Category: Community

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

/ Eric Schudiske /

“The Enchanted Forest” GC2P52E GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 16, 2012

Cache page photo montage

This cache page reads, “You Must Believe in Magic” and then casts a spell on geocachers. The Multi-Cache “The Enchanted Forest” (GC2P52E) weaves an elaborate fairy tale for geocachers to unravel on Terceira island. The island is located 1500 kilometers (950 miles) off the coast of Portugal. Victor from  Team Recanto hid the geocache in 2010, after his 6-year-old daughter sparked his imagination.

He says, “The idea came to mind while visiting the park [where the cache is now placed] with my wife and my daughter. At the time my daughter… was talking about fairies and unicorns, and [said] that one of the larger trees reminded her of a magical tree. That tree is now the final stage for The Enchanted Forest.”

While the idea may have been instant, building the caching experience took weeks. “[Creating the cache]… took 45 days, and 12 site visits. My daughter asked if I could make things move on the cache page, that is why we have the animated dragons.”

Victor's daughter with the handmade cache container located at the final coordinates

Beyond animated dragons on the cache page and photo montages with fairies and dragons, Victor also wrote the cache description in Portuguese and in English. The four stage Multi-Cache challenges geocachers to solve puzzles to discover a handmade cache container.

On the cache hunt

A recent log reads, “WOW!!! totally worth the hike! Congratulations to Team Recanto for another magnificent cache. The amount of work that went in to this truly shows. Thank you for taking us on a grand adventure!”

Victor has advice for geocachers hoping to create an engaging caching experience. He says, “Take your time, visit the Groundspeak forums, do several site visits, make sure the story and containers combine well with the location, attention to detail is very important.”

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.

Detail of cache container

If you’ d 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.

 

/ Adela B /

March Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

March’s featured nominees are a great example of those who take geocaching wide and far. Though many other qualified candidates were nominated, Groundspeak Lackeys selected these three daring, helpful, and  inspirational nominees. Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as March’s featured “Geocacher of the Month.”

Magicman65 - February 2012 Geocacher of the Month

Write a comment on this blog post about which of these three geocachers you feel should be the feartured “Geocacher of the Month.” Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month.

Last month, Magicman65 was chosen as the February Featured Geocacher of the Month. Magicman65 was recognized for his ability to engage the geocaching community with creativity, commitment, and encouragement.

Here are your nominees for the March Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

Alexschweigert 

Alexschweigert

Nominated by Hmichel777, “Alexschweigert led the Allerhalligen-Cruises on March, 24th on the fastest ship in the Wadden Sea with 280 cachers on board. That’s the 5th event of its kind involving chartered ships on the north sea led by Alex and his team. Alex shares his love for geocaching and the sea with others by inviting them to experience a geocaching adventure like no other. All events are recorded and can be found in Alex’s blog.”

 

 

 

 

 

Lisdowney

Lisdowney

Nominated by Treknschmidt, “We met Lisdowney aka Arnie and Gerry when we were working on completing a tough challenge cache. They were always willing to share their own experiences with us and to provide us with words of encouragement along the way. It’s not unusual to find one of them up a tree, in a cave, or canoeing to one of Ontario’s remote locations to log a lonely cache. Not only are these two always willing to offer a helping hand but they are truly inspirational to everyone of any age.”

 

 

 

Gsix5666

Gsix5666

Nominated by BSW2010, “Glenn is one of the best cachers in our area and contributes a lot to the geocaching community. He hosts an event every year on New Year’s Day. This proud Silver Level EarthCashe Master puts a lot of thought and effort into every cache he hides. Glenn keeps us plenty busy and is willing to help with any of his hides.”

 

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured March “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 and a certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for March’s award through Friday, April 20th.

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.

Geocacher of the Month Geocoin

Every nomination must meet the following requirements:

Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and a description (500 or fewer 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 April Geocacher of the Month must be received by April 30th.

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.

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Basel 1 GCG95Z GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 9, 2012

 

View near the cache location

Basel 1 (GCG95Z) hides along the banks of the Rhine River in Switzerland. It’s the most “favorited” geocache in the country. Basel 1 has accumulated nearly 300 Favorite Points to date. Some geocachers simply write in their logs, “One of the best caches in the world!!!!”

The traditional geocache was hidden by muelsee in 2003. The geocache combines an historic location with an unforgettable experience. The difficulty three, terrain one geocache has been found by more than 1500 geocachers from around the world.

Read the logs on the cache page for an idea of what makes the geocache so spectacular. Many of the log entries are in German and may need to be translated. Warning as spoilers may be contained in the logs.

View from near the cache location of a reenactment on the Rhine

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’ d 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.

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

GeoKu – Geocaching Haiku Contest

Signal crafting a Haiku

Are you like this? When you’re not geocaching, you’re thinking about geocaching. Maybe when you’re off the geotrail, you’re planning your next geocache? Or maybe you’re exploring your thoughts on geocaching through the majesty of a Haiku.Yeah, you read that right, a geocaching Haiku. The geocaching Haiku is alive and well, and a great Haiku could win you serious geocaching swag.

PodCacher podcast is sponsoring the “GeoKu – Geocaching Haiku Contest.” A geocaching Haiku looks like this.

Green and lush landscape
Rhythmic footsteps towards our goal
We seek adventure

A Haiku is composed of three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables and final line is five syllables again. Interested in competing? Check out the contest and details here. The winner will be selected by a panel of Lackeys. You have until Friday, April 20 to enter. Good luck!

/ Eric Schudiske

Citygarden Tour GC2AX7Q GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 2, 2012

Sculpture located at "Citygarden Tour"

Urban Multi-Caches can reveal take geocaching a  park, new vantage point, or hidden gem in a city geocachers never expected. “Citygarden Tour” (GC2AX7Q) delivers adventurers to a sculpture park in the middle of an American city better know for blues music and barbeque than public art.

St. Louis geocachers tracking down the answers for this difficulty three, terrain two Multi-Cache walk away discovering a slice of St.Louis culture.

The cache requires adventures to answer six questions they unlock by exploring the park. The questions ask people to find the birth year of artists, count wind chimes, and more. The answers are then plugged into a formula that is found on the cache page. The results complete a set of coordinates which lead geocachers to the cache.

Sculpture located in "Citygarden Tour"

Strider hid the micro cache in  2010. It’s accumulated more than 30 Favorite Points. Cache who logged the “Citygarden Tour” write, “This was a totally awesome cache. We thoroughly enjoyed taking in all the features in the park… Thanks for bringing us here, and for an imaginative cache.”

Have you ever completed an Urban Multi-Cache that helped you explore a city?

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’ d 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.