Year: 2013

/ Andrea Hofer /

Nightcaching at Sweden’s largest Mega-Event

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Andrea, representing Geocaching HQ. Photo: Marcus Bengtsson

Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are joining geocachers at Mega-Events around the world to celebrate and share the adventure of geocaching. Andrea Hofer attended Swedens oldest and largest annual Geocaching event – FUMBLE AFTER DARK 2013. This is Andrea’s account of her trip.

After attending Florida Finders Fest, I hopped on a plane and made my way to Fumble after Dark in Sweden, getting a chance to see two different communities back to back! Sweden in November feels much like Seattle in November – short, drizzly days and long, chilly nights. That’s why Fumble after Dark is so great: 900 participants come together to embrace the long nights and make them into an opportunity for amazing geocaching!

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Photo courtesy of Marcus Bengtsson

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The event was in Sodertalje, a one-hour drive from Stockholm. After my 22 hour travel from Florida, I gratefully settled in at the adorably Ikea-esque Scandic hotel. A few fun facts about driving in Sweden:

  • You have to keep your Headlights turned on 24/7 by law.
  • Traffic lights briefly turn orange after red to warn that green is coming.
  • In a Peugeot, “A” means “drive” and when you brake, the motor goes completely silent.

The Fumble After Dark event ran from 10 AM to midnight. Noon to 5 was reserved for presentations, which included puzzle cache tips, a fascinating presentation on “lost places” (especially Detroit), and cache hiding tips from the Swedish Reviewers. I gave a presentation focusing on what the Geocaching HQ Community Team does and our plans for 2014. I also learned that the majority of the attendees are on Facebook and completed the entire #31in31 August challenge!

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Swedish reviewers presenting. Photo: Marcus Bengtsson

Next it was time to load up the night caches’ GPS coordinates (including the 10 lab caches) and head out into the woods for 3-4 hours of spooky excitement celebrating All Souls’ Day.

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Setting out. Photo: Marcus Bengtsson

 

The only light is the one you bring. Photo: Marcus Bengtsson
The only light is the one you bring. Photo: Marcus Bengtsson
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A knot-based puzzle off-trail in a forest.
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Climbing to get the find code for one of the Lab caches. Photo: Marcus Bengtsson

It was utterly dark, chilly, off-trail in a forest, muddy, hilly, scary, and exciting, and I was glad to have been invited to tag along with the Swedish Reviewers. Much of the cache terrain was higher than one would see at a similar event in the U.S. and the geocaches were all clever, especially the haunted kindergarten lab cache:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/RIH4E9DhbIw]

Many thanks to organizer Fredrik Wellener and all the geocachers who helped create this very special experience.

Click here to see more pictures from Fumble After Dark.

 Have you ever gone nightcaching? Share your best experiences with us in the comments below!

/ Eric Schudiske /

DIY Geocaching Swag

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One of the first rules of geocaching involves the matchbox cars, the bouncy balls and the lady bug erasers staring up at you from the bottom of the geocache. That’s geocaching SWAG – or Stuff We All Get. Geocachers trade swag by replacing items in the geocache with something of equal or greater value.

Now you can spread geocaching joy by leaving a trail of customized, do-it-yourself swag in geocaches. Geocachers often leave signature items in each geocache they find. The customswag might be a signed playing card, a crocheted finger puppet, identical erasers or __________ (insert your amazing idea here). Each piece is a sign to other geocachers that you visited the geocache. It’s a great way to build community. Leave a recognizable piece of swag and you will become known by yourswag. Think of it, you could be “Origami Guy” or “Ladybug Lady” or ___________ (‘Insert your amazing idea’ Person”).

Share your ideas for personalized geocaching swag below in comments or on the Geocaching Facebook page.

 

/ Paige Edmiston /

Announcing the October Geocacher of the Month

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 geocaching community gave thanks this past month for three dedicated geocachers from three very different corners of the world. All the nominees were creative hiders who have committed themselves not only to maintaining their geocaches, but also to maintaining and growing friendships within the geocaching community. Each will receive special recognition for their contribution to the global adventure of geocaching.

Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ  reviews community input and blog comments. Each comment is read.

After tallying the sentiment and reading the comments, Mic68  has been officially named the Geocacher of the Month for October 2013.

One geocacher who commented wrote, “After visiting “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!”

Mic68 will receive the earned, never for sale, collector’s edition Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and a certificate acknowledging his contribution, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. See a list of all the Geocachers of the Month here.

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Mic68 – Geocacher of the Month

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

Every nomination must include the following items and abide by the
Netherlands following guidelines:

  • 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 Geocacher of the Month are accepted at any time.

Congratulations again to Mic68  for being recognized as the Geocacher of the Month for October.

/ Derek H /

Concrete floats! — Betonschiff Redentin (GC15D8C) — Geocache of the Week

Ominous, isn't it? It's also made of concrete. Photo by geocacher *Hänsel&Gretel*
Ominous, isn’t it? It’s also made of concrete. Photo by geocacher *Hänsel&Gretel*

Geocache Name:

Betonschiff Redentin (GC15D8C)

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

3.5/5

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

Besides the fact that this geocache is located on an abandoned ship that’s amazing, slightly creepy and made of concrete? This geocache will test your bravery and boating skills, as well as teach you a lesson about history. During World War II, when steel was at a premium, engineers and ship builders moved to the next logical material: concrete. More than 50 ships were made in this fashion and served as transports and freighters. This particular ship ran aground at some point and has been sitting alone on a sandbar in the Bay of Wismar ever since. Now, geocachers keep the empty hull company while earning their smileys.

# of Finds:

676

# of Favorite Points:

410

What geocachers are saying:

(all translated from German)

“What can I say?? Beautiful surroundings, cool location, cool cache, just great!” – Kinnekulli

“We have had a very nice, hard, wet, dirty, hungry and exciting day on the concrete ship . Thank you so much for this!” – Kewiku

“This cache will always be in my memory along with this great team, the awesome views, and wonderful weather. This beautiful experience tops any other cache. Thanks to the owner for this possibility the whole thing.” – Meer♥Liebe

Read More Logs

Photos/Video:

 

View from the deck. I don't think it's sea-worthy anymore. Photo by geocacher rendl.
View from the deck. I don’t think it’s sea-worthy anymore. Photo by geocacher rendl.
Choreographed happy dances on top of the bridge. Photo by geocacher HeideParkSoltau
Choreographed happy dances on top of the bridge. Photo by geocacher HeideParkSoltau
Classic. "I'm king of the wooooooorld!" Photo by geocacher S-Man42
Classic. “I’m king of the wooooooorld!” Photo by geocacher S-Man42

See More Photos

 

What has been your favorite geocache in a historical place? 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.

/ Eric Schudiske /

The Olympic Geocacher

Dee Wright Observatory on the Eugene, Cascades, Coast GeoTour (geocache nearby)
Dee Wright Observatory on the Eugene, Cascades, Coast GeoTour (geocache nearby)

Traits like stamina, speed and a competitive spirit transform average geocachers into superstars. For one geocacher, those same traits made him pretty darn good at something else, being an Olympic runner. Ian Dobson qualified and ran as a U.S. Olympian in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

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Ian Dobson - Olympian, Geocacher
Ian Dobson – Olympian, Geocacher

Now imagine a stretch of freshly published geocaches dotting the rugged landscape of the Central Oregon. There are more than 30 geocaches hiding from the dark summit of a volcanic mountain to the lush green of fern covered gorges. This is no geocaching power trail. Each geocache is part of the custom Eugene Cascades and Coast GeoTour. And each geocache delivers adventures to a unique location, often deep into the tall evergreens.

Ian Dobson trains in Eugene. It’s a runner’s paradise with the hallowed echoes of Olympic legends in each footstep. And thanks to the expanding GeoTour it’s a geocacher’s paradise too.

But what to do though if you’re an Olympic runner and a geocacher? How about finish the first leg of the Eugene, Cascades and Coast GeoTour in just two days? Sure.

That’s exactly what Ian and a team of geocachers did. Ian says the GeoTour was a great chance to explore, “I don’t think there’s anyone who lives here, whose been to all those places.”

The team logged more than 30 geocaches from the McKenzie spoke of the GeoTour in two days. Ian says that geocaching offers a good variety of locations and terrains, and the Eugene Cascades and Coast GeoTour offers not just mountains, but also beaches. The team headed to the Oregon coast and the Florence leg of the tour and kept up their pace. They finished that part of the GeoTour in just one day.  The final geocaches were found in the dark, as the team finished at 10pm.

Do you see the puzzle piece Ian is holding in the picture? If geocachers accumulate enough find codes from each leg of the GeoTour they earn the free trackable puzzle pieces. The team will likely be busy again. Another spoke of the GeoTour, through rolling country south of Eugene.

As we have established: you are a superstar too. Do you plan to challenge yourself with a GeoTour, or do you have a geocaching workout routine? Let us know in the comments below!

Near the "Blue Pool" on the McKenzie spoke of the Eugene, Cascades and Coast GeoTour
Near the “Blue Pool” on the McKenzie spoke of the Eugene, Cascades and Coast GeoTour