BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Jay Toepke is a geochacher’s geocacher, and he would love for you to join him.
The president of the North Dakota GeoCaching Association (NDGCA) enjoys hiding geocaches, finding geocaches, converting new geocachers or just talking about this recreational activity designed to get people into the great outdoors.
“What do I enjoy most? I’m not sure. I don’t think I like either one better (hiding or finding). I put a lot of effort in. And I also like reading the comments,” Toepke said.
The best thing about this exploding form of treasure hunting is how it gets people outdoors, which has a positive effect on physical and mental well-being. And geocachers learn something about locations they hunt.
“It takes you to places that you’ve never heard of or thought to stop at,” Toepke said. “It’s incredible. It’s a fantastic thing to be doing, a family-friendly outdoor adventure.”
What exactly is geocaching? Basically, it’s an outdoor treasure hunt using global positioning systems (cell phones work, too) to find hidden containers with trinkets, messages or other treasures. When found, geocachers take a trinket and leave a trinket or write a message to verify they found the cache.
Geocaching actually started in 2003 in Beavercreek, Oregon. From that one location, geocaching has grown to include millions of locations around the world and not just in the middle of nowhere. The NDGCA recently celebrated the state’s oldest geocache known as GC551 – The Buck Stops Here! It happens to be at Buckstop Junction in Bismarck and is one of about 400 within the Bismarck-Mandan city limits, according to Toepke, who explained a secondary function of geocaching.
“At Buckstop Junction, some of the people said they didn’t even know it (Buckstop Junction) was here, and it’s been here 30 years, and the geocache 20 years,” Toepke said.
Toepke said he tries to add a learning element to his geocaches, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
“I hide one, I post it. You look it up and download it into your phone or GPS and you search for it,” Toepke said. “When you find it, you log it on paper and log your geocaching name on the website. Mine are not hard to find. Personally, I try to take people places to see things.”
Toepke has geocaches at the State Railroad Museum in Mandan, the OWLS Pond at Game and Fish and at Main and Ninth in Bismarck, part of the Bismarck to Deadwood Stage Trail that also includes caches at Flasher and near Carson. “I try and do an educational thing, to take them some place interesting to do more than geocache,” he said.
The proliferation of cell phones with location technology has led to an explosion in geocachers. Toepke has gotten to know a lot of fellow enthusiasts through face-to-face interaction or online chats. But there are many more he meets for the first time at events like Buckstop Junction. He attributes some of that to affects of COVID-19 and the emphasis on social distancing.
“In 2020, I had so many new names I had never heard of before, of families that were out geocaching with their families,” Toepke said. “A lot of us are encouraging people new to it to go out and we know their names. But these people went out on their own, and many I had never met. At the Buckstop Junction thing, I met some and it was nice to put a face to the name.”
While Toepke personally prefers hiding caches that are rather simple to find, he’s not against taking on a true challenge.
“I have had several that I did not find and posted them DNF (did not find) because whoever hid that must have done it well,” Toepke said. “I’m proud of that person.”
But for newbies, like young kids getting into geocaching, Toepke prefers those that are easier to locate.
“A lot of people are using cell phones because it’s so easy. Say you go to Jamestown and you see there is a geocache nearby, you can grab your phone and head to the geocache,” Toepke said. “My granddaughter is in first grade. I asked her if she wanted to go geocaching or go have a snack. She wanted to geocache – at 6 years old. Kids love to geocache, so I try to fill them with bubble gum machine toys. Kids want treats.”
For a real treat, Toepke suggests following Geocaching Vlogger Johsua Johnson, who built what was called a “gadget cache” in the Gilby area and described it as the “Disneyland of Geocaching.”
“If you want to know what geocaching is about,” Toepke said, “this guy can get you excited.”
Founded in 2009, the NDGCA organizes events, works with landowners for placement of new geocaches (they must be 550 feet apart and can’t include food or dangerous items) and host weekly Facebook chats and an annual Camping and Caching event each year. To find out more, go to www.ndgca.org.
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