On May 3, 2025, Moun10Bike and DataDave joined over 5,000 geocachers to celebrate a geocaching milestone at the 25 Years of Geocaching – Prague 2025 Giga-Event (GCAGGGG) in Prague, Czechia.

Part 1 – Moun10Bike

Held at the riverside complex of Žluté lázně, this event marked 25 years since Dave Ulmer placed that legendary first geocache back in 2000. Attending my third Giga-Event, I was awestruck by the hosts’ impeccable organization and the dazzling number of activities available, though I spent most of my time connecting with cachers worldwide.

My day began at the Sunrise over Prague 2025 Community Celebration Event (GCATNM1), where I was able to chat with cachers from as far away as New Zealand and Brazil on a hill overlooking Prague’s skyline. It was then time to hop a tram back to the main venue. After a quick visit to a Multi-Cache across the street (I’m trying to fill in my multi calendar, and May 3 was one of my missing dates), I arrived to find myself at the end of a massive entry line. While I was patiently inching along with the crowd toward the entrance, a panicked event host called and asked, “Where’s the coin?!” Laughing, I admitted I was far from the gate. The host swooped in, rushing me through a side entrance like a visiting dignitary, and I delivered Moun10Bike Geocoin #001, the first geocoin in existence, to its display table. The hosts quickly got to work to place it in a protective case, then invited attendees to visit it and log a discovery throughout the day.

After that, my first stop was joining some fellow Lackeys on a tour through GPS Maze Europe 2025 Prague (GCAGCCC), which is always a fun exploration of GPS technology and geocaching displays. After exiting, I was swept into a whirlwind of socializing, spending most of the day talking with cachers from Czechia, Germany, France, and beyond, exchanging tags and wooden coins.

The event buzzed with activities—workshops on cache creation, geocoin trading stalls, numerous Adventure Labs, T5 climbing demos, et al.— but I missed most, engrossed in global connections. The hosts’ organization was phenomenal and everything seemed to go off without a hitch from my outside perspective. When my mingling and chatting caused me to lose track of time, a phone call from a host reminded me of my scheduled interview, so off I sprinted to the event stage for a discussion of the early days of caching and creation of that first geocoin. I was honored to be able to share some of my story with the many attendees who were willing to listen to me ramble!

This giga was an amazing experience for me and many others, and it was wonderful to take a step back and see where geocaching has taken us all in its first twenty-five years. I can’t wait to see what the next twenty-five might bring!

Part 2 – DataDave

This past month I had the immense pleasure of attending one of the largest Geocaching events of all time, the 25 Years of Geocaching – Prague 2025 Giga event. This was my second ever international Geocaching event, and it was amazing! It was my first time in the city of Prague and I had many lovely caching opportunities as I explored the city throughout the week.

The outdoor location of Žluté lázně along the Vltava river presented a beautiful backdrop for the main event. Cachers could mingle on the open grass field, meander around the event area meeting other cachers, or grab a beverage and hang out around one of the many restaurants and food stands. It even included an exciting GPS maze with tons of geocaching information packed inside!

The festivities ran over the course of 4 days, with various side events leading up to the Giga-Event on Saturday and also some farewell events on Sunday. Saturday was a blur of activity for me, as I arrived at the event space when it opened and did not leave until dinner time. I also attended a farewell event on Sunday after a short hike up to a viewpoint overlooking the event grounds and the hills beyond – a great way to cap off the weekend.

I met so many Geocachers (special shout out to famous Geopup, Rover!), and greatly enjoyed listening to everyone’s stories. One of my favorite parts of going to events is seeing and hearing the ways that Geocaching has touched everyone’s lives. We all gather at these events to bond with one another about this game that we love, and embrace the important community aspect that makes this game so unique. I am always grateful to attend an event as an HQ Lackey, and I look forward to the next one!