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Cache the Fever in Franklin County This Fall with Cache on the Coast

Grab your GPS and navigate to Franklin County this fall to try out one of the newest trends in outdoor activities. Find the secret hiding spots from Apalachicola to Alligator Point and you could win a Oyster-shaped Geocoin minted specially for the Franklin County Cache on the Coast Challenge.

The contest launched on Halloween and is just gearing up this month. Here's how it works. Hidden somewhere in Franklin County is a puzzle cache (GC369DD) containing 100 coupons each good for a Salty geocoin. To locate the cache which contains the elusive certificates, you must find the coordinates hidden in the lids of other geocaches in the area some new and some old scattered across the county. When you find the final cache, you may take a ticket and trade it for a coin. The location of the coins is given on the ticket. One coin per cacher please.

Geocache Basics

Geocaching, which combines the terms "geographical" and "cache," is an outdoor adventure that sends seekers on a treasure hunt for a containers of trinkets and prizes. Participants use a Global Positioning System receiver
(GPSr) to hide and seek containers called "geocaches" or "caches." A typical cache is a waterproof container containing a logbook.

Geocaching opportunities abound in Franklin County. According to Groundspeak, the organizer of the game, (www.groundspeak.com), there are nearly 200 geocache sites in our forests and towns and dotting the coast between Alligator Point and The western edge of Franklin County. Around the world, there are more than 1.2 million geocaches registered with Groundspeak including five in Antarctica and two on Easter Island.

In Franklin County, local enthusiasts report that the size of the caches range from "nanos", which can be smaller than a fingertip, to ammo cans.

Caches are rated by the difficulty level in locating them and also in terrain difficulty in accessing them. Difficulty ratings range from 1 to 5 "1" is a geocache out in the open which can be accessed by wheelchair and "5" which requires special tools, knowledge and physical endurance to retrieve the cache.

Each cache is identified by a waypoint designation which indicates the serial number assigned to the cache by the official geocache registry at Groundspeak. On websites such as www.geocaching.com, a cache may be pulled up by entering either the name of the Geocache (if known), the waypoint, or by typing in a zip code in the area in which you wish to seek.

A Sampling of Franklin County Geocaches

• A Cache for Lanark is a nano cache in Lanark Village: difficulty rating 2, terrain rating 1, waypoint designation GC11JXH.
• Big Mike's Hollywood's Finest is a regular cache in Carrabelle: difficulty rating 1, terrain rating 1.5, waypoint designation GC10H03.
• Boo is a nano in Apalachicola: difficulty rating 2.5, terrain rating 1, waypoint designation GCZ3ZE.
• Fish Man's Cache is a large cache in Eastpoint: difficulty rating 1, terrain rating 1, waypoint designation GC10Z55.
• Lost Dog is a regular cache in Apalachicola: difficulty rating 3.5, terrain rating 1, waypoint designation GCZNEX.
• Ghosts is small cache near Womack Creek difficulty rating 1.5, terrain rating 1.5, waypoint designation GC1VT3K.

Statewide, geocaching is even catching on at the official State tourism centers. VISIT FLORIDA recently partnered with a local community to develop the first official VISIT FLORIDA geocache. The I-75 Welcome Center is giving visitors the chance to “cache the fever” and explore geocaching in the Sunshine State. This multi-stage cache includes the coordinates for another cache located elsewhere in the state, which then leads to another. There are a total of five caches hidden for days of fun.

“Geocaching is a great way for outdoor enthusiasts to get out and see all that the Sunshine State has to offer,” says Kevin Mims, VISIT FLORIDA’s Outdoor & Nature Expert. “Whether you’re a novice or an experienced geocacher, there is an adventure for everyone.”

Geocaching is one of dozens of resource-based activities that will draw visitors to the coast this fall. Traditionally, fall fishing, hiking and canoeing or kayaking are big autumn draws for the natural coast. For a complete list of recreational activities in the county, visit our events page.