Ferncroft Geocaching Hike to Mt. Katherine Saturday

SANDWICH — The Sandwich Historical Society is sponsoring a geocaching hike to Mt. Katherine from Ferncroft on July 11. Participants will gather at the Sandwich Town Hall parking lot at 9:15 am and leave promptly at 9:30 am.

The hike will feature points of interest about the flora and fauna found along the trails, along with a bit about the human history of the area. The sport/hobby of geocaching will also be introduced. The hike will include some moderate physical activity, and is open to all ages of capable hikers. We will finish the hike and be back at the Ferncroft parking lot for departure sometime between 2 and 3 p.m.

Come dressed properly for hiking and with appropriate footwear such as sneakers or hiking boots with a good tread.

Geocaching incorporates a bit of a treasure hunt aspect to hiking using a GPS enabled device such as a smart phone or a handheld GPS device. Geocaches are hidden containers filled with tradable items that can be found using GPS coordinates provided at www.geocaching.com. It costs nothing to register for an account, and it is recommended to check out the web site before the hike, if you are not yet familiar with this very enjoyable and popular activity. In order to take a collectable item from a geocache, you must put in at least one item of your own. Examples of tradable items are fast food meal toys, small toys, gadgets, promotional items received at conferences, and interesting collectible items. See the site www.geocaching.com for more details about the kinds of things that are acceptable to trade and which are not.

For the hike, please bring in a comfortable pack with two shoulder straps:

· at least two water bottles per hiker, a lunch and some snacks;

· rain jacket or poncho (we will hike if there is a risk of light isolated showers);

· GPS device (not required for hike, we can share devices);

· at least 4 tradable items per hiker, as there are opportunities for finding several caches;

· your sense of adventure, an openness to making new friends and your curiosity about the human and natural history of the wonderful town in which we live!

There will be a rain date of Saturday, July 18th. Please check the Sandwich Board for messages of cancellation the day before the hike. You may also check the forecast for that day to decide on your comfort level with what the day will hold weather wise. Lastly, there will be a representative of the Historical Society at the Town Hall parking lot at the departure time to inform you if the hike has been cancelled or not. For more information call 284-6269.