Tag: Hobbies

Geocaching is your ticket to adventure — here’s how to get started

Join a worldwide treasure hunt.

Every year, the third Saturday of August marks International Geocaching Day. For seasoned geocachers, the day is an opportunity to celebrate a fun, adventurous hobby. For those out of the geocaching loop, the day likely raises a lot of questions. What is geocaching? How does it work? How can I get started? Jumping into a new hobby can be overwhelming, but you can find all the answers you need here.

Since the early 2000s, geocaching has grown into a massive, worldwide phenomenon. While plenty of resources exist to introduce you to geocaching (such as the essential Geocaching.com), here is a simple guide to help beginners get started.

A blue container labeled "geocache."

Geocaching definition

As the official Geocaching.com blog explains, “geocaching is a real-world, outdoor adventure that is happening all the time, all around the world. To play, participants use the Geocaching app and/or a GPS device to navigate to cleverly hidden containers called geocaches.”

Put simply, geocaching is a hobby where participants can find hidden items (geocaches) and leave hidden items for others to find. Described as “the world’s largest treasure hunt,” geocaching makes the perfect outdoor adventure. Not only does geocaching get you outside and exploring the world, but it also rewards you with interesting trinkets and connects you to other geocachers in your area. Experienced geocachers have kept up guest books in their hidden containers and even found geocaches with gift cards, polished stones, and more.

A plastic container full of trinkets like a Rubik's Cube.

How to start geocaching for beginners

First, you’ll want to download the Geocaching app. The app offers premium plans for dedicated geocachers, but beginners can access all the important functions for free. After creating an account, you can explore a map of geocache locations near you. Beginners can start by locating one in their neighborhood. Geocache locations will be marked on the map with a green dot. Check each geocache’s profile for a difficulty rating, a brief description of its size and type, and hints to help you find the treasure. 

What do you do once you find the geocache? There are many options. Often, geocaches include a guestbook that logs every person who has visited the location. Bring a pen on your geocaching adventure so you can add your name. You can also mark your find in the Geocaching app and leave future visitors hints. Once you learn the ropes of geocaching, you can even set up a geocache of your own. 

Chiefs’ Mitchell Schwartz, Clyde Edwards-Helaire indulging hobbies this offseason

Schwartz and Edwards-Helaire are both indulging a few of their hobbies during the offseason.

As Kansas City Chiefs players follow social distancing guidelines this offseason and wait for the eventual return of in-person training, they’ve taken to some of their favorite hobbies to help pass the time. For some of those players, like Chiefs RT Mitchell Schwartz, those hobbies have helped them stay connected with fans.

Schwartz has been known to dabble in the cooking world, and this offseason he took things up a notch. First Schwartz started a food blog, where he shares some of his favorite recipes. The Chiefs then debuted a cooking show, dubbed ‘Mitch in the Kitch’ on their social media channels.

“Yeah, that part has been awesome,” Schwartz told media members on Friday. “I always like to cook. This time of year, we do a fair amount of traveling, so I’m not able to do that quite as much. I’ve made some dishes and kind of threw together six or seven picture things on Instagram. Kind of ‘Hey, here’s what I’m cooking lately,’ and people really liked it. I figured the next day throw up another food thing and people still really liked it, and it kind of grew from there.”

Schwartz believes that his recipes can help people connect and bring them together during a time when they’re forced to be apart.

“I think the thing people are struggling with is not seeing coworkers, friends, not having interactions, so you’re kind of relying more heavily on the social media side of it,” Schwartz said. “Through that, it’s actually been a lot of fun being able to have time to post stuff and respond to people and react. Typically, in a normal environment or workday, I’d be on the go, and so you post something, leave it, and check back later to see if it was successful or not. But now you can actually see the people commenting, and especially food stuff, some people have particularly strong opinions about what you’re making. But for the most part, they’re kind of like ‘Hey that’s awesome. I like to do this.’ Or ‘Have you tried this?’ And I’m always looking for a better spice or recipe. That’s definitely been fun and rewarding.”

While Schwartz is getting his hands dirty in the kitchen, the Chiefs’ rookie running back is getting his hands dirty in the garage. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is a big fan of working on and restoring cars and he currently has a few projects going on right now.

“Currently, I’m in the process of helping my brother restore his ’78 Monte Carlo,” Edwards-Helaire said. “I’m just getting all of my cars ceramic-coated and whatnot. Getting everything done up under the carriage because in Kansas City they put salt on the roads. I can’t have any of my cars or anything rusting from the bottom up, heading up north.”

Edwards-Helaire is clearly anticipating his arrival in Kansas City, and what better way to prepare than getting his cars ready for the harsh midwestern winters.

These snapshots from the lives of Schwartz and Edwards-Helaire serve as a nice reminder to take time to do some of your favorite things. This is a great time to do it, and just like with these two Chiefs players, doing so can yield some fun and rewarding results.

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