The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘Modern-day scavenger hunt’ a growing hobby
Atlantan uses GPS to find hidden treasures wherever he goes.
You likely don’t know this, but in downtown Atlanta, hidden under the right foot of a bronze statue of a certain former Atlanta mayor, is a geocache. There’s also one in a bush in Centennial Olympic Park. And another on Peachtree Street.
If you are wondering what a geocache is, then you’ve probably never heard of Sean Allen, founder of the newly formed Atlanta Area Geocachers who has hidden 52 items downtown.
“Geocaching is very much like a modern-day scavenger hunt,” said Allen, an account manager for Regency Lighting when he isn’t hiding, or finding, geocaches. Armed with a handheld GPS and the thrill of the hunt, Allen has discovered some 4,600 geocaches to date — there are more than a million scattered all over the world. Allen discussed his geocaching hobby, obsession really, and why people in the metro area could be staring at or sitting or standing on a geocache and not even know it. Q: Can you explain geocaching? A: You go to geocaching.com and set up an account — it is free. You enter a city or ZIP code, and you basically get a set of coordinates on the geocaches, also called caches, hidden in that area. You use a handheld GPS to locate the item you are searching for. It can range from a 35-millimeter film canister to a Tupperware container to an ammunition box. Or it could be a fake bird sitting in a tree or a fake piece of gum under a park bench. Sometimes they tell you what you are looking for and sometimes they don’t. Q: Who tells you? A: The players. Everybody who finds geocaches also hides geocaches. Q: You find the item. Then what? A: They all have a log book or something you can sign with your geocaching nickname. Q: I’ll bite. What is your nickname? A: Sean J. Allen. I wasn’t very creative when I set up my account and now it is too late. Q: Do you play as a team? A: Geocaching is an individual type thing. Caches are hidden on every continent