Category: Community
Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
A Really Big Geocache
Mitchel Zimmerman stumbled into geocaching, or rather, geocaching stumbled into Mitchel Zimmerman.
He says, “I learned about geocaching when a group of geocachers stumbled out of the woods and into our backyard. They explained what they were doing, and the idea of ‘treasure hunting’ captivated me.” And what a fateful encounter this happy accident would turn out to be for the Pennsylvanian geocaching community.
Mitchel, a.k.a. mzairboy is now the creator and owner of the world’s largest replica ammo-can geocache.
One freezing January morning in 2011, Mitchel attended a Trackable discovery flash mob event. He was there to unveil his giant-sized Travel Bug. Yes, a giant-sized Travel Bug. Mitchel recalls, “During the event, a geocacher told me that all I needed was a geocache big enough to hide my giant travel bug in. That’s when the wheels in my head started turning.”
Over the course of a year, Mitchel secretly designed and assembled his masterpiece. He says, “Deep in the cornfields of Lancaster County, a geocache of massive proportions was being built and no one knew about it.”
When it was finally completed, Mitchel invited geocachers to “The Grand Unveiling” (GC3WYY1). On October 6, 2012, geocachers arrived for the big event. While only a few guests knew what to expect, most were completely astonished by what they encountered.
A geocacher who attended the event writes, “This was certainly an event with a difference. Just the name ‘Grand Unveiling’ captured our curiosity. Happily, we were not disappointed. This ammo-can cache must be a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records. Thanks to mzairboy for thinking outside the box, organizing, and hosting this event.”
So, what’s next for this really big cache? Mitchel plans to eventually hide it as a geocache for everyone to find. For a sneak preview of Mitchel’s creation, check out this video.
TIN MAN – GC3JAY4 – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – October 18, 2012
Meet TIN MAN (GC3JAY4), the Geocache of the Week that answers the famous question, ‘What about the heart that you promised Tin Man?’
Thanks to Richard E, Tin Man has found his heart just outside of Albany, NY. This difficulty 1.5, terrain 1.5 traditional geocache has treasure hunters falling in love with the the gentle, tender, and emotional metal man.
Richard explains, “I have been a Wizard of Oz fan since childhood, never missing the yearly showing on TV. The Tin Man is my favorite character.” Richard’s love for the movie and geocaching inspired him to build a life-size Tin Man with “a moving heart that is activated by opening the door on his chest.”
The cache is a big hit among Premium Member geocachers, whether or not they consider themselves a fan of The Wizard of Oz. Nearly 80 Premium Members have logged this cache and awarded it 64 Favorite Points since the cache was published less than six months ago.
With Geocaching.com’s request, Richard agreed to temporarily grant access to basic members for an opportunity to view and find this clever creation.
The cache logs are filled with excitement and gratitude from the community. One geocacher who logged “TIN MAN” writes, “What more can be said – just look at the favorite percentage on this cache – 98% at the time of this log. I’d give it two if I could! Without a doubt the most unique cache I’ve ever encountered! Great workmanship and creativity. Very impressive.”
For more information on Geocaching Premium features, such as Premium Caches or Organize (by Favorite Points), please visit Geocaching.com/Premium.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com
October Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments
If you’ve logged a fun, creative or challenging geocache, and said ‘thank you’ to the cache owner – you may already know some of our October Geocacher of the Month nominees.
Grounspeak Lackeys selected these three nominees because of their creativity, effort, and dedication to provide fellow geocachers with cache hides that are sure to get the entire community raving. All three nominees this month deliver powerful geocaching experiences through creative hides.
Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as the Featured Geocacher of the Month for October.
Write a comment at the bottom of this blog about which of these geocachers you feel should be crowned The Featured Geocacher of the Month.Last month, Stuart, a.k.a. SpongeBob CachePants took the title of September Featured Geocacher of the Month. SpongeBob CachePants was recognized for for his ability to influence and encourage geocachers around him, and for his commitment to providing quality geocaches for his community. SpongeBob CachePants is also praised for his work on the Hatfield McCoy GeoTrail Kickoff Event – a small community event that quickly became a Mega-Event.
Here are your nominees for the October Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.
firedog09us
Sherry Adams writes, “Mike, a.k.a. firedog09us has spent 27 years as a career firefighter. In his spare time, which he doesn’t have much of, he enjoys geocaching. He has introduced quite a few of his friends to this also. But what is really special about Mike’s geocaching is his hides. He has some of the coolest and most creative caches in Northeast Alabama. He puts a lot of time, effort and creativity into these hides and it shows. Almost everyone that visits one will comment on how fun, unique and clever they are.”
TeamAstro
Nominated by duncast, John, a.k.a. TeamAstro “is a prolific finder and hider of caches, and an iconic cacher from South Australia. Very approachable and friendly, his eagerness to help out the new, and frankly give a piece of his mind on other’s caches is greatly respected in the South Australian community. Astro’s Solar System series of caches is an outstanding achievement. It is a series of caches being progressively released across Australia from Adelaide that create the worlds largest scale model of the Solar System. Astro is also the proud owner of the most popular cache in SA based on Favorite Points. Astro La Vista, Baby!”
Yowza-PA
Brandon.helm11 explains, “Whether it’s a Christmas tree, using eleven empty micro cache containers as ornaments and the twelfth as the log, or by honoring a small town by preserving local history by sharing his locations with other cachers and writing up a wonderful and informative description about each hide, Gene, a.k.a. Yowza-PA has inspired me to be creative in my own hides. Yowza-PA has also been a great advocate for this wonderful game offering tips, tricks, and techniques to others and making the experience more memorable for all of us who know his unforgettable hides.”
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured October Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon, and a certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for October’s award through Sunday, October 21st.
Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com and include the following information:
- 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’ve submitted them for the award.
Nominations for the November Geocacher of the Month must be received by Monday, November 5th.
Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.
The Aare Gorge | Aareschlucht | Gorges de l’Aar – GC1YH51 – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – October 11, 2012
Each Geocache of the Week takes us around the globe and sneaks us a peek at a geocaching adventure that we may otherwise never explore. The Aare Gorge | Aareschlucht | Gorges de l’Aar (GC1YH51) EarthCache in Switzerland delivers on adventure – big time.
Located between the villages of Meiringen and Innertkirchen, the river Aare is also home to an EarthCache that’s been around since September 2009. Geocachers can explore the beauty of a 1,400 meter (4,593 feet) long and 180 meter (590 feet) deep gorge.
The gorge has been accessible for more than 100 years by safe paths and tunnels. Walking through the gorge is a unique way to experience raw nature. Gigantic rocks, consisting mainly of ancient hard limestone and the river’s light green colors mesmerize nature lovers and geocachers alike.
Since ernies set up this EarthCache three years ago, nearly 300 geocachers have logged a smiley, shared an incredible 1,149 images, and awarded it 48 Favorite Points.
One geocacher who logged this EarthCache writes, “It’s unbelievable what mother nature has created. We saw the quieter side of the gorge. The water was almost still, the rocks so tall and intimidating. What an incredible experience. We would have never visited this place if it weren’t for this cache. Thank you ernies for bringing us to this amazing place.”
There are nearly 15,000 active EarthCaches. At least one can be found on every continent. Since 2004, EarthCaches have taken us on educational adventures that you may otherwise never have learned. Sunday, October 14, 2012 marks the 6th annual International EarthCache Day. We invite you to go out and explore the world by visiting an EarthCache site. For more information about EarthCaches, check out the Geocaching.com Presents – EarthCaches video or visit the Geological Society of America (GSA).
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.
