Great Lakes Seaway Trail

PRESS RELEASE: May 17, 2010
Contact: Teresa Mitchell, 315-646-1000, Jim “Boots” Hooper, 585-732-6057

Great Lakes Seaway Trail's First Geocaching Group Makes Two Finds

The first Great Lakes Seaway Trail geocaching group completed two finds with Jim “Boots” Hooper (far right) in early May. Hooper, a member of the National 4-H Geospatial Science Taskforce, is developing the new 75-cache, 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail high-tech treasure hunting adventure that will debut later this year.

Great Lakes Seaway Trail, NY and PA – The first Great Lakes Seaway Trail geocaching group has completed two finds. Jim “Boots” Hooper, who is developing the new 75-cache, 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail high-tech treasure hunting adventure, conducted a how-to workshop in Sackets Harbor, NY in mid-May. The group of first-time GPS users and geocaching novices located two caches - boxes hidden in locations that searchers must find by using hand-held Global Positioning System.

Hooper, a member of the National 4-H Geospatial Science Taskforce, the New York State 4-H Geospatial Leadership Team, and the Rochester-based GeoRoc online community, is currently working with localized sponsors to finalize the Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail. The new geocaching route will have caches located in the region of the 518-mile-long America’s Byway route that leisurely stretches along the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and Lake Erie in New York and Pennsylvania. Watch www.seawaytrail.com for details.

The two caches found by the first Great Lakes Seaway Trail geocaching group were placed only for the workshop.

Those ready to try their GPS skills on the byway now will find the GPS coordinates for 100, easily-seen Great Lakes Seaway Trail “outdoor storyteller” signage units online in the 2010 edition of the 2010 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Travel Guide. #