Geocachers part of citywide cleanup effort

A local news article, but I thought the idea of geocachers was an appropriate one for a treasure hunter's blog. It's all part of the lust of the hunt. And these guys are ecologically conscious, with it.

Geocachers part of citywide cleanup effort

Ehud Torres carried a black trash bag as he and two friends picked up discarded cans, wrappers and other garbage out of the brush Saturday morning along a path in the Skyline Wilderness Area.

The ground was soggy, and the strong winds whipped around the three members of the Black Hills geocaching group, but the dreary weather did not detour them from participating in the 40th annual Rapid City Clean Up Day.

Geocaching is a treasure-hunting game played throughout the world using GPS devices; players locate hidden containers and log finds online.

Despite the cold, Torres still enjoyed spending the morning outside and cleaning up the area for others to enjoy.

“Look where we live. We live in the Black Hills,” Torres said. “It’s beautiful.”

The local geocaching group was one of about 50 groups scheduled to clean up different sections of Rapid City on Saturday.

About 30 members of the organization picked up trash around the Skyline Drive area, which is a popular spot for the members, since about 14 caches are located in the area, according to Mark Klewicki, event coordinator for the group.

“We decided rain or shine we would do it,” Klewicki said. “Most people here believe in taking care of the environment.”

In fact, geocaching and environmental consciousness go hand in hand. Saturday was also the geocaching world’s environmental initiative, Cache In Trash Out day. Geocachers are encouraged to take along trash bags and pick up garbage anytime they look for caches.

As they were picking up garbage, Torres and Jared Hannon, 9, found one of the hidden caches with the help of Hannon’s father, Troy Hannon, who had found it on another day. Troy Hannon introduced Torres to the game. Both are airmen at Ellsworth Air Force Base; Torres used to be one of Hannon’s troops.

Across town at the city landfill, area residents went on a different kind of treasure hunt at the Trash to Treasure exchange. Anyone could drop off or take items from a designated area throughout the day.

George Nalley of Piedmont hauled in a truck and trailer full of school desks, computer towers and printers and brought home a dishwasher he picked from the treasure pile.

“I look forward to this week because it’s a free way to clean up stuff,” Nalley said. “The more trash I get, the less it looks like treasure.”

Kevin Hayes and his two stepchildren, Kortney Scheffert, 12, and Trevor Whitehead, 9, sifted through the discarded items. They took home a bicycle, boat parts and an antelope decoy.

Hayes’ only regret was not being able to bring in his own things for the program because of the rain.

“I think it’s a good way to keep from filling the landfill up,” said Hayes, of Hermosa.

Jerry Wright, the city’s solid waste superintendent, said anything left over from the Trash to Treasure exchange would be either discarded or recycled.

“We won’t throw anything good away,” Wright said.

Area residents could also dump trash at the landfill for free all day Saturday.