Geocaches tell the story of a specific location. Sometimes the story is something as simple as “I enjoyed a beautiful view here.” In the case of this geocache, the story is a bit more extraordinary. In the mid 1800s, Germany was experiencing a significant wood shortage. Around the same time, news of an enormous tree traveled across the ocean from California’s redwood forest. Shortly thereafter, seeds of these trees were sent to Germany and planted. Now, several Giant Redwoods stand in the middle of Germany, nearly 5,500 miles (8800 km) from where they are naturally found. The trail to these giants is passable in winter, so bundle up and head out to visit the trees and find this geocache.
# of Finds:
1546
# of Favorite Points:
680
What geocachers are saying:
(translated from German)
“Great idea, we are really amazed and now I understand the many Fav points! Thanks for the show, the redwoods are worth a visit. Impressive.” – aussietibo
“We went here on our caching outing on the cache-bikes. We scurried off into the bushes and found a very exceptionally great box! Absolutely fantastic. A very nice idea, well implemented. We enjoyed this very much. For this, we assign a blue bow!” – Sensa-5
“On today’s Wisdom Trail, this cache made curious. This is something we have never seen before. We were totally surprised, amazed and thrilled. So much effort is certainly worth several bows but we must indeed awarded only one.” – Bandiyak
The story behind this geocache joins two places that are nearly half a world away from each other. What other geocaches connect you to other places or other geocachers? 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.
Moun10Bike’s desk at Geocaching HQ: where office life and geocaching magic collide.The Geocoin that started it all turned 12 this year.
Geocaching HQ is home to a geocaching legend. His title is Community Liaison to Engineering. His name is Jon Stanley. He’s better known as Moun10Bike in the geocaching world. As one of the world’s first-ever geocachers, Moun10Bike earned his geocaching fame by creating the first of what we now know as geocoins.
Moun10Bike agreed to share his coolest geocaching tips as we head into the winter season here in the Northern hemisphere.
Q: You are working on a geocaching streak. How many days of geocaching in a row are you up to? What inspired you to take on this challenge?
Hiking above the clouds and into the snow for a geocache. Brrr….but totally worth it! Photo by Moun10Bike.
A: On Christmas Eve, my streak will hit 700 days. I want to keep going for as long as it’s fun. The initial motivator was to have a streak that was longer than my longest slump (141 days between my first and second cache finds, back when there were very few caches around). After that, there seemed to be continued incentives that kept me going (e.g. qualifying for particular challenges, etc.).
Q: What is the biggest challenge you face in maintaining your streak?
A: We head back to Spokane and North Idaho during the holidays to be with family, where snow is a much more frequent sight than it is in Seattle. Keeping up the geocaching when everything is under a blanket of white and you’re sipping eggnog by a warm fire becomes a challenge then.
Q: What tips do you have for other geocachers who are trying to keep a streak going in the winter weather?
A: I start off by looking for geocaches that have the “Available in Winter” attribute, although this is rather hit-or-miss as some geocache owners do not use attributes. It does help identify some better ones that were intended specifically for winter, though. What helps the most is looking for geocaches that were found in the last day or two, especially if it recently snowed. This tells you that people are having success at these geocaches despite whatever the conditions on the ground may be.
Q: So what makes for a good winter geocache?
Moun10Bike’s co-worker and geocaching friend Annie Love (Username: Love) takes a photo on their geocaching expedition. Photo by Moun10Bike.
A: Basically any geocache that is off the ground or otherwise protected from snow coverage. Some great winter geocaches that I’ve found were attached to branches in a tree. During the summer, they are many feet up in the air, but are within easy reach with snow on the ground. If a geocache meets these criteria, the geocache owner should be sure to add the “Available in Winter” attribute.
Q: Do you have any safety tips for geocachers who – streaking or not – might find themselves outside geocaching in frightful weather?
A: Dress warmly, be ready and willing to turn back if conditions turn against you, and watch out for ice! I encountered a frozen patch on a trail during an geocaching outing last winter and made a point to stomp across carefully. Despite my caution, my hiking boots slipped out from under me and I broke my arm in the process of catching myself.
Q: But you continued winter geocaching after that?
A: I absolutely did! The break came when I was only a month away from a year straight, so I had to keep going.
Keep tuned in to learn more great geocaching tips from the desk – or trail – of Moun10Bike. What inspires you to leave the warm eggnog and crackling fire behind, and head out geocaching in the winter weather? Tell us in the comments below.
Never be embarrassed again when asked if you put the fork on the right side of the geocache or the left. Become a geocaching etiquette champion after watching this quick, fun Geocaching Etiquette video. You’ll develop good trading habits, learn all about trackables, what to do around muggles and more. Watching the video is a great way to add a new confidence and joy to your geocaching adventure in just two minutes.
To help those new to geocaching, share your etiquette tips below in comments or on the Geocaching Facebook page.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional)
From the cold winter nights in the frigid north to the warm beaches of tropical paradise, the nominees for Geocacher of the Month share (at least) one thing in common: dedication.
Each nominee is being honored for their contributions to the geocaching community. Each will receive worldwide recognition and a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but which 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 a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.
Mic68 – October Geocacher of the Month
In October, Mic68 was named Geocacher of the Month.
One geocacher who commented wrote, “After visiting (Mic68’s)“Dragonheart” I kept referring to this cache as the best I’ve ever done. By now they have published another one which we have just finished a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that this cache definitely is a milestone in geocaching! Wow! In Germany people are willing to travel quite a bit if the cache is worth it and I see people flocking in. The mixture of storytelling, suspense, technical know-how and fun is hard to beat. Also, this team is immensely nice and helpful! All in all they are very worthy candidates and I would be happy for them to win!”
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 November Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.
Milton Munoz writes, “Janizy has been one of most outstanding geocachers in the history of the hobby in Puerto Rico. She started 4 and half years ago, since then she is being a leader, creating events and inviting geocachers to the most beautiful places of the island. Her caches combine a wide variety of clever ideas and diabolic camouflages, which have become the most wanted (and frightful too) in the local arena. She has created one the most successful Multi-Cache in the south part of the island, inviting geocachers to do CITO in a beautiful coastal valley area.
Janizy has involved her entire family into the hobby: husband, 2 daughters, brother, sister, brother in law, niece and nephews. Janizy and her family are known as one the most successful FTF (First to Find) hunters of the island. Janizy has a great passion for the photography too and always is taking pictures and recording video of every geocaching adventure and produces excellent videos that she uploads in her YouTube and Vimeo channels. Janizy combines pretty well her profession as Special Education Teacher and her passion for the geocaching, recently she created the first Earth Cache published by a local geocacher on the island. For all the energy and interest that Janizy puts in to geocaching, she deserves to be honored as the geocacher of the month!”
BIGBROTHERBEAR – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
Gary Goodyear writes, “I would like to submit BIGBROTHERBEAR as the Geocacher of the Month. BBB (bigbrotherbear) and his series Quest For The Holy Grail (GC3WKNB) was an inspiration for us. Jim (bigbrotherbear) spent months planning and researching the series. BBB has taken time out of his life for so many people to accompany them on this journey. If someone needs some help while out on the trail he is more than willing to do this for them, not just a nudge or hint, he will bring them water, food or whatever they need. BBB is involved with the Iowa Geocaching Organization. He has hidden many caches to help make the events successful for them.
BigBrotherBear is more than the average cacher. He contributes countless hours to the community as well. His series Quest For The Hoiy Grail won the IGO peoples choice for outstanding series of 2013.
If you look at the entire series you will see that it has been awarded more than 650 favorite points in total. BBB has hiked this series with several of the teams. 8-12 miles of rough terrain, hills, river crossings and wild life. BBB is planning a new series that involves over 161 well placed caches. It has been placed submitted and is awaiting review.
BBB will take the time to get the permission to place the caches and he also maintains them. I found one of his bike trail geocaches that was in need of repair. I called BBB and told him about this. The next day he was at the site and had repaired it.”
Darlene Fortin writes, “I would like to nominate NorthWes of Anchorage, Alaska for geocacher of the month. NorthWes is the president of Geocache Alaska. NorthWes is a man of knowledge on his state and on Geocaching. Northwes took time out of busy life to help me organize Events and Geocaching tours for 72 geocachers who were cruising from Vancouver to Alaska. Northwes organized a Meet and Greet for the Cruisers and the locals to meet each other and supplied some awesome prizes for the Event. Northwes is a very respected cacher in his area and has many caches throughout Anchorage and works hard to keep his and other caches in the area maintained. He also guided many of us on private geocaching tours through many of the parks in Anchorage. His knowledge of Alaska was amazing to help us with the many earthcaches through out Alaska.
NorthWes also helped me with all the paperwork to make Bermuda Island Geocachers a non-profit organization. His organization is well established and has members all over the world.
He is for sure one of the best ambassador for Geocaching and is well respected by his local cachers and now all the cachers that were cruising from all over the states and Bermuda. This man surely deserves to be recognized for all his hard work he has put into geocaching for Alaska!”
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the November Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through December 30.
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 Geocacher of the Month
Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for the next Geocacher of the Month should be received by January 3.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.
There are many reasons to hide a geocache: to bring geocachers to a beautiful location, show off an amazing geocache container, challenge geocachers to an extraordinary puzzle—or in this case, encourage geocachers to visit the lair of one of our favorite crime-fighting super heroes, Batman. Even if you didn’t grow up while the original Batman series was on air, you probably know of the amazing story lines, impeccable acting, and of course, the incredible dialog (Holy FTF Batman!). For fans of comics or the recent Batman movies, a visit to one of the most iconic caves in Hollywood history is a must.
“Batman’s Batcave was one of the first geocaches I ever found back in 2005 (I think it was my 10th or 12th). I was a fan of the original TV series, for sure, and the cache represented my two favorite things about caching; #1 An interesting location (Hollywood history to boot!) #2 Hiking in Griffith Park.”
“I am a huge Hollywood history buff and happy to maintain the location so that tourists from all over the world can experience the thrill of seeing actual movie locations and such famous landmarks. I’m beyond flattered and thrilled at the number of favorite points and it definitely creates a sense of responsibility in me to keep it well maintained and active.”
And her message to fellow geocachers: “Be considerate of others. When you are placing a cache, make sure it is interesting/fun/safe, and make sure it is maintained. When you are finding a cache, respect property and neighbors. When you are logging a cache, be helpful and constructive with your criticism. One harsh word can really put off a cache owner who was only trying to do something nice for you.”
# of Finds:
550
# of Favorite Points:
69
What geocachers are saying:
“We love visiting the Bat Cave, so we were very excited to learn there is a cache here…He found the cache after a bit of looking and said it was really cool, and remarked that it was one of the cleanest caches he’s seen in a while…Many thanks for this super fun one!” – Rosa Mundi
“My dad bought the old Batman series when I was young. Finding this place is awesome for me!” – tim_neal
“Always interesting to see places where movies and television shows were filmed. When my friend talked about doing this cache while he was out here, I placed it on my list of caches to do if I ever got out here. Well, this was the trip for me and I made a bee line here for this neat-o place.” – Hawaiian Ninja
Batman isn’t home. I hope Gotham is safe. Photo by geocacher goblin girlTwo geocachers reenacting one of their favorite scenes from the original series. Photo by geocahers Team AfrofishThe mouth of the Batcave. Photo by geocacher QuicVic
If you could find a geocache near the filming location of any movie, which movie would it be and why? 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.
