Help Name the Next Geocacher of the Month

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin

This is your opportunity to help decide who takes home the earned, never-for-sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition Geocoin, a hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

bjmccacher was named the Geocacher of the Month for February for a big heart and a helping hand for other geocachers.

bjmccacher - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
bjmccacher – Geocacher of the Month

One comment reads, “Bjmccacher has been a great geocaching collaborator and really helped raise the bar for geocaching in Lincoln, NE (and in the central US)!  He is also incredibly inventive and is always coming up with new and interesting ways to geocache… He goes the extra mile in every possible way! ”

Each of the nominees below is an essential part of the global geocaching community. Each will receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but only one will be the next Geocacher of the Month. A  panel from Geocaching HQ will use your comments, community input and other data to decide on the next Geocacher of the Month.

Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month.

Write a supportive comment for the nominated geocacher you feel should be awarded the title.

Edgar44

Edgar44 - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
Edgar44 – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

 

Nominated by vehan, who says, “If you’ve discovered a geocache in Italy, the name Edgar44, is no stranger to you. A geocacher since 2010, Edgar44, has helped lead the geocaching adventure in Southern Europe, including connecting with the local and international community, fostering a love of nature by creating geocaches which showcase hikes, and hiding and maintaining much loved caches.”

But there’s one geocache size he avoids. Vehan writes,”with 500 hidden caches, not a micro but only small, regular and giant caches! Our best in Italy :)”

Edgar44 is also part of the growing Ladina Geocaching Team.

 

iPajero

iPajero - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
iPajero – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Nominated by:  Henzz and Louwtjie&Vroutjie:  “We recently celebrated team iPajero’s 10000th find in Cape Town. An amazing achievement if one considers that there are only 10629 caches currently in Southern Africa (which includes our neighbouring countries). That is more than twice as many caches found in Southern Africa than any other Geocacher.

On their travels around our beautiful country, they would not only seek out caches, but also make an effort to meet with geocachers where ever they go. They have such wonderful personalities that one instantly finds oneself enjoying their company.

And in between all of this they still find time to hide and maintain quality caches as well. Every single one of the 163 caches they have placed is still active. iPajero also owns 36 Earthcaches and ranks amongst one of the top Earthcache placers worldwide. They are always willing to lend a helping hand, give advice, or to walk alongside you. No path too steep, no valley too deep, they are always there, shining like a lighthouse beacon, so that we can find our way.”

barondriver

barondriver - nominee for Geocacher of the Month
barondriver – nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Nominated by abesimpson: “In Kansas, you just can’t go very far without finding a barondriver cache. While that could mean someone just puts out a bunch of caches, anyone who knows a barondriver cache knows they are in for something a little more than just a smiley.

He started in 2001, and at that time helped to promote the activity state wide by placing caches in interesting places or near interesting pieces of history. He maintained those well and brought good consistency throughout the region. An avid garage sale visitor, he seemed to be always coming across something new and interesting to turn into a cache.

What is truly inspiring about barondriver was his interest in expanding the activity to others. He was always quick to be the friendly face to muggles to explain what we are doing. He encouraged new cachers and worked with them on finds. He is always good for a story about this hide or that hide that would just get you excited enough to go after it.  When it comes down to it, what makes barondriver stand out is that he always appeared to be the guy who just loved this little hobby in a way that made the rest of us want to love it in the same way.”

 Comment below to tell us who you think should be the March Geocacher of the Month. Comments accepted through through May 2.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.

Announcing the Newest Geocacher of the Month

he earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional)
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin

A geocacher from the plains of the United States joins the ranks of Geocachers of the Month around the world. Dozens of comments shined a light on a geocacher who reaches out to those who are new to the adventure and helps inspire those who’ve geocached for years. While there is only one Geocacher of the Month, each of the nominees is already a winner, with a prize package headed their way.

All the nominees add an important contribution to their local communities and inspire the global geocaching community. Each will receive special recognition for their contribution to the adventure of geocaching. Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ reviews community input and blog comments. Each comment is read and posts in native languages are encouraged.

bjmccacher has been part of the geocaching world since 2011. After cementing hundreds of new relationships fostering the joy of geocaching he’s being named Geocacher of the Month for February 2014.

One comment reads, “Bjmccacher has been a great geocaching collaborator and really helped raise the bar for geocaching in Lincoln, NE (and in the central US)! Many of his creative ideas have led to outstanding geocaching trails and series attracting folks from all over North America (see the numerous posts below). He is also incredibly inventive and is always coming up with new and interesting ways to geocache–it’s no surprise that many of his geocaches are some of the most favorited caches in Nebraska. Finally, as a host and ambassador to visiting geocachers, he is simply incredible. He goes the extra mile in every possible way! ”

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.

Every nomination must include the following items and abide by the following guidelines:

  • Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
  • A picture of the nominee
  • Description (200 or more words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for Geocacher of the Month are accepted at any time.

Congratulations again to bjmccacher for being recognized as the Geocacher of the Month for February.

bjmccacher - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
bjmccacher – Geocacher of the Month

 

 

 

2014 Geocaching International Film Festival Call for Entries

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Your vision of geocaching cannot be contained by a simple Facebook photo, Tweet or even a mighty blog post. Nay, we say, your vision deserves much more. You need to tell your geocaching story through the majesty of a short video. Ready your geocaching muse. The Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF) wants your vision of the adventure of geocaching to take flight in video on the big screen this summer in Seattle. It all happens the night before the Geocaching Block Party, which you should also attend.

Enter your four minute video in any family-friendly genre: narrative, documentary, music video, animation, experimental, etc… Hurry up, the deadline for submissions is July 1, 2014. To show you what it takes, and to enter, we have just what you need: A short film.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcOmdGWLD6Y&feature=youtu.be]

Geocaching Road Trip to Ankara, Turkey

Geocaching Turkey 1
A road trip unexpectedly leads to a Turkish orchard

There’s a geocaching frontier out there. These are places where “geocaching” is rarely said aloud and they exist in countries and regions where geocache hides are measured in the dozens or hundreds, not tens of thousands.  But where there are frontiers, you’ll find determined pioneers. Geocaching Türkiye is a collection of hearty geocachers exploring Turkey. It’s a country slightly larger than the U.S. State of Texas.

Texas boasts nearly 65,000 active geocaches. The country of Turkey has fewer than 1,000. Geocacher omaggo is helping lead the group Geocaching Türkiye into the future, including placing more than 200 geocaches for others to discover. And what better way to spread the word about geocaching than an old fashioned road trip? But this road trip would lead the pioneering geocaches on an unexpected adventure.

Omaggo says, “I am a geocacher from Istanbul and am part of a group of geocachers who gather once a month… We decided to visit the capital city of Turkey, Ankara. We thought it would be a nice opportunity for us to meet new geocachers from Ankara, while also finding some geocaches there.”

True to the DNA of geocachers everywhere, the group arrived early for their event, eight hours early. He says, “The event was at 6pm, however we arrived at 9am!”

The group spent the time talking with a university trekking club about the hobby that combines so nicely with hiking and the outdoors. Omaggo says, “Everything was perfect. The University Trekking group members heard about geocaching but hadn’t tried it before. We met with this group in the Middle East Technical University of Ankara. We gave them a brief presentation about geocaching.”

geocachers aboard the Ankara Express
geocachers aboard the Ankara Express

“After the presentation we decided to find some caches on the University campus. GokhanGoKartunal, a geocacher from Ankara, hid most of the caches there. What we didn’t know was that he is a lecturer in the university. So, our aim was to show the new geocache members how to find caches and how to log them.

When we reached the first geocache, however, we found a special note for us in the box. Ankara was expecting us and they wanted to welcome us by preparing a little surprise. They made a little puzzle with the solution bringing us to a special geocache.

New geocaching members were already excited just to understand geocaching, find caches etc, but we were more than excited to have a surprise puzzle cache from Ankara. We rapidly found the five different caches necessary for the surprise. We gathered the clues and solved the mystery. Eventually we learned the coordinates.”

Presenting geocaching to university students
Presenting geocaching to university students

“We walked to the GZ. When we were near the coordinates we couldn’t believe our eyes, because no one expected what we saw! The Ankara geocachers made a wonderful surprise for us. They bought a potted apple tree and had already dug a hole and left us a pick axe. We found a note next to the plant which said, ”We wanted you to have a tree in our campus to remember this day.'”

Clues leading to the apple orchard
Clues leading to the apple orchard

The tree was symbol, a call to action to be aware of local encroachment into wild spaces.  Omaggo says, “All of us were aware of this issue before but to have this tree as a surprise made us very happy and we were touched. We decided to hide a new geocache near our apple tree. We will always remember this event and every geocacher that comes to Middle East Technical University can learn about this day.”

The road trip went so well, Omaggo says the group is planning other road trips. But the next time they might not take the bus and stay a little closer to home, “Ankara was 5 hours away and we used a bus for transportation.  The next city might be somewhere nearer. We have also thought about doing a trip by motorcycle. In our Geocaching Istanbul group we have about 6-7 motor riders. I think It would be very interesting if we could organize a tour by bike.”

Share your geocaching road trip stories in comments below!

turkey 4
Planting a tree and commemorating a new geocache

New Video: How to Hide a Geocache

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Words, words, words, who needs them when you’re staring at a fresh-out-of-the-oven video about How to Hide a Geocache?Check out the new video from Geocaching HQ that’s full of easy-to-use ideas and tips for placing a well-loved geocache. The payoff for the maker (you?) of a cleverly hidden geocache comes from “Found it!” logs containing heaps of praise for the inspirational adventure and lifelong memories. Well done! Quick check: Still reading? Haven’t watched this video yet? Okay, here are some more words.

After the success of Geocaching Maker Madness, with nearly 1000 events around the world, Geocaching HQ wants to set you up for success with this new How to Hide a Geocache video. Need a little more inspiration? Check out this Geocaching blog post, with ideas to create a geocache that keeps people talking. Okay, and last chance, Watch. TheNewHiderVideo.  And then share your ideas for great hides on the Geocaching Facebook page.