Author: Eric Schudiske

/ Eric Schudiske /

Groundspeak Weekly Mailer – December 15, 2010

Turn a “Muggle” into a Geocacher in One Step

Turning a “muggle” into a geocacher is as easy as giving them a geocaching Starter Kit from Shop Groundspeak. The Starter Kits introduce curious friends and family to geocaching with a combination of must-have items. Depending on which kit you choose, contents may include a lanyard, Travel Bug® set, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching” or even a GPS device. There are six available kits, so you can pick one that’s perfect for the muggle in your life.

If you live outside the US, make sure to visit the list of International Distributors to find everything you need to introduce someone new to geocaching this holiday season.

You can also show friends and family what the new geocacher experience is like by sharing one of the latest videos on Geocaching.com-“Newbie Geocaching 101.”

Holiday ToughCase Promotion

Here is a Special offer for Geocaching.com Members in the US and Canada. Save $80 on the Magellan ToughCase with built-in GPS for iPhone or iPod touch! Originally $179.95! Now only $99.99! ToughCase is the perfect companion to Groundspeak’s award winning Geocaching App for iPhone.

With ToughCase you can:

• Precisely locate Ground Zero with the built-in high sensitivity GPS. ToughCase gives 3-5 meter accuracy and does not rely on a phone signal so you can use it with your iPod touch as well as your iPhone.

• Double your time spent geocaching with your iPhone or iPod touch. The ToughCase includes a built-in battery.

• Focus on the hunt, not protecting your iPhone or iPod touch. The ToughCase is rugged and waterproof to IPX-7 standards!

• Have complete access to your iPhone or iPod’s touchscreen, buttons, microphone and speaker.

Hurry! Offer ends January 23, 2011.

Buy Now
Learn more

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Newbie Geocaching 101” A Geocaching.com Lost & Found Video

Millions of people around the world use Geocaching.com to launch and share their treasure hunting adventures. And every person has something in common—each geocacher was just “newbie” in the beginning.

Watch this video and learn some tricks for first-time geocachers. Go along as “newbies”  tackle their very first GPS-enabled  treasure hunt. But they’re not alone. Hear the wisdom of experienced geocachers who have logged thousands of finds and hidden hundreds of caches.

No longer "muggles"

Share this Lost & Found video with your friends and family who are taking their first steps as geocachers.

You can explore more videos that capture the adventure of geocaching.  Check out  the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video gallery.  Explore an “extreme” geocache, watch a Travel Bug® go around the world and visit the highest and lowest geocaches in existence.

/ Eric Schudiske

“Nad Podkovou” GCXEWR GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK December 6, 2010

“Nad Podkovou” GCXEWR hides in the hills of the Czech Republic. “Nad Podkovou” translates from Czech to English as “Above the Horseshoe.” The cache takes adventurers above a horseshoe in the Vltava River. It’s the longest river in the Czech Republic.

Near geocache GCXEWR
A view down river

A. da Mek placed the difficulty three, terrain three geocache in July of 2006. Geocachers hike to a path 500 feet (160 meters) above the river. The cache is just off the path, allowing geocachers to avoid scrambling around the dangerous cliffs. More than 120 geocachers have logged a smiley on the cache.

Continue your exploration with some of the most engaging geocaches from around the world. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on our blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske

Groundspeak Weekly Newletter – December 1, 2010

This holiday season, there are many ways that you can share the joy and adventure of geocaching with friends and family alike.

Now, for the first time ever, you can introduce someone to geocaching, or treat an existing geocacher to all the features and benefits of Premium Membership with a new Geocaching.com Premium Membership Gift Card! This card provides the recipient with 12 months of Premium features, including Pocket Queries, instant cache notifications, watch lists and more.

The Premium Membership Gift Card can be used to upgrade a new or existing Basic Membership or to extend an existing Premium Membership for an additional 12 months. Geocachers outside the United States can give a Premium Membership via our website.

Also, don’t forget that at ShopGroundspeak.com we have everything for the special geocachers in your life, including GPS devices, Shirts, Hats, Stickers, Cache Containers, Trackables and more. Check out all of the great geocaching gifts at www.ShopGroundspeak.com. For International geocachers, make sure to check the list of International Distributors to find everything you need for holiday geo-gift giving.

Reconnecting with Nature through Geocaching

Vote to reconnect people with nature by promoting geocaching on public lands in the United States. America’s Great Outdoors Initiative is designed to gather ideas from the public on how to best conserve outdoor spaces and reconnect people with nature. We believe that geocaching is one of the best ways to accomplish the latter, and we hope that you agree. If you do, please encourage the US government to promote geocaching on public lands by clicking “Promote” on the left-hand side of this page. Please note that you must register to vote.

Not in the United States? Let us know how geocachers in your country are working with land managers to help reconnect people with nature-send an email to pr@groundspeak.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

One Year Later: The Story of the First Reverse Geocache Puzzle Box

The story of the first Reverse Geocache™ took nearly an entire year to play out, from its auspicious and mysterious beginnings to a climactic ending. The intercontinental suspense just ended in November.

Inventor Mikal Hart shifted geocaching in reverse for a wedding present last year. Hart’s “Reverse Geocaching Puzzle Box” is a locked box that needs you to deliver it to a secret location.  The GPS-enabled box won’t unlock until you take it to the pre-programmed destination. Hart delivered the first-ever Reverse Geocache™ as a wedding present for friends.

Example of a Reverse Geocache™

The wedding took place in Paris last autumn. Hart gave the gift with no explanation. The curious wooden box had just a single button and a small display. When the button was pressed the display flicked to life and read, “Attempt 1 of 50: Distance 391km.”

Hart’s original Reverse Geocache™ was promptly placed on a shelf in the couple’s home, and for months sat largely forgotten.

But Hart almost immediately began stirring interest. He posted an article, and before long hundreds of thousands of people were enraptured by the romance and adventure contained in that one little box. But not his newlywed friends. They didn’t see the articles in major newspapers, the videos on YouTube or discover that Mikal started producing more and more Reverse Geocaches™.

Fast-forward nearly a year. A major motion picture is now in the works using a Reverse Geocache as part of the plot, Mikal  is traveling spreading the story of the Reverse Geocache™ far and wide, and still nothing from his friend.

Then, one day last month, an email arrives. The not-so newlyweds tracked down the location where their box would open. The original Reverse Geocache™ whirled and unlocked on a small island in the English Channel. The presents inside were gift cards. But the married couple said that the adventure was the real present, writing, “There’s some pretty cool and clever design in that little box!”

Mikal was able to sit down with his friend recently to tell them how the Reverse Geocache™ had evolved since their wedding. He details the conversation in a recent blog post. He says: “His response was just what you’d hope and expect: surprise and amazement yielding to quiet delight, and finally the inevitable series of questions and suggestions for how the magic of the puzzle box might be kept alive. ”

For more information and to read Mikal’s complete account of the story click here. Click on the video below to see the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video on the Reverse Geocache™.