Author: Andrew Baldwin

Andrew the Manager of Community Engagement at Geocaching HQ. He is typically laughing at his own jokes, getting into mischief with Signal, or looking for the next adventure.
/ Andrew Baldwin

New country souvenir, Israel, with Geocache of the Week: House of Fun

Traditional
GC40EWD
by shaishoo
Difficulty:
2.5
Terrain:
2
Location:
Israel
N 32° 04.226′ E 034° 46.089′

Tell your friends! Another country/regional souvenir is released: Israel! If you have had the pleasure of finding a cache in this beautiful country, checkout your profile for a shiny brand new souvenir…

Nestled on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel hosts a myriad of things to do for everyone. Foodies and market-goers may lose themselves in Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, where all of your senses can be tapped into; the sounds of the crowds perusing the soft fabric of the eclectic designer clothing; the mouth-watering aroma of foods and spices that tap into your desires to inspire you to try something new; and the vibrant array of colorful patterns everywhere you look. 

Explorers who find themselves away from the hustle and bustle of the cities have several options. Float in the Dead Sea at the lowest point on earth.Hike through the breathtaking canyons of Ein Avdat National Park, and soak in the natural springs in the Negev Desert, or smell the blossoming anemone flowers in the Shokeda Forest (featured in the souvenir image).  

Lastly, for museum lovers, Israel has the most museums per capita in the entire world. The museums receive millions of visitors annually, and exhibits span from archaeology to local history.

Israel has a little something for everyone, just like our Geocache of the Week located in Tel Aviv: House of Fun.

Continue reading →

/ Andrew Baldwin

Do you think you’re smarter than a geocacher? — An interview with Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings is best known for his run on Jeopardy!, an American trivia game show, where he won 74 games in a row over a six month period. He’s a brilliant man with a vibrant personality and has since launched a career of writing, podcasting, and regular appearances on Jeopardy!’s Tournament of Champions.

Did you know that Ken Jennings is also an intrepid geocacher? His passionate love for maps, geography, and puzzles made geocaching a natural hobby for him and his family. He particularly loves the challenge of Mystery Caches; if he can’t initially figure it out, it will “eat at him for days.”

Geocaching HQ collaborated a while back on his book, Mapheads, released in 2011, but we wanted to learn more about Ken, his geocaching experiences, and what he’s been up to after his famous run on Jeopardy!

Continue reading →

/ Andrew Baldwin

Daniel Düsentriebs Fitnesspause (Lesen!) — Geocache of the Week

Traditional
GC5K2A9
by TCapitano
Difficulty:
1.5
Terrain:
2.5
Location:
Hessen, Germany
N 50° 14.070′ E 008° 39.730′

Fitness is an essential part of life. For some it’s running, cycling, climbing, or going to the gym; for others it’s geocaching. One cache owner (TCapitano) has added a component to their geocache that requires some movement on your behalf. Maybe we spoke too soon, don’t worry the cache owner is no cycle-path: the cache is geared towards fun not the Tour de France.

This crowd favorite has garnered over 2,600 Finds since 2015 in Hessen, Germany. Of the geocachers who have found the magnificent geocache, 89% of them gave a Favorite point, making it one of the highest Favorited caches in the world.

Continue reading →

/ Andrew Baldwin

Thank a geocaching volunteer day

Thank a geocaching volunteer today

Whether you started geocaching in 2000 or just recently gotten into the hobby, today is a great day to thank a geocaching volunteer. May 22nd marks the geocaching world’s third annual Thank a Volunteer Day. If you’ve found a cache, hidden a cache, read or posted in the Geocaching forums, or used Geocaching.com or the Geocaching App® in a language other than English, you’ve benefited from the amazing efforts of these volunteers.

There are more than 400 passionate and dedicated geocaching community members who volunteer their time behind the scenes. These include reviewers, EarthCache reviewers, translators, and forum moderators who keep the game in motion all over the world!

Volunteers are also all cache owners and event hosts. They channel their creativity and innovative spirit into building incredible gadget caches, hosting regular local gatherings, joining Mega-Event planning committees, promoting the Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF), or making Cache In Trash Out® (CITO) their life philosophy.

So many geocaching volunteers give to the game every day. Here are some ways to celebrate and support them any day of the year:

  1. Send a note to your local reviewers to show your appreciation.
  2. Contact your regional geocaching organization to thank them for their work.
  3. Get in touch with geocachers who regularly host CITOs and say “Thanks!”
  4. Thank your favorite cache hider—they are volunteers, too!
  5. Award a Favorite point to an exceptional cache.
  6. Write a nice log for the latest event you attended or a high-quality cache you found.
  7. If you live in a non-English speaking country, post a thank you note in your local geocaching Facebook page.
  8. Visit the Geocaching Forums and give a shout out to the forum moderators.

Here is a little more about the different types of Community Volunteers:

Reviewers (including EarthCache reviewers) support cache owners to ensure every geocache follows geocaching and local guidelines. Each geocache you find or hide has received guidance and support from a community volunteer. EarthCache reviewers use their expertise in geology to ensure a quality geological learning experience with every EarthCache.

Translators translate the website, apps, and other resources into local languages all over the world. If you’re reading this in a language other than English, that’s due to a translator’s efforts!

Moderators keep a pulse on the Geocaching Forums and ensure conversations are helpful, positive, and stay on-topic.

Other geocaching volunteers include cache owners and event hosts:

Cache owners often take you to hidden local gems and have an eye for breathtaking locations. Their caches give direction to your epic caching journeys. They make the time spent at ground zero  memorable with their engineering abilities, impressive craftsmanship, and by reimagining everyday items into amazing caches. Here are some of the great cache hiders we interviewed in the past: goblindust, cachedweeb, jewilk1, IronManiacGLD, tcapitano, and bouncebounce.

Event hosts highlight social aspects of geocaching. They may host monthly breakfast socials that you visited many times over the years. They organize elaborate Mega-Events hundreds of miles away that you look forward to attending for months. Lastly, they bring people together to watch geocaching videos during GIFF season, or clean up the game board and give back to local land managers during CITO events.

How have volunteers elevated your geocaching? Let us know in the comments below!