the GPS units and we’re off again, walking slowly to the boardwalk. The coordinates take us into the dry-creek bed, and the hunt starts. The search leads us from the foliage around the creek bed to the bridge itself. I learn LaMoia wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t like spiders and bugs.

Eureka, our second find — a micro cache hidden under under the bridge railing. It’s a magnetic key holder, but the magnet won’t work on a wooden bridge so it’s held in place by Velcro.

The GPS units are reset. The path takes us along the boardwalk through the park where we see plenty of birds, spiders and lizards. The coordinates take us under a canopy of palm trees. The fronds play havoc with the GPS units. One second it says we are right on top of the cache. The next it says we’re eight to 20 feet away.

I forge ahead ignoring the thorny vine that’s attached itself to my jeans. Beads of sweat soon become rivulets as heat and humidity rise.

Finally, all agree this will be a DNF (did not find). No one wants to leave on a sour note. Luckily, the next cache is easy. It’s behind a pine tree past the outfields of the baseball diamonds.

All of us walk to the waiting pickup where water and air conditioning waits. We are on the road again. Last stop, the shopping center at the corner of Nova Road and Dunlawton Avenue.

“Do I Hear Bells,” is the name of the multiple cache site that takes us to a storefront and the middle of the parking lot. We find both caches to end our day of searching.

On the road to New Smyrna Beach talk turns to the fuel gauge and the price of gas. We arrive at the house. Shearer and LaMoia say they will log the day’s experiences on geocaching.com.

I pull out of the driveway — a little sweaty and in need of a shower. I was right — it was a good day for an adventure.

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