Category: Community

Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.

/ Adela B /

The Aare Gorge | Aareschlucht | Gorges de l’Aar – GC1YH51 – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – October 11, 2012

Crossing the board walk

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.

Exploring the path over the river

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.”

International EarthCache Day logo

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.

Cloud over Aare river
/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching.com Caption Contest 36 – Win a Barely Coveted Prize

WINNING CAPTION: “Micro cachers” by Sandlapper120

“I think the geocache ‘Fountain of Youth’ is this way? — Wait, the coords say we already found it.” Devise your most creative caption for this picture of two cute geocachers out on the hunt. You could even win a ‘barely coveted prize’ in the 36th Geocaching.com Caption Contest. This picture was originally posted on the official Geocaching.com Facebook page. Special thanks to geocacher Rainbow Brubaker-Gass for use of the picture.

Submit your caption by clicking on “Comments” below. Please include your Geocaching.com username in all entries. Then, explore the captions other geocachers have posted.

Barely coveted prize
Try to ‘influence’ the voting process (*nudge*nudge*). “Like” the caption that you think should win. If you think your caption should win, convince your fellow geocachers, your friends, and family to “like” your caption. Lackeys vote from the top finalists to decide the winner of the contest.

The winner receives this month’s ‘barely coveted prize.’ The prize is a selection of Trackables from the desk of the author of this blog.

Click on the image to discover the winner of this Geocaching.com Caption Contest

Lackeys voted to award the winner of the 35th Geocaching.com Caption Contest a barely coveted prize. Click on the image to your right to read the winning caption of that contest.

Explore all the winning captions by checking out all the Geocaching.com Caption Contests. If you have suggestions for Geocaching.com Caption Contest photos, send a message and the image to pr@groundspeak.com.

/ Adela B /

And the winner of the Trackable Week Story contest is…

Geocachers shared Trackable tales of adventures, challenges, and friendships. After careful consideration and deliberation, we are pleased to announce Log Dawgs as the Trackable Week Trackable story winner!

Log Dawgs shared a story about his encounter(s) with “one of the greatest pieces of geocaching local lore”: LostGuys’ FTF Trophy (TBHYTP). The FTF Trophy is a Trackable with the special mission “to be found by the champion first to finders in the Houston Area and be displayed proudly for a short time on their mantle.”

As a token of appreciation for sharing this great story, Log Dawgs will receive the newest Moun10bike Geocoin. LostGuys will also receive a Lackey Geocoin for creating such an inspiring Trackable!

Congratulations also to our two Honorable Mentions: Northwing65 and HoustonControl. Their stories show us how Trackables can intertwine with family, baseball, and the armed forces!

Visit the Trackable Week 2012 Trackable story contest page to read all the entries.

LostGuys’ FTF Trophy (TBHYTP) in all its glory.
/ Adela B /

Liebesbrücke – GC2EJCE – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – OCTOBER 4, 2012

Love bridge lock

Love locks are a romantic symbol of true love: Walk across a bridge with your sweetheart, affix a lock scrawled with your names to the structure, and then toss the key into the river below.

This tradition is said to have originated in Italy many years ago, but few bridges are as popular or as decorated with love locks as the Hohenzollern bridge in Cologne (Köln), Germany. Situated on the Liebesbrücke (GC2EJCE), or “love bridge,” geocachers have fallen in love with this difficulty 3, terrain 1.5 micro Geocache of the Week.

Fascinated by the thousands of love locks that are legally placed to add a little glitter to a bridge that is otherwise gritty and dull, Huelva decided to add a love lock for all Premium Member geocachers who love the hobby.

One geocacher writes, “I find that many premium-only caches tend to be especially creative and very unique. This one falls nothing short of that. It was almost freaky how many locks there are to be found. This was a clever hide and it blends in quite nicely with the rest of the love locks. Lots of locks, lots of love. What a wonderful idea!”

Love bridge logbook

More than 3,200 geocachers have logged a “Found it” and awarded it nearly 730 Favorite Points. With Geocaching.com’s request, Huelva has agreed to temporarily grant access to basic members for an opportunity to view and find this popular geocache.

For more information on Geocaching Premium features, such as Premium Caches, 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

The search is on
/ Adela B /

Announcing the September Featured Geocacher of the Month

You voted and we counted. And counted. And counted. Congratulations to Stuart, a.k.a. SpongeBob CachePants for pulling in a strong 106 votes to be named September’s Featured Geocacher of the Month.

September Featured Geocacher of the Month, SpongeBob CachePants

SpongeBob CachePants is recognized 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.

One geocacher casting a vote put it, “SpongeBob CachePants gets my vote. He has done a lot for the geocaching community and his local community. His efforts in the Hatfield McCoy GeoTrail was a stellar. He brought his caching experience to help create a combination of history and locations to bring cachers together from all over the country. Not only did he recognize cachers when they attended the events, but he also sent personal e-mails to most attendees acknowledging their will attends. Now that is attention to detail.”

SpongeBob CachePants will receive a collector’s edition Featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

Thank you to the fellow September nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as Featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Groundspeak. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

The geocaching community is encouraged to re-nominate those who have yet to be honored as featured Geocacher of the Month. If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. Every nomination must meet the following requirements:

  • 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 October Featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Sunday, October 7th.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top three candidates and post them on the Latitude 47 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.