Year: 2012

/ Adela B /

Announcing the May Featured Geocacher of the Month

May’s Featured Geocacher of the Month is an enthusiastic, outgoing, and adventurous geocacher. Congratulations to Lulusoy for being named May’s featured Geocacher of the Month!

Lulusoy is recognized for organizing the very first official CITO event in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico and for running a successful podcast in Spanish called Cache D Island, where she talks about anything and everything geocaching-related.

Many geocachers agree that Lulusoy is a great representation of a leader and an enthusiastic geocacher who has done a lot for her community since becoming a member in 2010.

May Featured Geocacher of the Month, Lulusoy

As one geocacher casting a vote put it, “I have seen how she [Lulusoy] plans and executes the adventure of geocaching. Lulusoy has many followers and you can see why they enjoy geocaching. I have seen Lulusoy being afraid to reach, jump, climb, and go in water, but this does not stop her if a cache is to be found. I have seen her provide help to many tourists that plan to come to Puerto Rico.  I believe she represents what we all as goecachers strive for.”

Lulusoy will receive a collector’s 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 her contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Thank you to the fellow May nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Groundspeak. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

Geocacher of the Month Profile Icon

The geocaching community is encouraged to re-nominate those who have yet to be honored as featured Geocacher of the Month.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. 

Every nomination must meet the following requirements: Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and description (in 500 or fewer 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 June featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Monday, June 25th.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the Latitude 47 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.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching.com Presents: Celebrate the Geocaching Community’s Volunteers

[Click CC for subtitles in English, German, Portuguese and Swedish]

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Discover the geocaching community volunteers who help power your adventure.  Volunteers give their time and talent, representing nearly 40 countries around the globe.  Watch the latest Geocaching Presents video to find more about the volunteer experience.

Where are some of the volunteers?

The game would not be the same without their dedication, guidance, and commitment to geocaching.  Leave a message for your local Geocaching.com volunteers below!

Entdecke die ehrenamtlichen Helfer, die Dir Dein Erlebnis auf Geocaching.com ermöglichen.  Es gibt über 400 ehrenamtliche Reviewer, Foren–Moderatoren und Übersetzer auf Geocaching.com. Sie stellen in fast 40 Ländern ihre Zeit und ihr Talent zur Verfügung.  Schau Dir das aktuelle Video “Geocaching.com präsentiert” an um mehr über die freiwilligen Helfer zu erfahren.

Das Spiel wäre nicht das selbe ohne ihren Einsatz, ihre Beratung und ihr Engagement für Geocaching.  Hinterlasse unten eine Nachricht für Deinen lokalen, ehrenamtlichen Helfer bei Geocaching.com.

Découvrez les bénévoles qui oeuvrent pour vous permettre de vivre l‘expérience Geocaching.com.  Le nombre de reviewers bénévoles, de modérateurs de forum et de traducteurs sur Geocaching.com s‘élève à plus de 400. Ils donnent leur temps et leur talent, et représentent presque 40 pays dans le monde.  Visualisez la dernière vidéo Geocaching.com Presents pour en savoir plus sur ces bénévoles.

Le jeu ne serait pas le même sans leur dévouement, leur conseil, et leur engagement pour le géocaching.  Postez un message à l‘ntention de vos bénévoles locaux Geocaching.com ci–dessous !

Descubra os voluntários que ajudam a agilizar a sua experiência no Geocaching.com. Os revisores voluntários do geocaching.com, moderadores do fórum e tradutores são mais de 400. Eles dão o seu tempo e talento,  representando cerca de 40 países em todo o mundo. Assista ao mais recente vídeo do Geocaching.com para saber mais sobre a experiência dos voluntários.

O jogo não seria o mesmo sem a sua dedicação, orientação e compromisso para com o geocaching. Deixe aqui uma mensagem para os seus voluntários locais do Geocaching.com!

Geocaching.com Volunteers, with family members in 2011
/ Eric Schudiske /

Accessible Geocaching – Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – June 20, 2012

One of the greatest things about geocaching is that anyone with a GPS-enabled device can participate in the activity. Whether you are a parent with young children, an extreme sports fanatic, or an individual with a disability, there are geocaches designed with you in mind.

As a Cache Owner, you can help fellow geocachers determine whether your cache is a good fit for their needs. Simply add attributes to your cache listing. Attributes are icons that indicate what to expect on the geocache journey and at the cache location. “Recommended for kids,” “climbing gear required” and “wheelchair accessible” are just a few of the dozens of attributes.

Cache Owners who are planning to add the “wheelchair accessible” attribute to their cache page or are debating whether their cache deserves a 1-star, 1.5-star, or 2-star terrain rating should check out handicaching.com. As you can see from this video, just because the ground is flat does not necessarily mean that a geocache is wheelchair accessible. Handicaching.com will help you determine the accessibility of your cache based on five factors: distance to cache, route surface, route slope, route obstructions, and cache height. When in doubt, mark the terrain rating as 1.5 stars and explain the details on your cache page.

The ability to rate caches based on accessibility is not limited to Cache Owners; everyone can help. All geocachers are welcome to contribute their input at handicaching.com. Thank you for your efforts to make geocaching more accessible for all!

/ Eric Schudiske /

A FENDA [Bombarral] GCW5EA – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – June 18, 2012

Decent into a Portuguese cavern

The Geocache of the Week  inspires a rappelling adventure into caverns in Portugal and reveals a glimpse into the distant past. A FENDA [Bombarral] (GCW5EA) is rated a difficulty 3, terrain 5 cache. It lures geocachers with the promise to discover caves that were once home to Neanderthals.

Miguelrk + João + Inês placed the regular sized cache in the location in 2006. The cache page, written in Portuguese, warns geocachers that the trek to find this geocache can be dangerous. Safety precautions and the right equipment are mandatory.

Signing the logbook

The experience is unforgettable. The geocache has won local awards. A FENDA has received dozens of Favorite Points.

The location of this traditional cache offers a visual wonderland. Just over 100 geocachers have logged smileys, but there are more than 500 images in the photo gallery. The logs are rich with detail and emoticons. Some geocachers spend years planning their trip to A FENDA and organize large groups to find and log the cache.

A recent expedition to the A FENDA titled their adventure, “Operação ‘Viagem do fundo da terra'” or “Operation ‘Voyage to the Center of the Earth.'”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

If you’d like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.

Geocachers at A FENDA

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Mission to Log the Last of a Vanishing Geocache Series

The last Project APE Cache is there... somewhere...
The journey began in Peru

UPDATED July 5, 2012: Read the comment from Brad Simmons (MonkeyBrad) about his journey to the APE Cache in comments below.

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You can track a geocaching team live as they attempt to log a smiley on one of the rarest and most sought after finds in all of geocaching. The team is attempting to find Mission 4: Southern Bowl (GCC67). It’s the last of the Project APE Caches.

For some geocachers, Mission 4: Southern Bowl is the most coveted geocache in the entire world. The cache was hidden deep in the Brazilian Jungle in 2001. Only about 50 geocachers have logged it in 11 years.

Four American geocachers accepted the challenge to find Mission 4: Southern Bowl to mark major personal geocaching milestones. The four geocachers combined have accumulated more than 50,000 cache finds. For Monkeybrad, the last APE Cache will mark his 20,000th smiley, Southpaw‘s geocache tally will reach 18,000 and 6Lindseys and MLRS1996 will each reach 7,000 finds.

Project A.P.E. Cache Icon

The team left the United States on Thursday June 14. They landed in Lima, Peru the following morning. They’re planning to make their way to Sao Paulo, Brazil and to the Project APE Cache. You can track their progress by clicking on the map above.

The Project APE Cache as found by ZobelMex on June 3, 2012

The Mission 4: Southern Bowl Project APE Cache was part of a promotion for the 2001 film Planet of the Apes. Thirteen A.P.E. caches, each with props from the movie and a story that tied into the movie, were hidden all over the world. Those who found the caches received a unique icon. Mission 4: Southern Bowl is the final active cache in the Project A.P.E. series.

Two German geocachers, ZobelMex and TC-Rudi last found the Project APE Cache in early June. The team of American geocachers is expected to land in Sao Paulo on Friday, June 15. They’ll begin their 300 km drive into the jungles of Brazil over the weekend, where they hope to log a smiley, receive the rare Project APE Icon, and make a memories that will last a lifetime.

Leave a message for the team below.