This Month:

• An Interview with the Dean of Geocacher University: Cacher Founds Institute of Higher Learning, by Tee King aka Pyewacket
• Why Do People Geocache?, by Tee King, aka Pyewacket

(Note: I asked CYBret, webmaster of Geocacher University if he would be willing to take time from his busy schedule and submit to an email interview for Today's Cacher. He graciously accepted. Rather than running the risk of omitting some of his wit, wisdom, and advice, I decided that it would be best to include the interview in its entirety.)

Tee
How long have you been caching, and how did you learn of the activity (sport, hobby...I never know what to call it specifically)?

CYBret
I first heard about geocaching through a friend who I worked with on some web projects. To back up just a little bit, I was starting to be referred to as a workaholic by a lot of my friends, a label I had never even considered for myself before. Everywhere I turned, people kept telling me that I needed a hobby and I honestly was trying to find one. But, I couldn't find anything that interested me, and most of what I tried was indoor stuff, so I'd just end up abandoning it and going back to work.

It was in January of 2002 that my friend Robyne emailed me about this new game she had seen on Tech TV. I checked out the website and immediately thought, "What a colossal waste of time!" However, the more I read the more interested I was, and I was surprised to discover that there were caches just down the road from me. By the middle of February, I had a GPS in my hand and found my first cache about an hour later. I was hooked.

Tee
How did the idea for Geocacher U come about? How long has the site existed, and what kind of hits do you get per month?

CYBret
Geocacher U has existed in one form or another for about two years now. It started out as simply a personal web page on the free web space that my ISP provided. Initially, it just contained information about my own caching techniques and experiences. I think I was getting about three visits a day, which I always found very humbling. I was still pretty much a newbie at this, back then. "Geocaching is merely a new incarnation of the human desire for discovery. It's elemental to who we are."

One night at a L.E.G.S. meeting (Little Egypt Geocaching Society), one of the members asked me about how I cached just using my Palm and not printing out sheets like he had been doing. Rather than explain the process over and over again, I went home and started composing him an email. That's when I realized that it really needed a visual element, so I turned it into a webpage and made it available to everyone. That's when things really started taking off.

The change over from "CYBret's Geocaching Page" to "Geocacher University" was a little strange, though. Basically, I was bored one Saturday afternoon and had noticed that CafePress.com was running a special on their hooded sweatshirts. I decided I wanted a hoodie for caching in, and-taking my inspiration from college sweatshirts-I designed a "Geocacher U" sweatshirt. Something about the name caught my attention and I realized that was pretty much what my personal webpage had been about-teaching people the ins and outs of geocaching. I bought the url about three hours later and had the page running by the following Tuesday. After four months of being online, we're getting about 100 visits a day.

Tee
What kind of services are offered on your site, and of these services, which seems to be the most widely viewed?

CYBret
Geocacher U is probably best known for the paperless caching page and the "Let's Go Geocaching" brochure. I average about ten visits to the paperless page every day, and the majority of those are new visitors.

The brochure was an idea I first had about two years ago and would work on a little here and there. It finally started to gel and I completed it in late February. It's been downloaded nearly 5000 times, which I'm absolutely amazed by. I get great comments from visitors all the time about how helpful it is. I really get a kick out of the stories I receive from people who use it to tell others "I get great comments from visitors all the time about how helpful [the brochure] is." about caching, and even get out of trouble with authorities.

However, what I continue to be surprised and gratified by is the response I get to my Backpage articles. I started including these about a year ago. They're basically articles I've written for our church newsletter-little encouraging, faith-filled articles. I probably average at least one or two emails a week from people who have read them and want to write to thank me. I can't begin to express how that makes me feel.

Tee
Are there any features you have planned for your site that we can look forward to seeing in the future?

CYBret
Hmmmmm....trying to get the scoop here, are you? Well, I've been spending a lot of time on an extended article that will eventually replace the "Basic Caches" section of my site. I'm very eager to see what the reaction to that will be. Personally, I think it will be helpful and I've had a lot of great responses from my test audience so far. It should be ready in the next month.

The "Let's Go Geocaching" brochure continues to evolve. It seems like I'm always tightening it up or changing a word here or there. I recently added a form on the back that allows you to add your own personal information to the brochure before you print it out. I've also made a few changes that make it a bit more "Canadian-friendly" which I was very glad to do. Be sure to check back on it from time to time; don't assume you've got the final version, because that just hasn't happened yet.

Other than that, I can't give away too much, so we'll see what happens. I just want to make sure I'm having fun doing it. I already have a job. ;-)

Tee "By the middle of February, I had a GPS in my hand and found my first cache about an hour later. I was hooked."
You hand a complete geocaching newbie a GPS and a list of coordinates. What tips do you also give him in finding his first cache?

CYBret
First of all, just go have fun. Arm yourself with as much knowledge as you need to work a GPS, download the waypoint and get out there. Let's admit it, this game isn't all that complicated. Just go do it.

Tee
What future do you see for geocaching?

CYBret
(Doing my best to sound professorial) Geocaching is merely a new incarnation of the human desire for discovery. It's elemental to who we are. As long as we keep doing what we're made to do we'll keep geocaching in one form or another.