Almost everyone in the INKY community knows or has at least heard of the CAMPING HOOSIERS. Charter members from 2001, they often attend event caches, have a few hundred finds, and have hidden nearly 50 geocaches over the years. What many may not realize is how this team of geocachers got its start.

After suffering a spinal cord injury in August of 2001, Jeff (Father and Founder of CAMPING HOOSIERS), was hospitalized for two months. Largely paralyzed from the waist down, Jeff was unable to perform basic daily activities without assistance. While recovering, he came across some information about geocaching in an on-line forum sponsored by RV Net.

Looking back, Jeff commented saying, “I thought it would be a good idea to go hiking in the forest in search of hidden treasure…must have been the medication! What amazes me to this day is that Dana (Mother of CAMPING HOOSIERS) actually went along with it.”

No doubt, Jeff is living proof that geocaching can be for everyone and is a great motivator to get out there and get moving. Through rehabilitation therapy and the therapeutic effects of geocaching, the CAMPING HOOSIER family is pleased to report that Jeff is upwardly mobile these days. So much, in fact, that this interview was “a virtual,” if you will, as Jeff was out-of-town on a business trip when interviewed. Jeff works in transportation management and is Vice President of National Distributors, Inc. Dana works in retail sales and is employed by the Target Corporation. Other CAMPING HOOSIERS include their three daughters: Jinnifer(14), Daniele(11) aka DEE TWO, and Jordann(8).

As a team of five, CAMPING HOOSIERS share three GPS units, two Garmin Legend models, and DEE TWO has her own yellow Garmin Etrex. They also rely on a Palm device and occasionally a laptop computer. Lastly, Jeff has some custom-made hiking sticks to help him stay upright on the trail.

When asked if he remembers his first DNF, Jeff said, “Sure do. It was MICRO-GEORGE [GC2403] by SHOW ME THE CACHE.” As it turned out, the cache was actually missing. It was later replaced and logged as a find. Jeff considers WILSON’S FIRST CACHE by DEERMARK to be the toughest cache he’s ever found. “Due to the length of the hike and walking through a lot of mud and slippery rocks to get there…not really a long way for someone of normal ability, however, it was a tough walk for me.”

“To date, we have logged just a few over 400 finds…I guess longevity is our game. Since we started back in December of 2001 we have seen many changes. For example, when we started, there were only 130 caches within 100 miles of our home. Today there is over 4,900!”

“We get many things from geocaching. Foremost is the quality time as a family doing something we all enjoy. It’s a natural fit for families that enjoy outdoor activities. And it’s child-friendly. Something we didn’t even think about early on is the friendships we’ve developed and the great people that we have met. INKY has proven to be a wonderful tool for getting everyone together.” Jeff added.

When asked about their favorite cache of all-time, Jeff replied, “There are just so many great caches out there...if I had to pick one, it would probably be, PICTURE THIS [GC365A] by SHOW ME THE CACHE. This was a well-placed cache that was unusual because of the picture clues to find the cache. However, for us, the adventure of getting there and back was the most fun. At the time, I was still in a wheelchair. There was a paved trail all the way to the cache; however, it was a one mile trek and all uphill. It was quite a job getting there. The most fun, as you can imagine, was on the way down…cruising along, controlling the chair myself. When I rounded a curve and spun out in the wet leaves, I nearly flipped the chair. My neurosurgeon would not have been amused at all.” When asked what he’d learned from geocaching, Jeff responded saying, “It’s in the journey, not the destination.”

“We enjoy both hiding and finding, but if we had to choose, it would probably be hiding. We want to hide more as time allows. We enjoy reading the comments and talking to the other cachers about the ones we’ve hidden.” When I asked Jeff about any other geocaching plans, he said, “We’re more of a fly by the seat of our pants type family. We seem to average about 100 finds each year. If we keep up this brutal pace, we’ll celebrate our 1000^th find some time in late 2011!  Everyone's invite!!!"