[Editor’s Note: Geocachers love to spread the word about the adventure of geocaching. Sonny and Sandy from the PodCachers have spent years sharing the joy of geocaching through their podcast the PodCacher podcast. Here’s a rare look behind the scenes of their podcast.]

By Sonny & Sandy,

Gorillas, a wild-west jail, a Halloween prop and Dave Ulmer – sound like the start of a bad joke? No, just another typical day at the PodCacher studios, putting together an podcast full of geocaching goodness for a listener community that spans the globe.

We are Sonny and Sandy (from sunny San Diego, California) and we have hosted the PodCacher podcast (the weekly audio show all about geocaching) for almost eight years. From the very first show, where we shared about some geocaches we found in Kazakhstan and Amsterdam, to the latest interview with Dave Ulmer, hider of the first geocache, our 400+ shows have circled the world to offer geocaching content to inform, inspire and entertain.

The rich connections with people we have never met, the truly kindred spirits we have stumbled upon, the numerous poignant emails that share how deeply we have touched someone in a time of stress or grief – these are the amazing gifts we have received from this podcast.

The shows often begin with the latest in geocaching and GPS news. This is where gorillas come into the conversation. A fascinating study about a concept called inattentional blindness which has prevented 83% of radiologists from seeing a gorilla photo-shopped into a lung scan, led to a discussion of caches that are hidden in plain sight, and how easy it is to miss a simple cache, when you have a preconceived notion of what it is supposed to look like. Has this ever happened to you?

Many PodCacher shows include a mention of super cool geocaches. You might hear about several unique or unusual geocaches in one show. One of the greatest resources we have is our diverse, experienced and creative (not to mention good-looking) listener community, and it is amazing what they share with us. On Show 409, for example, a Halloween prop from the dollar store was easily turned into a fun hide called, Lend Me a Hand. Another cacher created a miniature adobe brick-style jail for travel bugs including jail cells and “most wanted” posters for the cache Deputies, bring in those travel bugs.

You may have heard that the famous, yet somewhat reclusive, Dave Ulmer was recently interviewed on PodCacher. He unexpectedly showed up at the recent Mega-Event in Yuma, Arizona, at the invitation of Team 360.

Dave hid the very first geocache (called “stash hunt” at the time) back on May 3, 2000, and he spent some time reminiscing with us about that exciting time, and the amazing world-wide phenomenon that his “little” idea set into motion. He shared about staying up all night when selective availability was to be taken off, watching the accuracy on his GPS change from 300 feet to 30 feet, and realizing that “something magic has to happen from this!” That magic has now passed 2 million active caches on Geocaching.com. Listen to show 409 for more of this fascinating interview.

We love to record from “out in the field”, at geocaching events or just along the trails, capturing that authentic audio that makes it feel like you’re right there with us, but most often we can be found recording in our “home studio”. This is actually a small corner of a home office, partitioned off with a bookcase and sound-dampening blankets hung on rope. To make it even cozier, Sonny built a wooden ceiling that sports more acoustic sound-proofing. We have a printed show outline to guide us, as well as any email, feedback or news items that we need to read, but our favorite times are the spontaneous moments of hilarity that often erupt out of nowhere. We’ve certainly gotten better at recording after all these years, but we still manage to create some great bloopers that often find their way into the end of the show.

We invite you to come and join the international geocaching community at podcacher.com!

Geocaching is more than an adventure that takes you to new locations. It’s a growing record of specific locations. Currently geocachers can navigate to more than 2 million active geocaches around the globe. Every time you find a geocache it’s like making an entry into the diary of a specific location. You record the weather, the view, who joined the adventure, even what animals you encounter (hopefully safe, fluffy, friendly animals). Here’s a look at a recent Geocaching Forums post that asked a simple question… “Does anyone know of any other caches that have been in the same spot, same container over 10 years?”

Some geocaches like”da dog ‘yaks‘ were hidden in 2001. Geocachers have captured images of floating the Juniper Creek in Ocala National Forest for 12 years. They’ve even cataloged wildlife, flowers, and the water level. The geocache owner says the veteran geocache, “… is coming up on 12 years, survived the hurricane flooding, because the tree it was tucked up against fell on it.” Although the container on that geocache was changed after the flood, the original log book remains.

There are thousands of active geocaches that are more than ten years old, but there numbers are fading and their geocache containers are (often for good reason) replaced. Hiding and maintaining a geocache is a labor or love that has its rewards.

One geocacher posting in the forum said it perfectly, “WOW, [geocache owners] thank you for doing everything you do for the sport of geocaching, and keeping these older caches active.”

For more details check out the Geocaching Forums. What’s the oldest geocache you’ve ever logged? Did it have its original container?