Author: Paige Edmiston

Paige (ThePaigeTurner) is a Marketing Specialist at Geocaching HQ. She likes books.
/ Paige Edmiston /

Geocache Maker Inspiration

Get your geocache building tools ready. It’s time to become a geocache maker. First things first. Check out this video to learn the basics of geocache hiding:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqc8Rnl_fh8]

Now, are you ready to take your geocache to the next level? You’ll need to learn the magic formula for creating an unforgettable experience: innovative container + inspiring location + powerful storytelling. Check out these 7 tips and tricks for making the ultimate geocaching experience:

1. Think everyday, household items. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to make an innovative geocache. Simple latches (like child locks!) and magnets can go a long way towards building a cool container.

Another geocache by Herr Potter, "Horse Heaven"
A geocache by Herr Potter that uses child proof drawer latches.

2. Make sure the location matches the container. A tupperware container is awesome if it brings you to an inspiring location; it’s less awesome if it brings you to a parking lot. You can make up for a less exciting location by using a container that requires some brain power to open or is itself a work of art.

3. Don’t forget the geocache page!  A person’s geocaching experience begins the moment they open a geocache’s page. Tell a fun, fictional story or use the geocache page to teach a history or science lesson. Make sure the necessary information, including coordinates, is accurate.

4. Geocaching needs a planet. So let’s take care of the earth! Read these 6 tips for hiding an environmentally friendly cache.

5. Ask for permission. While it may not be as exciting as making an innovative container or discovering the perfect location, asking permission before placing a geocache is essential to creating a quality geocaching experience. You wouldn’t want geocachers to have a negative run-in with a property owner who isn’t aware of your geocache!

6. Think longevity. Geocaches can live for a very long time, but this requires some tender, loving care. Take the D2W quiz to see if your geocache is made for life, and make sure to follow up on Needs Maintenance logs posted by other geocachers. No one likes a soggy logbook.

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See step-by-step instructions to recreate some of the world’s coolest geocaches.

7. Look to others for inspiration. There’s a lot of creativity out there in the geocaching universe. To get your own creative juices flowing, check out the Creative Hides on our Geocaching Pinterest page to see what geocachers around the world are doing. Then check out these step-by-step instructions to learn some of world’s greatest makers’ secret ingredients to building a world-class geocache:

Geocache on the Rocks by Fogg

A SHOCKING Cache by WVTim

Schrader’s Ode to Dayspring by Herr Potter

You’ve read the tips. You’ve seen the photos. Now you’re ready…. Go forth & create!

Are you a geocache Maker? Tell us about your most creative hide in the comments below.

 

 

 

/ Paige Edmiston /

Worlds Apart, Geocaching Connects a Father and Son

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Geocaching helps keep this father and son team together. Left: Relativly Simlpe grabs his 900th find. Right: FlyingFawks spends the afternoon geocaching.

When you ask geocachers why they love geocaching, they will usually say they love geocaching because it gets them outside or brings a sense of adventure to their daily lives or connects them with a wonderfully warm and inclusive community or even gives them an activity to share with friends and family. For Roger Collins (Username: Relativly Simlpe)  and his son Joshua (Username: FlyingFawks), geocaching is more than all that. It’s just a way to spend a fun afternoon together. It is the way this father and son can stay connected even when they are oceans apart.

Roger lives in Oregon. Joshua lives in Florida, but his career takes him even further away from his dad. He serves in the U.S. Navy. He says, “My first deployment was in 2010, and I have been serving for over six years now. I have been given the opportunity to travel all over the world – Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America.” Through the Navy, Joshua has also been able to geocache all over the world. Some of his favorite geocache finds have taken him tromping through Japan, Italy, and El Salvador. He adds, “I have had the privilege to be First to Find for three geocaches on two different continents.”

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Just another day at work for FlyingFawks.

Through geocaching, Joshua’s father also gets to have adventures of his own. Roger describes his first ever geocaching experience, “It was a normal Oregon winter day, rainy and cold. I worked my way to the geocache, dove into a small cedar tree, and found the container. I was all wet with the smell of cedar on my coat. I sat on a we bench nearby, opened the container, and said, ‘AH MAN! Look at all this stuff!’ I was having the time of my life and I was hooked.”

Although they take place on opposite sides of the country, or even world, these experiences give Roger and Joshua endless opportunities to connect. Joshua says, “Geocaching gives us an extra excuse to talk to each other – as if being father and son wasn’t enough. When we come across a cool trackable or a geocache worth of a favorite point, we usually call or text the GC code so that the other can check it out.”

When Joshua is deployed, geocaching can even, at times, give Roger the comfort of knowing that his son is somewhere having a great adventure. He says, “We are geo-friends and I watch to see which geocaches he has logged, no matter where he may be.”

Whether your family lives in your house, down the street, or on the other side of the world, sharing your  adventures can truly bring you closer together – one geocache at a time. Take it from Roger, “It’s important to share the experience. Whether geocaching together or apart, the stories that we share with each other are priceless.”

 

/ Paige Edmiston /

From the Desk of Moun10Bike: How to Keep Your Geocaching Streak Going in the Snow

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Moun10Bike’s desk at Geocaching HQ: where office life and geocaching magic collide.
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The Geocoin that started it all turned 12 this year.

Geocaching HQ is home to a geocaching legend. His title is Community Liaison to Engineering. His name is Jon Stanley. He’s better known as Moun10Bike in the geocaching world.  As one of the world’s first-ever geocachers, Moun10Bike earned his geocaching fame by creating the first of what we now know as geocoins.

Moun10Bike agreed to share his coolest geocaching tips as we head into the winter season here in the Northern hemisphere.

Q: You are working on a geocaching streak. How many days of geocaching in a row are you up to? What inspired you to take on this challenge?

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Hiking above the clouds and into the snow for a geocache. Brrr….but totally worth it! Photo by Moun10Bike.

A: On Christmas Eve, my streak will hit 700 days. I want to keep going for as long as it’s fun. The initial motivator was to have a streak that was longer than my longest slump (141 days between my first and second cache finds, back when there were very few caches around). After that, there seemed to be continued incentives that kept me going (e.g. qualifying for particular challenges, etc.).

Q: What is the biggest challenge you face in maintaining your streak?

A: We head back to Spokane and North Idaho during the holidays to be with family, where snow is a much more frequent sight than it is in Seattle. Keeping up the geocaching when everything is under a blanket of white and you’re sipping eggnog by a warm fire becomes a challenge then.

Q: What tips do you have for other geocachers who are trying to keep a streak going in the winter weather?

A: I start off by looking for geocaches that have the “Available in Winter” attribute, although this is rather hit-or-miss as some geocache owners do not use attributes. It does help identify some better ones that were intended specifically for winter, though. What helps the most is looking for geocaches that were found in the last day or two, especially if it recently snowed. This tells you that people are having success at these geocaches despite whatever the conditions on the ground may be.

Q: So what makes  for a good winter geocache?

anniesnowphoto
Moun10Bike’s co-worker and geocaching friend Annie Love (Username: Love) takes a photo on their geocaching expedition. Photo by Moun10Bike.

A: Basically any geocache that is off the ground or otherwise protected from snow coverage. Some great winter geocaches that I’ve found were attached to branches in a tree. During the summer, they are many feet up in the air, but are within easy reach with snow on the ground. If a geocache meets these criteria, the geocache owner should be sure to add the “Available in Winter” attribute.

Q: Do you have any safety tips for geocachers who – streaking or not – might find themselves outside geocaching in frightful weather?

A: Dress warmly, be ready and willing to turn back if conditions turn against you, and watch out for ice! I encountered a frozen patch on a trail during an geocaching outing last winter and made a point to stomp across carefully. Despite my caution, my hiking boots slipped out from under me and I broke my arm in the process of catching myself.

Q: But you continued winter geocaching after that?

A: I absolutely did! The break came when I was only a month away from a year straight, so I had to keep going.

Keep tuned in to learn more great geocaching tips from the desk – or trail – of Moun10Bike. What inspires you to leave the warm eggnog and crackling fire behind, and head out geocaching in the winter weather? Tell us in the comments below.

 

/ Paige Edmiston /

Announcing the October Geocacher of the Month

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 geocaching community gave thanks this past month for three dedicated geocachers from three very different corners of the world. All the nominees were creative hiders who have committed themselves not only to maintaining their geocaches, but also to maintaining and growing friendships within the geocaching community. 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, Mic68  has been officially named the Geocacher of the Month for October 2013.

One geocacher who commented wrote, “After visiting “Dragonheart” I kept referring to this cache as the best I’ve ever done. By now they have published another one which we have just finished a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that this cache definitely is a milestone in geocaching! Wow! In Germany people are willing to travel quite a bit if the cache is worth it and I see people flocking in. The mixture of storytelling, suspense, technical know-how and fun is hard to beat.  Also, this team is immensely nice and helpful! All in all they are very worthy candidates and I would be happy for them to win!”

Mic68 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.

mic68
Mic68 – Geocacher of the Month

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
Netherlands 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 Mic68  for being recognized as the Geocacher of the Month for October.

/ Paige Edmiston /

Geocaching Quick Quiz: Name that Lingo

Sometimes reading geocache logs can be as tricky as deciphering top secret super spy codes. Check the geocaching acronyms in the log book below. Can you decrypt this geocaching lingo?

GC_Acronyms_Quiz_vFINAL_Q

To reveal the answers…

Just.

Scroll.

Down.

…

 

You’re.

Almost.

There.

The answers revealed! Are you a geocaching super spy?

GC_Acronyms_Quiz_vFINAL_A

 

These are just a few of the gazillions of geocaching acronyms out there. Have you come across lingo not listed in this log book? Tell us about it in the comments below.