Summer Fun: Join the hide-and-seek treasure hunt with your GPS

You might think of hide and seek as a child’s game but the electronic age has brought a modern-day version using a global positioning satellite receiver (GPS). It’s called geocaching.

There are variations, but usually a container is filled with trinkets and a logbook for finders to sign. The latitude and longitude of the cache are posted on the Internet and the hunt is on.

GPS considers the destination to make decisions. It uses local topology information to find routes quickly.

The most popular Website for locations is geocaching.com also called Groundspeak. You just enter your zip code or address information to find caches near you. Many are hidden in suburban areas but others are in the wilderness.

When you find the cache, you sign the logbook and, if you wish, you take out a knickknack. When you remove a trinket, you are expected to replace it with a new treasure. It should be equal in value to the one taken. When trading, don’t leave food or items that smell and may attract animals.

To play, you have to have a GPS. You download the latitude and longitude into your instrument. Experienced players suggest you input the coordinates directly into your computer and then into the GPS. Doing it manually could result in a mistake that will take you far afield.

The GPS can take you to within 15 to 20 feet of the cache. Then you have to search. Caches are hidden but clues can be piles of brush, rocks, leaves or other debris. It is always wise to check tree stumps, logs and hollow tree trunks.

Always protect the environment. Do not go geocaching on private or public lands without permission. Be careful not to trample vegetation or damage habitat. Play responsibly.