The challenges can be as easy or as hard as you like. This particular group likes to do events that last a weekend . They invite about 50–60 total strangers – all using their avatar names.
The only instructions ane to be at a certain GPS coordinate in the middle of nowhere (about 70 miles from my home) at a certain time 6:00 PM, have enough batteries to power a flashlight 8 hours, and dress so you can spend the night outdoors.
The first one I went to they had food on a grill for us to eat and drink and at 10PM (in mid-October!) the guy walked us out to the edge of the pitch black woods and said “See that reflector over there in the woods? (they were Firetack retroreflectors) You should walk from reflector to reflector. If the reflector is on a tree that is not a pine, there is a clue. Two vertical reflectors means you are going the wrong way. Two horizontal reflectors will lead you home and you are out. See you in the morning.”
The group kept splitting and splitting in to smaller and smaller parties. until I ended up with one woman and we decided no matter what we would not split. We found the box but it was padlocked with a combination lock. She figured out the clues and got it. The guy does it every year. It is my ‘me’ time.
Oh and did I say it is free? However, we all throw money into a hat to pay for his expenses and as a sign of appreciation.
The normal boxes are hidden so that there is virtually zero chance of someone finding them accidentally. You use your GPS and clues to find them. They are rated with 2 numbers that represent difficulty and terrain. The rating numbers go from 1 to 5. Some are very easy to find, 1. Some are hard, 5. Some have easy terrain 1, and some have terrain that require special equipment (scuba equipment, climbing or rappelling gear, etc) and can kill you, 5. Beginners start out with 1,1 something wheel-chair accessible and easy to find. I’ve done 3, #5 terrain caches and they were all memorable life experiences.
I will bet you there are at least 3 caches hidden within 2 miles of where you are right now.