Author: Eric Schudiske

/ Eric Schudiske /

Announcing the September Geocacher of the Month

 

Old Navy3_trim
Old Navy – Geocacher of the Month

A chorus of voices cheered this month’s Geocacher of the Month to victory. All the nominees represented dedicated geocachers across three continents. Each will receive special recognition for their contribution to the global adventure of geocaching.

Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ  reviews community input and blog comments. Each comment is read. After tallying the sentiment and reading the comments, Old Navy. has been officially named the Geocacher of the Month for August 2013.

One geocacher who commented wrote, “My vote is for Old Navy for Geocacher of the Month! He has done so much for the Geocaching community and goes above and beyond, whether it’s hiding quality caches or event planning as part of Northern New Jersey Cachers (NNJC) or working with local municipalities and parks to introduce geocaching to so many people. As Geocaching continues to grow in leaps and bounds over the years Old Navy has been there in Geo101 introduction classes to bring new people into the sport.”

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

Old Navy will receive the earned, never for sale, collector’s edition Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and a certificate acknowledging his contribution, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. See a list of all the Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.com. 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 Old Navy for being recognized as the Geocacher of the Month for September.

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

800+ Events Celebrate Geocaching Launch into Space

New Geocaching in Space Mission Patch
New Geocaching in Space Mission Patch

It’s the Travel Bug® that’s taking the global Geocaching community on a rocket ride to space.  Whether you’re in Mexico or France, Australia or Korea you’re primed to join the geocaching community in celebrating the spirit of exploration. There are more than 800 Geocaching in Space events scheduled around the world. Those who attend Event Caches on either November 6 or November 7 earn the Geocaching in Space souvenir.

Join the adventure and watch the launch live as Astronaut Rick Mastracchio packs the Travel Bug along on his 6 month mission aboard the International Space Station. He’ll use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students back on earth about geography and science. Geocaching HQ is offering a limited edition Geocaching in Space Mission Patch. Geocaching will donate proceeds from the patch to Donorschoose.org for use in funding projects that use geocaching as an educational tool.

Geocaching in Space Event Owners: Be on the lookout for an email from Geocaching HQ later this week. We’ll serve up details on how to watch the launch live, how to connect with the 800+ events around the world and how to celebrate afterwards (hint: geocaching).

/ Eric Schudiske /

1 Geocaching App Trick to Rule Them All

WeeklyMailer_101413_OfflineLists_vFINAL_blogIt’s a button that makes geocaching out of the country or in the deep prehistoric world of “no cell phone service” as easy as a Terrain 1, Difficulty 1. Whether you’re using the Geocaching Pro App for iPhone or theGeocaching Android App, this miracle of engineering simplicity is called “Save to Offline List.”

Use a Wi-Fi hot spot to load up your Offline List with geocaches. Then, turn off your data roaming and look under “Saved” on iPhones or “Offline Lists” on Android and SHAZZAM! Your geocaches are available, your phone isn’t using costly roaming data, and you’re saving battery life. You can sort the list by distance, Favorite Points, title, GC code or geocache type.

Another option for Premium Members is using a Pocket Query. For example, if you’re headed to the last remaining APE Cache in the jungles of Brazil, here’s what to do: create a Pocket Query (Saved List) of all the geocaches in that area on Geocaching.com and then save it on your phone as an Offline List when you have cell service. Another tip, make sure your phone is fully charged for your adventure.

Now you’re off into the wild with plenty of geocaches loaded up and ready to go.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching HQ – The Land of Extreme Coincidence

Lindsey (flossinmatoof), Larry (apawinmyface), and Ciaran (Goldencircle)
Lindsey (flossinmatoof), Larry (apawinmyface), and Ciaran (Goldencircle)

This story begins with some high expectations. A chance meeting would lead to the statement, “Visiting HQ is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a long time, and as it turns out, the experience was crazier than I could have ever imagined.”

It all started on a typical Friday in the Seattle lobby of Geocaching HQ. We see the world come together in 500 square feet of solid, wall to wall, Geocaching . There’s a treasure chest, logbook and usually hundreds of Trackables coming and going. It’s Geocaching HQ after all. You hear languages like German and Portuguese spoken along side English and Spanish. People around the world find themselves visiting for an hour or so and meeting new friends. Rarely, extremely rarely- and let me not under sell this – maybe once or twice a decade, geocachers randomly stumble upon an old friend from another part of the world in our lobby.

Ireland Event Cache 'Toof & Paw's Jetlag Beater"
Ireland Event Cache ‘Toof & Paw’s Jetlag Beater”

And it just happened again. As most stories like this do, this one begins with a Puzzle Cache in Ireland. Larry, username APawInMyFace, and Lindsey, username Flossinmatoof visited Ireland in August. Larry contacted Ciaran, username GoldCircle, for help on a Puzzle Cache. Well, you know, so many email flew across the Atlantic between the America and Ireland that an Event Cache was planned.

More than a dozen people welcomed the out-of-town guests from America. Ciaran and the American couple went their separate ways. Most stories end there. They might never have seen each other again, except for an intervening photo booth in the Geocaching HQ lobby.

Larry and Lindsay were visiting Geocaching HQ from Miami. Larry and Lindsay were visiting friends in Seattle that Larry hasn’t seen in three years. They’d just finish taking pictures in the Geocaching HQ photo booth. Larry placed the strip of photos in our scrapbook. He noticed a familiar face. That guy looked like Cairan, aka GoldCircle. It was GoldCirle. But he wasn’t at HQ.

Carly at the Geocaching HQ front desk, told Larry Cairan would be back in a few minutes. If that one connection would be missed, if a page would have been flipped in our scrapebook, if Larry visited from Miami one week later…. well, you get the idea. It. Was. Close. It was also significant. Cairan just happened to be in Seattle for business.

Photobooth pics reveal a startling discovery!
Photobooth pics reveal a startling discovery!

Geocaching HQ was Cairan’s 1000th find. Can you guess what Larry gave Cairan as a thank you gift for hosting the Event Cache in Ireland? Yeah – a 1000th Find Geocoin.

Larry says they could have never planned this meeting if they tried. Wow right?

That word, “wow” gets said a lot in the Geocaching HQ lobby. People meeting friends they’ve connected with a world away. Some reacquainted themselves with long lost Travel Bugs that ended up in the Geocaching HQ Treasure chest.

Larry wrote in the Geocaching HQ log, ” The ways in which the geocaching community can make our enormous world feel so small are indescribable, yet somehow, rarely surprising. Thank you for the truly unforgettable day and for the wonderful memories that we formed both in and around HQ.” Lindsey wrote in her log, “The world is an incredible place.” She’s right.

Geocaching HQ Lobby (the photo booth is in the corner)
Geocaching HQ Lobby (the photo booth is in the corner)

That’s the thing about geocaching…  you’re always welcome. Whether that’s at a geocache, at an Event Cache or at Geocaching HQ, you never know who you might bump into.

The question now might be where in the world will Larry, Lindsey and Ciaran connect again?  We have a guess. The might randomly bump into each other while claiming the First to Find at this geocache.

What’s the strangest coincidence you’ve encountered geocaching? Tell us about it in comments below.

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching Rockets into Space (Again)

WeeklyMailer_100713_GeocachingInSpace_vFINAL_blog (1)[Click for information on the Seattle Geocaching in Space Event]

You don’t read the words, “We’re going to space!” very often. So, how about we soak up the joy of reading those words once more? Let’s add a little pizzazz and shout it by using all capital letters: “WE’RE GOING TO SPACE!” Yeah! A Geocaching Travel Bug® is hitching a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio straight to the International Space Station. The mission is currently scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:08 GMT on November 7, which is 5:08 a.m. in Berlin and November 6 at 8:08 p.m. in Los Angeles. (Convert to your time here.)

Astronaut Richard Mastracchio (Source: Nasa)
Astronaut Richard Mastracchio (Source: Nasa)

Rick will live aboard the ISS for 6 months. He plans to use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students on Earth, in his home state of Connecticut, about geography and science. He’ll also earn the Solar System’s most elusive smiley and find the International Space Station geocache.

We’ll be following Rick the whole way, beginning at liftoff. Ready for some more pizzazz? Geocaching HQ will issue a Geocaching in Space souvenir to those who attend Event Caches during the launch. You can watch the launch live online or check out the recording later and celebrate the geocaching community’s spirit of exploration.

Find out answers to frequently asked questions and everything you need to know about hosting a Geocaching in Space event at the Geocaching in Space Event Center. We’ll be updating this blog post with the latest information about the launch as it happens. All Event Caches must be submitted at least two weeks before the scheduled launch date of November 6. For more information on Geocaching in Space and Rick’s mission, visit the Geocaching in Space FAQ.

Check out this vintage Geocaching video of the first Travel Bug journey to space.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7psaxQXM0]