Geocaching to raise money for Carson City search-and-rescue upgrade

The search-and-rescue arm of the Carson City Sheriff’s Office will raise money through a geocaching event April 27.

Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the event starts an hour later, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. The geocachers use a GPS device to locate containers hidden, often on public lands.

The cost is $20 per adult, $12 for ages 15 and younger and $60 for teams of four of any age.

The goal is to accrue enough money to buy a mobile repeater for the search-and-rescue team, said Public Information Officer Bill “Fergi” Fergus. They cost about $1,000 each, he said.

The repeaters receive the radio signals and broadcast them further to other receiving stations, allowing those in signalless areas to communicate with the rest of the city. When the teams are searching in the canyons above Carson City, a repeater would allow teams to both talk to both each other and to patch into the Carson City Sheriff’s Office radio system.

“Everything is line of sight” with the radio system, Fergus said. “We want to put repeaters up that break the line of sight.”

Members of the search-and-rescue team recently put 20 stations on public lands in preparation for the event. All of the stations, or places where the geocaching coins are hidden, are accessible by two-wheel-drive vehicles, although a 500-foot walk might be necessary for a few of the stations.

The geocaching teams will collect a coin at each station and return about noon or 1 p.m. and redeem them for playing cards, at which point the competition becomes a poker run. The highest hands in the poker run will then be the winners. A raffle also will be held, with donations from local merchants and restaurants.

The event is for the experienced geocachers — one couple entering has over 500 geocaches under their collective belt — and newcomers alike. To participate in the poker run, one only needs five cards, although a full 20 cards can help facilitate a better hand.

“We’re encouraging people to get out of their cars,” Fergus said.

Mobile repeaters cost about $1,000, he said.

The lunch will be provided by Bully’s Sports Bar & Grill and is covered in the cost of the ticket.

A few GPS units for those without will be available to be borrowed. Members also will be on hand to demonstrate the use of ropes, and children can participate in a simulated recovery activity.