Garmin has emerged as one of the leading GPS manufacturers in the industry today. Durable, versatile, and dependable, these must haves have earned their place in the land (or water) of the GPS leaders. GPS devices today are made for boats, cars, ships, airplanes, the palm of your hand, and even cell phones now have some GPS capabilities. With handheld units, you can find roads, places of interest, obstructions, restaurants, hospitals, and you can even find yourself! How many products promise you that?



GPS units these days are not just for keeping people from getting lost or finding people if they are lost. People have long been playing games with these GPS units. They are a sort of find the hidden treasure game, called geocaching. Participants in these games use GPS to hide and find containers full of treasures, and they hide them and find them all over the world. The caches, which are the hidden containers, are usually somewhat small, waterproof, and contain a journal or note on paper with some sort of trinket, usually of little value. Geocaching has become a worldwide loved pastime, with the number of registered caches that are hidden approaching the 1,000,000 mark. These canisters are hidden on all seven continents (yes, even on Antarctica), and can be found in more than 100 different countries.

So how can GPS devices help find these treasures? The clues to finding them lie in location coordinates. The journal paper or note that is inside the cache contains the coordinates of that containers location. These coordinates are entered into an official geocaching website by the hider. The seeker sees that a cache is hidden at specific coordinates online, takes note, grabs his handheld GPS device, puts in the coordinates, and follows the trail by way of his GPS that will lead him right to the treasure.

Many people travel across the world to find these hidden caches in such places as the pyramids in Egypt, the Amazon Rain Forest, or even an igloo in Antarctica. Garmin is one of the most popular makers of handheld units. Their units are portable, fit comfortably in your hand, and are often sold as kits and adventure packs, complete with accessories. Garmin also makes dog tracking systems and units specifically to find you, and are appropriately named Ifinders.

Geocaching is a fun, worldwide treasure hunting game that is based on GPS technology, and participants claim they easily get hooked on the pastime. Just make sure that before you are off and running to find your next little hidden container you have your Garmin handheld GPS unit with you the treasure is sure to be yours.