Geocaching with Calgary Seniors: Staying Young at Heart

Geocaching, at a glance, is often thought of as recreation for the reasonably fit, the reasonably computer savvy and the reasonably young. Not so! The circus tagline ‘fun for children of all ages’ also applies to geocaching with Calgary’s senior citizens.

Senior’s groups are quickly picking up on the geocaching trend sweeping across city, nation and world. Groups that travel or hike together are putting purpose to their jaunts by adding the thrill of finding a treasure at the destination. For folks that love to collect, a log full of outdoor adventures and special memories is better that a wall full of knick-knacks gathering dust. And puzzle-solving geocaches will help keep the brain cells jumping as well, if not better, than penciling in a Sudoku.

Do you have a parent or grandparent you would like to teach to geocache? Here’s some simple tips to help get them started:

• Load up the GPS with easy terrain, regular-sized caches (one or two star difficulty) and get out walking. Skip the computer stuff and get straight to the adventure. That’s where the fun is!

• Take the family. More than anything, the shared experience creates the warmest memories. Just spending time together talking is worth going out the door…whether or not you find the cache.

• Let them find the cache themselves, with a few hints. Get them close and play the ‘getting hotter, getting colder’ game, if you know where the cache is located. Give them secrets on how you’ve found caches in the past and where they are usually hidden.

• Don’t go crazy using acronyms. TFTC, or ‘thanks for the cache,’ should be the extent of learning a new language to play. Do let them chose a geocaching handle for themselves, or their group. Talk about why that nickname is important to them.

• When transferring the information to or from the computer, be prepared to go over the instructions more than once. Computers can be overwhelming to some seniors, especially if they’ve convinced themselves they can’t learn the technology. Be patient. Be very patient.

• Provide them with simple technology. The Garmin eTrex Legend H that the Calgary Parks 100 is currently lending from the Calgary Public Library is a great starter GPS to purchase. Until the end of August, test-drive this GPS by borrowing it. Then enter to win a new GPS for yourself.

Overall, keep it light and have some fun! Enjoy the sun, the end of summer and carpe cache in a new adventure!

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