The D&L Blog

Guest post by: Mike Burnside, D&L Board Member

Since you are viewing the D&L web site, it is very likely that you know what “geocaching” is all about, because people who love geocaching also love trails.  If so, you’re in for a treat; and if not, you’re in for an even bigger treat.  Geocaching is defined on the www.geocaching.com web site as follows: “Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.”

There are many different variations of the types of geocaches, but by far the majority are containers – waterproof boxes such as a Tupperware or ammo box – that are hidden, waiting for you to find them  They contain, at a bare minimum, a log book, which you sign with your geocaching “handle” and the date to prove you found it.  Most of them contain little items left by people who have found the cache before you, and most people bring something to exchange for something in the cache.  It just adds interest. When you return home, you can log this cache as “found” on the web site.  All of this is free, although there are some “premium” features you may find worthwhile.  When you visit the site, you’ll need to register in order to record your finds, which is sort of the whole point of the activity.  Again, this is free.

It’s hard to explain in words, but a visit to the site will answer all your questions, except maybe the most important one: “Why would I want to do this?”

A friend tipped me off about this whole thing, and I went on the site and found my first cache on June 8, 2002 on State Game Lands near Ricketts Glen State Park – almost 14 years ago.  It was most recently found last June. It’s still there!

I looked at the map for one section of the D&L Trail – from the Delaware/Lehigh confluence at Easton to Catasauqua – there are over a hundred caches along the river.  Doesn’t that make you curious?

But BY FAR the best reason to do geocaching is that it will take you to the kinds of places you love to explore, but never knew existed. And, of course, it’s just one more great reason to Get Your Tail On The Trail! Visit www.tailonthetrail.org to track the miles you walk or bike while geocaching.

The map below indicates Geocaches along the Lehigh River (D&L Trail) from Easton on the far right to Palmerton in the upper left corner.