Geocaching celebrates 25 years of treasure hunting
The reward? Usually just the chance to sign his name in a logbook.
The Columbus teacher is a geocacher, and for millions like him, the hobby is more about the journey than the destination.
Why it matters: Geocaching, a global treasure hunting game, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
The free game encourages people to explore places familiar and new.
State of play: The first cache was placed in Oregon by a GPS enthusiast in 2000, and now there are over 3 million around the world.
That includes nearly 700 located within 10 miles of downtown Columbus, per Chris Ronan, spokesperson for the official Geocaching website.
👀 They're all around you: tucked inside tree hollows, under park benches or hanging on chain-link fences.
The locations are just sneaky enough that non-players (known as "muggles," like in Harry Potter) are unlikely to discover and take them.
How it works: Anyone can post caches to the Geocaching site with coordinates guiding seekers to an approximate spot. Clues sometimes offer help.
It's an accessible game for all ages and abilities — caches range in difficulty, from quick grabs to requiring all-day hikes or lengthy puzzles to solve.
Flashback: Klinger, the Columbus teacher, had never heard of geocaching when his daughter brought home a toy found inside a cache near their home in 2008.
He set out to find others across town and was quickly hooked.
Then came whole geocaching trips all over the country, and Klinger became the leader of the Central Ohio GeoCachers group.
Stunning stat: Klinger logged his 10,000th cache last year in Oklahoma City, a milestone involving a horror-themed escape room.
He especially loves group outings and "experience" caches like that one.
The other side: Others find joy in simply locating as many as possible. One friend has racked up nearly 50,000 over the years.
"That's what I love about geocaching," Klinger tells Axios. "Everyone makes it what they want it to be."
Klinger's advice for getting started
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