Pack warm clothes and get ready to climb a lot of stairs, because we’re headed into the tunnels of an ice cave to log this Geocache of the Week.
Eisriesenwelt – Giant Ice World (GC108G08) is a difficulty 2, terrain 3.5 EarthCache located 25 miles (40km) south of Salzburg, Austria.
The ice cave is only accessible six months out of the year. Yet, more than 600 geocachers from 56 countries have managed to log this cache and share over 850 incredible pictures.
As the name suggests, Eisriesenwelt – Giant Ice World is gigantic. In fact, it is the largest ice cave in the world. The cave is millions of years old and extends more than 26 miles (42km).
A long walk to the cave entrance
This EarthCache was created by Mountain Ninja in January of 2008 and quickly became one of the most “Favorited” caches in Austria. Its already racked up 116 Favorite Points. Mountain Ninja owns a number of EarthCaches across Austria, all worth exploring.
As one geocacher put it, “This place is quite the gem! The cave is definitely worth seeing and experiencing. This huge cave is filled with beautiful ice sculptures, ice tunnels, and frozen lakes. This is my second EarthCache, created by Mountain Ninja. I also took the liberty of exploring the Saltmine Dürrenberg during my visit to Austria. Great way to explore the country and do what I love – geocaching!”
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.
Geramy, a.k.a. CrazyGAF, released the Travel Bug in 2004 with this mission: “Astro’s mission is to travel East…a long ways East! You see, Astro is a telescope eyepiece and would like to travel to Greenwich, England…home of the Greenwich Royal Observatory and Greenwich Mean Time! After his trip he wouldn’t mind traveling the world a little more before, hopefully, coming back to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. He knows this may be a very long trip, but he’s ready! So…if you’re traveling East, please take him with you. If you’re traveling West, please let him stay. Thanks!!” -Cacheopia (now CrazyGAF).
The journey began when bbmagic grabbed Astro the Eyepiece on February 14, 2004, a few days after it was placed in the Cascades Parkway cache.
Astro at the Greenwich Observatory Astro beim Greenwich Observatorium
Geramy says, “this was our first bug that we ever released. Its original goal was to make it to the International Date Line. It did that and then it continued around the globe and made it back into our hands. We kept it for a little while and then let it go again. It traveled around again for quite some time before it got stuck in South Korea where we thought it might have been lost or stolen…but then it started up again and made it the rest of the way around the globe a second time.”
At this time Astro the Eyepiece is back home and getting some well deserved rest and relaxation.
According to Geramy, “We’re not sure we are going to send it on a third journey or if we are going to let it enjoy a life of retirement after such an active life. It seems to quite like our home here in Gresham, Oregon. After all… it has seen the whole world and always comes back.”
To learn more about Travel Bugs or to live vicariously through each Travel Bug’s adventures, visit the Latest Travel Bug Reports page.
Astro’s trip across the globe
Astro das Okular: Die Geschichte eines Travel Bug® auf einer Mission
Der Travel Bug® reiste 63.000 Meilen zurück nach Hause nach Gresham, OR, USA.
Astro das Okular, ein Teleskop Okular, war acht Jahre unterwegs, bis er von seinem Eigentümer in Shelriks Happy Cache Inn (ein Travelbug Hotel) am 5.Juli wieder in entnommen wurde.
Geramy, a.k.a. CrazyGAF, schickte den Travel Bug im Jahr 2004 mit dem Ziel auf Reisen: “Astro‘s Mission ist reise nach Osten…den langen Weg nach Osten! Astro ist ein Teleskop Okular und möchte nach Greenwich, England…Heimat des Greenwich Royal Observatorium und der mittleren Greenwich Zeit reisen! Nach erreichen dieses Zieles, möchte er sich noch ein wenig die Welt ansehen, bevor er wieder zurück in seine Heimatstadt Portland, Oregon kommt. Er weiß dies kann eine sehr lange Reise sein, aber er ist fertig für den Trip! Wenn… Du also in Richtung Osten unterwegs bist, bitte nimm Ihn mit. Wenn Du nach Westen reist, dann laß Ihn bitte liegen. Vielen Dank!” –Cacheopia (jetzt CrazyGAF).
Die Reise begann als bbmagic Astro das Okular am 14. Februar 2004, aufnahm und wenige Tage später im Cascades Parkway Cache ablegte.
Geramy erzählt: “Dies war unser erster Travel Bug, welchen wir auf die Reise geschickt haben. Ursprünglich war sein Ziel, dass er die internationale Datumsgrenze überschreiten sollte. Es tat dies, dann ging es einmal um die Welt und wieder zurück in unsere Hände. Wir behielten Ihn für eine Weile um Ihn dann wieder loszuschicken. Es reiste wieder für einige Zeit, bevor er länger in Südkorea verweilte. Wir dachten, daß er verloren oder gestohlen wurde…aber dann begann er wieder zureisen und vollendete den Weg um den Globus ein zweites Mal.”
Momentan ist Astro das Okular wieder zu Hause und genießt seine wohlverdiente Rast.
Geramy: “Wir sind uns nicht sicher ob wir Ihn auf eine dritte Reise senden oder ob wir Ihn seine wohlverdienten Ruhestand nach solch einem aktiven Leben genießen lassen. Es scheint so, daß er sich ganz wohl hier in seinem Zuhause in Gresham, Oregon fühlt. Nach allem…er hat die ganze Welt gesehen und ist immer wieder zurückgekommen.”
Für weitere Informationen zu Travel Bugs oder um weitere Abenteuer anderer Travel Bugs zu erleben, besuche die neuste Travel Bug–Berichtsseite.
ADDITIONAL TRACKABLE STORIES:
Zusätzliche Trackable Geschichten:
Share your Trackable stories for a chance to win the rare and coveted Moun10bike coin
Share your Trackable stories for a chance to win a rare and covetedMoun10bike Trackable.
Check out the Travel Bug that’s traveled far enough to circle the globe 8 times… and is still moving (and moving, and moving…)
Schau Dir den Travel Bug an, der so weit gereist ist, um den Globus 8 Mal zu umrunden… und er ist immer noch unterwegs (und bewegt sich und bewegt sich…)
And so it begins – The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug® Race! Today we will release Trackables collected at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party into the Geocaching.com HQ cache. To fulfill their Travel Bug destiny and win a great grab bag of Geocaching.com swag and merchandise, these trackables must travel a minimum of 2013 miles and return to Geocaching.com HQ in Seattle prior to the 2013 Geocaching Block Party. Additionally, these TBs will compete in the following categories:
Fastest TB back to HQ (after traveling the minimum mileage)
TB with the most mileage
TB to travel to the most countries
TB with the best picture
TB with the best log entry
TB with the most geocachers who moved the TB
TB with the most creative Hitchhiker (item the TB is attached to)
Lackeys will be competing in the The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug® Race as well, but not eligible for prizes. Keep an eye on this blog post to check out these power racers in action. Best of luck to your Travel Bug and may the odds be ever in your favor.
The winners will be announced at the 2013 Block Party. If you would like to enter next year’s competition, you must present your trackable in-person at the 2013 Block Party, which will be held in Seattle, WA on August 17, 2013.
Bin of Trackables entered into The Great Geocaching Block Party Travel Bug Race
Und so fängt alles an – Das Große Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug®–Rennen! Heute entlassen wir die bei der Block Party 2012 gesammelten Trackables in den Geocaching.com–HQ–Cache. Diese Trackables müssen mindestens 2013 Meilen reisen, um ihr Travel Bug–Ziel zu erreichen und eine große Geschenktüte voll mit Geocaching.com–Artikeln zu gewinnen. Außerdem müssen sie vor der Geocaching Block Party 2013 zum Geocaching.com–HQ in Seattle zurückkehren. Die Trackables treten außerdem in diesen Disziplinen gegeneinander an:
Als Schnellster TB zurück zum HQ (nach zurücklegen der Mindestentfernung)
TB mit den meisten Meilen
TB mit den meisten bereisten Ländern
TB mit dem besten Bild
TB mit dem besten Logeintrag
TB, der von den meisten Geocachern transportiert wurde
TB mit dem kreativsten “Hitchhiker” (am TB befestigter Gegenstand)
Lackeys [Geocaching.com–Mitarbeiter] nehmen auch am großen Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug®–Rennen teil, jedoch ohne Anspruch auf Preise. Verfolge diesen Blogbeitrag, um diese Power–Rennteilnehmer in Aktion zu sehen. Wir wünschen Deinem Travel Bug viel Erfolg und möge das Glück stets mit Dir sein.
Die Gewinner werden bei der Block Party 2013 bekanntgegeben. Wenn Du nächstes Jahr am Wettbewerb teilnehmen willst, musst Du Deinen Trackable persönlich bei der Block Party am 17. August 2013 in Seattle, WA abgeben.
Ein besonderes Lob geht an Narilka für ihren Beitrag zu diesem großartigen Trackable–Logbuch.
Geocacher Division:
Geocacher–Abteilung:
Lackey Division:
Lackey–Abteilung:
ADDITIONAL TRACKABLE STORIES:
Zusätzliche Trackable Geschichten:
Shareyour Trackable stories for a chance to win a rare and covetedMoun10bike Trackable.
Share your Trackable stories for a chance to win the rare and coveted Moun10bike coin
Check out the Travel Bug that’s traveled far enough to circle the globe 8 times… and is still moving (and moving, and moving…)
Schau Dir den Travel Bug an, der so weit gereist ist, um den Globus 8 Mal zu umrunden… und er ist immer noch unterwegs (und bewegt sich und bewegt sich…)
Watch the 4 videos that will show your everything-you-ever-needed-to-know-about-Trackables.
The September featured nominees have been described as kind, patient, adventurous, and addicted. Groundspeak Lackeys selected these three nominees because of what they’ve said and done to inspire and encourage members of their community to get out and geocache.
August Featured Geocacher of the Month, whbaisden
Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as the Featured Geocacher of the Month for September.
Write a comment at the bottom of this blog about which of these geocachers you feel should be crowned.
Last month, Wendy, a.k.a. whbaisden was honored with the title of August Featured Geocacher of the Month. Whbaisden was recognized for putting together the Hatfield and McCoy GeoTrail Kickoff Event that took place on September 1, 2012. She has also been a strong advocate for her community since she started geocaching in 2010.
Here are your nominees for the September Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.
The August Featured Geocacher of the Month, whbaisden, writes, “So much of what makes me a geocacher comes from Stuart, a.k.a. SpongeBob CachePants and his comment when we met two years ago. I had only a few finds compared to his 2,500 and he teased me that my finds were ‘not bad for a girl.’ That statement inspired me to change my entire life and become the crazy geocacher I am today. He has encouraged the people around him to be creative. His hides make you think. He has respect for the game and a name among the community that makes people want to be near him. His Gatti Land(ing) cache is my very favorite of the 6,800 I have found since his comment. Mostly, however, his work on the Hatfield McCoy GeoTrail can not be unnoticed. He wrote every cache page and co-designed every aspect of the Geocoin, the website and the series. Without him and his contributions HMGT [Hatfield McCoy GeoTrail] would not exist. I’d have to say, SpongeBob isn’t bad….for a boy.”
Nominated by tallgirl84, Daniel, a.k.a. frisbee’r “is a geocaching legend! In addition to finding almost 20,000 caches, he is a great competitor in FTF’s and 5/5’s. Even though he lives well over an hour away from my hometown, he still managed to beat myself and five other dedicated geocachers on a 5/5 kayak/canoe cache by a few hours. And he went solo! Frisbee’r is also very fast to respond to a call for help with finding caches he’s already found, without simply giving away the answers. Along with those wonderful characteristics, frisbee’r is also beyond excellent company! Despite his bad knees, he hiked up and down multiple steep and long logging roads for the Qwest series in Aberdeen, WA. This is after having done another series involving more hill climbing earlier that morning, and not once did the man complain. In fact – the other geocachers in our group and I took turns hanging back and having our own great mini-conversations with him. He is an awesome cacher and in my mind the poster-boy of what a ‘real’ geocacher is – excitable, kind, patient, adventurous and addicted!”
Nominated by Steelers Chic, Emily, a.k.a. emilierene “loves the sport of geocaching and is not selfish. She enjoys helping anyone who is interested in getting started. She has gotten us involved by encouraging us in the beginning to just ride along and ‘see what’s out there.’ Emily plans her vacations around geocaching and her weekends are all about the sport. She has saved and saved, and recently, she was able to purchase her new kayak so she can get geocaches on the water and on the islands. She is a vital part of the geocaching community in Coos Bay, Oregon. The caches she places are well thought out and draw you to places you might not go to if there wasn’t a cache there.”
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured September Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon, and a certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for September’s award through Monday, September 24th.
Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.
Every nomination must meet the following requirements:
Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and a description (500 or fewer words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month. Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award. Nominations for the October Geocacher of the Month must be received by Sunday, October 7th.
Once we have received all of 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 we might learn from each other.
Trackable Week highlights a new story Monday through Sunday this week about creative ways to experience Trackables. Geocaching.com Trackables allow people to tag and track an item from location to location. Trackables typically come in three varieties, Geocoins, Travel Bugs® or Promotional Trackables like the “Find the Gecko,” Geico campaign. (Watch a video on Travel Bugs)
See the bottom of this article for a place a share your Trackable stories, links to other Trackable stories and a limited time special offer for 10% or more on individual orders of Travel Bugs through Shop Geocaching and our International Retailers.
Die Trackable–Woche präsentiert eine neue Geschichte jeweils von Montag bis Sonntag in dieser Woche um mehr über Trackables zu erfahren. Geocaching.com Trackables erlauben Leuten, einen Gegenstand zu markieren und diesen von Ort zu Ort zu verfolgen. Trackables kommen typischerweise in drei Varianten daher, Geocoins, Travel Bugs® oder Werbe–Trackables wie beispielsweise “Find the Gecko“, einer Kampagne von Geico. (Schau Dir ein Video über Travel Bugs an)
Am Ende dieses Artikels findest Du Platz um Deine eigenen Trackable–Geschichten zu teilen, Links zu anderen Trackable–Storys zu setzen und Du findest ein Sonderangebot für einen begrenzten Zeitraum. Spare 10% oder mehr auf deine Bestellung von Travel Bugs im Shop von Geocaching.com und bei unseren internationalen Einzelhändlern.
MAT the Travel Bug® that Teaches
MAT – Where do you want to go today?
Travel Bugs are released into the world every day. Many of them have a common goal, but they all have a different story to tell.
So, who and where in the world is MAT the Travel Bug®?
MAT was the creation of a father whose two girls, ages six and nine, love to travel. The Travel Bug, accompanied by a Playmobil soldier was set free in November of 2011 in Île-de-France to discover the world, cache by cache, and gather as many pictures and memories as possible for the two young French girls.
MAT at the Sydney Opera House
Pierre, a.k.a. DeloDelo, MAT’s owner, says, “MAT is young and brave. I wanted to create a medium to initiate some geographic dialog with his travels. He [MAT] promised my girls that he’d go around the globe and discover people and places. He gave his word.”
That is exactly what MAT has done since he was released into the world a year ago. He has traveled almost 19,000 miles (30,000 km) and seen some incredible places. MAT’s image gallery is not only a collection of the places he visited, but a collection of adventures.
Pierre explains, “Fortunately, MAT was discovered by MAS0N as he and his wife were traveling around Europe. He [MAS0N] is a fantastic guy and extremely gentle. He took MAT with him around his trip and then back to Australia, even sending some special messages to the girls. The morning we discovered MAT and MAS0N doing that 134-meter base jump was just astonishing!”
With MAS0N’s help, MAT has visited the UK, Italy, New Zealand, and Australia, and that’s just the beginning. Currently MAT is in the hands of Koowee, a truck driver, visiting various caches across Australia and collecting pictures for the girls.
MAT’s Abenteur im video
To learn more about Travel Bugs or to live vicariously through each Travel Bug’s adventures, visit the Latest Travel Bug Reports page.
Travel Bugs werden jeden Tag in die weite Welt entsand. Viele von Ihnen haben ein gemeinsames Ziel, aber alle haben eine unterschiedliche Geschichte zu erzählen.
Also wer und vor allem wo in der Welt ist MAT der Travel Bug®?
MAT wurde von einem Vater erschaffen, dessen zwei Mädchen, im Alter von sechs und neun, es lieben zu reisen. Der Travel Bug, begleitet von einem kleinen Playmobil Soldaten, wurde im November 2011 in Île-de-France ausgesetzt um die Welt von Cache zu Cache zu entdecken und so viele Bilder und Erinnerungen wie möglich für die beiden jungen französischen Mädchen zu sammeln.
MAT and MASoN going bungee jumping
Pierre, a.k.a. DeloDelo, der Besitzer von MAT sagt: “MAT ist jung und mutig. Ich wollte ein Medium schaffen, um einen geografischen Dialog mit seinen Reisen anzustossen. Er [MAT] versprach mein Mädchen, die Welt zu bereisen und für Sie neue Orte und Leute zu entdecken. Er gab sein Wort.”
Das ist genau das, was MAT getan hat, seit er vor einem Jahr in die Welt gesandt wurde. Er ist schon fast 19.000 Meilen (30.000 km) gereist und hat einige unglaubliche Orte gesehen. MATs Bildergallerie ist nicht nur eine Sammlung der von ihm besuchten Orte, sondern auch eine Sammlung von Abenteuern.
Pierre erklärt: “Glücklicherweise wurde MAT von MAS0N und seiner Frau entdeckt, während diese durch Europa reisten. Er [MAS0N] ist ein fantastischer Typ und besonders liebevoll. Er nahm MAT nicht nur mit auf seine Reise und dann weiter zurück nach Australien, sondern er sendete den Mädchen auch einige spezielle Nachrichten über die Aktivitäten von MAT. Eines Morgens haben wir entdeckt, daß MAT und MAS0N zusammen einen 134 Meter Base-Jump gemacht haben, einfach erstaunlich!
Mit Hilfe von MAS0N hat MAT Großbritanien, Italien, Neuseeland und Australien besucht und das ist erst der Anfang. MAT ist zurzeit in den Händen von Koowee, einem LKW-Fahrer. Er besucht so verschiedene Caches quer durch Australien und sammelt Bilder für die Mädchen.
Für weitere Informationen zu Travel Bugs oder um weitere Abenteuer anderer Travel Bugs zu erleben, besuche die neuste Travel Bug-Berichtsseite.
ADDITIONAL TRACKABLE STORIES:
Zusätzliche Trackable Geschichten:
Share your Trackable stories for a chance to win the rare and covted Moun10bike coin
Share your Trackable stories for a chance to win a rare and coveted Moun10bike Trackable.
Check out the Travel Bug that’s traveled far enough to circle the globe 8 times… and is still moving (and moving, and moving…)
Schau Dir den Travel Bug an, der so weit gereist ist, um den Globus 8 Mal zu umrunden… und er ist immer noch unterwegs (und bewegt sich und bewegt sich…)
