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Imagine if you combined the scavenger hunting adventure quality of geocaching with the peaceful and relaxing joy of backwoods camping. Well, then you have what we like to call GeoCamping. One of our great passions at Hume Engineering is the love of the outdoors and all adventuresome activities that go on out there. So, we decided to start a “secret” camping club, of sorts, for all to enjoy.
Here's what we do: our group of employees and volunteers scopes out a location and plans a day hike to scout for possible sites. Once we select a perfect location, we set to work building only the essentials (after all, we come out here to enjoy the natural world, not change it). Once we build and test out a site, we bring back photos and GPS coordinates to post on this page so others can find their own adventuresome hearts and enjoy these beautiful locations.
Here's what we look for when selecting a GeoCampsite location:
First and foremost, the location must be on public land, usually in a national forest, and is only in locations where backwoods, off trail camping is allowed. (We will always make every effort to follow all the rules and regulations of a given natural land. I can't stress this enough, we love the outdoors and will never intentionally do anything to bring harm to it.)
Second, the site has to be far enough off trail to make finding it, well....hard! We want this to be an adventure! Usually this means at least a 1/2 mile of bushwhacking, orienteering or alike. Some of our hardest to access sites are miles from any established trail.
Third, we will not bring anything in to or out of the site. Whatever we find there is what is used to make the woods feel like home. Our ideal location is one that provides many natural features and only requires us to build a good safe fire pit and maybe some comfortable seating!
Finally, we want there to be something interesting to explore near by.
If you're interested in trying this adventure, here's how to proceed:
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Register and Login to our Site.
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Review our Waiver and Release of Liability contract by clicking the button below (you will then be directed to our Site Listings).
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Select a site from our online listings.
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Find the site's location on Google Maps and cross reference it with known trails in that area.
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Plan your route using the known trails to get to the best point (by your determination) to enter the woods and start your off-trail adventure.
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Use any or all of the following to help you navigate along your route until you reach your site:
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Hand-held GPS device
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Map and compass
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Smart phone with a quality GPS mapping application (make sure it will work when you're outside of cell service range).
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Plan ahead. Take a good first aid kit, plenty of food and water, protection from the elements, and anything else you need to stay safe in the outdoors. Check out the US Forest Service (Dec. 16, 2013) publication on our References page for a link to their outdoor safety advisories, trail and camping tips, checklists, and more.
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Go out, have fun, and enjoy the Great Outdoors!