Geocaching Wildlife Safari

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Geocaching Wildlife Safari kicks off in a wild way on May 2

A meadow jumping mouse, a five-lined skink, and a mountain lion are all hiding somewhere in Minnesota state parks and recreation areas. These critters - along with 69 other Minnesota mammals, fish, and insects - can be found on the Critter Cards inside the Critter Caches that await discovery by participants in the Geocaching Wildlife Safari, which officially begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2.

On the heels of the popular Geocaching History Challenge, a special Sesquicentennial event that ended Dec. 31 (after some 20,000 geocache finds had been recorded), this new geocaching adventure will offer three more years of treasure-hunting fun throughout the state.

Every one of Minnesota’s 72 state parks and recreation areas has its own Critter Cache. The geographic coordinates indicating the specific location of each cache will be posted at www.mnstateparks.info by 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2. When geocachers enter these coordinates into a GPS device, they will see which direction to go to find the cache. All caches were placed above the ground in relatively well-traveled areas, so there should be no need to disturb natural features to find a cache. More information is available online.

Kid-friendly caches, a creative cache container-making contest, and geocachers wearing pith helmets and other safari gear will be featured at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park, where the Minnesota Geocaching Association will host a special Safari Send Off, starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2. Details about the festivities, which continue until 7 p.m., are available online.

Geocaching is a high-tech game that is growing in popularity worldwide. It involves the use of sophisticated but easy to use global positioning technology to hunt for cache containers that have been hidden, usually outdoors. There are currently more than 768,000 active caches around the world, according to www.geocaching.com.

The goal of the Geocaching Wildlife Safari is to motivate people to get outside and have fun. A typical Critter Cache will include a Critter’s Guestbook for the finder to sign, a Critter Card for the finder to keep, and possibly other trinkets left by previous finders. In some cases, there will be park-specific quizzes and puzzles to solve en route to the cache.

Finders will earn milestone award cards as they collect 10, 20, 40, and 60 of the Critter Cards. These award cards will also entitle them to purchase exclusive geocoins as souvenirs if they choose. Also, 300 wild cards will be randomly hidden inside Critter Caches every year, and anyone who finds one can earn a special Geocaching Wildlife Safari patch. The 2009 wild card to watch for is a river otter.

GPS DEMONSTRATION PARKS
To help beginners learn the basics of geocaching, 25 GPS Demonstration Parks will loan out GPS units free of charge and offer periodic Geocaching 101 programs. Upcoming Geocaching 101 programs in the metro area include:

10 a.m. Saturday, April 25, at William O’Brien State Park
10 a.m. Sunday, May 3, at Afton State Park
1 p.m. Sunday, May 10, at Fort Snelling State Park
For more dates and a map of all the GPS demonstration parks, visit www.mnstateparks.info.

ORIENTEERING COURSE AT AFTON STATE PARK
Afton State Park on May 2 will open its new orienteering course on the same day that the Geocaching Wildlife Safari begins. The orienteering course - which features 26 wooden markers (donated by Pro Build in Hastings) and three difficulty levels - was designed by Ian Harding, president of the Minnesota Orienteering Club, and constructed as part of an Eagle Scout project by Hastings High School student Will Lutz, with help from Troop 534 of Hastings.

Grand opening activities taking place at Afton State Park on Saturday, May 2, include:

10:15 a.m. - a beginner’s orienteering class, at which the Minnesota Orienteering Club will demonstrate how to use a map and a compass to find the wooden markers
11:45 a.m. - a Minnesota Orienteering Club meet, with orienteering courses for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Cost is $5 for club members, $8 for non-members (working in groups of up to three people).
Anyone can try the orienteering course by purchasing the necessary map, clue sheet and instructions for $5. GPS units and compasses can be checked out for free at the visitor center by anyone who wants to try geocaching.

[dakids]

Geocaching is a great way to get kids interested in the outdoors.  My kids have gotten pretty good at using a GPS unit.  They have even tought me a few things that I couldn't get myself.