While many people have never heard of geocaching (pronounced "geo-cashing"), thousands across the U.S., and also the world, enjoy this new and adventurous outdoor activity. It involves the use of a handheld GPS receiver, and based on information provided on the official geocaching website (geocaching.com), the GPS receiver guides its operator to hidden treasures just waiting to be found all over the countryside. A typical cache consists of a waterproof container, a log book, and trinkets. Signing the log book proves you found it, and the trinkets provide trade items; the idea is to take an item, then replace it with an item of equal value. The trinkets make a nice memento of the experience. Once the log book is signed and trinkets exchanged, the container is put back in exactly the same place it was found, to await the next finder.
Every geocache hunt proves to be a completely different experience. Each hide is reflective on the person who did the hiding. In many cases, the trip leads the geocacher to new and unusual places they may never have seen if they hadn't been guided by their GPS receiver and the cache hider's directions. The sport has become so popular and so addictive that many geocachers, often entire families, are now scheduling their vacations around finding new caches in areas away from home.
Because geocaching draws people into areas they might not otherwise have visited, the potential of the sport to boost tourism is great, and growing. So this fall the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism, based in Oil City, PA, will head up a ten-county initiative to create a "geocaching trail" throughout the Allegheny National Forest and surrounding gateway communities of northwestern Pennsylvania. This project will be officially dubbed the Allegheny
GeoTrail. Through a USDA grant and other matching funds, the plan for the project is to hide
between 10 and 20 caches in each of the participating ten counties (Cameron, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Venango, and Warren). Each cache will consist of the typical container, log book, and trinkets; however, in addition to these items, each cache will also contain a unique stamp, representative of the area where the cache is located. Before setting out to find the caches, participants will obtain, at no cost, a passport provided by each area's tourist promotion agency. Upon finding a cache, they will stamp their passport with the stamp found within the cache container. Once they've collected the required number of stamps in their passport, they may redeem it for a unique geocoin: a highly collectible coin which is very popular among geocachers. These custom-minted geocoins typically represent a particular area, state, or local geocaching group. The geocoins will also be provided by the tourist promotion agency. Each geocoin in the series will be specially minted to represent the county or area from which it was earned. Only by finding the required number of caches, can a participant acquire a geocoin; they will not be for sale. Only 1,000 coins for each county will be minted, so only a limited number will be available.
The Allegheny GeoTrail will officially launch on Monday, October 1, 2007. A kick-off "geomeet" will be held at Oil Creek State Park on Sunday, September 30, 2007. All geocachers and non-geocachers are welcome to attend, and will be given full details and free materials at this event.
The size and scope of the Allegheny GeoTrail will surpass all other similar projects done previously in the U.S. The Oil Region Alliance is partnering with the various tourist promotion agencies and geocaching groups, as well as Penn Soil Resource Conservation & Development, based in Clarion. Wes Ramsey of Penn Soil RC&D originated the concept here in Pennsylvania. It includes not only the Allegheny National Forest, but also its Gateway Communities of Cameron, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Venango, and Warren Counties.
For more information about the Allegheny GeoTrail, visit www.alleghenygeotrail.com or contact project manager Mike Henderson at the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism at mike@alleghenygeotrail.com.
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