October 2, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

September Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comment

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)

The guardian of a vanishing iconic geocache, a couple from the far north of the world who’ve helped create a quality geocaching community, and the president of a geocaching association who leads by the two E’s (enthusiasm and more enthusiasm). We’re honoring these geocachers as nominees for the Geocacher of the Month. Each will receive worldwide recognition for their contribution to the global geocaching community and a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle. Which of these nominees will be named Geocacher of the Month?

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

In August, Dr Evil. was officially named Geocacher of the Month.

One comment details Dr Evil.’s family-friendly approach to geocaching, “His caches are fantastic for kids and getting them interested in caching but also in the great outdoors again. His vlogs on YouTube are always informative, upbeat but above all that you can see his dedication and his passion for finding caches and placing them. He’s organised some great events some for the family, some for the extreme cacher but he is always friendly, polite and always willing to help out a beginner.”

Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month. Write a supportive comment at the bottom of this blog for the nominated geocacher that you feel should be awarded the title. A panel of folks from Geocaching HQ will then use your comments to help guide the decision of which geocacher is awarded the Geocacher of the Month honor.

Here are your nominees for the September Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

Carina & Lasse

Carina & Lassie Nominees for Geocacher of the Month

Oskar, username OskarÅ says, “Hi, I would like to nominee an older couple from Sweden that has put a lot of smiles on mine and a lot of more people for sure. There names are Carina and Lasse. I live in the southest part of Sweden and just a few miles from my town they have a ton of great caches! They use all of their free time to go geocaching and also building caches for us other to enjoy. Just by looking at their profile of them you can see how active they are and how many favorite points they have on their caches. They are really creative and are the most inspirational geocachers I know.”

Old Navy

Lynn Groves Lussier (aka Ranger Lynn) says, “Since his inaugural year of caching in 2005, Old Navy has placed 372 hides and found 2,892 caches. Undoubtedly, his greatest contributions to the geocaching community have been through his dedicated leadership as president of the Northern New Jersey Cachers (NNJC) for the last six years.

Inspiring by example and genuine enthusiasm, yet never one to seek the limelight, the success of NNJC is a testament to Old Navy’s wizardry “behind the curtain.” In addition to converting muggles into members by hosting monthly Meet & Greet events, his skill in connecting NNJC to the geocaching community at large shines through in both his editorial expertise in overseeing the NNJC newsletter, as well as his social media savvy in daily managing the NNJC Facebook page, Twitter site, and official club website.”

intervales

Carbon Hunter from South Africa says, “It is not often that one can nominate a cacher with so few finds as global geocacher of the month. However I would like to nominate cacher INTERVALES from Brazil as the geocacher of the month. Junior only has 17 finds and 21 hides.

So what exactly makes this cacher so special and worthy of a nomination (and hopefully being awarded this prestigious award)? Junior is one of those extremely special cachers who stays in a remote area of the world (on the edge of the Brazilian Atlantic Forests) and has hardly travelled from his home base of Capao Bonita in the Sao Paulo province. What makes him extremely valuable and a huge asset to our game is that he is the custodian of the last surviving APE cache in the world. While not being a prolific finder, Junior maintains the APE cache in a very harsh environment (high humidity and heat that can lead to cache degradation). Apart from the APE cache, he has also placed a good few Earthcaches in the surrounding area and maintains traditional caches of his own, and of visiting cachers that travel to the park to find the APE cache.

He is really embodies what all of us seek and attempt to emulate in a cacher, and this especially from a cacher who has not had the opportuntity (like many of us) to find a multitude of caches in our direct environment. I hope that you too will give Junior your vote – and help keep the APE cache alive. I also hope that many many more cachers will have the opportunity to find the APE cache as I did.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the September Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through October 14.

If your nominee wasn’t recognized here, please submit your nominations again next month. We’re always looking for the next Geocacher of the Month. To nominate a geocacher, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.com and include the following information:

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 Featured Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for the next Featured Geocacher of the Month should be received by October 14. Once Geocaching HQ has received 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 that we might learn from each other.

September 24, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Announcing the August Geocacher of the Month

The geocaching community took note of three amazing geocachers from three different parts of the globe this month. Each contributes to the geocaching with world famous hides, nearly unparalleled finding ability and championing the geocaching adventure on social media. It was an incredibly difficult decision to name the Geocacher of the Month. Each of the other nominees deserves special recognition for their contribution.

Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ reviews community input and blog comments. After tallying the sentiment and reading the comments, Dr Evil. has been officially named the Geocacher of the Month for August 2013.

One comment shows Dr Evil.’s dedication to all aspects of geocaching, “His caches are fantastic for kids and getting them interested in caching but also in the great outdoors again. His vlogs on YouTube are always informative, upbeat but above all that you can see his dedication and his passion for finding caches and placing them. He’s organised some great events some for the family, some for the extreme cacher but he is always friendly, polite and always willing to help out a beginner.”

Dr Evil. 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 Dr Evil for being recognized as the Geocacher of the Month for August.

Meet some of the previous Geocachers of the Month

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cGOns2eBMQ]

September 22, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

8 Tips to Answer the Eternal Question, “Is it even here?”

WeeklyMailer_092313_MuggledOrDNF_vFINAL_BLOG — The Eternal Question: “Is it even here?”

If you’ve geocached for any length of time, say 60 seconds, this question has run through your mind, “Is it even here?” You’ve checked the fence. You’ve checked under the bench. It’s not hanging from a branch on the tree. It’s not even close to your knee. It’s not there… And then you hear a whisper, “Or is it?” That haunting question is often a geocacher’s biggest fear. Here are a few tips to help increase your chances of knowing the answer.

Start by re-reading the title. It’s often another hint to the location.
Check recent logs on the geocache page. Find out if the geocache has been found in the last few days or weeks. What do the logs say? There might be a hint that helps direct you to the geocache location.
Check the terrain and difficulty ratings. If it’s a terrain 1 and you’re looking on a hillside, go back to the sidewalk.
Speaking of hints, geocaches often offer a real hint. Check that.
Still stuck? Try looking at any photos. Clues might be hiding in the pictures others uploaded to the geocache page. Still unable to find the geocache? Don’t worry, you’re not out of options yet.
You’re a social person. You’ve got friends. Maybe one of your friends has found the geocache that’s giving you issues. Try the old “Phone a Friend” or “PAF” as it’s known in geocaching circles.
Finding the geocache might be a waiting game. Some geocaches are easier to find in the spring or fall.
If all else fails, be sure to log your Did Not Find (or DNF). That lets others know they’re looking for a tough-to-find geocache.

And sometimes they’re just really, really well hidden. For example, check out this geocache with 247 DNF’s and 1 Find. Share your tricks for finding well-hidden geocaches below in comments or on the Geocaching Facebook page.

September 17, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Shipwrecks and Geocaches – A River Reveals a World of Shipwrecks

The gurgling waters of the Credit River in Ontario, Canada tell a story of seafaring disaster. Nearly every 1/10th of a mile those floating the lazy waterway unlock the story of a shipwreck. That’s if they know the secret. The stories of more than 140 shipwrecks are recorded in geocache after geocache.

Keith Watson (username Keith Watson) and a crew of more than a dozen geocaching friends hid the geocaches. But their original intent was a walking tour, not floating the river in a tube or canoe. Keith says, “At the beginning of the summer a few of us decided to start placing caches along a local river. The plan was to walk down the river placing caches and others would have to walk down the river as well to find them. After walking down the first section we decided that walking down a river sucked and we would use tubes to do the next section. After using tubes to do the next section was a blast and we decided that was the best way to do it.”

The team used technology and old tales from the sea to make the string of geocaches more inviting. It’s an age-old recipe for geocaches: history + discovery + adventure. Check out this interactive map of the Credit River – Shipwreck Series the team created to help people navigate to river and unlock seven seas of history.

The Shipwreck series went live over the summer. It started small, Keith says, “Cachers are going out in groups floating down the Credit River having fun. I have taken my son a few times and he loves it.” Testimonials and videos started turning up, like, “This was probably one of the best caching days I have ever had, and I can’t wait to do more.” And, “You’ve created a unique caching experience that I really don’t think can be found anywhere!” And, “Thanks to all of the COs s[cache owners] for placing this fun-filled series of caches.”Keith says he and the other geocache owners were blown away, “The extent of the series has surpassed in size and popularity far beyond what we thought it would be.”

If you’re in Ontario during months warm enough to float a river, you too, can enjoy a river float with a side of history, that didn’t float.

Check out one of the videos from the river float:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDMT35j3eA]

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Author: Eric Schudiske