4-H youth geocached the trails of Whaupaunaucau State Forest
Last Thursday, 4-H youth and Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Natural Resource Educator Erica Clark reviewed GPS directions and made notes to find the geocache treasures hidden in Whaupaunaucau State Forest. (Submitted photo)
NORWICH — There are 466 geocaches hidden in the Norwich area and last week Chenango County 4-H youth went to Whaupaunaucau State Forest in search of finding at least one.
“The 4-H event had seven kids and two parents join in the search of hidden geocaches,” said Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Natural Resource Educator Erica Clark. “We walked the Whaupaunaucau Forest trails, leading to and from Jeffrey Pond, and actually found three caches.”
“The kids were really excited and everyone had a lot of fun,” said Clark.
“Geocaching is similar to a treasure hunt with Global Positioning System (GPS) units,” she said. “We used the geocaching app and GPS units to find hidden caches that had been left behind by others.”
She said caches can be all sizes, tiny to large containers and everything in-between, and are usually hidden really well but aren't buried, so you won't ever have to dig for them.
“Larger ones may have items you can trade for, like small toys or objects, but never food,” said Clark.
She went on to explain each cache typically has a paper log, so finders can document the date and status of the found geocache and then replace it to its original place. Caches can also be logged online to keep track of total findings and to let others know you’ve been there.
Clark said they like to offer geocaching as a way to explore new areas and get youth excited about the outdoors.
“This is something they can do in 4-H and also with their families,” she added.
Clark said she thought the forest was beautiful and there were many different tree species, but she was quite surprised at the amount of garbage they found, especially for a forest.
“We brought garbage bags with us, as we had planned on picking up some garbage along the way,” she added.
She said everyone picked up a mix of plastic bottles, cans, food wrappers, a crown, and other miscellaneous items that were previously left behind.
“It definitely looks better now,” said Clark.
According to www.geocaching.com/play there are over 3 million hidden geocaches containers around the world.
For more information on upcoming events, email Erica Clark at elc97@cornell.edu.
“The 4-H event had seven kids and two parents join in the search of hidden geocaches,” said Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Natural Resource Educator Erica Clark. “We walked the Whaupaunaucau Forest trails, leading to and from Jeffrey Pond, and actually found three caches.”
“The kids were really excited and everyone had a lot of fun,” said Clark.
“Geocaching is similar to a treasure hunt with Global Positioning System (GPS) units,” she said. “We used the geocaching app and GPS units to find hidden caches that had been left behind by others.”
She said caches can be all sizes, tiny to large containers and everything in-between, and are usually hidden really well but aren't buried, so you won't ever have to dig for them.
“Larger ones may have items you can trade for, like small toys or objects, but never food,” said Clark.
She went on to explain each cache typically has a paper log, so finders can document the date and status of the found geocache and then replace it to its original place. Caches can also be logged online to keep track of total findings and to let others know you’ve been there.
Clark said they like to offer geocaching as a way to explore new areas and get youth excited about the outdoors.
“This is something they can do in 4-H and also with their families,” she added.
Clark said she thought the forest was beautiful and there were many different tree species, but she was quite surprised at the amount of garbage they found, especially for a forest.
“We brought garbage bags with us, as we had planned on picking up some garbage along the way,” she added.
She said everyone picked up a mix of plastic bottles, cans, food wrappers, a crown, and other miscellaneous items that were previously left behind.
“It definitely looks better now,” said Clark.
According to www.geocaching.com/play there are over 3 million hidden geocaches containers around the world.
For more information on upcoming events, email Erica Clark at elc97@cornell.edu.
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