Author: Chris

Hopelessly addicted cacher and Geocaching HQ's public relations manager.
/ Chris /

Introducing Virtual Rewards!

Based on feedback we have received about Virtual Rewards, Geocaching HQ has decided to update the blog post with a new statement, found at the end of the post.

Geocaching HQ is thrilled to announce the release of Virtual Rewards, a project to reward some of geocaching’s great contributors, while also introducing a limited number of new Virtual Caches for the enjoyment of the entire geocaching community.

Starting today, approximately 4,000 geocachers in 63 countries around the world will receive emails with information about their Virtual Reward. This group is made up largely of top quality cache hiders from countries with at least 100 hiders. We created an algorithm to identify these people based on overall cache quality and cache health. Active community volunteers are also receiving a Virtual Reward as a thank you for giving their time and talent to support the geocaching community.

Continue reading →

/ Chris /

And the winner is…

The geocaching community has spoken. The Mission 9: Tunnel of Light APE cache will be returned to its original location and restored to active APE cache status. Once reactivated, the cache will be loggable throughout the year.

We will reactivate the APE cache on August 19, 2017, the date of the Going Ape 2017 Mega-Event at Washington’s Iron Horse State Park.

More than 10,000 geocachers helped make this decision. (Read the February 20th blog for more about the ballot choices.) Here are the results:

61% — Return and Reactivate

17% — Activate Once A Year

13% — Display at Geocaching HQ

9% — Traveling Artifact

Geocaching HQ’s Bryan Roth and Jon Stanley examine the recovered APE cache container at HQ in October 2016.

Many of you argued passionately on all sides of this issue. In the end, the consensus from the community was clear.

We understand people around the world are eager for more details. In the coming weeks, Geocaching HQ will work closely with the Washington State Geocaching Association (organizer of the Going Ape Mega-Event) and we will keep you updated as plans are made.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the process. From the Seattle-area cachers who rediscovered the long lost APE cache to the thousands who helped write its next chapter!

(Anyone wishing to visit Geocaching HQ around the time of the Going Ape event should see our Schedule A Visit page. It’s always a busy time, so there is a ticketing system in place during August 14 to September 8.)

Jon Stanley (aka Moun10Bike) at the hiding of the Mission 9: Tunnel of Light cache in 2001.
Several members of team who discovered the long-lost APE cache. At Geocaching HQ in October 2016.
/ Chris /

Help decide the fate of rediscovered APE cache!

Late last year, we announced the exciting news of how a group of Seattle-area geocachers rescued the muggled Mission 9: Tunnel of Light APE cache. We also offered the geocaching community an opportunity to suggest ideas for what should happen next with this renowned cache.

More than 9,000 geocachers responded to our survey! After considering all feedback, we have four options for the final vote. Now it’s time for you to decide the fate of Mission 9: Tunnel of Light. The idea receiving the most votes is the one we’ll implement. Simple as that!

Here are the ballot choices:

  • Return and Reactivate: Return the container to its original location and restore it to active APE cache status. It would be loggable throughout the year, although the unarchival date is to be determined.
  • Display at HQ: Display the APE cache container at Geocaching HQ as an important artifact of the game’s history. It would not be loggable as an APE cache, but would be assigned a special tracking number that could be logged only as a trackable with a unique trackable icon.
  • Activate Once A Year: Display the APE cache container at Geocaching HQ as a trackable for most of the year, and make it loggable as an APE cache at its original location only during the week of the annual Going Ape Mega-Event in Washington.
  • Traveling Artifact: Assign a special tracking number to the APE cache container and tour it to various events around the world. (It would be loggable only as a trackable, not as an APE cache.)

A few of these options would require exceptions to Geocaching.com guidelines. For example, it’s very rare for a cache to be unarchived, especially after a long period of time. However, this is an extraordinary situation for which we feel that exceptions can be made, especially with the support of a community vote.

The voting is open until March 5, 2017. One vote per person. Visit the ballot box here and make your voice heard!

/ Chris /

More answers on Geocaching Classic app retirement

Geocachers have asked some important questions since we announced that we’ll retire the Geocaching Classic app on March 23, 2017. We’d like to address a few topics that are coming up most often.

Some users aren’t sure exactly what the retirement message means.

Beginning March 23, the Geocaching Classic app will no longer connect to the Geocaching API. This means the Classic app won’t be able to pull in new geocaching data. The bottom line is the  Classic app won’t be of much use to most geocachers. However, you will still be able to open the app and access data that was added to the app prior to March 23. For example, you will be able to view your offline lists and waypoints.

We can’t predict for how long you’ll be able to open the app and access old data. At some point in the future, an update to your phone’s operating system will likely cause the app to completely stop working. So it’s important to migrate your data as soon as possible.

It is important to remember that if you log out of the Classic app after March 23, you won’t be able to log back in. Since the Classic app won’t be connected to the Geocaching API, the app won’t be able to verify your Geocaching login credentials.

Is there any easy way to move waypoints, offline lists, etc. from my Geocaching Classic app to the Geocaching® app?

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to move this data between apps. However, our team is working on a possible solution. When it is available, we will update this blog post with more details.

(Edit: In his spare time, a Geocaching HQ staffer has created a tool to export lists and waypoints from an iTunes backup of your device. This tool is available for both Mac and Windows. The tool is unofficial and not formally supported by Geocaching HQ. Please see this forum post for more information. Unfortunately, we do not expect to have a solution for Android users.)

The Geocaching® app doesn’t work on my iPhone 4.

Like any software developer, we cannot support all operating systems indefinitely. Currently, we make sure the Geocaching® app works on iOS 9 and higher. That means it works on the iPhone 4s and newer devices.

Why can’t you just let the Geocaching Classic app continue unsupported until it breaks?

We stopped offering the Classic app for sale nearly a year ago. We couldn’t fix any bugs once the app was removed from the stores. As a result, the Classic app is becoming buggy. The bugs would only increase until a time when the app just stops working. We don’t want it to come to a point where we have a dying product for which we cannot offer support.

The Geocaching® app doesn’t have the feature that I like in the Geocaching Classic app.

The good news is the Geocaching® app has a lot of features that some folks just aren’t aware of yet. For instance, you can search for trackables by code, add waypoints to a cache listing, save lists offline, display corrected coordinates, search for caches with filters, and view actual lat/lon coordinates for a cache or waypoint.

We’ll implement a couple of other important features into the Geocaching® app prior to March 23: drafts (field notes) and additional log types. We recently added Needs Maintenance and Needs Archived functionality, and owner logs are coming soon.

The Geocaching® app is used by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. It is built to serve a wide range of geocachers — from the person who just wanted to give geocaching a try to people who have already found thousands of caches. The app introduces new players to the game in ways no other app can. It also contains features that appeal to the advanced player. But no matter how many features we build into the app, it may not work for everyone in the geocaching community.

That’s where Geocaching HQ’s API program comes in. Made possible by the support of premium memberships, the API program gives third-party developers (such as Project-GC, GSAK and Cachly) the opportunity to work with HQ on a full suite of integrated products and services for the community. Some of our authorized developers may offer the features you’re looking for. Read this Help Center article to learn more.

Some people simply prefer to use the Geocaching Classic app.

We get it. For a lot of you, the Classic app might be the only tool you’ve used to go caching. It has served the community well since 2008. However, a number of reasons led to the decision to retire the app.

At this time last year, we supported five apps (Geocaching® for iPhone, Geocaching® for Android, Geocaching Classic for iPhone, Geocaching Classic for Android, Geocaching Classic for Windows Phone). As a small company, we realized we simply couldn’t keep maintaining that many apps. With only the Geocaching® app for iPhone and Android to support going forward, we can have a sharp focus on adding new functionality.

The Classic app was built in 2008 on code that no longer supports the dynamic functionality geocachers want and need. To give one example, your geocaching lists are synced between the website and the Geocaching® app. That functionality was not possible with the Classic app. The Geocaching® app’s more sustainable technology enables us to consider many more improvements that the Classic app could not accommodate.

We’re going to keep working to improve the Geocaching® app long after March 23. We’ll keep you updated as we add new features, and we want you to keep telling us what you want to see in the Geocaching® app by completing this survey.

/ Chris /

Long lost APE cache is found!

A group of Seattle-area geocachers has claimed a historic victory against muggle forces by rescuing an APE cache more than five years after it went missing!

The History

In 2001, fourteen geocaches were placed in conjunction with 20th Century Fox to support the movie Planet of the Apes. Each geocache represented a fictional story in which scientists revealed an Alternative Primate Evolution (A.P.E.). These geocaches were made using specially marked ammo containers and contained an original prop from the movie. Mission 9: Tunnel of Light was one of those caches.

Located about 60 miles east of Seattle, the container was placed by Geocaching HQ co-founder Jeremy and the father of the geocoin, Moun10Bike. The cache was found more than 3,000 times, surviving minor disturbances over nearly 10 years. There is even a Mega-Event (Going Ape) created by the Washington State Geocaching Association to honor this famous cache.

Sadly, Mission 9 was muggled and then archived in June 2011. Moun10Bike wrote at the time, “The decision to archive was not taken lightly, and was not easy for either me or for Groundspeak. However, the rule with Project APE caches has always been that once the container goes missing (which is part of the identity of the original series of caches), then it is no longer an APE cache, and thus must be archived (or at least have its APE status removed).”

While the community mourned the loss, a tribute cache was placed and the Going Ape event continued each year. But thanks to the incredible efforts of dedicated cachers, there is a new chapter in this APE cache’s story.

The Search and Rescue

In April of this year, cachers Winos_Seattle and rambudo met up with Geocaching HQ co-founder Bryan Roth. As they chatted, the subject of the lost APE cache came up. Winos_Seattle wondered if the container could possibly be found. Over the years, some have speculated that it’s unlikely that whoever muggled the heavy container would have carried it nearly two miles back to the nearest parking area. Perhaps they simply removed it from its location and discarded it nearby?

But even if that were the case, the area is hilly and densely forested. A rescue effort would require detailed planning and keen eyes. Sounds like a job for geocachers!

With encouragement from Bryan and Moun10Bike, and after months of planning, the search commenced on October 1. The group of 10 included Winos_Seattle and rambudo, as well as other Seattle-area cachers Sproutter, Lamoracke, _Shaddow_, DSVaughn, Curious Joe, gsbarnes, KnightWolf74 and Princess Trouble.

After hiking to the tribute cache, they split into three teams and spread out into the surrounding forest. Equipped with two-way radios, each team was assigned to one of three zones. Within minutes, one team had located what turned out to be muggled tribute cache containers. The other teams found a variety of swag and logbooks, including ones with signatures from 2011 and 2014 (likely from the tribute cache).

Following an extensive and courageous effort, a joyous call eventually came over the radio, “We think we found the original container!” Down in the woods below the original cache location, behind a tree with the open end of the container facing down, was the Mission 9: Tunnel of Light cache. Distinguished by stickers affixed to the inside, as well as some Planet of the Apes trading cards, the cache had fared remarkably well over the years.

100116-gsbarnes-ape-cache-validation-gz-01
Photo by gsbarnes

After a lot of celebratory high-fives, the group phoned Moun10Bike, who was shocked and delighted by the discovery. A couple days later, Moun10Bike, Bryan, and others at Geocaching HQ welcomed the triumphant searchers and the long-lost APE cache. And now that the container is recovered, we’re left with an important question.

Photo by DSVaughn
The triumphant search party hiking out with the APE cache. Photo by DSVaughn.

What’s Next?

The Planet of the Apes caches enjoy a special place in geocaching lore. Today, only one active APE cache remains: Brazil’s Mission 4: Southern Bowl. Given how the global geocaching community treasures the APE cache series, we feel it’s very important to hear what you think should happen next.

Photo by Love
Bryan and Moun10Bike examine the APE cache container. Photo by Love.

Should Mission 9: Tunnel of Light be returned to its original location and reactivated? Should it be kept safe from muggles and instead be displayed at Geocaching HQ as an artifact of the game’s history? Are there other ideas that should be considered?

We encourage you to make your voice heard by completing this survey by November 27, 2016. (Note: The survey is now closed, so we’ve removed the link from the blog) We’ll gather the ideas and later give you a chance to vote for your favorite in early 2017.

In the meantime, please join us in reveling in the knowledge that what once was lost has now been found. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who made it happen!

Several members of the search party at Geocaching HQ. Photo by Love.
Several members of the search party at Geocaching HQ. Photo by Love.