In Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, Captain Jack Sparrow has a magical compass that points in the direction of whatever treasure his heart desires.
Hunting for treasure has always proved alluring, both in fictional settings and in reality throughout history.
Today, there’s a modern day equivalent of that magical compass and the treasure hunt.
People who participate in an activity called geocaching use a similar tool, a Global Positioning Satellite receiver (GPS), to find treasures called caches, or geocaches, that are hidden all over the world.
Geocaching (pronounced geo-cash-ing) is basically a world-wide game of hide-and-seek. It started in 2000 after President Bill Clinton ordered the deactivation of selective availability (SA), which had scrambled the signals sent to commercial GPS units. 
SA caused the units to be off by several feet, sometimes even as much as the length of a football field. Previously, accurate GPS units had been limited to the military. After the removal of SA, any civilian with a GPS unit could pinpoint his location anywhere in the world.
Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, decided to test the accuracy of the upgraded GPS system by placing a bucket in the nearby woods of Portland, Ore., posting the coordinates online, and challenging readers to find the bucket.
Many did find the bucket. Afterward, others began to mimic Ulmer’s challenge and thus geocaching was born.
Today, people participate in geocaching world-wide. Monday, Dec. 8, it was reported on geocaching.com, that there are 696,092 active caches around the world.
A cache, or geocache, is a container which contains small trinkets and a log book that is used to record who has found the cache.
There are various types of caches. The traditional cache is a cache hidden in a particular location. The person who hides the cache, the keeper, posts the GPS coordinates online.
The cacher, the one looking for the cache, could then punch in the coordinates on his GPS unit and find the cache.
After finding the cache, the cacher would sign the log book and could either leave an item or swap an item from the box with another of equal or greater value.
A multicache is a cache that covers multiple locations. When following the coordinates given on the geocaching Web site, the cacher might be at a specific tombstone in a cemetery that contains information needed to find the next location.
Something like the birth and death dates or the name could be encoded GPS coordinates to the next cache, which could lead to another cache, until you finally get to the end of the multicache.
“I try to place caches where you can learn something about the history of the local area,” said Dan Henke, a local cacher and keeper who is vice president of the Historical Society and works as a librarian at the Curtis Laws Wilson Library on the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla.
Henke said he designs his multicaches so that through each cache, the cacher learns something about a particular historical person, place or thing in Rolla.
Caches can be placed in urban or wilderness areas. When placing a cache it is best to gain permission first, according to geocaching experts.
Most state parks and forest services respect geocaching because the hidden caches bring people to the area.
They also appreciate cachers because of the Cache In Trash Out (CITO) program found on geocaching.com, in which cachers are persuaded to collect trash along the trails as they search for caches and to properly dispose of the waste once they leave the trail.
Benjamin Cook, a senior at the University of Missouri – Columbia is another Rolla resident who enjoys geocaching as a hobby.
“It is a fun activity to let you act like you’re Indiana Jones or a daring adventure action hero. I love how you have to solve clues and fit the puzzle pieces together to find where you are going next.”
While geocaching, one can also get to meet new people and see new places. “Besides finding the geocache, you also find great scenery, historical sites, and friendly faces,” Cook said.
If a cache has any obscene material inside, the cache’s webpage will give a warning. However, the majority of caches are not obscene, but kid-friendly, which makes geocaching a great family activity, said experts. Many caches are also handicapped-accessible.
“All times of the year you see families doing it, older people doing it, it’s really for all ages,” Aimee Campbell, Chamber of Commerce Tourism director, said as she recalled the many times she has seen cachers searching for a cache that is hidden on the Visitor Center grounds.
“Geocaching can be anything for anybody at anytime,” Henke summed up.
So if you are in the mood for treasure hunting, just know that you don’t have to move to the coast and become a pirate.
All that is needed is a GPS unit and a free account on geocaching.com. After that your adventures can begin.
What one may discover is that the real treasure to be found in geocaching is that it is a great way to meet new people and spend time with friends and family, said those involved with the pursuit.