October 20, 2015 / Janelle

Geocaching Shop Boyz: The story behind the SWAG

The Geocaching Shop Boyz: Gary, Phil, Marty, Dylan, and Mark

If you’ve ever ordered anything from the Geocaching Shop, you may have wondered, “Where does all this awesome stuff actually come from? Is it from a warehouse? Is it located inside of Geocaching HQ in Seattle? Is it made and packaged with love by geo-elves?” Well, we now present to you the story behind the SWAG and introduce The Geocaching Shop Boyz.

Meet the five guys who do everything geo-related for all orders made within the USA.* Long overdue for a shining moment of glory, here they are:

Dylan is the Fulfillment Specialist and a Scorpio

Dylan literally wears many hats at the Geocaching Shop, and is the youngest of the Shop Boyz. Technically, he’s been at Geocaching the longest since he used to come to the office with his dad when he was a little kid, but he’s been an official employee for about two years. His responses are always typically Dylan-esque: clever, quirky, and understated. For example, his favorite item is, “Anything that goes out of stock, because it’s ‘good business’.”

Geocaching Logo Marble-Earth SWAG

Dylan got the job when, “…one of the guys was moving to the main office, so one of the founders offered their first son as a sacrificial lamb, I mean, hard-working employee.”

Gary is the Fulfillment Inventory Lead and a Libra

Don’t let his uncanny resemblance to Sasquatch scare you—Gary is actually the sweetest one of the bunch and perhaps the smartest. A little known fact is that he aced all three semesters of Calculus in college. Perhaps the theory that mathematics and music are well connected comes in handy since Gary plays a mean bass for a local band called the Greenriver Thrillers. Gary has worked at Geocaching HQ for almost six years and knew one of the founders, Bryan Roth, from a previous employer.

One aisle from the Geocaching warehouse - in an undisclosed location... — An aisle from the Geocaching Shop – in an undisclosed location…

As an organizational fiend, Gary keeps the Geocaching Shop in tip-top shape. He’s also responsible for most of the “interior decorating” which includes a holiday tree covered in tape rolls and a geocaching T-shirt. It’s very avant garde.

Mark is a Taurus — Mark is the Fulfillment Lead and a Taurus

Known as a family man and all around nice guy, Mark is also the designer of the Build Your Own Ammo Can Brick Set. He got the idea while building bricks at home with his son. After collaborating with one of our amazing vendors, these have become a very successful item in the Geocaching online Shop.

“Shipping and logistics are my specialty. I also pack and ship most of the international distributor orders and volunteer shipments that come through the door. There are many other components to my job, but these are my primary daily functions.” He’s been with Geocaching for close to eight years, and also knew Bryan Roth from a previous job. Side note: if you want a job at the Geocaching Shop, apparently knowing Bryan is a prerequisite. 🙂

"Phil and Gary on a unicorn, please" — Mark’s masterpiece, “Phil and Gary with a Unicorn”

At some point in time, a fun tradition began at the Geocaching Shop. Customers and other Geocaching employees would leave cartoon drawing requests in their order notes and Mark would animate those requests. Sometimes they’re good, other times not so good. But he tries his best to accommodate.

Marty is the E-Commerce Operations Manager and a Taurus — Marty is the Operations Manager and a Taurus

Now the Operations Manager of the Geocaching Shop, Marty started as a temporary employee about 3 1/2 years ago but eventually became a full-time Geocaching HQ employee after a few months. He wants to offer items that inspire geocachers and give them ideas (like our devious geocaches), are top quality (like our packs, bags, and tools) or are best practice (like large clear ammo cans as requested by law enforcement).

The best times Marty had geocaching were with the Shop Boyz during the 31 Days of August Geocaching campaign that ran in the summer of 2013. “We keep very busy with clearing out all orders twice a day, but needing to find a geocache every day for a month got us out exploring. We went as a group every day to a geocache nearby. Some of our best selling items (like our Cache Maintenance Kit) came out of these days of geocaching. It was a lot of fun to explore the area with this interesting group of characters, and we learned a lot about geocaching.”

But don’t let the calm and cool demeanor fool you. Marty is terrified of adults dressed as animals. “When I saw Cats, I did not enjoy it. Adults dressed as cats is probably the one thing I dislike the most. So creepy!”

Phil the Fulfillment/Customer Care Specialist and a Scorpio — Phil is the Fulfillment/Customer Care Specialist and a Scorpio

Of course, we saved the best for last: Phil! He’s the guy that makes showing up to work seem like a party. Funny, hardworking, engaged, and big hearted, Phil also plays drums for the Greenriver Thrillers with Gary.

He’s worked at Geocaching for about five years and his favorite Geocaching Shop item is the Pelican Cache Containers – because they’re indestructible (just like Phil’s spiked hair). And yes – Phil wears his hair spiked every day – not just for blog post photo shoots. The color scheme is usually in support of Seattle’s NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks.

A huge map adorns the wall while Mark and Phil collaborate with distributors and fill orders. — A huge map adorns the wall while Mark and Phil collaborate with distributors and fill orders

All the Shop Boyz pitch in to cover every area: logistics, customer service, ordering, receiving, creating kits, putting items on the website, writing item descriptions, figuring out the best items for the Geocaching Shop newsletters, etc. In addition, they all have input as a group on what items to carry, and work together to come up with the next great items for geocachers to use.

Have you ordered anything from the Geocaching Shop? Tell us in the comments below!

*If you are outside of the United States, please look up one of these great international retail partners for all your geocaching and SWAG needs.

October 18, 2015 / Janelle /

Geocaching ROCKS!

Yes folks, it’s officially October. We’d like to keep the party going by referring to this month as ROCKtober. Here are 10 ways to make your geocaching world “rock”!

GC5G7A7 - G.P.S. I. NORTH COAST WALK - The Mushroom Rock — GC5G7A7 – G.P.S. I. NORTH COAST WALK – The Mushroom Rock

This idyllically placed geocache takes you to the North coast of Gozo, Malta with sheer high cliffs. The area shows rock strata and breathtaking views across the Mediterranean sea. If you’ve logged this geocache, you’re probably a really fun guy . :-\

GC5BMM0 - Moon Tower — GC5BMM0 – Moon Tower

Since your in Malta, swing on over to nearby Sardegna, Italy. This geocache is on the way to the top of a giant rock with panoramic views. GPS signals can be temperamental here, so check the photos if you need a hint (or even a spoiler).

GCA68D - Stonehenge — Tesco Wolf TB visits GCA68D – Stonehenge

Stonehenge has been around for over 7,000 years, and this location has been a Virtual Cache since October 2002. No need to purchase tickets, just post a photo with this amazing wonder from the Middle Ages in the background, and you’re good.

GC45DC3 - Can you eat rocks? — GC45DC3 – Can you eat rocks?

Gluten intolerant? No worries with this loaf of bread. This geocache is located in near at Bread Rock in Castle Peak, Hong Kong. This is a D1.5/T4 cache in a “maze-like-area”, so make sure to do this one with a few geo-buddies!

But why should geocaches get all the glory? Trackables can rock, too. This Geocoin’s page states, “GEOCACHING ROCKS geocoins were designed by FOX 661L‘s friend Adam – DIVINGDJ – who DJ’s Rock Karaoke evenings around Coventry and had the coins created to bring some heavy metal into the geocaching world!”

GC1C93A - Frog Rock — GC1C93A – Frog Rock

Oh, Signal the Frog would be so proud of this geocache in Washington state! The best way to explain this surprisingly romantic geocache is to quote the description:

The now famous Frog Rock has a romantic and heartwarming history. Located at the intersection of Phelps & Hidden Cove roads, Frog Rock was created by two Bainbridge High School sweethearts on “Paint Night”, back in about 1971.

Paint Night is an old tradition for graduating seniors, on Bainbridge Island. They go out and paint their first names and graduation year on the roads. Even back in 1971, the tradition was frowned upon, because motorists would drive over the wet paint, and the paint would slop up off their tires onto their cars.

So, creating Frog Rock was an extraordinarily creative way (and a responsible way) to participate in Paint Night, without painting the roads. Painting the roads was not just frowned upon; it was then, and is now, illegal.

The best part of this story is that, a few years later, the young couple got married and they’ve been together all these years.

GC1G5BY - Tensegrity on Liberty — GC1G5BY – Tensegrity on Liberty

Maybe it’s the influence of Grunge music, but here’s a second geocache from Washington state that rocks. Until very recently, this was the oldest unfound geocache in the state. But why wasn’t it found for seven years? It’s a D5/T5 geocache with a challenging hike, and 400 feet of intense rock climbing. Geocaching HQ’s own video team attempted this geocache in July of 2015. Watch the breathtaking video here.

GC2FFRV - The Secret of Rolling Stones (USA) — GC2FFRV – The Secret of Rolling Stones (USA)

A rolling stone gathers no moss, especially when it’s located in the middle of Death Valley, California. Here you’ll find this Earthcache based on a recently “solved” mystery: self-moving rocks. This phenomenon has been studied for over half a century. Can you figure out how they move?

GCQEVF - Patriotic Rock — GCQEVF – Patriotic Rock

This somewhat famous rock in Iowa was originally painted by artist Ray Bubba Sorenson, and is close to (what else?) an ammo can geocache. “For generations, kids have painted slogans, names, and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. Now, it stays painted with something worth seeing. Each year around Memorial Day, Ray uses white paint to cover over his previous year’s work, then spends one to three weeks creating new scenes on his blank canvas.”

GCHFT2 - Earthcache I - a simple geology tour of Wasp Head — GCHFT2 – Earthcache I – a simple geology tour of Wasp Head

Lastly, the very first EarthCache ever created went live on January 10th, 2004 and is located in New South Wales, Australia. Explore this beautiful area and learn about worm burrows, split joints, dikes, drop stones, and fossils (including a Bryozoan colony).

Tell us how geocaching rocks your world in the comments below!

August 23, 2015 / Janelle /

The wild world of underwater geocaches

Taking the extreme plunge: underwater geocaching — For the extreme geocacher: underwater geocaching

Call me Geocache. Some time ago – never mind how long exactly – having little or no finds in my profile, and no particular geocaches to interest me on shore, I thought I would cache about a little and see the watery part of the T5 rating scale.*

What better way to fill out the Terrain rating on your Fizzy Grid than going underwater to find your caches? Grab your snorkel, SCUBA gear, and wet suits, then check out these awesome and inspiring underwater caches:

GC2W056 Hilma Hooker is located in Bonaire, just off the northern coast of Venezuela. The geocache is almost 30 meters (100 feet) underwater at an actual shipwreck. Some underwater caches have special paper and pencils to sign the log, but for this cache, you must write your name in the sand under the yardarm of the ship’s main mast.

Finding the cache — Going for the dive cache!

Gotta look out for muggles when “signing” the log

Another idyllic underwater SCUBA cache is GC4BAC0 Kittiwake in the Cayman Islands. As the geocache description says:

The ex-USS Kittiwake was a Submarine Rescue vessel (ASR-13). She was part of the 6th Submarine squadron (SUBRON 6) home ported at the Destroyer-Submarine piers in Norfolk, VA. She was transferred from MARAD to the Cayman Islands Government in August 2009 and was cleaned and remediated in Norfolk, Virginia to become an artificial reef. This included substantial work including the removal of all hazardous materials (like pcb’s, asbestos, mercury, cabling, wires, oils, lubricants and a very long list). Additionally, all thin or loose materials that could break off during or soon after sinking were removed. The Kittiwake is possibly the ‘cleanest’ wreck ever to be sunk as an artificial reef.

Found it! Now time to sign the log. — Now time to sign the log.

Oh the things you'll see and do while SCUBAcaching! — Oh the things you’ll see and do while SCUBAcaching!

Did you know there are freshwater lake sharks in Germany? Well, not technically, but there is a fake shark 30 meters (98 feet) below the surface near GCNQ40 Horka – Pumpenhaus. (You gotta admit that you were taken aback the first time you looked at these photos…) This Virtual Cache is, “…the cache owner’s revenge for all the climbing caches, which [he] will never reach.”

GCNQ40 Horka - Pumpenhaus — SHARK!!!! Oh, it’s only GCNQ40 Horka – Pumpenhaus

The shark was impaled by a... huge steak knife? — Everyone’s safe. The shark was impaled by… a huge steak knife?

This is the beautiful location for this underwater cache

But what if you don’t have all that fancy scuba gear or deep water submersibles? Well, we have a couple of other options for you.

Head over to GC3KG2M Father Thames & The Mermaid (AS TIDES GOES BY) in London, England and wait for the tide to go out. This geocache currently has 387 Favorite points, and you can see why; it’s clever and takes you to a memorable location.

GC3KG2M Father Thames & The Mermaid (AS TIDES GOES BY) is only accessible at low tide — GC3KG2M
Father Thames & The Mermaid (AS TIDES GOES BY) is only accessible at low tide

We got one last geocache that may, ahem, float your boat. GC2H5GD Winnepesauke bumblebee scuba is located about 400 feet from the shore and about 35 feet below the surface. This geocache is available year round by diving in the summer, and ice fishing in the winter. Really depends on your perspective on what’s more difficult.

Again, GC2H5GD in the winter (the container was updated since the summer...!) — Again, GC2H5GD in the winter!

Have you ever found a geocache underwater? How was it, or what’s holding you back from obtaining this type of cache? Tell us in the comments below!

*Deepest apologies to Herman Melville for this complete and very pathetic rip off of the opening passage to Moby Dick.

July 28, 2015 / Janelle /

Incredible Geocaching Road Trips from Around the World

Three featured road trips from USA, Germany, and New Zealand

By this time, you’re probably aware that we are celebrating 15 years of geocaching this summer. We’re using the theme of road trips to make it fun for everyone. You have the opportunity to complete five geocaching quests, each of which will earn you a souvenir for your geocaching profile. Complete all five and you’ll earn a sixth, extra special souvenir.

Today, we highlight a three phenomenal road trips to take in three very different parts of the earth: Route 66 in the United States, a north to south bike tour of Germany, and a “New Zealand’s greatest hits” series of caches inspired by The Lord of the Rings saga.

United States of America – U.S. Route 66

150 miles stretch of Route 66 from Barstow, CA to Needles, AZ

U.S. Route 66 (US 66 or Route 66) originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending at Santa Monica, California, covering over 2,400 miles (3,862 km). In the 150 miles stretch between Barstow, California towards Needles, Arizona lies a power trail of 800 geocaches. A power trail is path with a large number of caches placed within close proximity to each other (though no closer than .1 miles apart). All the caches in this series are on the same side of the road; therefore, this series should be done heading eastbound.

GC2J17A - 001-Route 66. The first of 800 caches along the Route 66 power trail from Barstow,CA to Needles, AZ. — GC2J17A – 001-Route 66. The first of 800 caches along the Route 66 power trail from Barstow,CA to Needles, AZ.

GC2K087 - 400-Route 66 is a adorned with piles of rocks (SPR?) used to spell out where cachers are from, and the number "400". — GC2K087 – 400-Route 66 is a adorned with piles of rocks (SPR?) used to spell out where ‘cachers are from, and the number “400”.

GC2K6TW - 800-Route 66 is the final stop for this power trail, but unfortunately temporarily disabled due to repair work being done to the road due to damage from the flash floods of September 2014. — GC2K6TW – 800-Route 66 is the final stop for this power trail, but unfortunately temporarily disabled due to repair work being done to the road due to damage from the flash floods of September 2014.

A few caches along the route are not part of the series, such as GC1K592 – Kick up your feet! There lies an dead tree covering in old shoes. So, if the power trail wears yours out, you could always swap for an older, dirtier, more busted pair.

GC1K592 - Kick up your feet! is not part of the Route 66 power trail, but definitely a quirky stop along the route. — GC1K592 – Kick up your feet! is not part of the Route 66 power trail, but definitely a quirky stop along the route.

Germany – Deutschland-Tour

GC3JH5D Deutschland-Tour runs from north to south Germany and is meant to be completed on bicycles

GC3JH5D Deutschland-Tour is a 26 stage (with one alternate) Multi-Cache that runs from the north of Germany to the South, covering over 1,600 kilometers (994 miles). This is not a road trip for the weak, as it’s meant to be done by bicycle. The geocache listing page describes it best (German to English translation):

Es geht also um eine Radtour über 1600km durch 7 Bundesländer vom nördlichsten Punkt Deutschlands bis zum Südlichsten. Ja, richtig gelesen, die Dose liegt in der Nähe von Oberstdorf im Allgäu.
Ja, das ist völlig ernst gemeint und: ja, es ist sehr weit. Aber die Belohnung sind unendlich viele neue Eindrücke und das unglaubliche Gefühl, einmal aus eigener Kraft das ganze Land durchquert zu haben.

This is a bike ride of over 1600km through seven of Germany’s states, from the northernmost point to the southernmost. Yes, you read correctly, the cache is near Oberstdorf in the Allgäu region.
Yes, that’s meant entirely seriously and, yes, it’s very far. But payoffs are new experiences and the incredible feeling of having travelled across an entire country under one’s own power.

GC3JH5D Station 1 at the north end of Germany says, "Of course, we begin our tour at the northernmost point of Germany and let the solitude of the place affect us. Only the constant blowing wind, the sound of the waves and the cries of sea birds break the silence." — GC3JH5D Station 1 at the north end of Germany says, “Of course, we begin our tour at the northernmost point of Germany and let the solitude of the place affect us. Only the constant blowing wind, the sound of the waves and the cries of sea birds break the silence.”

GC3JH5D Rainbows and lush valleys are a big payoff when your thighs are begging for mercy! — GC3JH5D Rainbows and lush valleys are a big visual payoff when your thighs are begging for mercy

GC3JH5D The Final stage has a beautiful spot for reflecting on this life-changing journey

Middle-earth (aka New Zealand) – The Lord of the Rings

Focusing on New Zealand's North Island, there are a few of the Lord of the Rings inspired geocaches — Focusing on New Zealand’s North Island, there are a few of the Lord of the Rings inspired geocaches

There are so many great geocaches related to The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy throughout out the world, but let’s just focus on New Zealand’s North Island. The dramatic landscapes and large uninhabited areas make it easy to understand why all of the movies were filmed here. I’m sure many geocachers could add a dozen more great spots to cache onto this list – and please do! But here’s some of the top geocaches dedicated to this story:

GC1HCXK Hobbiton (Waikato) is a “popular tourist destination, and earned the esteemed honor of “Geocache of the Week”. It’s so popular that it’s actually getting “biggified”.

GC3VBMT There And Back Again is a simple multi is placed near the location of the filming of scenes in The Shire from both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. — GC3VBMT There And Back Again is a simple multi is placed near the location of the filming of scenes in The Shire from both The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.

GC24VXZ Ngauruhoe - Mt Doom (Central Plateau) is an Earthcache featuring the youngest of three volcanoes and is only 2,500 years old! — GC24VXZ Ngauruhoe – Mt Doom (Central Plateau) is an Earthcache featuring the youngest of three volcanoes and is only 2,500 years old!

GC4B4AR "The Shire" - Rangitikei packs a powerful punch despite its less-than-hobbity size — GC4B4AR “The Shire” – Rangitikei packs a powerful punch despite its hobbity size

EarthCache GC19NVM Putangirua Pinnacles was featured as the fictional Dimholt Road, Approach to Paths of the Dead in "The Return of the King" — EarthCache GC19NVM Putangirua Pinnacles was featured as the fictional Dimholt Road, Approach to Paths of the Dead in “The Return of the King”

Keep in mind if you plan it right, since New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, you could geocache all summer long, twice a year! There are countless journeys to take while geocaching. Have you taken a geocaching road trip? What would be your ultimate geocaching road trip? Tell us in the comments below!

May 25, 2015 / Janelle /

The Father of the Geocoin: Moun10Bike

Geocoins—it’s hard to imagine Geocaching without them, Travel Bugs, or any other kind of trackable. But for an entire year and a half after geocaching was born (in May of the year 2000), that was how geocaching was done. Caching primarily involved using GPS technology to discover ammo cans hidden deep in the woods, then the seekers would write long entries into pre-placed log books.

The Father of the Geocoin: Mr. Jon Stanley, aka Moun10Bike

But geocaching’s path changed forever (and for the better) when Jon Stanley, aka Moun10Bike, created and placed the very first geocoin in a cache near Deception Pass in Washington State, USA.

Not only is Jon a legend of geocaching, he’s also a Charter Member and now works as a System Analyst/Lackey with Groundspeak. We caught up with Jon between bug fixes, forums posts, meetings to keep everyone in the loop, and geocaching on his lunch break, to find out more about how geocoins came to be.

What gave you the idea to place a geocoin?
Back in 2001, I was coming up on my 100th cache find. I wanted a signature item to launch in time for that milestone and had heard about military challenge coins from a fellow cacher. They sounded like the perfect geocaching item – compact, easy to carry, durable – so I designed and minted a set of personalized coins that I dubbed “geocoins.”

Here it is, folks: Moun10Bike Geocoin 001. Try not to hyperventilate.

When was the first Geocoin placed?
The coin was placed September 30th of 2001. I placed it in a cache that still stands out today in my mind as one of the best (even though it has since been archived) – Light House Point. It involved a rickety aluminum ladder that you could only access during low tide. I climbed the ladder. I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it because I have a fear of heights. But knowing I wanted to place that coin in a special cache got me up the ladder.

So the first coin was placed in that cache?
I kept the first one for my personal collection. So it was number two… 002. That was the first one placed.

And then what happened?
I placed it in there and didn’t think that much about it. Well you know, it started off really slowly. It was about 6 months after I placed or minted my coins and placed them that anyone else started making coins that I know of. They became desired items. So rather than people seeing them and moving them on, the goal was to get to it first and keep it for their collection. It was almost like a Beanie Baby craze. There was the Geocoin craze.

How many Geocoins do you think you’ve placed out in the world at this point?
I’ve sent out over 1200 of my Moun10Bike geocoins so far, and over 1500 coins if you count my coinaments (a Christmas tree ornament that is trackable and shaped like a coin)!

How many Geocoins do you own?
I stopped counting in 2006. At that point, it was around 1000. I have at least five times that many now.

Jon, aka “Moun10Bike”, and his son Jameson, aka “Moun10Tyke”, on an adventure a few years ago.

What is something that most people would be surprised to learn about you?
Hmmm, I’m pretty boring. Would it surprise people if I said that my wife and son can barely tolerate caching?

Any parting thoughts?
From computers to the web, to gadgets, and then foremost the outdoors, I just couldn’t ask for a better hobby.

Sure is crazy to think that any experiences you’ve had with geocoins, Travel Bugs, or trackables lead back to Jon Stanley. Do you collect geocoins, or geocache with trackables? How have they changed the way you cache? Tell us your stories below!

Official Blog

Author: Janelle

Geocaching Shop Boyz: The story behind the SWAG

Geocaching ROCKS!

The wild world of underwater geocaches

Incredible Geocaching Road Trips from Around the World

The Father of the Geocoin: Moun10Bike

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