… geocaches don’t find themselves. It’s true. And we don’t want to live in a world where they actually do find themselves (didn’t you see the movie Terminator?). So the question is, how do you brave the winter (or summer if you’re in a sizzling hot climate) and still feed your need for smileys? We’ve got you covered.We talked to a geocacher with a streak of more than 700 straight days of finding a geocache. There’s been extreme heat, snowy whiteouts and pouring rain. Jon Stanley, better known as Moun10Bike, tells all about geocaching in tough winter climates in this blog post.
Learn winter tips like:
Look for geocaches with the “Available in Winter” attribute
Geocaches that are off the ground or otherwise protected from snow coverage offer the best chance for success
Dress warmly, be ready and willing to turn back if conditions turn against you
Here are tips for the other extreme: heat
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Wear proper sun protection, a hat, sunscreen, etc…
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Avoid being outside for long periods during the hottest part of the day
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Geocache in the early morning or after the sun goes down
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Stay hydrated
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Bring a friend and always tell someone where you’re geocaching (don’t have a 127 Hours situation)
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Mostly, use common sense: although geocaches don’t find themselves (thankfully), they’ll still be there the next day for you to find them safely
What’s your advice for maintaining your need for geocaching in all seasons? Leave a comment on the Geocaching Facebook page or in comments on The Geocaching Blog.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional)
You’ll help decide the final Geocacher of the Month for 2013. It’s no small task after you read about these topnotch nominees from North America and Europe. Each is an outstanding geocache maker, with favorite points coming out of their ears they place such well received geocaches.
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.
In November, Janizy, was named Geocacher of the Month. Janizy wrote a thank you. She says, “Woohoo!! : D
No words can express our gratitude to the community of geocachers, friends and family that overflowed leaving supportive comments for me. It’s my name that’s here, but it’s actually the of whole of Puerto Rico celebrating this honor.
I want to congratulate [fellow Geocacher of the Month nominees] BIGBROTHERBEAR & NorthWes!! I want you to know that I admire you and would love to meet you someday and go geocaching together.
Janizy – November 2013 Geocacher of the Month
I also want to extend a special thanks to Milton_fmh, who nominated me as the Geocacher of the Month. You know you’re part of my family. Thanks for being such a great geocacher and friend. THANKS!”
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 December Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.
blazingpathways nominee for Geocacher of the Month
Thomas Noble writes, ” Not only is blazingpathways currently the most prolific geocache hider in Alaska, Victoria is one of the top 10 finders of caches in Alaska. Her repertoire of cache hides include events, multis, earth caches, traditionals, and puzzles. She has participated in all sorts of events and CITOs during her geocaching career.
Along with creating and finding caches blazingpathways believes in giving back to the caching community. Active in GeocacheAlaska! she has presented many educational programs for the club in such areas as using pocket queries, caching along a route, and using database programs to complement one’s caching experience as well as personalized bling and other geo related items.
Victoria is an inclusive cacher who sees geocaching as an activity where all participants are equally worthy of being included. She actively introduces herself to new geocachers at events and on the trail. She participates on our local forums where one of her primary interests is in seeing that local cachers receive the accolades they deserve.”
Geocaching since 2008, siig, has impacted thousands of other geocachers through hides with more than 100 favorite points and events that regularly attract new and old geocachers. A majority of siig’s finds and all their hides are in Denmark. The geocaching community in the country is growing rapidly and friends say siig is helping lead that community in a positive direction with their hides and finds.
Geocacher and prolific hider Jesper Mazanti writes, “My nominees are two geocachers siig. They have both done a lot for geocaching in this area. They have placed a lot of caches of various types and difficulty. They have made some events which all have been visited by a lot of geocachers.
All their work reflects a lot fun and they bring the entire geocaching community together socially as well.”
Marietta Davis writes, “Birdman320 is the kind of cacher every cache owner hopes for and appreciates. Dan never sets off for a find without being prepared for the worst. He is always loaded with tools such as string, a pocket knife and most importantly a LARGE supply of replacement logs equipped with Ziploc bags to keep them dry. On one caching adventure with Birdman320 I believe he went through more than 20 log books.
Another important thing to mention about Birdman320 is what he does for other people. Dan Burdick is the most the thoughtful and caring person I have ever met. Dan goes above and beyond to help anyone in need whenever possible, which extends well beyond the Geocaching community. I have witnessed Dan going out of his way to shovel sidewalks and clean off cars for the elderly, assist people jump start their cars/get into their cars when the keys were locked in, all after working a 12 hour shift. Dan has been known to help fellow cachers while in the woods on many occasions crossing creeks and up steep inclines.”
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the November Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through January 31.
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 February 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.
If you think about it, maybe the one ring was actually a rare trackable and its goal was to make it to Mt. Doom. And Gollum was just an overzealous trackable collector. Alright, maybe that’s a stretch. Either way, you can pretend as you walk through the shire to find this geocache in New Zealand. After the Lord of the Ring movies were filmed here, the entire town transformed with hobbit-like architecture to welcome LOTR fans from around the world. In between first and second breakfast, you can pop on over to earn this smiley before exploring more of Middle Earth.
# of Finds:
424
# of Favorite Points:
19
What geocachers are saying:
“It is impressive how much love and enthusiasm the Kiwis invest in building sites, houses, places etc. to fit to the local sights or situations. This is one of the best examples. We booked the Hobbiton Tour in there, it was a great pleasure. The cache was easy to find and to catch (with a little bit of ‘cacher camo’).” – Team_BeAn
“Went on the tour which was totally awesome and when we came back later in the day we were able to find, retrieve, sign and replace without being in any photographs. Took 3 travel bugs and definitely needs a favourite. What a great boost for Matamata. Well done.” – 1066
“Were they muggles, or just overgrown hobbits but there were a lot of them about on a sunny Sunday afternoon? Once the coast was clear we soon found this cache very cunningly hidden. It was more of a challenge extracting it and signing the log without wanting to appear too obvious. TFTC.” – kiwilah
Hobbit holes! Photo by geocacher SinbadsfriendsA Hobbiton monument. Photo by geocacher quinella.Classic hobbit architecture. Photo by geocachers Team sissifalke
What’s your favorite geocache that’s based on a movie or book? 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.
The beginning of each year is traditionally the time to set new goals. Some might want to shed a few extra pounds, or make more time for family and friends.
As a geocacher, you can set very specific goals to up your geocaching game in 2014. You might want to tackle a D5/T5 or finally find this tricky geocache that you just cannot spot. You maybe want to host your first CITO-Event (Cash in Trash Out) or hide a creative geocache.
You won’t find GOTW and GOTM in any “normal” dictionary, just like your won’t find TFTC or BYOP. But we geocachers speak our own language of adventure. GOTW and GOTM are what you need to stay on top of the latest hiding and finding trends and to see the adventurers who are shaping our growing geocaching community. GOTW and GOTM stand for “Geocache of the Week” and the “Geocacher of the Month.”
Every Thursday, Geocaching HQ selects a much-loved and creative geocache from the 2.2 million active geocaches hidden around the globe. It’s then featured on The Geocaching Blog. The Geocache of the Week is a great way to explore the world and discover new potential geocaching adventures. It’s also an inspirational resource for geocache makers to discover new ways to hide a clever geocache.
Once a month, the worldwide community also meets three amazing geocachers. They’re nominated by their friends or family to be the featured Geocacher of the Month. You help select the outstanding geocacher who receives the award. Each nominee walks away with worldwide recognition and a prize package from Geocaching HQ.
Now it’s your turn. To nominate an outstanding geocaching hide for Geocache of the Week, leave a comment on the latest Geocache of the Week blog post. Find details here on how to nominate the next Geocacher of the Month.
Click on the image to learn more about the Featured Geocacher of the Month
