A group of “modern-day treasure hunters” got the chance to camp out Saturday at Fort McAllister State Historic Park as part of the State Park system’s geocaching program.
Lisa Lui, marketing coordinator for Georgia State Parks, said geocaching has been held in a different state park each month since March.
“We were invited here by the park manager because this is such a unique experience to be able to camp on the fort,” she said, noting the group was also going to be treated to a candlelight tour of Fort McAllister. “Events like this encourage geotourism.”
According to Geocaching.com, geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game in which participants use GPS coordinates to find a hidden geocache, or container.
“Geocachers are people like us, who found an excuse to use billions of dollars worth of satellites to find Tupperware in the woods,” Kevin Michaud, also known as “Ranger Doc,” explained Saturday at Fort McAllister. “Basically it is a modern-day treasure hunt.  People place a geocache at a location near and dear to their heart, (like) a scenic view, and they try to bring you to that place for a reason.
“Geocaching is for all ages. There are geocaches for everybody — some will put you out on the water, climbing a mountain, and ones you can get to in a wheel chair. It is a good sport for everybody.”
According to the official geocache website, the eight steps of geocaching are:
• Register for a free basic membership at www.geocaching.com.
• Go to the “hide and seek” page, enter your ZIP code in the search bar.
• Pick one geocache from the list.
• Enter the coordinates in to a GPS device.
• Find the location of the cache.
• Sign the log book.
• Place the cache in its original location.
• Share your geocaching adventures online.
Christian Perry, 12, and his family rented one of the cabins Saturday at Fort McAllister and joined in on the geocaching fun.  
“I think geocaching is a good way to connect with your family and see who can find it( the cache) the fastest,” Perry said.