Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin
Feel’n down? Feel’n like the world’s missing good people? Check out the comments in the North American Edition of Geocacher of the Month. All three nominees for Geocacher of the Month contribute to their local communities and inspire geocachers around the globe. They’re good-hearted, welcoming folks who are passionate about sharing the joys of geocaching.
Each of the geocachers will receive special recognition and a prize package for their contribution to the adventure of geocaching. Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ reviews community input and blog comments. Each comment is read and posts in native languages are encouraged.
hurleyanne – Geocacher of the Month
In a tough decision, the irrepressibly enthusiastic hurleyanne is named the Geocacher of the Month for April 2014. One comment reads, “She’s enthusiastic about teaching others and makes sure no one is excluded. She’s a superb asset to the geocaching community!”
Another read, “She is one of the most generous cachers around, always quick to offer assistance to newbie cachers online and in person, and has the experience to back it up. She has taken it upon herself to compile lists of caches in the area that need maintenance and organize maintenance for those geocaches by those willing to help, and other interesting ‘bucket lists’ of caches, that inspire people to get out of town and explore our beautiful province. Just to show how much she enjoys the friends she has made through geocaching, she made her own wedding into a geocaching event!”
Congratulations again to hurleyanne for earning the Geocacher of the Month for April.
If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.
After receiving a little more rain in Seattle, I couldn’t help but daydream of somewhere sunny, warm and tropical. I remembered a place I’ve always wanted to go scuba diving and decided to see if there was a geocache nearby—and of course, there was! The Great Blue Hole in Belize was once named one of the top 10 scuba diving sites in the world by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. The Blue Hole was formed through thousands of years of geologic processes, including earthquakes and rises in sea level. The deep blue color comes from its depth: 480 feet (145 m). And now, in addition to enjoying the tropical paradise of Belize, you can also learn about the formation of this amazing geologic attraction while earning a smiley for this Earthcache.
What geocachers are saying:
“Awesome! This is my first EarthCache and my 5th cache of any kind. I was so thrilled to get one in such an out of the way spot!” – 1fish-2fish
“My husband had been waiting forever to dive the Blue Hole on our trip to Belize. How awesome to have a geocache too! We’ve done at least one cache in every country we’ve traveled to. This was the only one we could do since we were staying on the Turneffe atoll as opposed to the mainland. Thanks so much for placing it. One more EarthCache/new country to add to the list. ” – dadsgps
“Worked on this island for a tour company, so I know the area well. Got excited to see that there’s a smiley I can log because of my work! ;)” – tigerkity
Photos:
Geocacher Luninia smiling after earning her 500th smiley at this Earthcache.If you aren’t a diver, I guess you’ll just have to hang out here. Bummer! Photo by geocacher Free-birdExploring the Great Blue Hole from within. Photo by geocacher kinderarzt
What has been your favorite geocache you’ve found while on vacation? 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.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.
Geocaches come in all shapes and sizes. One of my favorite parts of geocaching is discovering the creativity that cache hiders use to take seemingly ordinary objects and morph them into geocaches. From birdhouses to phone booths, the possibilities are nearly endless. In this instance, one geocacher took the downtown bane of my existence and turned it into something I’d be delighted to see. Hopefully they disabled the actual metering functionality, otherwise I hope your geocaching pack contains quite a bit of change.
# of Finds:
213
# of Favorite Points:
33
What geocachers are saying:
“One of my favorites! This was such a cool cache. It was also our final find to get the Tallahassee Parks and Recreation Geocoin! What a way to complete our quest! It’s not over, though, because there will always be more caches to find. Thanks for the fun! ” — Nelson BoneDogz
“WOW!!!!! What a cache! Signed log, replaced as found and called it a day!” — dogcop1us
“This was an awesome adventure! Without fully reading the description, others’ logs, or the hint, we jogged here and climbed down into the creek. Taking in the surroundings we immediately noticed an object that was out of place and had to climb up to explore more! TFTH!” — R3DH3ADS
What one of the the Geocaching Liaisons for the City of Tallahassee Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Affairs, Tallahassee-Lassie, has to say:
“While geocaching was not new to the area, two PRNA employees were instrumental in getting the City to add geocaching to the Parks program back in March 2007. Bob (Creekhunter) & Vernon (HBunch-Tallahassee) were extremely clever in their containers and hides…In 2009 I was meeting with the then Superintendent of Parks (he’s now retired) about hosting a CITO for one of the parks. In our discussion I told him the local geocachers group, Tallahassee Area Geocachers aka TAG, would be happy to help out maintaining the caches. He immediately said yes and our collaboration took off…
When I report to the City about the positive logs and how far people have traveled to find the caches, they are very proud and extremely positive. I enjoy working with them. I will be retiring in a year & look forward to having more time to volunteer.”
Photos:
Oh good, no ticket for us! Photo courtesy of Tallahassee-LassieWalking up to this in the middle of the woods may be a bit confusing. Photo courtesy of Tallahassee-LassieCan you see it? Photo courtesy of Tallahassee-Lassie
This geocache features a repurposed parking meter for a container. What’s your favorite repurposed container you’ve ever found or hidden? 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.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin
Sometimes continents must choose. Welcome to an all North American edition of Geocacher of the Month. This month we’re introduced to three geocaching community champs from North America. They’re already winners: recognized by their local communities, placers of inventive and well-loved geocaches and all-around advocates for new geocachers to join the adventure.
Your comments below help decide who takes home the earned, never-for-sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the special edition Geocoin, a hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.
iPajero was named the Geocacher of the Month for March for helping unite the geocaching community in South Africa. One comment read, “We’d sum them up as a mix of irrepressible energy, indefatigable commitment to finding caches and a clever impish sense of humour when creating their own caches!”
iPajero – Geocachers of the Month
Each of the nominees below is an essential part of the global geocaching community and will receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but only one will be the next Geocacher of the Month. A panel from Geocaching HQ will use your comments, community input and other data to decide the winner.
Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month.
Write a supportive comment for the nominated geocacher you feel should be awarded the title.
Hurleyanne started caching in July 2006 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was one of a handful of people who started the Saskatoon and Area Geocaching Association in 2011 and has been on the executive since March 2013. This group hosts a 24 [hour] event each year, which includes a midnight “dine and dash”, a pancake breakfast and finishes with a BBQ. Well over 100 cachers attend this event every year and appreciate all the hard work that Hurleyanne and her fellow executive members put into it. In March of 2013 she traveled to California and Arizona to find a number of Route 66 caches by herself. She had such a great time that she returned in March of 2014 with a couple of other cachers from Saskatoon to do the TS trail in Nevada as well as approximately 400 caches on the ET trail. During the month of March she found 2907 caches with her most successful day being March 18th when she found 717 caches.
zacknmom is a well rounded cacher in the Black Hills of South Dakota. You will find her name in about every logbook and more. She is crazy enough to cache at dusk, dawn, at night, in the cold & heat. Because of her drive to geocache, she has made it fun for those of us who cache with here too.
zacknmom has been active in geocaching events, CITOs and had events of her own. She has some really fun hiking caches. If a person needs help finding a cache she is always there to lend a hand. The stories she tells are so funny about her adventures! zacknmom takes a lot of pictures so we can enjoy her adventure as if we were there with her. One thing I know for sure, if you hide a cache, she is going to find it. With over 6.600 finds, it would be hard to stump her even if you tried.
You can’t help but get caught up in his enthusiasm for geocaching and life itself. He writes the funniest logs in the caches he finds, posts funny pictures of himself, had been known to wear a funny hat, wig, fake teeth, anything that would let people know when Bert is around – things are going to be out of this world fun and surprising.
Bert is real active in his community by organizing and participating in teaching geocaching classes, hosts events including CITOs, mentors geocachers, maintains several web pages not only about geocaching but Baytown as a whole. He meets and works with local community leaders about geocaching and has a set of goals to make geocaching better, safer, more fun, train other geocachers in nearby towns to be able to teach geocaching in their communities “pass it on” if you will.
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the April Geocacher of the Month. Comments accepted through through May 28.
If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.
To get to many amazing mountain views, you have to endure a long and arduous hike. For the amazing views you get around the Gelmersee in Switzerland, you just have to hold on and ride the train up a 106% grade. And that’s not it—afterward, you can hike around the lake along narrow pathways carved into the stone walls as you collect clues for the Geocache of the Week. This geocache will take you to multiple stages on a tour around the lake (the name, translated from German, means “Around the Gelmersee”). For the awesome journey and beautiful views, this multi-cache gets this week’s honors.
# of Finds:
86
# of Favorite Points:
28
What geocachers are saying:
“Wow, what an amazing place! My personal Swiss tour guide always takes me to the most amazing places! This one proved to be a fun challenge since we unknowingly passed the first stage. A little brain power made it work with the stages we did have. Thanks for the fun!” – Love
[translated from German] “What a magnificent day. Weather couldn’t be better, and the railroad wasn’t overbooked. We stumbled anti-clockwise around the lake, absorbing the wonderful Nature. We would have done this hike even without the cache there! Of course, the GC was the cherry on top. Thanks!” – Mr.Quady
[translated from German] “The impressive little rail took us to daring heights under incredible summer weather, followed by a circumnavigation of the lake on foot. Those railroad builders sure were inventive. After a successful log we took the train back down into the valley. TFTC.” – Scio
On this geocache’s inspiration: “It is absolutely gorgeous up there. The hike around the lake is pure bliss!…I had been there many times before placing the multi cache.”
When asked about the reaction to all of the favorite points and positive logs: “Joy. Satisfaction. Happyness.”
And to the geocaching community: “My life motto is “carpe diem”. I try to use every day as if it were my last. Nobody knows how many days they have remaining. But everyone can spend the current day in a way to give them as much happyness as possible.”
Photos:
Two geocachers with smiles after earning their smileys. Photo by geocacher Mr.QuadyQuite the precarious hike. Watch your step! Photo by geocacher jokamaBeautiful views of the Gelmersee. Photo by geocacher D’Fenneks
What’s your favorite way to travel to and from geocaches? 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.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.
