/ Adela B /

January Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

They put on events, they readily share geocaching tricks and tips and they challenge new and seasoned geocachers with their hides. They are the January Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees.

December 2012 Featured Geocacher of the Month, Moneydork

Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as the Featured Geocacher of the Month for January.

Write a comment at the bottom of this blog about which of these geocachers you feel should be awarded the Featured Geocacher of the Month title.

In December, Wayne, a.k.a. Moneydork was recognized for establishing himself as one of Australasian’s most prolific geocachers. His efforts to support the community as a Geocaching volunteer reviewer and good Samaritan have not gone unnoticed. He even managed to organize New Zealand’s very first Mega-Event from 3500 km (2175 miles) away. According to fellow geocachers, Moneydork’s hides and events are legendary Down Under and he never hesitates to give his all to the sport.

Here are your nominees for the January Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

Kirret

Kirret

Mr Bluesky writes, “On November 29th, Don, [a.k.a. Kirret] will have found a geocache every single day of the year, since November 2011.  He has done this in three different countries and on two continents. This year alone he has found over 1,700 geocaches, including a grand haul of 100 on March the 27th. Don worked in Scotland in 2010 and 2011 and I got to meet him through geocaching. We immediately became firm friends. I had the pleasure of geocaching with him in Canada in July 2012 and then again on August 18th in Scotland. Don is very enthusiastic about geocaching and has, just by meeting people while out geocaching, gotten many involved in this hobby by informing them of what he was doing and how enjoyable it is. He mostly geocaches with his wife and son and is one of Guildford, England’s most prolific geocachers. He is out in all weather conditions with a smile on his face and a GPS in hand. I think his achievements this year is a remarkable feat.”

 

The Raven

The Raven

ttcm4geo writes, “If you visit Prescott, Arizona as we were one weekend, you will note something curious. Many of the geocaches you visit will have a note stating that ‘while you are in Prescott, you must find a geocache called Raven’s Labyrynth.’ So many geocacher said this that we finally decided to pursue it. The geocache itself is amazing, which I am sure took weeks to construct. Then we found out that the geocache owner has many similarly thought-out geocaches in the area. In fact, Prescott is known as ‘Ravenland.’ But, even more amazing is that if you email Dan, a.k.a. The Raven with a question, he promptly replies and tells you to call him. So we called him and got some assistance. He was very nice, and you can tell that his only goal is to help people enjoy geocaching. His geocaches are creative, well thought out and so much fun. He does all this work for people many of whom he will never meet. Therefore, I think he deserves this recognition.”

 

 

 

The Weasel

The Weasel

SuperGoober writes, “Tim, a.k.a. The Weasel is what geocaching is all about. He gives back so much more than he takes. He hosted the very first CITO in the Midwest: EIGA 2004 CEDAR RAPIDS CITO EVENT. He is an active member and Board Director for the Iowa Geocacher Organization and a volunteer for the Linn County Conservation. Tim has conducted and assisted in over 50 geocaching 101, 201 and 301 classes and workshops throughout the State of Iowa and abroad. His knowledge of the wilderness extends well beyond that of an average geocacher. He uses his extensive knowledge of the outdoors to help other geocachers by placing some very creative and educational geocaches. The Weasel has an impeccable sense as to what geocaching is all about. He realizes that cache maintenance is very necessary to ensure that geocaching is fun and that the geocache is there. He is just unstoppable.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the January Featured  Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon and a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for January’s award through Sunday, January 20th.

Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com and include the following information:

  • Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
  • A picture of the nominee
  • Description (200 or more words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award.

Nominations for the February Geocacher of the Month must be received by Friday, February 8th. 

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

Adela B

  3. How could I vote for anyone but The Raven? He’s the only one of this month’s nominees who has signed the “log” on the wall of my living room. 🙂 A great guy who has done (and continues to do) very much for the sport of geocaching!!

  6. Send my vote to the Raven. I have visited Prescott several times and have had several interactions with Dan. He has THE MOST AMAZING caches that I have ever run across. He even met me at one of his more involved caches and walked me through the adventure. He truly lives, breathes, and eats geocaching. I would vote for him a hundred times if I could.

  9. We recently spent a wonderful, challenging, enlightening day in Ravenland (sometimes referred to as Prescott by the unwitting locals) and can’t imagine a single geocacher doing more for his community than Dan has done for this town in the Arizona highlands. Not only has he enticed numerous visitors to journey here from far and wide to test their skills finding and solving his ingenious creations, but he has convinced local government offices to cooperate for the greater benefit of the citizens as well. His efforts have created an environment that benefits more than just geocachers, and we thank him for that. Team FORK

  10. Our vote is for The Weasel. Having the opportunity to know Tim for several years, be it caching together, caches that he has hidden and the countless meet & greet events. Tim has added much to this activity with instructing and the willingness to assist. The geocaching community has benefited. Weasel nomination is well deserved. DD & P.

  11. I want to vote for The Weasel. His caches are fun, educational, challenging, and sometimes frustrating. He puts a lot of thought into his hides, and many are very interesting. I think I have given his caches more favorite points than anyone else. He always is helpful to fellow cachers. I think he is the epitome of what a cacher of the month should be.

  14. Count me in for The Weasel! He has done so much in the local caching community to improve the caches and put not only Eastern Iowa, but Iowa in general on the map! He has such creative and educational caches, it’s no wonder he has well over 500 favorite points on his caches. Tim has developed a fantastic reputation not only with the local caching community, but local park officials as well. Congrats Tim on your nomination, you deserve it!

  15. I would like to vote for Weasel, for cacher of the month. I really enjoy Weasel’s caches’. My goal is to fill every day! So, the number’s, are alway’s important, but so is being interesting!

  17. I definitely vote for Tim “The Weasel”. He is absolutely awesome. His cache hides are very good, he takes care of them, he helps newbies out. He even will fix a cache if it is not his, that is something we are not seeing much in the caching community anymore. Tim deserves this award!

  19. Have to toss a vote in for The Weasel…even though we’ve been “out weaseled” by him quite a few times on a FTF, he still gets our vote! Tim is a great asset to the geocaching community! Lots to learn from this guy and he’s glad to share it with all!

  22. You must be seeing what I saw only the name that kept showing up was Sam. Like 60 new posts but when I refreshed they were gone.

  25. Without a doubt, my vote goes to The Raven. Dan has done so
    much to make geocaching a household word here in the Prescott/Prescott Valley
    area. Newspaper articles, training sessions at Prescott events, geocaching
    Facebook pages and his fantastic caches have turned our area into a geocaching
    hot spot. People from all over the country and from other countries are
    visiting our area just to do The Raven caches. I met two young ladies at his
    Labyrinth cache that came all the way from Minnesota just to find his caches. This
    masterpiece is a one of a kind and a cache that surely challenges all to be the
    best in the world. There aren’t many caches anywhere that you still want to and
    have to go back to after you log a find on it. And this isn’t the only one he
    has. Plus one on the drawing boards that is supposed to surpass his existing
    cache gems. How is that possible???? We can’t wait to find out!!!

    We hope to be having a MEGA event in 2014 led by Dan. Once
    his caches reach maximum exposure, he might just make “Geocacher of the year”

  26. Another vote for The Raven here. I’ve enjoyed several of his caches while traveling through northern Arizona. His caches are absolutely Amazing. (Wait, that was one of them, wasn’t it?) My kids loved them as well. People around the country have heard of what Dan has done in Prescott, and other people plan their vacations around a trip to Ravenland.

  27. Sorry, I felt the need to add some details here. I don’t want to take away from anything The Weasel has accomplished. He seems to be a very prolific cacher and a boon to his community, and for that he certainly should be commended and respected, as he appears to be. But comparing accomplishments, I hate to say it, but the weight of the evidence certainly favors The Raven. The Raven has only 33 caches placed to his name. But those 33 caches account for over 1180 favorite points, with the top two earning 183 and 113 points respectively. The Raven’s Labyrinth was the first cache ever to earn 100% favorite points for the first 100 visits, EVER. And it still has 183 favorite points out of 199 finds, a 92% favorite rating. I’ve never even heard of a cache having such a high favorite rating before. Read through the logs on his caches and see what people are saying about The Raven and his caches.

    We all talk about the need to focus on quality and the total geocaching experience. I think this shows that The Raven is delivering the total geocaching experience to those who visit Ravenland in Prescott, Arizona.

  28. I vote for The Raven! My family went to Prescott specifically to do some of his caches. They were great! We first met him at a picnic when we didn’t know who he was. My dad asked for some advice about what caches to do for a family of 4. His suggestions were so COOL!

  30. I’m supporting The Raven. Even though I haven’t participated in any of his wonderful craftsmanship and creative geocaches, I’ve heard so many outstanding reports from my fellow cachers. I’ve added “The Ravenland” series to my bucket list and have plans on traveling up to the north, Prescott, AZ from the Desert Southwest Tucson area to enjoy my geocaching experience when the weather warms up. Be safe and Happy Geocaching out there!

  31. My vote goes to the Weasel. At the events I have been able to go to, the Weasel always seems to be donating a variety of prizes. In talking with him, you can see this guy eats, breaths, and sleeps geocaching. The caches that really stand out that the Weasel has done is his maintenance cache that REWARDS and encourages cachers to regularly check on their caches. This cache is full of repair items to fix your caches as well. I think this cache speaks a lot about the ethics and passion The Weasel has about caching. The listing has a very cool picture of him standing next to a Linn County Conservation official. The other caches are his Outdoor Lesson caches. His vast knowledge in this area are top notch!! The Weasel has given back to his community that this award would be very well deserved!!

  32. My vote is for The Weasel! Although I don’t cache anymore, I have a personal story I had to pass along when I saw that Tim was nominated for this award. Some friends of mine from OH who we’re new to caching were having trouble caching as they were either trying find people to cache with or Google Earth as they couldn’t afford a GPS. In talking with the Weasel, he had just got a new 60csx and so he no longer needed his old Legend. Without being asked, he had it boxed up and delivered to my house by the end of the day to be sent out. This random act of kindness is something I think puts Tim above and beyond the average cacher! Thanks for all you have done and continue to do!!

  33. My vote is for the Raven, his cache’s are the most intricate I have ever seen and he is very quick to respond to any and all inquiries.

  35. I want ot Vote for The RAVEN as Geocacher of the Month. Actually he should be Geocacher of the Year. His caches are outstanding and he puts a lot of time and energy into making geocaching an experience not just a find. On top of it all he loves to come out and watch you find his caches. Best of luck to all who are nominated but my vote is with The Raven.

  37. I am voting for The Weasel! He has great Outdoor Lessons caches. And he is an important and active member of our Iowa Geocaching Organization.

  38. My vote is for The Weasel. In seems these days there are givers and there are takes in Geocaching, and The Weasel is definitely a giver!! The Weasel’s places a variety of caches that appeal to all types of cachers. He has a family friendly powertail that is comprised of a variety of cute and interesting containers. He has placed some of the BEST physically challenging geocachers that has your climbing to some pretty extreme heights. The Weasel has placed water caches that can only be done by boat or kayak. His Gollum’s cave cache and Blackbeard’s Revenge cache are at 100% for favorites! The Weasel has an outstanding educational Outdoor Lesson’s series that is great for people (especially school age kids) to learn about nature and how important nature is to all of us. Tim is also BIG on maintenance, so he has even created a geocache that rewards people for maintaining caches and provides the supplies to do that! In talking with Tim, I know he has a VERY special multi cache in the works at the Brucemore historical site, which is on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places. He is working hand in hand with the staff there to create this cache and getting them involved with Geocaching. I can’t wait for this cache to publish as it is going to be a MUST do!

  39. The Weasel all the way! In looking at the Iowa Geocachers Org website, I see that out of 922 members, The Weasel has the third most posts with 1043! To me, that shows The Weasel is a very active participant in his community and likes to help and give advice and help. I think between his great and educational caches, his participation in his caching community and his groups forums, that he has all the things that define a Geocacher Of The Month.

  41. I have never met any of the nominees (and possibly never will) but from their bios above, I’ve got to go with The Raven.
    –redfoot5.1

  42. My vote goes to The Raven. His caches are great and his involvement in the hobby is second to none.

  43. Our vote is for The Weasel. Having the opportunity to know Tim for several years, be it caching together, caches that he has hidden and the countless meet & greet events. Tim has added much to this activity with instructing and the willingness to assist. The geocaching community has benefited. Weasel nomination is well deserved. DD & P.

  44. Our vote is for The Weasel. Having the opportunity to know Tim for several years, be it caching together, caches that he has hidden and the countless meet & greet events. Tim has added much to this activity with instructing and the willingness to assist. The geocaching community has benefited. Weasel nomination is well deserved. DD & P.

  45. My vote is for The Weasel. Getting people involved outdoors and searching for items with your GPS is one of the best ways to do it. I have been involved with geocaching and it is exciting to find the cache. It is even better when someone tells you they are stumped on one that you did find. Keep up the good work Weasel!!!

  46. We vote for The Weasel. Tim has been a great asset to our local caching community, both in placing several fun caches as well as helping newer cachers in the area. We’ve had the pleasure of caching along-side Tim a few times, and we always look forward to seeing him at events our out on the trail.

  48. The Raven gets our vote. He is amazing with the cleverness of his caches. We have encountered nothing like them in the 10 years of caching. His next one should be the ultimate cache from the scant information I have learned. Raven epitomizes the soul of caching and should be rewarded for his work,

  49. My name is Kari and I work for the Linn County Conservation Department. We are lucky to have someone as dedicated as Tim to be leading geocaching in our area/park system. Thanks for what you do!

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