Hunting for a new hobby Published June 18, 2007 By Victoria Brayton 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- She walked across the cemetery and through to the park. No luck. She proceeded past the park, discovering a second cemetery. Gingerly examining her surroundings, she approached a bush. At last the hunt was over, and Staff Sgt. Deborah Brumback was victorious. This trip was one of many searches Sergeant Brumback conducted as a fun pastime known as Geocaching. She first heard of the hobby through a show on the Travel Channel. "I was in Columbus on leave for three months, so I was dying to get out of the house," she said. Geocaching gave her just what she was looking for. Using a GPS device and coordinates taken from www.geocaching.com, anyone can begin their search to find the caches, which are small boxes or even film canisters hidden by other members who use the website. Becoming a member is free, and caches are hidden all over the globe. Some members leave hints about where they hid them while others leave only the coordinates. After entering the zip code of the location you want to search, you can pick from a number of different caches, hidden at various levels of difficulty. "I tried to pick an easy one first," Sergeant Brumback said. "The funny thing was that it was over in a park near a fire station and I'm over there looking and trees thinking they're probably going to call the cops, but they didn't!" Once the cache is found, you can log your name on a paper in the cache or on the website as a record of your success and return the hidden treasure to the same spot. The search can be a great way for people to explore new surroundings on vacations or after a move. "It's good for people who just got here or even just the (Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training) pilots who want to explore the city," Sergeant Brumback said, adding that she is now using Geocaching to check out new places. She said she has found about five caches so far, taking about 10 minutes on average for each. Friends and family can do the hunt together, but she said she even brings her dog along with her for help. "I have a beagle who sniffs stuff out, but the ones up in the trees he's not too good about," she said, laughing. With a GPS device as the only required equipment, Geocaching can be a great new hobby for anyone to explore.