Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
By Holly Walker, Geocaching HQ Guest Experience Coordinator
There’s the “you” when you begin a journey, then if by magic, there’s a completely different “you” when you finish a journey. As geocachers, we’ve all experienced this phenomenon. You learn and you grow and you change, even if ever so slightly, into a new person. And so it’s the same as we vicariously travel through Geocaching game pieces known as Travel Bugs®. We’re able to track an object as it moves around the world to new places. And sometimes when we see that Travel Bug, years later, the whole world we know has changed. This is one of those stories.
On February 7, 2010, Arkfiremedic placed a 2009 Groundspeak Lackey Geocoin in a Travel Bug hotel in Arkansas. The mission? “Try to make it back to Groundspeak Headquarters [in Seattle, WA] from Arkansas.” Lackey Geocoins are limited edition items annually released by Geocaching Headquarters. Commemorating its employees, or Lackeys as they we occasionally (and lovingly) referred to by the community, these Geocoins feature each Lackey’s unique pixel icon, an artistic characterization of each person and a rite of passage when hired. (You can see that latest Geocaching HQ Logbook Geocoin or Lackey Geocoin here.)
What could have been a simple 2,000 mile trip from Arkansas to Geocaching HQ across the country became, in the end, much more. This 2009 Geocoin, featuring just under 30 Geocaching Lackeys, spent nearly five years traveling to eleven different US states, visiting three countries across three continents, and logging over 26,000 miles all in an effort to visit us. To the delight of the coin’s owner, this lackey geocoin reached its final destination a couple weeks ago. On January 5, 2015, the coin finally arrived at Geocaching Headquarters and met a staff of over 80 lackeys! My how things have changed here at headquarters in the last 5 years!
Shortly after arriving, the Geocoin was discovered and photographed by the Lackeys and quickly retrieved that afternoon by a kind geocacher visiting HQ. Wondering where the coin is headed next? “The coin would love to come back to sunny Arkansas to retire the rest of its days in its owner’s collections.” And off it went back into the world…
This is just one of the many awesome trackable stories we encounter each day at our office. You’re invited to join. Schedule a hosted visit with us the next time you find yourself in Seattle. Discover all the interesting trackables our geocache contains and pick up your own Lackey Geocoin. Or activate a trackable from home and send it our way to travel the world for you. Who knows what kinds of adventures it may have.
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway
All across the Northern Hemisphere, geocachers are braving colder temps in order to earn smileys, keep streaks alive and get outdoors. It’s difficult to stay stoked on geocaching while the weather isn’t ideal, so this week’s Geocache of the Week is a little bit of winter inspiration. Not only is it the first geocache in Georgia (the country), it’s nestled high-up on a mountain, ready for skiers and snowboarders to find it. The team that hid this geocache made their trip even more epic by working it into their heli-skiing adventure.
What geocachers are saying:
“Quite a quick find after some walk on a sunny day. The mountains here are wonderful! Hopefully I will be able to come back here in winter to snowboard a bit. Thanks a lot for the cache! Greetings from Latvia!” – Inez Rodriguez
“Great Cache! the view was amazing! First time in Georgia, but not the last one. Sun, skiing, and Geocaching. TFTC!” – KlizmaHH
“This is until now the most beautiful site of a georgian cache! And i’m happy to found it. It’s good to breath fresh air after much time in Tbilisi and Batumi. The cache is in perfect condition and don’t need any kind of maintenance!” – Gumpf
Photos:
Where the adventure begins.Carving some nice tracks on the way to GZ.Even in summer, this geocache provides beautiful views. Photo by geocacher VikaniThat’s a pretty sweet Geo-Mobile!The team of geocachers who hid this geocache.A geocacher’s view from the cache site. Photo by KlizmaHH
What’s the most epic winter adventure you’ve had? Tell us and post photos in the comments.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, just fill out this form. Thanks!
Amy (left) with a geocacher at the Berlin Mega-Event
Berlin in November is cold. Very cold. However, my trip last month to Germany for Mega-Berlin was more heart warming than I could have ever imagined.
The weekend full of events began Friday night with a Meet & Greet (GC4YYYX). The venue for the weekend’s activities was a lost place named Motowerk, a former factory of breakthrough electrical engines and elevators that opened in 1914. During world War II, the British government became aware of the factory and, in a raid on Berlin, dropped 24 bombs on the company grounds. Miraculously, the production hall and all of the company’s employees were unharmed.
After the war, the building was turned over to the Russians and used as a publicly owned business manufacturing condensers in the GDR. After the German reunification the factory became a location for events and, ultimately, the setting for Berlin’s largest Mega-Event to date, Mega-Berlin.
The Meet & Greet event had 1500 geocachers in attendance who enjoyed exchanging geocaching stories in between sets from the Polkaholix, a German, polk/punk band.
After a fun filled night, I returned to Motowerk bright and early the following day for the big event (GC4YYYY). The event hall was busy with geocachers, vendors, and activities around every corner. After checking out all of the vendors and walking through the children paradise and seeing all of the creative and fun activities there were for the kids, I headed out to find some of the nearby geocaches with a few geocachers I had just met.
If I didn’t mention this before, it was cold (really cold) but that wasn’t going to stop us—there was a variety of geocaches in the area to be found.
Returning to the event, I stopped by the event map and realized that there were geocachers from all over the world in attendance. This was truly a global event.
The best part of the event for me was hearing the stories from geocachers and seeing how the Berlin geocaching community came together to produce this event.
The next morning I returned again to the event hall for the Secret Santa Breakfast (GC4YYYZ). I sat down for breakfast with a few Swedes that I met at the event, Team-Prince and Palmarna. We had a great breakfast discussing geocaching events and experiences. The organizers of the event had arranged a gift exchange for the event. You drop off a gift, get a ticket, and return later to pick up your gift. My gift was a stocking full of all kinds of geocaching goodies and some candy!
Overall, I had a great time in Berlin and met some fabulous people while I was at the event. I cannot thank the geocachers I came across and the Orga Team for all of the hospitality they showed me during my visit.
Ein Geocache besteht nicht nur aus einem Ort und einer Dose. Mit jedem Fund – oder Nichtfund – ist immer auch eine Geschichte verbunden. Diese Geschichten sind die Logeinträge, die Geocacher auf der Seite des Geocaches hinterlassen. Es gibt zahlreiche Gründe, aus denen Du bei den von Dir angegangenen Geocaches hochwertige Logs hinterlassen solltest, aber für den Anfang findest Du hier schon mal ein paar:
Geocache-Owner lesen gern neue Logs. Sie helfen ihnen auch dabei festzustellen, wie es um ihren Geocache bestellt ist.
Andere Geocacher suchen gern in früheren Logs nach Tipps und weiteren Informationen.
DNF-Logs teilen anderen Geocachern mit, dass der Geocache möglicherweise doch etwas komplizierter als erwartet ist oder eine Wartung benötigt.
Also zeige der Geocaching-Gemeinschaft, was es heißt, einen tollen Logeintrag zu verfassen: Teile auf der Geocaching-Seite auf Facebook den besten Logeintrag, den Du jemals gelesen (oder geschrieben) hast.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin
This month’s nominees for the very special Geocacher of the Month award take the geocaching cake for their contributions to the game we love.
Among them are a geocaching icon who hosts regular geocaching workshops for ‘cachers new and old, a husband and wife team who are the heart and soul of geocaching on the Space Coast of Florida, and a geocaching duo whose 27 geocaches have received an incredible 2949 favorite points in total.
The decision won’t be easy. Luckily, we have you to help. Post your vote below and let us know who you think should take home the earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin (at left).
Mr Donut WP, November’s Geocacher of the Month
Although all the nominees will receive prizes, the featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition Geocoin, a Geocacher of the Month hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate that recognizes their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.
Mr Donut WP was the official Geocacher of the Month for November 2014. StridentUK says: “A real lynchpin of the local caching community, organizing many excellent events each year, Mr Donut’s enthusiasm and passion for caching and definitely make him worthy of the Cacher of the Month award.”
Now it’s your turn to decide which geocacher should be further recognized. Read the profiles of this month’s three nominees, and write a supportive comment below this post describing why you think this person should be recognized.
A panel 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 December 2014 Geocacher of the Month.
This geocaching duo is responsible for a lot of smileys, both on maps and on faces. Their creative geocache hides run the gamut from a beautifully crafted trackable hotel in a surprising locations to an electronically marvelous and well-favorited night-cache that’ll send chills down your spine.
T-Team! says, “In the local geocaching community (Noord Brabant, The Netherlands), Ralph and Thomas are famous for their fantastic caches. They have made many caches with 100+ favorite points and several in the top of the Netherlands.The caches are usually a fun way to be opened combined with an AHAAA moment…. Their latest multi-night-cache (GC5BP0T) has been online for just over 1 month… and already has 100+.”
“Finally, they continuously take care of their caches and do regular (night) checks on them. This ensures that everyone can continue to enjoy their work. There are not many cache-makers who can make you smile as they do. For this reason they deserve to be the Geocacher of the Month!”
Starkiller_ has found just over 9000 geocaches, so it’s no wonder he’s got something to teach others. This geocacher organizes and hosts a monthly workshop for geocachers interested in leveling-up their game through third-party software, advanced GPS maps and functions, or just by tackling more difficult puzzle-caches. Some months he even brings in guest speakers to host a workshop on a new topic…birdwatching while geocaching, anyone?
Starkiller_ has even worked with Ontario municipalities and conservation authorities to help manage geocaching in their areas. Not to mention the fact that he created a “Geo-Passport” which takes geocachers on a geocache tour through the South Nation watershed in Ontario. At the end of the tour, you’ll have learned something about the natural heritage features in the area, and will have earned a specially designed geocoin.
Waterlillimm says, “With a personality as big as his name, Starkiller_ is a physical and mental challenge to many Geocachers here in Ontario. While holding such high standards, he teaches us how to enjoy our Earth and Sky and all the beauty & fun that it can hold. If he is not attending a Geocaching Event, he is planning one. If he is not searching for a Geocache, he is creating one, if he is not showing us “how to cache” he is caching along side us. To be as considerate and as passionate of Geocaching as Starkiller_ is, we feel that he deserves the honour of being Geocacher of the Month.”
This geocaching team is responsible for 13 successful and well-attended CITO (Cache In, Trash Out) events in the Space Coast of Florida. You might even call some of their events “CITO+” (or über-CITO?), for their outside-the-box initiatives (trail maintenance, invasive species removal, etc.). They’ve even teamed up with local environmental organizations to put geocachers to work where they’re most needed.
Mother Earth isn’t the only thing getting kind attention from seastar255–their local geocaching community has felt their impact as well. Says Team Mollymap, “Seastar255 is the heart and soul of the Space Coast geocachers. This husband and wife team along with their daughter, Young Money Girl (YMG), have hosted 55 events in our community and counting. Not only are they the host and hostess with the most-est they also make awesome field puzzles, mysteries, and nothing beats a YMG hand decorated ammo can. If you need something this team is there for you, they support you but also encourage you to grow and learn new things for yourself. They have been a great mentor to us along with scores of other geoachers from the Space Coast. Cache-on Seastar255 and Young Money Girl!”
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the November Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through January 25th.
