The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (36 page)

 
Muggle
: Someone who doesn’t know about geocaching.

 
Multi cache
: A cache with several parts. The first cache you find provides the coordinates for the next one.

 
Puzzle cache
: A cache where the coordinates aren’t clear, and can only be determined by solving a puzzle.

 
TFTC
: Short for “Thanks for the cache.” Often written on cache logs.

 
Travel bug or travel coin
: An object that travels from cache to cache. It has a tracking number so that its progress can be followed online.

Here are a few ideas for a geocaching vacation:

 
Hotel and resort trails.
Many lodgings have created their own geocache programs. Some charge a fee to borrow a GPS device and get lessons; others include it as free activity. A favorite is
Larsmont Cottages
(596 Larsmont Way, Two Harbors, 866-687-5634,
www.larsmontcottages.com
) on Lake Superior, north of Duluth, Minnesota. The caches are geared toward young visitors. During the summer, rooms begin at $70 on weekdays and $120 on weekends.

 
Mid-Atlantic trails.
The mid-Atlantic seems to be a leader in geotrails. The
Maryland Municipal League
(www.mdmunicipal.org/programs/geocache.cfm) has the nation’s biggest, linking 80 cities and jurisdictions in the state from Ocean City on the Atlantic to mountainous Oakland in the west. The
Allegheny GeoTrail
(www.alleghenygeotrail.com) lists caches across ten counties in northwest Pennsylvania. The
Coal Heritage GeoTrail
(www.paintcreekscenictrail.com/geo.html) includes 16 caches in southern West Virginia.

 
Star-Spangled Geotrail.
This trail, developed with Kelley’s help, links more than 30 sites connected to the War of 1812 in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Eager cachers can visit Fort McHenry, Maryland, where Francis Scott Key saw “bombs bursting in air,” or journey to Tangier Island, Virginia, which can only be reached by ferry. Cachers, who record their geocaching adventures and comments on the Internet, love the trail. “Wow! What a great day!” wrote wolfmansbrother, who was the ninth person to find the cache on Tangier Island. “Loved every minute of the history and crab cakes!” The cache descriptions all outline each site’s role in the war, and were reviewed by National Park Service historians. Each site hosting a cache designed and hid it. One was clever enough to conceal it in a fake cannon ball. But we’re not going to tell you where. You can find all the sites listed at
http://bit.ly/ax67X6
.

Once you’ve geocached a few times, it’s simple to find caches anywhere. The challenge is that not all caches are created equal. Some are unimaginative hides in parking lots, while others take you on hikes to gorgeous overviews.

Check the state or city forums for the area you’ll be visiting on geocaching.com. When asked for their favorite places to geocache, several members of the staff at Groundspeak, the company that runs the geocaching portal, suggested Red Rock Canyon, near Las Vegas, Nevada, while others mentioned Portland, Oregon, near where geocaching was invented.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Sign up for a free geocaching account, and find caches, at
www.geocaching.com
.

pack your paddle

NORTHERN MINNESOTA, SOUTHERN ONTARIO

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

—
AUTHOR KENNETH GRAHAME,
WIND IN THE WILLOWS
(1908)

44 |
Minnesota’s called the Land of 10,000 Lakes for a reason. From the air, its one-million-acre
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
looks like a Jackson Pollock painting of countless blue spots. Each lake offers the promise of adventure and solitude. You could explore for decades and never see them all. Best of all, an adventure here at the northern edge of the state doesn’t require previous experience other than being able to paddle and set up a campsite. “It doesn’t take any real skill,” says Sheryl Swenson, owner of Canadian Border Outfitters in Ely, Minnesota.

The experience begins as soon as the boat hits the water. “Once you’re out there, it’s true wilderness,” says James Watters, who spent a week in the area on an outfitter-led tour. They covered about 10 miles a day, averaging about 2 to 3 miles an hour. Perhaps the biggest challenge was learning to portage.

Simply put, perhaps several times a day you’ll have to pick up your gear, hold your canoe over your head, and walk to the next lake. Portages are measured by the rod, which is 16.5 feet. Some portages can be as short as five rods, while others might be 350 rods long. Outfitters offer Kevlar canoes, which weigh about 45 pounds for a two-person model. They may cost a few dollars more a day than heavier aluminum craft, but if you’re doing much portaging, consider it a wise investment.