More than 1,400 caches hidden throughout the county
Adam Bramburger
Beaver Staff
Even just in the parking lot at the Lennox and Addington County Courthouse, Saturday, one could have had a treasure hunt counting the range of colourful out-of-province licence plates present.
Those more adventurous, however, were invited to travel across the county to see what drew people from all of Canada’s provinces, 10 United States, and four other countries to Napanee — geocaches hidden in remote locations, waiting to be discovered.
Organizers estimate Saturday’s sixth annual Mega Geocaching Event attracted over 1,000 people ready to follow co-ordinates and find some of the 1,400 caches hidden within the county’s boundaries. Some of the treasures were hidden specifically for the event itself.
“We always try to do something a little bit different and I think the quality of our event draws people worldwide of all ages,” said Joe Tisdale, a lead organizer.
Tisdale said the hidden items the people were searching for could be anything from a large toolbox down to a cast the size of a fingernail. The minimum requirement for each cache is a log book, which he said seekers are to sign to show they were there. They’re also invited to go online to websites associated with the caches and write messages about their adventures.
Lennox and Addington County Mega Geocaching Event organizer Joe Tisdale shares co-ordinates for one of the caches he’s hidden with Carolyn Conlin-Lane, of Ajax, Saturday. (Adam Bramburger/staff)
“Myself, as a geocache hider, whenever someone does one of those logs,I get an e-mail and read about their adventures. That’s a kind of cool thing to do. It’s why I like hiding.”
One of the guests travelling the farthest to this weekend’s events was Patricia Elkins, of Houston, TX, who goes by the geocaching name Miss Pat. As an empty nester, she said she has filled her spare time driving around looking for adventures. She had a special reason for visiting for this weekend’s destination.
“This is my second time out of America. First I went to Mexico, then Canada. What better thing to do on International Geocaching Day than to go somewhere international?” she said.
Elkins learned about the Lennox and Addington event at a major geocaching event in Cincinnati, OH where friends she’s met geocaching from across North America urged her to come along.
She discovered geocaching just four years ago, but said it follows her life-long interests.
“My hobby has turned into my lifestyle. I travel for my hobby,” she said. “I look for the adventure. I look for the excitement. When I was a little girl, we explored creek beds and the woods, made forts, and looked for arrow heads or pretty rocks in the water… Lots of people have obsessions. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I drive.”
Elkins said on any given day, she’ll go on a Facebook page for geocachers, find information about a neat place, and hit the ground rolling. Once she drove out to see a metal dragon that made for a great photo opportunity. Another time, a cacher led her through an abandoned train tunnel on a mountain side in Tennessee.
She has lofty goals before pointing her wheels toward home.
“I want numbers. I want to leave Canada saying I’ve got 100 caches from Canada — I haven’t made it yet, by the way,” she said, adding she left her walking stick at one cache Saturday and two hours later backtracked to get it.
Alan Lane and Carolyn Conlin-Lane, of Ajax, travelled less distance but were still eager to attend the Mega for their third or fourth year. Carolyn said like Elkins, it’s adventure they crave. She has been known to visit a city for business, then rent a car to explore. Often, geocaching is a daily activity in their lives.
On this trip, they found a cache hidden in a large, old tree with its roots exposed that was a real challenge.
“It was very, very craftily hidden. It was sneaky,” she said.
Matt Matys, of Whitby, a friend they met geocaching was here for the first time. He likes that geocaching takes him to places he’s never been and, before Saturday, that included the Napanee area.
“I’ve never actually been to Napanee, but I’m able to see the town and see what it’s like compared to other towns I’ve been to. It’s like when you meet someone and put a face to the name, this is putting a town to the name and now I know what types of caches are scattered about too.”
Lane said that’s part of the fun and after a few years, geocachers can really get to know an area well.
Tisdale said repeat visits are what makes geocaching a really beneficial event for Lennox and Addington County’s economic development department to be involved in as opposed to one-off tournaments or events.
“The benefit with geocaching is people will go home, then they’ll come back next week to find more geocaches. They’ll keep coming back. There’s a constant draw of tourists returning to Lennox and Addington on a continuing basis. It’s great for the stores, the restaurants, the gas stations — everything.”
In addition to self-guided geocaching adventures, participants were also able to enjoy a kayaking expedition on the Napanee River, a free concert with band South of 7, and a group dinner at the Allan Macpherson House and Park.
Next year’s event is scheduled for Aug. 17.