The new activity, known as geocaching, has been around for 10 years. A cache is a container hidden anywhere in the world and may contain a logbook or personal treasures. The idea started when Dave Ulmer of Beaver Creek, Ore., buried a bucket at a stash point containing random items. He posted the location on the Internet and told people to go out and find them with GPS technology.

Within a 50-mile radius of Tombstone, there are between 800 and 1,000 caches, according to local cachers.

The reason the sport is still relatively new stems from a ban during the Clinton administration on civilians using highly accurate satellite-navigation systems in the U.S. The ban was lifted to bring benefits to transportation safety, scientific and commercial interest, including NASA operations.

"We get to use million dollar government equipment to find Tupperware," said Josh "TacoDust" Hawley, who works at the O.K. Corral.

Currently caches can be found in more than 100 countries and on all seven continents. There are around a million caches worldwide.

Of the eight types of caches, the most popular are traditional, multi-stage caches, which involves finding a cache that leads explorers to the coordinates of another cache; and the mystery/puzzle cache, which is solving a puzzle before claiming the find.

"Sometimes it's easy to over-think the puzzle cache and it takes you awhile to figure out," said Karin Collins who works at Russell's Roadrunner Western Store.
Also, the sizes range from micro (such as a 35mm film canister) to large (such as a five-gallon bucket).

The difficulty ratings for each cache can rank from a one-star, which is easy to find, up to a five-star, which is the most difficult. The terrain is also measured on a scale of 1 to 5.

Geocachers must follow three rules: when taking something from the cache, leave something of equal value; sign the logbook; and log the experience online.
Geocaching has become popular worldwide because anyone can do it from little kids to grandparents, according to Karin Collins who, in her own experience, has found caches in places ranging from Tombstone to Europe.

"It gets you out and gets you to exercise," Collins said.

Collins owns 30 caches and claims to have found more than 600. She said she has taken a liking to geocaching because it takes explorers to places they may never have otherwise ventured.

Collins and her husband, Chuck, make up the C&K Desert Dwellers, a team of geocachers, and have found caches in Germany, Italy, Austria, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio and Arizona.

Some people even think of geocaching as something more than a leisurely activity.

"Geocaching is a great sport and it's better than sitting in front of a TV," said Hawley. "It's when nerds and the outdoors collide."

Now people in Tombstone are spotting these cachers walking around town searching for the hidden containers.

"I see them walking around with their GPS trying to locate the cache," said outdoor enthusiast and Tombstone local Tom Clark. "I usually see two a week at the Crystal Palace."

Caches are hidden all over Tombstone from the O.K Corral (which is virtual, meaning that the O.K. Corral is the cache, and there is no cache container) to the Schieffelin Monument.

Geocaching is a good way to get tourist to visit all types of stores they might not usually go to, according to Darba Jo Butler of the Bird Cage Theatre.

"Half the fun is the journey and not the destination," Hawley said. "When I go on vacation it's a free thing to do and you get to see some cool things [such as] wildlife, beautiful views of nature, or different stores and buildings."

Geocaching is popular among the military personnel in Sierra Vista, according to Collins and Hawley, because they have the technology and they like to hike.

Cachers have been organizing clean up events worldwide to give back to the environment. This is called the "Cache In Trash Out Event" in which geocachers clean up parks and other cache-friendly places. Cachers are also encouraged to take garbage bags with them while geocaching, so they can pick up any trash they come across.

Anyone interested in joining the activity can visit geocaching.com and sign up for a free membership. A new cacher can search locations by postal code, click on a certain cache, enter coordinates into a GPS device and then share stories and photos from their adventures online.