University of Maine students unknowingly walk past hidden treasures all the time. These treasures are called geocaches, and they are increasing in numbers. Two call UMaine's campus home.

A geocache is a container, similar to a time capsule, that trail enthusiasts and avid global positioning system users play with in a game.

Described as a "high-tech treasure hunting game" by geocaching.com, the idea is to make a capsule, hide it in a remote area, post coordinates online and send the public looking for it.

People find the caches with GPS units. The hobby has only picked up in the past seven years due to advances in GPS technology.

The Web site currently reports 678,680 caches around the world. Each cache contains different treasures, but they are meant for people to share, not take.

"The typical rules of etiquette are involved," said Zachary Platt, a UMaine electrical engineering technology student and geocache enthusiast.

If a person likes something in the cache, they must replace it with another interesting object.

"It's kind of like one of those take-a-penny, leave-a-penny things," Platt said.

He recalls one instance of trading a hematite stone for a giant rubber-band ball. Sometimes people don't exchange.

One cache found on campus had nothing but a long roll of paper with a list of names of those who had found it.

Most caches contain a logbook, pen, objects of local interest and other small treasures. Some contain digital cameras to log the faces of discoverers. When people find the cache, they report the find on geocaching.com to let the public know it still exists.

"All sorts of stories are attached to these things," Platt said.

Locations of caches all over the world can be found at the geocaching Web site. Coordinates and a few hints are given. GPS coordinates only get searchers so far. They will get a person to the general location, but finding the cache is often a different story.

Cache planters rank the location on a 1-5 scale in both difficulty reach and difficulty to find - one being the easiest. Platt explained that some caches are hard to get to but easy to find, while others may be simple to get to but tough to find. In a recent adventure, Platt and his usual team of searchers - roommates and friends - spent almost an hour searching for a cache in Bradley.

"I didn't consider how carefully people have hid them," Platt said.

Upon finally retrieving the cache, they found it was an old ammo case buried deep within a rock pile.

"We're pretty tenacious about it," Platt said.

In the ammo case was a bear carved out of wood, which Platt's friend traded for a sun-based compass. The logbook was lacking a pen, so Platt added one.

Platt and his crew came across the idea of geocaching on the Internet. Among roommates and friends, the group usually fluctuates between four or five people.

"We try to find something for us to have a common bond," he said.

Platt's group has taken two hunting excursions. They first searched the Orono area, finding one of two caches hidden in and around campus. In another search of the Bangor area, the team found one of four hidden within a half-mile radius of the city. Platt said bad weather kept them from finding the other caches.

The group plans to search again for the ones they didn't find.

Most geocachers use a GPS system, but Platt explains, "If you want to get really hardcore about it, there are ways to do it without GPS."

One is the "Magellan Way," which uses compass positions to reference the cache spot.

Platt advises to bring proper attire when looking for a geocache. It is not always clear where the hunt will lead a group. He suggests decent boots, long pants, a pencil, paper and a camera.

Geocaching.com suggests packing food, water, extra clothing, a map and a compass. They also strongly advise hunters let someone know where they are going, for safety purposes. Platt suggests bringing at least a friend or two along.

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