From what I heard about
From what I heard about Geocaching, I didn't know if I'd like it. It sounded goofy, like something geeky guys made up to pass the time. You go to a website, get coordinates and clues, and take your GPS unit hiking to find a hidden stash. You log the visit in the book, and at the site. Part scavenger hunt, part day hiking, and part map reading add up to a pretty good (and boring) description of geocaching.
Yesterday, we went to visit pb and shawnde, and he recently bought a GPS unit and wanted to try out geocaching. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We hiked into an area I probably would never have known about, saw beautiful cliffs, grazing deer, and foggy ocean views. Other people hiking said they saw whales, though it was too foggy by the time we made it to the end of Bodega Head. The cache wasn't too hard to find and I was glad we did it.
Today, Jish had a multi-cache he wanted to tackle. The cache was three parts in length, with landmarks you had to read for clues to calculate your next position. Each location had two things to use for clues, and the creator of the cache planned it very well. If you weren't paying very close attention, you'd get the incorrect coordinates and end up half a mile away from where you should have been. It was a toughie, but we finally got it all right and enjoyed great panoramic views of the Silicon Valley and Bay below.
So I think I'm hooked on geocaching. It's a great way to discover new places in the bay area, a good excuse to get out and exercise, and there are great views to be had.