How the container got where it is and why it is there leads one to discover the fastest-growing high-tech game in existence today.

Geocaching derives its name from "geo" for geography, and caching, a term used in hiking and camping for the practice of concealing provisions.

"It has been described as a high tech-treasure hunt," said Indiana County Parks Director Ed Patterson.

Participants use hand-held Global Positioning System units, commonly called GPS, to find a cache by using coordinates posted to the geocaching Web site.

"The way the game works is you take something with you and leave something," said Patterson. "Inside will be a logbook for you to sign in on."

Patterson enlisted the expertise of Larry Konieczny of Shelocta, an experienced geocacher, to place caches in each of the county's parks.

"I am in favor of anything that will get people out and away from the TV," said Patterson. "The cache at Blue Spruce is in an area that most people don't go to."

"Kids enjoy it and the adults get some exercise."

Cache sites are usually chosen with great care.

"They always try to put the cache in a place of interest," said Konieczny about fellow geocachers "A historic spot or a pretty neat place with a view."

Konieczny has placed 14 caches and located 77 in his first year of participation.

"I was just in Kansas and located nine or 10 out there," said Konieczny "I like the ones that get you away from the hustle and bustle of people."

Geocaches have been hidden all over the United States and in 144 foreign countries.

How difficult a cache is to get to and find is determined by the person placing the cache. Sites on steep hillsides may require mountain-climbing equipment while others located underwater may require scuba gear.

"One cache in Kansas is called Sitting on a Spider," said Konieczny. "It was located on an old railroad pier in the middle of a river. I never did get that one. Its just amazing the ingenuity that people have."

Most caches, though, are easier to get to.

"Nine times out of 10, if it is located in a park, follow the trails and you will find it," said Konieczny

The geocache Web site lists a rating for every cache pertaining to difficulty, with one being the easiest and five being the most difficult. Sitting on a Spider is listed as a 5.

"There is a saying on the Web site, 'Put it and they will come,'" said Konieczny. "Well that's true, it's just amazing."

A variation of the basic cache is the multicache.

"The one I have on the Hoodlebug trail is a multicache," said Konieczny. "You find the first one and it gives you the coordinates for the next one."

Another variation is called a virtual cache. Geocachers place a riddle and a set of coordinates on the Web site. Players then go to the coordinates and try to solve the riddle through clues available at the location.

Coordinates can also be placed on the Web site in coded format and left up to the player to decipher. There is no limit to the complexity and number of variations for any given cache.

"There is a theme cache in Erie on Presque Isle State Park for the Lord of the Rings," said Konieczny. "There are nine or 10 stages, and to get the directions to the next stage you have to answer a question about the Hobbits."

Finding the location of a cache can be easier than finding the cache itself.

Geocachers have been known to camouflage containers, erect fake birdhouses and create bogus stumps to fool fellow geocachers.

Some of the items placed into caches contain special instructions on what should be done with the item.

Travel bugs are serialized metal tags placed in a cache and moved toward a destination chosen by its owner. The serial number located on a travel bug is entered on the geocache Web site that opens a page with special instructions about the bug.

One travel bug attached to a plastic duck named Luminous Larry has traveled nearly 9,000 miles since November 2001.

After being placed in a cache in California about the same time, a bug named Go fish has logged over 15,000 miles, including stops in Holland and Amsterdam.

Popular items placed in caches relate to the outdoors and hiking in general or to the historical significance of the location.

A cache placed in Kecksburg, Pa., is filled with alien-themed materials relating to an alleged crash landing of an alien spacecraft there in 1965.

Some geocachers place an unusual item as their signature.

A regular find in caches in Indiana County is a particular brand of wooden mousetraps and a small book on trees.

Items that should not be placed in a cache include explosives, ammo, drugs and alcohol. Food items should not be placed in a cache to prevent animals from finding and destroying the cache and/or injuring themselves.

The rules of geocaching are very simple. Take something from the cache, leave something in the cache and write about it in the logbook. Where a cache is located is up to the individual placing it.

Although a GPS unit makes geocaching much easier, it is not a requirement.

"Really you can do it without a GPS," said Parks Director Patterson "You can do it with a map and compass, and some people do just that."

With the prices of GPS units falling, geocaching has become an affordable hobby.

"This is a cheapie, $99," said Konieczny about his GPS unit. "That's all you need."

"A couple of months ago I couldn't even tell you how many county parks there are," said Konieczny "Now I can name them all."

The geocaching Web site is located at www.geocaching.com

Bob Sleigh covers the outdoors for the Indiana Gazette. Send him e-mail at outdoors@indianagazette.net