Eagle Scout candidate plants geocaches in Mundelein parks

If you and your family are looking for a new way to get outside and explore some local parks, Jack Readdy of Mundelein has just the thing.

Readdy, a member of Boy Scout Troop 388 in Mundelein, recently started a geocaching program through the Mundelein Park & Recreation District. An Eagle Scout candidate, Readdy chose geocaching as his final project “so I can impact a large amount of people in my community.”

“It's affordable and fun to do,” Readdy said of geocaching. He added that the program helps encourage residents to visit their parks, with this year being the Mundelein Park & Recreation District's 60th anniversary.

Geocachers use GPS coordinates to find geocaches, or containers, in various locations. Those geocaches contain a log book, allowing geocachers to write down how they found the container, along with trinkets that geocachers refer to as “swag.”

For example, when Readdy ran summer camps with local Boy and Girl Scouts, those Scouts left trinkets like shells, feathers, Matchbox cars and baseball cards in the geocaches, said Readdy's dad, Bill.

“The idea is when you take something, you leave something of equal or greater value,” Readdy said. He added that geocachers also leave items called “trackables,” which can then be picked up by other geocachers and moved to other geocaches.

“Some trackables have gone around the world,” Bill said. “You commit to moving it, and then you track it on geocaching.com.”

Readdy is committed to establishing 21 geocaches in 13 Mundelein parks. While he has run into some snags — people have stolen some of the caches — he has also already seen people coming from outside of Mundelein to participate in the program. He said geocachers have come from towns like Libertyville and Grayslake.

Interested participants can download all of the coordinates on geocaching.com, Readdy said. Geocachers can simply search for MPRD60 or search for Mundelein.

“There's a growing list on the site of people who have found them,” Readdy said.

Bill Readdy estimates that there are about 5,000 active geocachers in Lake County alone. Those people now get to enjoy the fruits of Readdy's labor. He spent four weeks hiding the caches and logging the coordinates. He even met with members of the Geocachers of Northeastern Illinois to get tips on hiding the caches, particularly after some went missing.

“They said the containers were too nice, which is why they were getting stolen,” Readdy said. He plans to better camouflage the containers.

“What's nice about geocaching is you can do it with your family,” Bill Readdy said. “It's family-friendly.”

In the course of hiding his caches, Readdy found 20 caches that people had hidden without permission.

“That's the first rule of geocaching. You get permission from the landowner,” Bill said.

Readdy started planning the project in June 2013 and then approached Mundelein Park & Recreation District officials in October. Park district officials embraced the idea, even purchasing six GPS units at $150 apiece for residents to borrow.

“The park district had been researching the possibility of setting up a geocaching program for the last couple years, and Jack happened to contact us with his idea for the project and we jumped at the chance,” said Rita Kipp, superintendent of recreation for the park district.

“We are hoping to have geocaching as an ongoing opportunity in our park system. We want people to get outside and enjoy our parks, both as individuals and as families. This is the perfect program for that type of activity.”

Kipp said park district officials heard from a man who was geocaching in the Diamond Lake Sports Complex who sent a note saying that he'd never been to that park before and really enjoyed it.

“That is what we are hoping this program will encourage. We are currently working on putting all of our protocols together for the program and putting together a plan for continuing the program once Jack's project is completed,” Kipp said.

“We will be putting that information in our future brochures. It has been a tremendous experience working with Jack; his knowledge and expertise of the program has made it come alive in a very short period of time.”

Readdy, who hopes to become an Eagle Scout this fall or early winter, has enjoyed seeing his project come to fruition.

“The best part is the positive feedback I get from the people who find the caches,” Readdy said.

Bill Readdy is proud of his son's efforts.

“One of the things I talked to him about was that he should make something he could be proud of and that it would be something that would impact his community,” Bill Readdy said. “Here's something all people in Mundelein can participate in. That's what makes me the most proud — just the reach of this program.”

The Mundelein Park & Recreation District, Readdy noted, will ultimately have a passbook that participants can pick up so they can track the caches they've found and collect special stickers from those caches.