Grandbuck loves geocaching!
Geocaching is a fun activity that combines high tech with hide and seek. Basically, “caches” are hidden all over the world and you can use a GPS to locate them, sometimes right in plain sight in the middle of crowded spaces. Some are physical containers, and others are virtual or earth caches that require gathering information at the site in order to log the find on the website. We love the places this hobby takes us! Geocaching will lead you to popular tourist locations, but many times you will discover a unique place of interest or a historical event in an area that most people don’t know about. Searching for these places is the real treasure hunt.
To learn more about geocaching, check out the website, watch the video, setup an account with your geo alias name, then get out there and explore:
Granbuck’s adventures
When traveling to new locations, do a search for caches with a lot of favorite points, then target those as the ones to find while there. Usually those will take you to the most interesting places.
Some of the best caches we have found are:
Great Smoky Mountains
Most of these are virtual or earth caches as physical containers are not allowed to be hidden in the National Park.
Grotto Falls (GC2C4B) - a 2.6 mile roundtrip hike to a 25 foot waterfall that you can walk behind. This is on the Trillium Gap Trail that llamas use to transport supplies to the lodge on top of Mount Leconte.
Cades Cove has several geocaches along the 11 mile loop road in the Smokies. Beautiful views and if you are lucky you might see some bears.
NP Smoky Mountains - Clingmans Dome (GC77NX0) - A popular tourist location at the top of the Smokies. Great views after short, although steep, paved walk up to the observation tower.
MT.Leconte (GC53A5) - This one is the top of the mountain. There are several trails, ranging between 11 miles and 16 miles roundtrip. It is a strenuous but rewarding hike. Depending on your route, you can “find” other caches along the way.
Townsend
Whopper (GC1XH0Y) - Located at the end of the Townsend bike trail, also near Little Arrow Resort. A large container with a lot of room for swag and interesting stories.
Our Smoky Mtn Heritage (GCV8N8) - A nano container at a nice place to visit, The Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend.