“At Rest At His Master’s Feet” GCMCTM GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – October 3, 2011

At Rest At His Master's Feet...

Tokyo public transit crowds with millions of people each day. Under the blur of hurried commuters, one train station holds a story of canine loyalty. “At Rest At His Master’s Feet” (GCMCTM) reveals the story for geocachers on the hunt. Geocaching.com Charter Member Biggles Bear hid the Multi-Cache in 2005. The cache page tells the story of a faithful canine, Hachiko, who would greet his master at the train station.

Cachers read, “Hachiko would accompany his master to Shibuya station in the morning, and then meet him again in the evening when he returned from his work at the Imperial University. This routine continued until one day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill at work and later died. Despite this Hachiko continued to make his way to the station and patiently await his master’s return. Hachiko became a familiar sight to commuters as he kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.”

Cache container for "At Rest At His Master's Feet..."

The difficulty two, terrain one Multi-Cache starts at the memorial for the professor and his loyal dog. To find he final stage with the cache container, adventurers must use information found at the site to deduce the final coordinates.

A cacher who logged a smiley on the cache writes, “Seeing Hachiko’s memorial and sharing the story with my two sons was very heartwarming. We battled mosquitoes (might want to prepare yourself with bugspray if you plan to visit) to figure out the calculations.”

The cache as received 14 Favorite Points to date.

Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the globe. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

Geocaching Vlogs and Online Videos – The New Horizon of Caching Media

Geocaching.com's YouTube Vlog: GoGeocaching

Reading is one thing. Seeing and doing and hearing is another. Enter geocaching vloggers and geocaching video series. As globalization advances, so does technology and the interconnectedness of social media. Vlogging, or “video blogging” has become an increasingly popular medium for sharing and connecting people all over the world.

Geocaching vlogs, as well as YouTube based TV series, have proven to be influential and highly popular amongst the geocaching community. For example, if you search for ‘geocaching’ on Youtube.com, you discover 7,000 geocaching channel results, including the Geocaching.com channel GoGeocaching. Many geocachers use geocaching vlogs and TV series to show and tell and allow people to both see and experience the hobby.

Zaid Adham is one of the many people flooding the global bandwidth with geocaching videos. He is a Canadian director and producer. Zaid’s most recent creation is a geocaching TV series based in the Middle East. The series, titledTreasure Hunters’, is being broadcast on satellite TV and posted to his vlog.

Zaid, Middle Eastern Vlogger

Zaid decided to make the TV series because he says he, “… loved the idea that an adventure such as this can be so full of excitement and exploration on so many levels.” Zaid explains that, “the point of creating the show was to raise awareness of the sport in a region where outdoor activities are greatly cherished in the months when the weather allows them.” For example, in Saudi Arabia,  temperatures can rise above 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the months of June through August.

Zaid says that the Middle East is home to some of the most challenging and extreme caches. His series focuses both on geocaching and the region itself.  He says, “the show not only covers the hide and its find, but the significance of the area it’s been placed in. This makes it both adventurous and educational!” Zaid’s passion to share geocaching with the world is evident in his excited proclamation in his videos: “Guess what?! You don’t have to just watch this! You can do this too!” Tune in to Treasure Hunters in order to take part in many captivating Middle Eastern geocaching adventures!

Alex, German Vlogger

alexschweigert is another prominent international geocaching vlogger. His German vlog, Geocaching Nordfriesland, is successful amongst German geocachers because, as Alex states, “It just makes [people] enjoy that outdoor hobby combined with weblog/videos.” Alex’s vlog has been around for more than ten years and covers an assortment of geocaching related posts including geocaching advice and videos highlighting unique geocaching experiences. Alex uses his intense curiosity and big personality to attract viewers to the adventure that is geocaching. Alex states, “There are so many beautiful things in life that are worth discovering.”

Both Zaid and Alex showcase geocaching in their local language. They are among a substantial number of vloggers who talk about geocaching in languages other than English.

Make sure to check back next week for a blog on English language vloggers, including one vlogger who has over 40,000 hits on his site – and they just started producing geocaching videos this year.


 

Announcing the September ‘Featured Geocacher of the Month’

Congratulations to all the Featured Geocacher of the Month nominees for September. The geocaching community is comprised of inspirational individuals – who go above and beyond in geocaching innovation, creativity, respect for the environment and helpfulness. Each nominee should be congratulated as an exceptional geocacher and individual. We are proud that each of the cachers is part of our worldwide community.

SuperGoober, Featured Geocacher of the Month

The choice for the September Featured Geocacher of the Month was difficult. A panel of Lackeys, relying on voting and community comments, could ultimately choose only one.

SuperGoober is the September Featured Geocacher of the Month. Dozens of geocachers wrote in to share stories about SuperGoober’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. He has hosted and attended numerous events, led many geocachers on their first outings, and is involved in local geocaching organizations. According to one nominee, “Jeff is a model geocacher who all of us in the area and beyond can be proud of. He is always willing to lend advice/help to any cacher that approaches him or contacts him.”

SuperGoober will receive a collectors Geocacher of the Month geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by the founders of Geocaching.com: Jeremy Irish, Bryan Roth and Elias Alvord.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.

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 description (in 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 October Geocacher of the Month must be received by October 3rd.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top 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.

“Screaming Skulls” GCPJNV GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – September 26, 2011

"Screaming Skulls"

“This is a very interesting location, try to have extra time to explore the area.” That brief hint is all the cache page for “Screaming Skulls (GCPJNV) offers about this visually amazing geocache location in Ontario, Canada.

The Go Getters hid the traditional geocache at this site in 2005. Since then more than 200 geocachers wandered into a grassy field crowned with larger than life sculptures in search of the cache.

One cacher who logged the difficulty one, terrain 1.5 geocache says, “I walked around in awe for about 45 minutes, checking out the statues, structures and miscellaneous other sights throughout the property. The house is very unique as well. Thanks for placing a cache here and thereby bringing me to a spot I would never visit. This one rates a ‘Favorites’ listing from me.” That cacher wasn’t alone. “Screaming Skulls” has earned 40 Favorite Points so far.  There are more than 1.5 million active geocaches around the world. Each can lead you on an adventure you never imagined.

"Screaming Skulls"

Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the globe. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

Ghost Ship GC2HM40 GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK September 19, 2011

"Ghost Ship"

Geocachers who search for “Ghost Ship” (GC2HM40) unlock a haunting story of  a rusting ship hull. The jagged metal skeleton rests in a shallow tributary to the Ohio River. Liyah hid the cache one year ago. The difficulty three, terrain four cache has already earned nearly two dozen Favorite Points.

The cache page regales adventurers with the mythical story of the S.S. Shadow. It details the voyage of a cargo ship in 1885 that came under attack by river pirates. A chase ended in location geocachers search today.

The creative and detailed cache description encourages other geocachers to post memorable logs rich with their own details. Some logs are hundreds of words long with multiple pictures.

Most geocachers who logged a smiley on Ghost Ship say they would have never found this site without geocaching. One log reads, “This was an awesome find and one my fellow cacher and I will not soon forget! Not only was getting on the boat a challenge, but at first the cache alluded us and we had to really search for it! TFTC and the terrific story to tell!”

'Ghost Ship"

Cachers are warned to be cautious as they hunt for the cache on-board this “Ghost Ship.”  The real story of the ship is almost as spectacular as the cache page “Ghost Ship” description. To find both stories check out the geocache “Ghost Ship.”

Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the world. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.