October 7, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching HQ – The Land of Extreme Coincidence

Lindsey (flossinmatoof), Larry (apawinmyface), and Ciaran (Goldencircle)

This story begins with some high expectations. A chance meeting would lead to the statement, “Visiting HQ is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a long time, and as it turns out, the experience was crazier than I could have ever imagined.”

It all started on a typical Friday in the Seattle lobby of Geocaching HQ. We see the world come together in 500 square feet of solid, wall to wall, Geocaching . There’s a treasure chest, logbook and usually hundreds of Trackables coming and going. It’s Geocaching HQ after all. You hear languages like German and Portuguese spoken along side English and Spanish. People around the world find themselves visiting for an hour or so and meeting new friends. Rarely, extremely rarely- and let me not under sell this – maybe once or twice a decade, geocachers randomly stumble upon an old friend from another part of the world in our lobby.

Ireland Event Cache 'Toof & Paw's Jetlag Beater" — Ireland Event Cache ‘Toof & Paw’s Jetlag Beater”

And it just happened again. As most stories like this do, this one begins with a Puzzle Cache in Ireland. Larry, username APawInMyFace, and Lindsey, username Flossinmatoof visited Ireland in August. Larry contacted Ciaran, username GoldCircle, for help on a Puzzle Cache. Well, you know, so many email flew across the Atlantic between the America and Ireland that an Event Cache was planned.

More than a dozen people welcomed the out-of-town guests from America. Ciaran and the American couple went their separate ways. Most stories end there. They might never have seen each other again, except for an intervening photo booth in the Geocaching HQ lobby.

Larry and Lindsay were visiting Geocaching HQ from Miami. Larry and Lindsay were visiting friends in Seattle that Larry hasn’t seen in three years. They’d just finish taking pictures in the Geocaching HQ photo booth. Larry placed the strip of photos in our scrapbook. He noticed a familiar face. That guy looked like Cairan, aka GoldCircle. It was GoldCirle. But he wasn’t at HQ.

Carly at the Geocaching HQ front desk, told Larry Cairan would be back in a few minutes. If that one connection would be missed, if a page would have been flipped in our scrapebook, if Larry visited from Miami one week later…. well, you get the idea. It. Was. Close. It was also significant. Cairan just happened to be in Seattle for business.

Photobooth pics reveal a startling discovery!

Geocaching HQ was Cairan’s 1000th find. Can you guess what Larry gave Cairan as a thank you gift for hosting the Event Cache in Ireland? Yeah – a 1000th Find Geocoin.

Larry says they could have never planned this meeting if they tried. Wow right?

That word, “wow” gets said a lot in the Geocaching HQ lobby. People meeting friends they’ve connected with a world away. Some reacquainted themselves with long lost Travel Bugs that ended up in the Geocaching HQ Treasure chest.

Larry wrote in the Geocaching HQ log, ” The ways in which the geocaching community can make our enormous world feel so small are indescribable, yet somehow, rarely surprising. Thank you for the truly unforgettable day and for the wonderful memories that we formed both in and around HQ.” Lindsey wrote in her log, “The world is an incredible place.” She’s right.

Geocaching HQ Lobby (the photo booth is in the corner)

That’s the thing about geocaching… you’re always welcome. Whether that’s at a geocache, at an Event Cache or at Geocaching HQ, you never know who you might bump into.

The question now might be where in the world will Larry, Lindsey and Ciaran connect again? We have a guess. The might randomly bump into each other while claiming the First to Find at this geocache.

What’s the strangest coincidence you’ve encountered geocaching? Tell us about it in comments below.

October 7, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching Rockets into Space (Again)

WeeklyMailer_100713_GeocachingInSpace_vFINAL_blog (1) [Click for information on the Seattle Geocaching in Space Event]

You don’t read the words, “We’re going to space!” very often. So, how about we soak up the joy of reading those words once more? Let’s add a little pizzazz and shout it by using all capital letters: “WE’RE GOING TO SPACE!” Yeah! A Geocaching Travel Bug® is hitching a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio straight to the International Space Station. The mission is currently scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:08 GMT on November 7, which is 5:08 a.m. in Berlin and November 6 at 8:08 p.m. in Los Angeles. (Convert to your time here.)

Astronaut Richard Mastracchio (Source: Nasa)

Rick will live aboard the ISS for 6 months. He plans to use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students on Earth, in his home state of Connecticut, about geography and science. He’ll also earn the Solar System’s most elusive smiley and find the International Space Station geocache.

We’ll be following Rick the whole way, beginning at liftoff. Ready for some more pizzazz? Geocaching HQ will issue a Geocaching in Space souvenir to those who attend Event Caches during the launch. You can watch the launch live online or check out the recording later and celebrate the geocaching community’s spirit of exploration.

Find out answers to frequently asked questions and everything you need to know about hosting a Geocaching in Space event at the Geocaching in Space Event Center. We’ll be updating this blog post with the latest information about the launch as it happens. All Event Caches must be submitted at least two weeks before the scheduled launch date of November 6. For more information on Geocaching in Space and Rick’s mission, visit the Geocaching in Space FAQ.

Check out this vintage Geocaching video of the first Travel Bug journey to space.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7psaxQXM0]

October 7, 2013 / Annika /

Geocaching in Space Event Center

[Click here for information the Seattle Geocaching in Space event]

Mark your calendar for early November, 2013! Geocaching is rocketing into space once again. Astronaut Rick Mastracchio will deliver a Travel Bug ® to the International Space Station. Mastracchio will be using the Travel Bug as an educational tool to help teach students around the world about geography and provide other educational lessons. The mission is currently scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:08 GMT on November 7 and we want you all to be there (at least in spirit). That means the launch is planned to liftoff at 5:08 a.m. in Berlin and November 6 at 8:08 p.m. in Los Angeles. Find out here what time the launch is in your part of the world!

Continue reading →

October 2, 2013 / Derek H /

I hope you’re not afraid of the dark. — Antuna Underground (GC2B3BY) — Geocache of the Week Video Edition

If you’ve found a few geocaches, you know that sometimes in order to find the geocache, you have to explore places you’ve never been before. Sometimes those places are in full-view of the public or in a popular park. And sometimes, like in the case of this week’s Geocache of the Week, the geocache will take you to an abandoned underground hideout.

Just outside of Stockholm, Sweden lies Antuna Underground (GC2B3BY), a difficulty/terrain 4 Unknown Cache that only the brave should attempt. For safety reasons, it’s probably best to tackle this geocache with two or more people. In order to find the physical geocache, you’ll have to don a headlamp, put on some boots, and overcome any spider fears you have as you descend into a forgotten place. Check out the video below to see two brave cachers earn their smiley:

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlpsn784UT0″]

Thumbs up for a find! Photo by geocacher IJayZz

Locations like this have long histories. From the geocache page: “This facility was completed in 1944 as a backup location for power generators for the railway system in times of war. It was finally shutdown in 1991 and is today completely abandoned.” In Sweden and some other countries (not the United States), venturing into places like this is not considered trespassing. To complete the geocache, you have to navigate through the facility, find hidden numbers and solve an equation to locate the final geocache location.

This geocache was actually the product of a collaboration between several geocachers who call themselves TeamGroundZerO8. One team member had this to say about their geocache, “The thing that makes me proud of this cache is that it has made many geocachers stretch their comfort zone quite alot. Many [Urban Exploration] caches are T5 and out of reach for a big majority of our community. This cache offers a great adventure in a type of location few have ever visited and forces our visitors to do things they never thought they dared such as climbing rusty ladders 10 m above ground in darkness with only a headlamp. Almost all visitors have come out on the other side with a smiley on their map, and I think that almost all did it with a big smile on their face. The average length of the log entries also shows that most of them have a great story to tell both us and probably their friends afterwards.”

This geocache takes you to a place with quite a history. What geocaches have you found that have been in amazing historical places? Tell us in the comments.

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog.

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.

October 2, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

September Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comment

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional) — The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin (sun flare optional)

The guardian of a vanishing iconic geocache, a couple from the far north of the world who’ve helped create a quality geocaching community, and the president of a geocaching association who leads by the two E’s (enthusiasm and more enthusiasm). We’re honoring these geocachers as nominees for the Geocacher of the Month. Each will receive worldwide recognition for their contribution to the global geocaching community and a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle. Which of these nominees will be named Geocacher of the Month?

This is your opportunity to help decide who will take home the earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (at left). Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition geocoin, a hat and profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Dr Evil. - Geocacher of the Month — Dr Evil. – Geocacher of the Month

In August, Dr Evil. was officially named Geocacher of the Month.

One comment details Dr Evil.’s family-friendly approach to geocaching, “His caches are fantastic for kids and getting them interested in caching but also in the great outdoors again. His vlogs on YouTube are always informative, upbeat but above all that you can see his dedication and his passion for finding caches and placing them. He’s organised some great events some for the family, some for the extreme cacher but he is always friendly, polite and always willing to help out a beginner.”

Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month. Write a supportive comment at the bottom of this blog for the nominated geocacher that you feel should be awarded the title. A panel of folks from Geocaching HQ will then use your comments to help guide the decision of which geocacher is awarded the Geocacher of the Month honor.

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

Carina & Lasse

Carina & Lassie Nominees for Geocacher of the Month

Oskar, username OskarÅ says, “Hi, I would like to nominee an older couple from Sweden that has put a lot of smiles on mine and a lot of more people for sure. There names are Carina and Lasse. I live in the southest part of Sweden and just a few miles from my town they have a ton of great caches! They use all of their free time to go geocaching and also building caches for us other to enjoy. Just by looking at their profile of them you can see how active they are and how many favorite points they have on their caches. They are really creative and are the most inspirational geocachers I know.”

Old Navy

Lynn Groves Lussier (aka Ranger Lynn) says, “Since his inaugural year of caching in 2005, Old Navy has placed 372 hides and found 2,892 caches. Undoubtedly, his greatest contributions to the geocaching community have been through his dedicated leadership as president of the Northern New Jersey Cachers (NNJC) for the last six years.

Inspiring by example and genuine enthusiasm, yet never one to seek the limelight, the success of NNJC is a testament to Old Navy’s wizardry “behind the curtain.” In addition to converting muggles into members by hosting monthly Meet & Greet events, his skill in connecting NNJC to the geocaching community at large shines through in both his editorial expertise in overseeing the NNJC newsletter, as well as his social media savvy in daily managing the NNJC Facebook page, Twitter site, and official club website.”

intervales

Carbon Hunter from South Africa says, “It is not often that one can nominate a cacher with so few finds as global geocacher of the month. However I would like to nominate cacher INTERVALES from Brazil as the geocacher of the month. Junior only has 17 finds and 21 hides.

So what exactly makes this cacher so special and worthy of a nomination (and hopefully being awarded this prestigious award)? Junior is one of those extremely special cachers who stays in a remote area of the world (on the edge of the Brazilian Atlantic Forests) and has hardly travelled from his home base of Capao Bonita in the Sao Paulo province. What makes him extremely valuable and a huge asset to our game is that he is the custodian of the last surviving APE cache in the world. While not being a prolific finder, Junior maintains the APE cache in a very harsh environment (high humidity and heat that can lead to cache degradation). Apart from the APE cache, he has also placed a good few Earthcaches in the surrounding area and maintains traditional caches of his own, and of visiting cachers that travel to the park to find the APE cache.

He is really embodies what all of us seek and attempt to emulate in a cacher, and this especially from a cacher who has not had the opportuntity (like many of us) to find a multitude of caches in our direct environment. I hope that you too will give Junior your vote – and help keep the APE cache alive. I also hope that many many more cachers will have the opportunity to find the APE cache as I did.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the September Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through October 14.

If your nominee wasn’t recognized here, please submit your nominations again next month. We’re always looking for the next Geocacher of the Month. To nominate a geocacher, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.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 Featured Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for the next Featured Geocacher of the Month should be received by October 14. Once Geocaching HQ has received 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 that we might learn from each other.

Official Blog

Year: 2013