Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
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.
A new year begins the promise of new possibilities…
2015 presents the potential for lifelong memories and a long list of resolutions that we all cross our fingers we keep. Whether it be to spend more time with our families or shed that extra five pounds, we all make resolutions for the better.
But for all the good intentions, only a tiny fraction of people keep their resolutions. However, one should never underestimate a geocacher and their iron will to reach any and everything they set their minds to. Since its early days, goals have been a big part of geocaching. From reaching your next 100 finds to going on a year-long streak, geocachers live and breath for their next challenge. This makes geocachers some of the best resolution keepers around, which is why Geocaching HQ has created the Top 6 Geocaching Resolutions as a conversation starter.
Ring in 2015 by challenging your geocaching skills and making way for new year of geocaches.
1) Fill your Difficulty and Terrain Grid…or at least a few. Tackle a variety of unique difficulty and terrain combinations that test not only your ability to find the geocache, but to get there.
2) Find a new geocache type. Did you know that are 20 (yes 20) geocache types? If your stats are overflowing with Traditionals and Puzzle caches, try branching out by finding a Letterbox Hybrid or Wherigo cache.
3) Take a Hike. Take your geocaching to new distances by challenging yourself to hike a mile while geocaching. If that sounds like a cake walk, go for five or more!
4) By Land, by sea, by air. There is more than one way to travel while geocaching. While many geocaches are only a short drive or hike away, others require a little farther trek. Try kayaking to a geocache hidden on a tiny island in the middle of a lake or rock climbing to one stowed at a cliff’s peak. Snowshoe to find a cache on a peaceful mountainside or scuba dive to one on the tropical ocean floor.
5) Take a trip. Geocaches are everywhere…and I mean everywhere. With over 2.5 million geocaches in 184 countries the question that should be asked is “where aren’t they?” Take a geocaching vacation to somewhere new whether that be to a town you’ve never visited or to a country on your bucket list. Better yet hit the road and follow a geo power trail!
6) Find the oldest geocache in your state. Take a walk down memory lane and make a historic visit to where it all began in your area. Better yet make a pilgrimage to the original geocache stash and see where the magic all began.
Now, put it out there for the world to see – share your geocaching New Year’s resolution below in comments!
