Ethics

Due to the hide-and-seek nature of the game, without some rules geocachers could be a danger to themselves, other cachers, or society. Geocaching.com has guidelines for hiding your first cache through their listing service. Other websites, like Terracaching, have their own set of guidelines for acceptable listings. Geocachers interested in enumerating a basic set of generally accepted practices have also developed the Geocacher's Creed and Geocaching Policy website.

When geocaching in busy locations, searching for a cache can require tact and craftiness to avoid the attention of the general public. The person hiding a geocache frequently takes this into account so that the hider and those looking for caches will not cause undue alarm. When care is not taken in hiding or finding a geocache, cachers have been approached by police and questioned when they were seen as acting suspiciously. Other times, investigation of a cache location after suspicious activity was reported has resulted in police and bomb squad discovery of the geocache. One such cache was destroyed by the Bellevue, Washington, bomb squad, who suspected that an ammunition canister labeled as a geocache was a bomb.

Although not dealing with geocaching specifically, the Leave No Trace principles are how some geocachers feel geocaching should be done.

History

Geocaching is similar to a much older activity called letterboxing. The major difference is its use of the Global Positioning System. Geocaching via GPS was made possible by the removal of selective availability of the Global Positioning System on May 1, 2000. The first documented placement of a cache with GPS assistance took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer of Beavercreek, Oregon. The location was posted on the Usenet newsgroup sci.geo.satellite-nav. By May 6, 2000, it had been found twice and logged once (by Mike Teague of Vancouver, Washington). Today, well over 350,000 geocaches are currently placed in 222 countries around the world, registered on various websites devoted to the sport.

Origin of the name

The activity was originally referred to as GPS stash hunt or gpsstashing. This was changed after a discussion in the gpsstash discussion group at eGroups (now Yahoo!). On May 30, 2000, Matt Stum suggested to change the name "stash" into "cache" and also mentioned "geocaching" as the name of the activity

Geocache variations

There are many types of caches. Some are easy enough to be called "drive-bys", "park 'n' grabs" ("PNGs"), or "cache and dash". Others are very difficult, including staged multi-caches; there are even examples of caches under water, 50 feet up a tree, after long offroad drives, on high mountain peaks, on the Antarctic continent, and above the Arctic Circle. Different geocaching websites choose to list different variations as per their own policies (e.g., Geocaching.com does not list new Webcam, Virtual, Earthcache, Locationless, or moving geocaches).

Variations of geocaches include:

• Traditional: This is the basic cache type. It is a container with a log book (at minimum) found at its listed set of coordinates and usually trade items.
• Multi-cache: This cache consists of multiple caches. These caches are one or more intermediate points containing the coordinates for the next or final cache, that contains the log book and trade items.
• Offset: This cache is similar to the multi-cache except that the initial coordinates are for a location containing information that encodes the final cache coordinates. An example would be to direct the finder to a plaque where the digits of a date on the plaque correspond to coordinates of the final cache.
• Mystery/puzzle-based: This cache does not include a listed set of coordinates for the cache. Instead, it is located after solving a puzzle in order to determine the final cache coordinates.
• Letterbox Hybrid: A letterbox hybrid cache is a combination of a geocache and a letterbox in the same container. A letterbox has a rubber stamp and a logbook instead of tradable items. Letterboxers carry their own stamp with them, to stamp the letterbox's log book and inversely stamp their personal log book with the letterbox stamp. The hybrid cache contains the important materials for this as well as trade items.
• Virtual: Caches of this nature are coordinates for a location that does not contain the traditional box, log book, or trade items. Instead, the location contains some other described object. Validation for finding a virtual cache generally requires you to email the cache hider with information such as a date or a name on a plaque, or to post a picture of yourself at the site with GPS receiver in hand.
  • Earthcache: This is a type of virtual cache organized by the Geological Society of America. The locations do not have traditional geocaches, but contain information about the geology, fossils, and local environment.
• Webcam: Similar to a virtual cache, there is no container, log book, or trade items for this cache type. Instead, the coordinates are for a location with a public webcam. Instead of signing a log book, the finder is often required to capture their image from the webcam for verification of the find.
• Locationless/Reverse: This variation is similar to a scavenger hunt. A description is given for something to find, such as a one-room schoolhouse, and the finder locates an example of this object. The finder records the location using their GPS handheld receiver and often taking a picture at the location with their GPS receiver. Typically others are not allowed to log that same location as a find.
• Moving/Traveling: Similar to a traditional geocache, this variation is found at a listed set of coordinates. The finder uses the log book, trades trinkets, and then hides the cache in a different location. By updating this new location on the listing, the finder essentially becomes the hider and the next finder continues the cycle.
• Event Cache: This is a cache located at a gathering attended by geocachers. Caches placed at events are often temporarily placed for the event date only. This term is also used to describe the gathering itself.
  • Cache-In Trash-Out (CITO) Events: This is a variation on event caching. Geocachers gather to clean up the trash in the area to improve the environment as a coordinated activity.