A person is seen wandering from tree to tree, checking every nook and cranny, looking for some kind of capsule containing a list of names and possibly something else entirely. No, this isn’t the plot of the next Indiana Jones movie  — it’s geocaching, a GPS-based scavenger hunt that’s been happening since 2000.
Geocaching is “a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices,” according to the official geocaching website. Although not new, the activity has seen a resurgence around the University, with new caches popping up earlier this month and avid searchers scouring the campus to find the trove of geocaches.
The premise is simple: go to geocaching.com and search for geocaches with GPS coordinates or other location information. Then use the information given and a GPS to locate the geocache.
Megan Kleefisch, anthropology freshman, said she found out about geocaching through a friend in New Orleans, who invited her on a search for caches. She said she liked the idea of a “worldwide scavenger hunt.”
For those without a GPS, the creator of the geocache will leave hints on the geocache’s page to guide people to the location.
But beyond the hints and GPS, hunters have to scour the area for the exact location.
Sometimes the site will have more specific hints in the form of an encrypted message pointing the searcher in the right direction of the exact location. The decryption key is posted next to the hint, and a “decrypt” button is next to the hint for those who don’t want to spend time decoding.
The excitement isn’t in the decryption, though  — it’s in the search. Some caches are cleverly camouflaged to conceal them from the casual passer-by. Others are buried in hills, buildings and trees.
Kleefisch said she once spent hours looking for a cache with her cousins in Florida when it started to rain, forcing them under cover. Undaunted, they searched for another cache after the rain ended, finding it within minutes.
Finding the cache is perhaps the most satisfying part of the process. The cache will usually have a log where those who manage to find the hidden treasure sign their name and the date visited.
A cache located between the agricultural engineering buildings and the poultry science building was nestled deep in the cranny of a great oak tree. The small clear canister contained a rolled up piece of paper, with about five visits logged in the past week from couples, solo hunters and friend groups.
Some caches are more difficult to find than others, like a recently placed cache titled “A Noble Quest” located up in a tree near the side of the University bookstore.
College students aren’t the only ones searching for geocaches. Charlene Mancuso, a 54-year-old resident of McComb Miss., placed “A Noble Quest” with her sister while on a campus hunt. It is a great way for her and her husband to pass the time “while out galavanting,” Mancuso said in an email.
Kleefisch said sometimes the caches can get creative, with one of her most memorable finds being a hidden jar full of pennies, where each person who found the cache added another penny inscribed with their initials to the jar.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Angela Major

A cache containing a note sits in a tree Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014 in between the Poultry Science and the Agricultural Engineering buildings.