December 31, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Announcing the November Geocacher of the Month

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional)

This blog post is perhaps the perfect way to wrap up an amazing year in the world of geocaching. We’re announcing the featured Geocacher of the Month for November. Each of the nominees is already a winner, with a prize package headed their way. The nearly 800 comments from supporters of the three nominees are a must-read for anyone feeling a little bit down, or who doubts the impact one person might have on their community. The comments are a testament to the giving nature of geocachers.

All the nominees contributed to their local communities and inspired the worldwide 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. This was one of the most difficult decisions for Geocacher of the Month in the history of the program.

A geocacher from an island with just 1,100 geocaches stood out. She’s found most of those geocaches on Puerto Rico and united a community to explore the world around them through geocaching, hosting Event Caches and leading by example.

Janizy has been named the 2013 November Geocacher of the Month. One geocacher who commented wrote, “Of all the events that have had the opportunity to participate, my favorite was the Geoweekend Camping in Adjuntas (GC4FPJC), organized by Janizy. She, along with her colleagues, saw to it that all who attended passed unforgettable moments. During that weekend I spent spectacular days. There was everything, varied activities for adult geocachers and for geocacher kids. They were days of doing interesting stuff and share what we like: Geocaching! My vote is for Janizy!”

MMH_7543-4 — Janizy – November 2013 Geocacher of the Month

Janizy 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.

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 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 Janizy for being recognized as the Geocacher of the Month for October.

December 25, 2013 / Derek H /

Connecting the World With Geocaching — Köln-Seattle Exchange Multicaches (GC1GWEV and GC1H38J) — Geocache of the Week

Geocache Name:

Köln-Seattle Exchange Multicaches (GC1GWEV and GC1H38J)

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

Seattle: 2/3

Köln: 3/2

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

It’s often said that the best thing you find while geocaching isn’t the geocache, but the people you meet along the way. You can meet other geocachers at events, on the trail, or while coordinating your finds for this pair of geocaches. Completing the Köln-Seattle Exchange MultiCaches takes geocaching teamwork to the next level. To make the find, you’ll have to pair up with a geocacher across the world. Here’s how it works: you go to the first stage of the geocache. There you’ll find coordinates for the second stage of the other geocache. You send those coordinates to your international partner, and then bam! You can both go find the geocaches in your respective countries.

# of Finds:

Seattle: 107

Köln: 118

# of Favorite Points:

Seattle: 39

Köln: 52

What one of the geocache owners, Thoto, has to say:

“In 2005 we had a similar cache here in Cologne which inspired me to create this transatlantic cache. I just loved the idea to connect with people from the other side of the world and play the game together.”

“It is always a great feedback you get. I am very happy to see that a lot of cachers like the idea of a transatlantic cache as much as I do. Furthermore I am extremely proud when I look at the high number of cachers who have already visited and logged both “sites” of the cache. Someday I hope to find the Seattle cache as well.”

What geocachers are saying:

“This is the best Multicache I ever played! Together with Pico69 and Schwarzer Peter in Cologne we solved the challenges together. As a Cologne citizen working for a Seattle headquartered company, I was in town and had some time to go after this cache.” – Arnold1967

“It is actually an interesting place to visit and search, and very rewarding once you actually find the cache. Thanks for setting up another one of these “hands across the water” geocaches. They add a new dimension to the game.” – Scouting4Ever

“Great adventure between the two cities!!! Thanks to DieGroppis in Köln and Quigquay in Seattle! This idea it allowed me explore new areas and see how interesting and multi cultural Geocaching can be!!” – MedicineManOfSeattle

Photos:

A geocaching team in Seattle on the way to the find. Photo by geocacher SkyTrain

One of the sites to see while you're in Köln: Kölner Dome! Photo by Geocaching HQ'er Prying Pandora — One of the sites to see while you’re in Köln: Kölner Dome! Photo by Geocaching HQ’er Prying Pandora

See more photos

This geocache is all about geocachers helping each other out. What’s your favorite way to help other geocachers? 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.

December 18, 2013 / Derek H /

A Piece of California in Germany — Wellingtonie (GCXGEX) — Geocache of the Week

If this tree turns out to be an Ent, just start running. Photo by appropriately named geocacher, Happy Tree Friends.

Geocache Name:

Wellingtonie (GCXGEX)

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

2.5/1

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

Geocaches tell the story of a specific location. Sometimes the story is something as simple as “I enjoyed a beautiful view here.” In the case of this geocache, the story is a bit more extraordinary. In the mid 1800s, Germany was experiencing a significant wood shortage. Around the same time, news of an enormous tree traveled across the ocean from California’s redwood forest. Shortly thereafter, seeds of these trees were sent to Germany and planted. Now, several Giant Redwoods stand in the middle of Germany, nearly 5,500 miles (8800 km) from where they are naturally found. The trail to these giants is passable in winter, so bundle up and head out to visit the trees and find this geocache.

# of Finds:

1546

# of Favorite Points:

680

What geocachers are saying:

(translated from German)

“Great idea, we are really amazed and now I understand the many Fav points! Thanks for the show, the redwoods are worth a visit. Impressive.” – aussietibo

“We went here on our caching outing on the cache-bikes. We scurried off into the bushes and found a very exceptionally great box! Absolutely fantastic. A very nice idea, well implemented. We enjoyed this very much. For this, we assign a blue bow!” – Sensa-5

“On today’s Wisdom Trail, this cache made curious. This is something we have never seen before. We were totally surprised, amazed and thrilled. So much effort is certainly worth several bows but we must indeed awarded only one.” – Bandiyak

Photos:

The cache is not in the tree. Please don't try to climb it. Photo by geocacher TreasureHunter82 — The cache is not in the tree. Please don’t try to climb it. Photo by geocacher TreasureHunter82

See? Winter is no excuse not to make this find. Photo by geocacher cy_rate_am

I bet this geocacher made sure to CITO after hugging the tree. Photo by geocacher Vincent05

See more photos

The story behind this geocache joins two places that are nearly half a world away from each other. What other geocaches connect you to other places or other geocachers? 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.

December 18, 2013 / Paige Edmiston /

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

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset — Moun10Bike’s desk at Geocaching HQ: where office life and geocaching magic collide.

WeeklyMailer_093013_GeocoinAnniversary_vFINAL_mailer — 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?

jonsnow — 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.

Official Blog

Category: Community

Announcing the November Geocacher of the Month

Connecting the World With Geocaching — Köln-Seattle Exchange Multicaches (GC1GWEV and GC1H38J) — Geocache of the Week

Geocache Name:

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

# of Finds:

# of Favorite Points:

What one of the geocache owners, Thoto, has to say:

What geocachers are saying:

Photos:

This geocache is all about geocachers helping each other out. What’s your favorite way to help other geocachers? Tell us in the comments.

A Piece of California in Germany — Wellingtonie (GCXGEX) — Geocache of the Week

Geocache Name:

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

# of Finds:

# of Favorite Points:

What geocachers are saying:

Photos:

The story behind this geocache joins two places that are nearly half a world away from each other. What other geocaches connect you to other places or other geocachers? Tell us in the comments.

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

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