INUVIK
Thanks to a new program introduced by NWT Tourism and Parks via the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, a series of geocaches have been set up around the area to entice people into spending some time in the great outdoors.

Wendy Brake of NWT Tourism and Parks helps set up several geocaches in the Inuvik area to help entice people into enjoying more of the outdoors activities in the region. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

"Geocaching is like a high-tech scavenger hunt," said Wendy Brake during the Parks Day festivities July 19 at the Western Arctic Regional Visitor Centre.

Brake is a parks interpreter and event planner with the department.

She conducted two brief geocaching sessions with people in attendance at the event, giving them a quick rundown on how the activity works.

Fundamentally, the sport is a fairly simple one, requiring only the use of a device with global positioning system (GPS) capability.

Specialized GPS receivers are likely more practical for the sport, but smartphones can be used as well.

Participants download or program the co-ordinates of geocaches into their devices which will then guide them to the area of the cache.

Each cache will usually have some form of notebook, and maybe a few trinkets that people can trade for something they bring.

The notebook is used to sign the finder's name, a way of stating "I was here and found the cache."

The high-tech hunting has become an extremely popular pastime, Brake said.

The main website for the sport is geocaching.com.

There have been a few caches in and around Inuvik over the last few years, but several aren't active or maintained anymore.

Brake has helped set up several new caches around the region, particularly in the territorial parks.

"Geocaches have been installed at the visitor's centre, Happy Valley Park, Jak Park, Gwich'in Park and Nitainlaii Park," she said.

"By going to www.geocaching.com you will find the coordinates."

Some groups have already been out to find the caches outside of town in particular, which shows

the sport does have a future here, Brake said.

"It's basically just a way to entice people into getting outside and enjoying what we have to offer," she added.