Thrill of hunt turns geocaching into modern phenomenon

A treasure-hunting phenomenon has seen mysterious packages hidden across Yorkshire.

Once a playground for IT-mad explorers and outdoor pursuits enthusiasts, the global treasure hunt that is geocaching has quietly spread around our region through the advances in mobile phone technology in recent years.

American Dave Ulmer planted the first package or “cache” in 2000, when he buried a bucket filled with cash, beans, a log book, DVDs and CDs to test whether US military navigation satellites were accurate enough to help people locate items by new-fangled GPS.

The experiment was posted online and the craze took off in the USA. Over the last 14 years the thrill of the hunt has seen more than 2.3 million caches hidden worldwide, including thousands in this county.

In 2014, in-built GPS in modern smartphones is commonplace and the geocaching hobby is just the touch of a button away through a mobile phone app which costs just £6.99.

Leeds hairdresser Jess Chippendale got hooked less than a year ago and now regularly spends free weekends touring the region for as many as 12 mysterious packages at a time.

“The app tells you how many metres you are away from them but you have to think outside the box to find them,” says the 22-year-old.

The only rules of geocaching are that once you’ve found a cache you must write about it in the accompanying logbook and if you take something, you must replace it with something of equal or greater value.

Having found everything from rubber ducks to a nun’s wimple, Jess claims her most unusual find had travelled thousands of miles before it landed in woodland near Batley. She said: “We once found a geocache compass – it’s called a trackable and through a bit of research we found out that it had started in South America and travelled through three different countries before it ended up here.”

There are hundreds of caches in say Leeds, from a package near the train station to watertight plastic boxes dotted around the outskirts of the city.

However, geocaching’s secretive side and its rising popularity have also seen it hit the headlines in West Yorkshire for the wrong reasons. After a member of the public placed a suspect package under a planter in The Shambles, in Wetherby, in 2011, a neighbouring café owner reported it to police.

Army bomb squad officers were called in to destroy the box in a controlled explosion but it emerged the package was in fact an innocent geocache.

The incident prompted national media attention and a police warning urging gamers to “use their common sense”. While there are thought to be dozens of packages in most city centres, many geocachers prefer to keep away from areas of high footfall.

Jess said: “I always feel really self-conscious – you look really odd doing it. You can get away with it in the countryside especially when you’re out with a dog but you look suspicious in the centre of town.”

Outside of the city, nature organisations are jumping on the idea as a way of encouraging people to explore the countryside. The Yorkshire Dales National Park even offers special GPS receivers for £5-a-day rental from some of its centres, while a newly-launched National Trails website encourages walkers to take the five-cache tour of the Yorkshire Wolds Way in East Yorkshire.

Anne Clark, managing director of Walk Unlimited which runs the site, said: “The new website is just the start of our work to raise awareness of these fabulous trails, and the amazing landscapes they pass through.” Through nature walks and the free fun factor, the hobby is something that is becoming increasingly popular with walkers and young families.

Mother-of-one Rebecca Whittington, 32, was introduced to the high-tech hunt by Jess.

The Bramley, Leeds, resident, her husband Ben and their 18-month-old daughter Lizzie have since started impromptu searches all over the country, most recently in Bramley Fall Woods.

“It’s the kind of thing that’s ideal for a Sunday when you don’t have anything planned and the weather is not bad – combine it with a pub lunch or something and you’ve got your day sorted,” she said.

“The other beauty is that once you’ve paid for the app it’s free to do, which is always handy for cash-strapped families and you can do it pretty much anywhere, which is also great if you are on holiday and at a loose end.”

Through technological advances, it seems the geocaching phenomenon is here to stay.

For information visit www.geocaching.com.