Geocaching HQ Lackeys attend dozens of Mega and Giga-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching! Genevieve (gminer1105) is a Marketing Manager at Geocaching HQ. She recently traveled to Slovakia to attend School in nature – 10 years (GCABCDE). Here’s her trip summary.

The 10th School in Nature Mega-Event took place over the weekend of June 29 at Tabor Podvišňové in the foothills of the White Carpathians in Western Slovakia. The Event location was a beautiful retreat into nature, surrounded by lush green forests with hiking trails.

For geocachers who got to the Event early, the fun started on Friday with a School in Nature tradition, the night game. The night game is a kind of scavenger hunt devised by the Event organizers and each year has a different theme. This year’s theme was looking back at the memories of the past School in Nature Events. The game featured multiple stages set up around the grounds of Tabor Podvišňové. At each location, a cacher presented a puzzle or riddle that the team had to solve.

Teams with geocachers of all ages hurried from stage to stage solving logic puzzles, answering trivia questions, identifying the coats of arms of different regions of Slovakia, and more. There was lots of laughter and many brows furrowed in concentration as cachers raced to complete all the stages in the allotted time.

The next day, the official Mega-Event kicked off under bright morning sunshine, offering a full day of activities for cachers. Attendees listened to engaging talks and panel discussions on various geocaching topics, learned how to use climbing gear for high-terrain caches, completed Adventure Locations, and of course, visited with geocaching friends, old and new.

The Event was family-friendly, offering plenty of activities for kids, such as arts and crafts and swimming. In the afternoon, a group of children performed a skit they had been rehearsing throughout the day.

In the evening, Mega-Event attendees gathered again to celebrate good company and the success of the Event. The band Montana from Košice, Slovakia, provided the music, and many geocachers took to the dance floor. Even Signal the Frog™ showed off some dance moves!

A big thank you to the Event organizers—SimonCooper.sk, geJulie, Labuťka81, and misoba—for all their efforts in creating such a fun and memorable Mega-Event. It was a fantastic weekend and a wonderful celebration of the geocaching community.