Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
The geocaching community is about giving back by getting a little dirty and clearing a lot of trash. Cache In Trash Out, or CITO, helps preserve the natural beauty of the geocaching world by cleaning up litter, removing invasive species, planting trees and building trails.CITO events are held all year long, especially during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Check out the CITO calendar for events and join one near you. And who says good deeds go unrewarded? Earn The Nature Lover souvenir during the 7 Souvenirs of August by attending a CITO event in, you guessed it, the month of August.
Geocaching HQ staffers love August. The Seattle weather is perfect. We get to meet geocachers from all over the world who come to log the Geocaching HQ geocache or attend Geocaching Block Party. And each year, we find a new way to challenge each other to geocaching greatness.
See, we love teamwork at Geocaching HQ!
This year, we have a collective goal: 100% of the 70+ HQ’ers will earn all 7 Souvenirs of August. This is something we’ll do together, and we would love to see you use the same teamwork-based strategy in your local geocaching community.We’ll carpool to geocaches, help each other solve Mystery Caches, and cheer each other on.
At the same time, we couldn’t resist throwing a healthy dose of competition into the mix.
To add in an extra sprinkle of challenge and fun to keep us geocaching all month long, we’ve formed seven teams that, in addition to supporting each other in achieving the 7 Souvenirs of August, will compete against each other to be the best in the following categories:
First team to have every member complete all 7 Souvenirs of August
Most geocache finds in August
Greatest distance traveled
Greatest number of Travel Bugs moved
Average difficulty rating
Average terrain rating
Best geocaching-themed Instagram video with the hashtag #7SofA
This summer, you and your family, friends, coworkers, and geocaching organization can take the 7 Souvenirs of August to the next level too.
Here are Geocaching HQ’s 7 steps to attaining geocaching greatness this August:
1. Break into teams. Here at HQ, we decided to randomly assign teams to allow staffers to spend time with coworkers they don’t usually get to work with. Dividing by skill level or geocaching interest (i.e. the perfect blend of geocaching personality types) is also a great way to ensure the competition will be close.
Last year was all about orange headbands; this year, we’re rockin’ green sunglasses.
2. Give your team an identity. Team names are a must. Without one, what will you chant when you are victorious? Our teams are (surprise, surprise) named after the 7 Souvenirs of August: The Nature Lovers, The Explorers, The Puzzlers, The Collectors, The Socializers, and The Sightseers. (We’re all going to be Achievers, after all.) Bonus points for jerseys, headbands, sunglasses, and 7 Souvenirs of August SWAG.
3. Set up a leaderboard. Share a spreadsheet to track individual and team stats, or if you’re technically inclined, work some GPX magic.
4. Strategize. Get together with your team to talk shop. Will someone host a midnight Event Cache so the team can earn all 7 Souvenirs first? Or will you focus on find count or terrain rating? Is your team made up of people who are great at solving puzzles, climbing trees, or road-tripping? (Hint: Eating pizza while strategizing helps the brain think. It’s science.)
5. Make a calendar of geocaching outings. Once you have your strategy, plan when you’ll make it happen. Geocaching together is a great way to keep inspired and avoid the dreaded DNF.
6. Create a shared online space. Setting up a Facebook group or email chain is a great way to share updates, make sure you’re on track to achieving your goals (and winning!), and keep the team engaged and inspired.
7. Capture your favorite geocaching moments. So maybe your team won’t find the most geocaches or travel the furthest distance, but you can show off that you had the most fun. Create a geocaching highlight reel and be sure to share it on your favorite social media platforms. Don’t forget to use the #7SofA hashtag.
Ready to start plotting your August strategy? Share this video and invite your friends to join in the fun:
There are some places that deserve to be seen. These rarely visited gems can be anything from a hidden pocket park to a piece of beautiful graffiti—or even a place full of giant presidential heads. However, you can’t always place a geocache there to bring people in. That’s where Virtual Caches come in. While a few rule changes made new Virtual Caches into Waymarks, some of the older Virtual Caches have been grandfathered in since they existed before the rule change. This spot, located in Houston, Texas, is where an artist sculpted and cast these presidential busts for use in a park near Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. You’ll also find sculptures of the Beatles here.
What geocachers are saying:
“I came down to Houston for the weekend to grab a bunch of challenge caches and virtuals…this one was on my list…..very cool place….added a few pictures to my log….thanks for bringing me here……TFTC!” – mightymouse21
“Wow, this was a hoot! Detouring through Texas on our way to GeoWoodstock and had to stop at this one. Glad we did. Took pictures so we will post after we get back to Florida next week. Thanks for the adventure.” – Wilemon
“Wow this is great…the things you get to see while geocaching, never would have come here or new about this had it not been for caching, thanks for placing!!” – Holn1b4IDie
Photos and Video:
Busted! Photo by geocacher MXTrekkerWatch out for the giant Beatles! Photo by geocacher Drew136Just “head” over to this cache to meet these folks. Photo by geocacher ArdentEnthusiastNot even Abe ‘nose’ what you’re looking for. Photo by geocacher Scorpios2931
What little-known spots have you discovered by geocaching? Tell us 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.
Not all of these containers we specifically developed as geocaches.
Even though some geocache containers seem like they were handcrafted specifically for geocaching, most of them have been repurposed from something else. With things like Ammo cans, it’s pretty obvious what they used to be. For others, it requires a little bit of a deeper look into history:
These small, waterproof, durable containers are perfect for micro-sized geocaches. They can be attached to different camouflage and will last a long time. Plus, the larger tubes can hold both a logbook and a pencil. But their story isn’t just geocaching. In fact, you’ve probably used these hundreds of times and not even know it. Hint: There’s a key word in the heading to this section, “preform”. These small tubes are manufactured to be heated and expanded to form plastic bottles. Check out this video to see an animation of the process:
An example of a similar LED light.Nano geocaches in Shop Geocaching
Oft-maligned in the geocaching community, these smaller-than-small, magnetic geocaches are popular for high-muggle areas and urban geocaches. With so little room inside, it’s hard to believe that these geocaches were actually created for a reason other than geocaching. Mark Yvanovich, one of the early makers of these containers told us a little bit about the history, “These containers were originally LED blinking jewelry. The space where the log sheet is stored was where the button cell batteries went. They came with a separate rare earth magnet that could be used to attach it to clothing, etc…” Once these lights obtained new lives as geocaches, Mark and his wife made thousands of these, hand rolling all of the logbooks!
What did the buffalo say when he dropped his kid off at school? Bison. #dadjokes
It’s no secret that these tubes look nothing like real bison. Not even close. So what’s the reason behind the name? These containers were originally created by a company named Bison Designs. The company originally made aluminum carabiners in multiple shapes, including dog bones, mouse ears and more. Seeking out new things to create out of aluminum, the need for a small, waterproof container to carry medicine in arose—and thus, the Bison Tube was born.
Have you repurposed a container originally made for something else as a geocache? Tell us in the comments.
Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are attending dozens of Mega-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching. Each person at Geocaching HQ brings their own unique talent to advancing the adventure. Some write code for the website, others design images for the apps, and some shoot videos explaining it all. Cathy or Prying Pandora works supporting geocaching community volunteers . This is her Mega-Event experience.
Cathy (center) – Canada Day with reviewers CacheViewer, GeoawareCA, and CacheShadow
When I found out I had been selected to attend COG Fling 10 – The COG Cache Theory in Ontario, Canada, I was very excited. I knew that the Central Ontario geocaching community was super creative and fun, and they would turn this year’s science theme into a weekend full of laughter and crazy surprises. The chosen location for the 10th Fling was Tottenham Conservation Area, a beautiful 41-acre park about 40 minutes away from Toronto.
The kickoff event on Friday evening was COG Spring Fling, a nod to the COG Fling’s traditional springtime date. This year the event took place during the long hot days of summer, so how do you make a Spring Fling out of that? By flinging springs, of course! That was just one of a crazy hodge podge of activities, including racing to fill pipes by squeezing water into them with sponges, and performing an interpretive dance with shock absorbers before tossing them at a target. The prize? A fine trophy made of springs!
Elf and Fababoo doing their shock absorber interpretive dance. She has a bubble on her finger.Swifteroo’s shock absorber interpretive danceFilling pipes with sponges
I had a blast at the Mega-Event on Saturday, meeting and chatting with 800 geocachers. Some of them came all the way from Australia and Germany! Keeping with the science theme, the event log was a lab coat, there were 8 super creative science lab caches, and a mad scientist too! Games, workshops and a bunch of new caches in the area kept people busy all day.
Fababoo the Mad ScientistPotato Experiment Lab CacheLight Bending Prism Lab CacheTwo of the COG volunteers helping with the event, Juicepig and ElfMe with one of the cachers I met, luvvinbird
The weekend wrapped up on Sunday with the COG’s Anti Trash Theory CITO event. Lots of trash was collected from the area surrounding the park, and a few unusual items too.
Tromelin heaves in an old satellite dish
I completed my Canadian adventure after the event weekend by visiting the nation’s capital in Ottawa with some of Ontario’s volunteer reviewers to celebrate Canada Day. It was the perfect end to a wonderful trip!
