Geocaching or Geocapsuling? A New Spin

While Geocaching enthusiasts ramp up for an active season, an intriguing extension of that sport has recently surfaced. It is called Geocapsuling, and it? based on the discreet placement of wilderness time capsules for young family members to retrieve, months or years into the future.

Sheltered inside hollow, polyurethane replicas of actual rocks or logs, small stainless steel time capsules are protected from the harsh extremes of environment. As in Geocaching, they are purposely left behind. But this new adventure beckons a future generation of explorers into our American wilderness.

Geocapsuling has markings of the higher profile sport of Geocaching, but it differs in a few distinct areas. Geocapsuling caches are prepared for just one special person, not groups of recurring visitors, as in Geocaching. They are left in an environmentally disguised housing, not exposed in plastic Tupperware or metal ammo cans that are typical of Geocaching. And unlike Geocaching, these personal time capsules provide a dual family event for both those who leave the cache and those who retrieve it.

The family orientation is purposeful. It's an opportunity for older family members to plant not only a small generational gift for future retrieval, but also spark an new incentive for exploration among younger family members. Having all the elements of a GPS based wilderness treasure hunt, the eventual rediscovery trek can occur days or years after the original placement. And because this is a two-sided adventure, the fun is shared by those who plan and by those who retrieve.

Special stainless steel time capsules meant for the activity are built to survive environmental extremes. And the remarkably realistic polyurethane rock (or log) housings that shield these small, confined treasures are virtually indiscernible from any other natural feature, even on close inspection.

Protecting capsule contents for an extended stay and choosing a remote drop-site are critical factors to consider. And since fostering an appreciation for the wilderness experience is a goal of the sport, the region of placement should be given high priority. These issues are fully discussed at the sponsoring website called TimeInACapsule.com. Interesting visual examples of the rock and log replicas can also be seen here.

What should you include inside your time capsule? Well, the stainless containers are deliberately small, slightly larger than a soft drink can. So you will find room for private notes, a few photos, a personal item or two. Discovering a gift, keepsake or remembrance in the cache would no doubt add to the surprise of your explorer descendants. But the excitement for a future generation to locate a spectacular wilderness spot visited by parents or grandparents in previous years could be priceless.

Is either Geocapsuling or Geocaching "littering" as some have claimed? That will be a hard sell to hundreds of thousands of current and responsible wilderness devotees around the world. And Geocapsuling incorporates so many alluring elements of a treasure hunt that the camouflaged gems left by an earlier generation are not likely to be abandoned by any intended recipient.

As with Geocaching, some public lands are off limits to Geocapsuling. Find help in identifying both public and private land alternatives at the Time In A Capsule website.