“We’re not lost, we just don’t know where we are,” says Abe Yoni, as we bounce along what we think is Lousetown Road in his Jeep, following the arrow on his busted up ETrex GPS unit, which is pointing off across the rocky countryside to the east. He back pedals; he actually knows where we are, just not where we’re going – a tedious distinction for someone who loves to wander about in the Virginia Range hunting for treasure.

We pull up next to Gary and MaryAnn Hoffman in their white Jeep. They open the door and Yoni asks them where the cache is, since they actually placed the cache, which they named “All We Had,” some four years earlier. All we get are confused looks and head scratches as they each point to a different road.

The Tools
To start geocaching, you only need a GPS, a small handheld device that reads signals from a network of satellites, which relay geographic data via a radio signal called the Global Positioning System. Using the info that 'cachers enter on Geocaching.com when they hide their caches, combined with your wits, you can find caches all over the world. Once you find one, you sign the register found inside it and report your find on the Web.

“A lot of caches take you to places that you would never think about going,” says MaryAnn. “A lot of the state historical markers around here have little magnetic caches so people can learn about the history of the area.” The Hoffmans have found a Native American burial ground in Carson City and a Civil War cemetery in Reno that they never would have noticed otherwise.

At the beginning of our trip, in a parking lot in south Reno, the Hoffmans introduced me to Abe Yoni, Mike Jacobus (publisher of Geocacher magazine) and Elisika Arango. Then Gary hands me the GPS, with a digital pointer on its screen that points to our objective, the "All We Had" cache, which is somewhere behind the Qdoba restaurant on Damonte Ranch Blvd.

“You think, ‘Oh cool, it’ll just take me right to it!’ WRONG,” Gary tells me. I look confused; he laughs.

Sure enough, Arango and I follow the GPS across the parking lot and end up 20 feet apart, due to the imprecision of the system. Still, those 15-30 variable feet of accuracy are far more precise than what any paper map can do. But finding caches is still a challenge. We end up at a dumpster next to a large, green electrical box. The clue from Geocaching.com has told us that the cache is NOT on the dumpster, so we look around on the electrical box, checking for fake bolts, hinges or cooling fins that may conceal it. Finally, we find a small, fingertip-sized container stuck to the box by a magnet, and pull it off. The register for us to sign is a tiny slip of paper rolled up inside it.

Game, Sport or Hobby – You Decide
Geocaching is something different for everyone. Some caches are very hard to find, because of their containers or the camouflage. Some are puzzles, such as one the Hoffmans have yet to find. “It’s a map with a mathematical equation that you have to go through and calculate,” says Gary. “There’s another cache whose clue base is all part of a movie!”

“We take our kids [geocaching] to get them out of the house, so they’re not sitting in front of video games,” says Arango.

“Some are purposely made for families so kids can enjoy them,” says Yoni, whose children are 4 and 13. “They’re looking for a treasure like an ammo box full of toys. That’s really a treasure hunt!”

“I have three kids and they all like something different about it,” says Jacobus. “My 14-year-old is Mr. Can’t-be-bothered.” He likes easy caches that you just drive up to, Jacobus explains. But his daughter is just the opposite. "She wants to solve the puzzle, or spend three hours hiking. She’s all about the challenge.”

The Find!
We finally reach the cache we’ve been looking for. The Hoffmans are getting out of their Jeep, looking satisfied. Abe and I follow GPS arrows off into the pines. Abe finds the cache first – a small red Christmas ornament hanging from a tiny pinyon pine. Abe looks askance at the choice of cache. “It’s All We Had!” say the Hoffmans, brimming with mirth.

Mike has logged in many hours bouncing down remote dirt roads, tromping through streams, climbing piles of rocks and getting lost. This was his first experience with geocaching, but the hunt is always for beauty and the treasure is the hunt…