Remember how fun it was to go treasure hunting as a kid? Did you know there are real life treasure hunts taking place all around you – and all over the world? Did you know you can go with Girl Guides as part of a badge? Well, you can! Explore geocaching!
In a nutshell, geocaching is treasure hunting using GPS-enabled mobile devices (smartphones, iPads, or portable GPSs) to locate the hidden geocaches, or treasures. Some contain trinkets for swapping. The thrill is the hunt as many geocaches are very well concealed. You have to put your thinking cap on! You can find out all about geocaching and find caches near you at www.geocaching.com.
As part of our “Finding Your Way” Pathfinders badge, the 2nd Kemptville Pathfinders went geocaching in the Ferguson Forest Centre, Kemptville, Ontario. The girls each took a turn navigating with the iPad. After a long winter, it was nice to hit the trails, get some fresh air and exercise as well as the excitement of finding the caches.
We also planted a “travel bug” (trackable) item in one of the caches. This is an item other geocachers take and place into other caches. The item’s progress is logged along the way so you can go online and see where your travel bug is going! The mission of our travel bug is to have its picture taken with other Girl Guide groups around the world. Within a week of planting our travel bug, it has already travelled 130km to Kingston, Ontario. We look forward to seeing where in the world it goes!
Whether you’re in it for treasure, adventure, exercise, or a challenge, you won’t be left disappointed!
By guest blogger Carolyn Lundy, 2nd Kemptville Pathfinders.
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It’s Hunger Awareness Week! A week dedicated to raising awareness of the solvable problem of hunger in Canada. Food banks across the country hold events to tell the story of the work they do, and the stories of hungry Canadians assisted by food banks. Visit HungerAwareness to read more.
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