Year: 2013

/ Derek H /

7 years, 327 DNFs, 2 Finds — A Real Challenge (GC1764C) Lives Up to Its Name

A little geocache frustration from geocacher The Wumpus, with Leaderdog and Tape Worm in the background, while on the search for A Real Challenge.

Editor’s Note: Updated in September 2013 with additional DNF numbers.

Another Editor’s note: Updated August 2014 to include the second find!

In this week’s Geocaching Weekly Mailer, we talked about logging DNFs (did not find). While no one yearns to log a DNF, they’re a necessary part of the game. DNFs can mean all sorts of things: the geocache has been moved, needs maintenance, or in the case of A Real Challenge (GC1764C), it could mean that it’s incredibly hard to find.

With 247 DNFs and only one find, A Real Challenge lives up to its name. In fact, it took nearly four years for the FTF. This geocache was hidden near Peoria, Illinois, USA by geocacher Fuzzy B, who set out with the goal of creating something he’s never seen before, which, with nearly 46,000 finds, is hard to do. “I have felt a little guilty that so many people have spent so much time searching for it,” he said when asked how it felt to be the owner of such a difficult geocache.

In the geocache description, Fuzzy B writes, “Please, to hold down the level of frustration, anger, etc., just put this on your ignore list, it’s not very findable.” But he goes on to reassure us,  “Yes, its there. It’s a shelter Cache, a log in a container. Cache is not in, on, or touching any part of the electrical equipment. It’s not on the roof, or under the shingles, nor the drip edge. Cache is exposed to light and air. Cache is within the footprint of the roof. There is NO reason to damage or destroy Park property.”

BransonAdventure after their find.
It's there somewhere...
It’s there somewhere…

A Real Challenge has only one find so far by geocacher BransonAdventure. “We found at 8:07pm, but waited to log so we could confirm with owner it wasn’t a decoy or mistake. All the way from Nebraska on vacation we extended the Eastward travel just for this cache,” they said in their log, “I will say we spent just a little under 2 hours looking when my husband found it and then to unroll the log, being so excited and shaking felt like it took about as long. The husband and kids did a little jig.” After the find, Fuzzy B came to meet the lucky geocachers.

Even if it’s a little discouraging, DNFs are an important part of the game. Just think, if all the people that had searched for A Real Challenge hadn’t logged their DNFs, the FTF wouldn’t have been as special.

There’s only one way to find out where this geocache is located, but in the meantime, we can speculate. Where do you think it’s hidden?

UPDATE, August 2014:

On August 11, 2014, a second intrepid geocacher made this nearly impossible find. This makes only two finds after nearly 7 years and 327 DNFs. Congratulations to wcs24fan for being only the second geocacher to conquer the odds and sign their name on the logbook. In their log, wcs24fan writes, “As the sun was retreating behind the clouds and beginning to paint them hues of various pinks, we were still searching for this well hidden treasure. Hope has a way of making one think they can achieve the unachievable. On this evening, for us, the unachievable was struck down as we made the find! Upon opening the container and seeing the log of the BransonAdventure team in the FTF spot, it was confirmed that we had found what we had hoped for. Excitement and elation bathed us for several minutes as we signed the log and pondered what we had just accomplished. The first to find in 3 years and only the second to find overall! Those feelings would travel with us for hours to come as we made our way through the winding back roads to the interstate and our way home. Thanks Fuzzy for giving us the hope that we could pull this off and the great adventure!”

Geocache owner Fuzzy B meets the only geocacher to find A Real Challenge, BransonAdventure.

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Why to Log a DNF

Log Your DNFs
Log Your DNFs

3 Little Geocaching Letters that say “I Care”

You’ve looked. You really have. The geocache is not a container magnetized under the park bench. It’s not that funny looking rock, and of course it’s not under the lamp post cover. You’ve checked the previous logs and the hint. The geocache could be there, but you can’t seem to find it. You give up (for now). Geocaching doesn’t stop there though. Here’s what you do. You log a DNF on the geocache page. It’s “Did not find” and it means, “I care.”

When you log a DNF, you’re telling geocachers that the geocache may be more difficult to find than anticipated or may even be missing. You’re also letting the geocache owner know that they may need to double check that their geocache container can still be located at the posted coordinates.

If you’re a geocacher who logged any of the more than nine million DNF’s posted to Geocaching so far, thanks from the geocaching community. It’s a small way to help ensure the quality of geocaching. Plus, you can always go back and search again. Who knows, maybe this time you’ll catch a break and log a “Found it!”

Add a comment below and share your DNF strategy with other geocachers. When do you log a DNF?

/ Eric Schudiske /

Reward a Favorite Point and say Thank You

GooglePlus_Cover_940x180_vFINAL

Reward Favorite Points to the geocaches that make you cheer with joy!
Reward Favorite Points to the geocaches that make you cheer with joy!

Your pulse-quickens. Your jaw drops. And you think, “No way!” It’s the “Aha!” reward of finding a geocache that’s a unique container, cleverly hidden or reveals an amazing location. Maybe it’s even all three of those elements rolled into one geocache.

Now you have nearly two million active geocaches to choose from for your adventure. You can celebrate the best of those geocaches by rewarding that geocache a shiny new Favorite Point.

Some geocaches have tallied hundreds of Favorite Points, some have even earned more than a thousand Favorite Points. And your Favorite Point matters.

A Favorite Point is a blue ribbon award that makes a geocache owner’s day. Favorite Points are your way of saying Thank You to the geocacher who hid and maintains the geocache. It’s also a way to let other geocachers know that geocache is well worth the journey.

Geocaching Favorites Image

Here’s the story of how Favorite Points work. Premium Members earn one Favorite Point for every ten geocaches they find. They can reward their points to any geocache where they logged, “Found it.” Basic Members who upgrade to Premium Membership receive Favorite Points accordingly to their past finds.

Searching by Favorite Points also offers a big time-saving advantage, since you won’t have to sort through page after page of search results to find the best geocaches in an area. The one-click solution is an easy way to instantly see which geocaches leave your fellow geocachers in awe.

You can help out new geocache hiders. Add a comment below and tell us what makes a geocache worthy of a Favorite Point?

/ Derek H /

First Berlin Cache (GC2EB4) – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK

Since the two-millionth geocache is right around the corner, we thought this would be a great time to take a look back into Geocaching’s past. This week’s Geocache of the Week takes us to the capital and most populous city in Germany: Berlin. First Berlin Cache (GC2EB4) was hidden by geocacher error404 on December 29, 2001—that’s only about a year and a half after the first geocache was placed in the United States. Since then, this geocache has earned over 1,000 smileys and (as of this writing) 48 Favorite Points.

An old stone road that leads to the geocache. Photo by geocacher Ezh_gps
An old stone road that leads to the geocache. Photo by geocacher Ezh_gps

This historic geocache is on the must-find list for many geocachers worldwide. However, just because it’s been around for a long time doesn’t mean it’s an easy find. The difficulty and terrain ratings are both 1.5, however, according to the description, a bit of stealth and a decent walk are required. “Oh man, that was a long a bitter march to this historic place. But it was worth it and we were able to log Berlin’s first geocache,” said geocacher wullebaer in their log. (The original log is in German and was translated for this blog.)

Geocacher Rumpel. with the First Berlin Cache.
Geocacher Rumpel. with the First Berlin Cache.

A lot has happened in the 12 years since the geocache was first hidden. The surrounding environment, land-owners and land-use policies have all changed, which meant the geocache had to evolve. Berlin’s first geocache has began as a small traditional geocache, changed to a multi-cache, and is now a micro. This geocache has even changed owners: the cache is now maintained by geocacher Jack_Sparrow and crew. Regardless of the changes, this geocache remains a significant part of German geocaching history.

As we get closer and closer to the two-millionth geocache, be sure to take a moment to look back at the historical geocaches in your area. Who knows, you might find inspiration for your next hide.

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

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Travel Bug® Travels – The Video

 

GooglePlus_Cover_940x180_vFINAL

Click here for the latest active geocache count on Geocaching.com (updates every 15 minutes)

Let’s celebrate the crisscrossing global journey of thousands and thousands of Geocaching Travel Bugs. The Travel Bug Travels video shows the movements of each and every Travel Bug in Geocaching history as it moves around the world from geocache to geocache.  Can you find your Travel Bug? Watch and share this video to wow your friends with the worldwide phenomenon of Geocaching.

 [vsw id=”2nJ_GHVY7aI” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

There’s much more to see and experience as we close in on the 2 millionth active geocache. Check out and share the Geocaching Celebrating 2 Million Active Geocaches infographic for a look at some of the wonders of geocaching.

You can also see the evolution of geocaching since 2000 by watching the video below. Watch and share 2 Million Geocaches in 1 Minute.

[vsw id=”IfU3blexL7o” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]