/ 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

  2. I’ve heard a LOT of very positive things about The Raven, I even know people who have made the journey just to experience Ravenland. Kudos for The Raven!

  3. The Raven absolutely gets my vote!! Prescott AZ is amazing with all the wonderful caches that he has for us to do! His involvement and devotion to the Geocaching community is endless. We are so lucky to have him in AZ!!

  5. I am voting for the Raven. I have met many people in the life of Geocaching and I do have to say all of them are fine people. The Raven however stands a bit taller than the rest. He is the type of Cacher that truly cares about his community and how this sport can better his community and the lives of people in general. I have experienced some of the astonishing caches that the Raven has created. They are truly a mechanisms to make families tighter and friends closer through how amazing fun, creative, and well thought out they are. As for the Raven himself he is like the on call cacher. When folks want to come visit Ravenland Aka Prescott, AZ he meets them for lunch or ice cream or just to talk. He does not meet folks because he wants to hear them brag about his caches he meets them because he is a good man that cares about how he may have brighten the day of another soul. The Raven has also taken on duties of being the Geocaching — Arizona Facebook group Admin and regularly cultivates conversation plays Dad when he has to, welcomes new member like it is new years eve, and keeps the group fun.

    It only took me meeting the Raven once a couple years ago and that is all it took for me to call him friend. I have said in the past if all Geocachers were like the Raven then this sport would be as magical as the land of Harry Potter.

    Geocaching is a better game because the Raven is apart of it.

  6. Believe me, you’d like most of his caches here. There’s some cachers visiting from NJ that heard of them out there; he’s also had several people come from as far away as Hawaii and Chicago to do his caches.

  7. I vote for The Raven. We traveled from Washington State to Arizona just to do his amazing caches. We knew we wanted to go on a vacation for the Thanksgiving and since his caches were known for being the best in the world… we knew that had to be our destination spot. We were in awe at each and every cache we did. Daniel took the day off to spend the day caching with us. We really appreciated his hospitality and clever caches. Where do I begin….. The Indiana Jones series felt like we were in the movie. My son Scooby was thrilled when we ended up at the final location for part 2. Then we were off to the Labyrinth cache…. Scooby was pleasantly surprised at the skill and creativity it took to make such an adventurous cache. He has so many more clever caches, that had us wondering… how the heck did he do this? I wish we had these type of caches in Seattle. We tell all our local Seattle cachers they need to go to Prescott, to do The Raven caches. Our good friend Aviatrix22 is planning on visiting him in May. I think he deserves cacher of The Year! He puts so much time and effort into making some of the most clever, adventurous and creative caches in the world. Go RAVEN!!!!! Shaggy, Scooby and Velma

  8. My vote is for The Raven. I haven’t found any of his caches, but we have emailed each other and I have followed some of his caches. He has high percentages of favorites on most of his caches. Reading some about him he has worked with his home town and it sounds like they work good together.

  9. Found a few caches of The Raven without knowing anything about them at the time and was really impressed both with the detail and ingenuity as well as the interest of the owner in our experience and to ensure everything works perfectly. So my vote is for The Raven.

  10. The Weasel deserves this recognition for several reasons. He places quality caches that are entertaining. He helps the beginners with classes and daily assistance. He respects nature and geocaches accordingly. He is an ambassador for the sport.

  11. I am voting for The Weasel. Tim is continuing his work with the IGO
    BOD. We, here in Iowa, appreciate all Tim does for the game in the
    state of Iowa.

  14. I vote for the Raven, we enjoyed his caches with our grand kids, they had a lot of fun doing them

  15. When we first heard about the Ravens Labyrinth, we were intrigued.
    When we read the descriptions and logs on some of his other caches, we were booking airfare..
    Heck, we had a ton of fun in the months leading up to our trip in from Chicago just solving his terrific puzzles in preparation for our weekend there. But the real magic is when you lay eyes on the objects he crafts and get to experience the journey he take you
    through.
    And on top of it all, he’s just the nicest guy you could hope to meet. Our vote is for the Dan Hunt “the Raven”,hands down.

  17. The Raven! His caches are extremely inventive and show a high degree of craftsmanship. Plus, he is a great guy.

  19. The Raven my family heard about his caches and made a special trip out of our way to visit Ravenland and what a experience we had the best caches I’ve ever done can’t wait to go back and finish all his other ones. It’ll probably be after the launch of his new one after seeing the trailer I can’t wait. AZDUNERS Eric

  20. The Raven for sure! The amount of creativity, thought and time invested in both the caches he places and cachers he meets is unparalleled.

  21. Late last September, my brother was in town so we took a trip to Prescott, AZ to find some of the Raven’s caches. Around 11:00 we met up with Dan and he tagged along with us for the rest of the day. We didn’t find a lot of caches, but we had an absolutely wonderful, relaxing day experiencing The Raven’s caches with him. It’s a day I won’t soon forget. So yes, I would like to see Dan, The Raven, be Geocacher of the Month!

  23. Of course I have to vote for The Raven, I am the one who allows all this madness in our home! No, seriously, Dan has so much talent in just his pinky finger, I’m glad he has a way to share his creativity with the world. He truly is like a kid in a candy store when he’s developing a new cache for others to enjoy, he really puts a lot of thought into the whole process. It’s truly mind boggling what he comes up with. He genuinely loves meeting everyone and hearing the comments about the crazy fun you had on your adventures in caching.

  25. Absolutely the Raven, I cannot emphasize how much thought and effort goes into each of the caches he places and how much fun and excitement it brings to the caching community. Go, or rather…. fly Raven fly :-).

  28. The Weasel all the way!!!
    These caches listed below placed by the Weasel goes to show that not only he place caches, he places great EDUCATIONAL caches. Anybody can make a good puzzle cache, but to be able to TEACH people about the outdoors while they are caching speaks for itself!!
    Also, his maintainence is top notch! He always keeps his caches up to date and takes pride in that. If you haven’t done a Weasel cache yet, you are REALLY missing out! He deserves to win!

    GC2XB22
    GC2CGX5
    GC296Z8
    GC307VZ
    GC31BW2
    GC3CTZN
    GC28RW1
    GC3PVYN
    GC3MYQK
    GC296KM
    GC2MA8X

  30. The Weasel has my vote on this one! He got me started in caching a few years back and he’s just plain awesome! His caches are well known throughout Iowa and his speciality seems to involve very tall trees!

  33. I think Daniel Hunt. The Raven is most deserving for this award. Prescot would be lost without him! I hear they are changing the name to “Ravanland”

  34. I’ve never met him, but I’ve heard amazing things about The Raven’s caches, so he gets my vote.

  35. Around Eastern Iowa, if you see a Weasel cache you know it will be fun and probably challenging. He has created a series of caches that teach all about the outdoors (animal tracks, leaf shapes, birds, etc) and provided a lot of other caches that take you to interesting sections of the area parks. All of the nominees sound great, but my vote goes to Weasel.

  36. Hands down, The Raven… if there is a cacher that puts more into his caches I would really love to do them…

  38. I am supporting The Weasel for geocacher of the month. I am deputy director for the Linn County, Iowa, Conservation Department. Tim has always shown a great environmental ethic when he places caches. He always contacts us when he wants to place a cache on property we manage and confirms that the location is appropriate from our perspective. In addition, he monitors caches he places to make sure they are in place and in good condition. He has also been an ambassador for geocaching in our area. Tim has worked with our education program to help people new to geocaching learn the sport. His ethics, commitment and promotion of the sport makes him an ideal person to receive this honor.

  39. I have been lucky enough to meet and visit with The Weasel. Tim was one of the geocachers who took time to answer my questions and provide guidance to me. When I created my first puzzle cache, The Weasel was one of the guys who reviewed my cache page and offered suggestions on ways to improve it. When I see him at events (and he’s at a LOT of them), he always has a warm smile and a hearty handshake for me. He’s engaged in geocaching – gung ho. His enthousiasm is nothing short of contagious. I hope he is awarded geocacher of the month. It would be a deserving title for him! Best of luck to The Weasel!

  40. Your vote should be for The Weasel should be the cacher of the month and maybe year. This long-time local cacher that has added to the experience for many other cachers and taken a leadership role in promoting caching to many others. Always positive and supportive of others he has had a significant role in events. Further, he has created a large number of very unique, challenging and entertaining caches. My vote goes to The Weasel!

  41. The Raven gets our vote. Our first visit to Prescott a few months ago yielded the most detailed caching experience to date for us – and we didn’t even make it to the final! Can’t wait to get back out there and get back to it!

  42. My vote goes to The Weasel. Tim has been an enthusiastic geocacher for as long as I have known him. He helps make geocaching great for all geocachers, and that’s about the highest compliment I can pay any geocacher — people who give back to the activity that they love. He hides wonderfully creative caches and is an active geocacher finder. He’s also a great communicator — with his fellow geocachers and with me as the reviewer for Iowa.

  43. My vote goes for Tim Stewart AKA “The Weasel”.

    If you where to ask anyone in Iowa who best exemplifies GeoCaching Tim
    would be at the top of the list. His caches are some of the finest adventures
    I’ve been on hands down, he’s caches are
    always well maintained and kept in pristine condition. Tim’s puzzles caches are
    the finest bar none, many nights have been spent racking my brain on them.

    But when I think of Geocaching and its core values and what
    made me want to get involved are embodied in Tim with his love of nature and family
    shows in all that he does. When I’m Geocaching and have crossed paths with Tim
    he’s always extended his hand in friendship and over the years has become many
    peoples mentor and friend, that’s Tim.

    Big Brother Bear

  45. The Raven, The Raven, The Raven, I’ve done 3 of his caches and they are the most creative caches ever. One of his caches got 100 favorites out of 100 people. He puts tons of time in creating the cache and then he builds them. I wish I could come up with just one cache as good as his. He is the Master Cache Maker.

  46. Oh my gosh – I have to vote for the Raven – Not only are his caches the most creative I’ve ever, ever seen BUT he makes plans to either meet up with you, help you out (He wants his caches to be found – even the tricky ones – so try your best but if you get stuck let him know) or arrange for local folks to go out with you. The weekend I went out there was beyond amazing -the amount of thought, effort, creativity was mind boggling BUT he also gives back to the community as a DO-er and a GIVE-er and a HELP-er. He is fun to be around – VERY kind and not a braggart but man does he love what he does. He has gotten the community involved too – his caches are protected by local laws! At the lunch event he made a point to talk to everyone who attended. I was planning to nominate him myself – just hadn’t done it yet. EVEN my 23 year old son (total of 12 finds LOL) had a BLAST and was thanksful for the time he and I got to spend doing quality caching. He makes me want to do so much better back at home with my hides. (not that I have even 1/10 of his creativity!) But The Raven is an INSPIRATION!!!

  48. My vote goes for the guy that has had me so many times ’40 feet up in a tree’ while cramming for an ‘Outdoor Lesson’. The Weasel!

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