Can you help get a NASCAR travel bug to Darlington, South Carolina? How about Pinky the Beach Bum closer to the beach? You just might be able to help if you visit Mill Pond Crawl, the cache located near the Mill Pond on the HCC campus. Blair Bishop HCC Geographic Information System/Global Positioning System Technology and Forest Management Technology instructor, hid the cache on Nov. 8.

Since then, more than 40 visits have been logged with various treasures passing through such as McDonald's gift certificates, World Trade Center decal, windsock, Tennessee Vols keychain, silver heart charm, Playskool dinosaur, and Lego dude. Seven travel bugs have also spent some time there, traveling a total of 877,771 miles.

According to www.geocaching.com, geocaching is an adventure game, a modern day treasure hunt, for GPS users. Some participants set up caches (pronounced cashes) all over the world and share their locations on the Internet. Users apply the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, the caches contain a wide variety of rewards, such as maps, books, CDs, or small toys. They may sometimes contain a hitchiker or travel bug — an item that can be moved from place to place, sometimes with a specific destination determined. Visitors to a cache are asked to sign a log and if they take a reward, leave something in its place. Each geocache is rated by difficulty of location and terrain.

The term cache can mean information stored in memory for faster retrieval or a hiding place for concealing and preserving provisions. Caches are usually waterproof containers and can be located above or below ground, as well as inside or outside a building.

“Geocaching is a great opportunity to bring people on campus to explore the grounds and encourage GPS enthusiasts to check out our campus,” Bishop explains.

What does a person need to get started in the geocaching sport? Simple-a GPS unit, an electronic device that can determine your approximate location on the planet. These units usually range from $100 to $1000 and can be found at any boating store or camping store.

When Bishop placed the cache on HCC's campus, he included a disposable camera, HCC pencils, calendars, and information on GIS/GPS.

According to Bishop, jobs in the GIS/GPS field are projected for high growth in the next several years. Units are bringing information such as county maps, sewer lines, and real estate up to date by developing digital databases.

Other uses may include emergency response professionals, private surveyors, architectural firms, or private environmental consulting groups.

To learn more about the Mill Pond Crawl or HCC's GIS/GPS program, please call Blair Bishop at 627-4566. For information on HCC's Natural Resources programs, call Student Services at 627-4500.