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 /

Super-Sized Geocoin Touted as World’s Largest

Geocacher Louis Cifer with the world's largest geocoin

If your pockets jingle with Geocoins, your Saturday night is spent cleaning and collating your immaculate Geocoin collection or you just want to be wowed by a wonder of the geocaching world – take a look to your left.

What you behold is touted as the world’s largest Geocoin. Geocacher Louis Cifer and a team of others created the handcrafted 40 kilogram (88 lb), 97 cm (38 inch) Geocoin.

Average size geocoins

Geocoins are traditionally no larger than an U.S. silver dollar or a 1 Euro coin (see the photo to your right).

A Geocoin is a special trackable coin created by  geocachers as a kind of signature item or calling card. The shape of coins varies from round to square even interconnected hoops or unique forms like miniature swords.

According to Louis, the hefty anchor Geocoin was created to be an unforgettable gift. He says  a group of friends hoped that it would show their appreciation to the host of a geocaching event.

Geocacher AlexSchweigert organizes “Nordseetaufe 2010” (North Sea Baptism 2010).  The official event Geocoin for “Nordseetaufe” was a much smaller anchor.

Original event geocoin for Nordseetaufe 2010

Louis and friends took the event coin theme and super-sized it.  A 80-year-old anchor was purchased, sand blasted and painted gold.

They then welded a plate commemorating Nordseetaufe 2010 to the anchor and added the unique tracking code.

AlexSchweigert was presented with the massive Geocoin, named “Der Dicke” (The Big or The Heavy) on October 23rd.

Louis says, “It was a huge surprise for AlexSchweigert and he was very impressed.”

Louis says the Geocoin, which weighs about as much as the average 12-year-old boy,  even had a Twitter account. Geocachers Tweeted mysterious updates about the coin before it was unveiled. “Der Dicke” is listed as the “world’s largest geocoin” on the German language geocoin Wikipedia page.

Geocachers in Germany have been discovering “Der Dicke” at events since mid-October.  But now the Geocoin has a permanent location in the hometown of its owner, AlexSchweigert.   If you see “Der Dicke” in person, you can log the Geocoin as “discovered.”

To do that, you’ll have to travel to the anchor’s new location outside of Hamburg, Germany. “Der Dicke” should be easy to find; right now it’s located at a geocache, also called, “Der Dicke.”

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching Caption Contest 16 – Win a Barely Coveted Prize

WINNING CAPTION: In other news, a couple found a way to travel around the world for free. – reinshadow

Try your caption writing skills in the sixteenth installment of our Geocaching Caption Contest.   You could win a barely coveted prize.  These geocaching Halloween costumes come from a post on the official Geocaching.com Facebook page.

What caption would you write? “Muggle-proof Geocoins.”  You can do better!

Barely coveted prize

Submit your caption by clicking on “Comments” below and explore the captions that other geocachers entered. Please include your geocaching username in all entries.

You can also help sway the vote.  “Like” the caption that you think should win.  If you think your caption should win, convince friends and strangers to vote for it.  Lackeys will then decide between the top captions to crown the winner of this Geocaching Caption Contest.

The winner typically receives a barely coveted prize from Groundspeak Headquarters. But this contest you could actually win a coveted prize: Geocaching Trail Cards.

Click image to see the last caption contest winner

Click on the image to the right to discover the winning caption from the previous Geocaching Caption Contest.

25 Lackeys voted to award the winner of the fifteenth Geocaching Caption Contest a barely coveted prize.

Explore the wit and wisdom of geocachers by checking out all the Geocaching Caption Contests.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Lamp Post Cache Makeovers

 

Lamp Post Cache Makeover

Underneath lamp posts skirts simmers a geocaching controversy.  Lamp post caches (LPCs) polarize opinions. A LPC is typically a small nondescript container placed under the metal skirt of a lamp post.   Some geocachers believe that LPCs are unimaginative hides and all too easy finds.

Other geocachers see LPCs as part of the spectrum of geocaches that provides accessibility for all players.  The ease of finding LPCs also offers geocachers the ability to string together dozens or hundreds of finds a day.

Julie Husting "IWillFindIt!!"

Geocachers like Julie Husting, IWillFindIt!!, see the base of lamp posts as a canvas for adding more creativity to geocaching.  She believes that lifting the metal skirt on a lamp post should be more like lifting a curtain on stage.  Julie creates scenes to surprise and entertain cachers looking for a quick LPC grab.

She adapted the idea from an LPC she discovered. Julie says, “I went to Fotomat GC17R5G by FishfulThinking which had a bunch of film canisters under it.  I thought that was really fun.  I got some cool tins at Disneyland.  One had the little green men from Toy Story on it.  I had a bunch of swag that had action figure toys so I put them on boards and put them in the Toys R Us parking lot and wrote a little story about them.  That was my first one — The Search for the Little Green Men  GC1D5FW. ”

Julie now has nearly twenty themed LPCs in the Southern California area.  She says her craft has evolved: “I started with the Disney tins (Nemo, pirates, princesses, Mickey Mouse, Toy Story), then I moved on to holidays.  Now it is whatever we find that we like.  My boyfriend, Bob, does the majority of the work on them now.  He has gotten much more elaborate with them than when we first started.”

A LPC by IWillFindIt!!

Their motivation comes from reading the logs as more and more geoachers seek out caches by IWillFindIt!! Julie says, “Most people appreciate the effort that goes into them and they write really nice logs.  One person even brought a girl scout troop to Find Nemo to teach them about caching.”

More geocachers will have a chance to discover LPCs like these.  Julie says, “My cousin, Sue aka $$tracker, also has some themed LPCs in the Santa Barbara area.  I will be sending one to be published in Texas pretty soon!”

What do you think?  Do you know other geocachers who are reinventing LPCs?

 

A LPC by IWillFindIt!!
/ Eric Schudiske /

“Cavers Plunge (an extreme cache)” (GCRVXB) GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK November 8, 2010

Decent into "Cavers Plunge (an extreme cache)"

There are just five words in the name of this geocache. It’s the fourth word you should pay attention to most. It’s the word “extreme.” The geocache is rated a terrain five, for a heart-pounding, jaw-dropping reason.

“Cavers Plunge (an extreme cache)” (GCRVXB) challenges experienced and prepared vertical cavers to geocache in the deep recesses of a nearly forgotten Kentucky cave.

Cache owner Moonsovrbend warns this cache is only for the most competent vertical cavers, accomplished at repelling and then ascending  a free-hanging rope.

The cache was published in January of 2006. More then twenty extreme geocachers logged a smiley on the cache and enjoyed the thrill of underground exploration. One geocacher described the cache as “a beautiful experience.” This cache, and many of the most extreme caches, require extensive planning and organization. Cache owners, like Moonsovrbend, are often more than happy to assist in preparation for the cache.

At the bottom of "Cavers Plunge (an extreme geocache)"

Geocaches range from easy to extreme. The rating system for “difficulty” and “terrain” ranges from one star (most accessible) through five stars (most difficult). Be aware of the terrain and difficulty ratings before you attempt a geocache.

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

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Souvenirs” A Geocaching.com Lost & Found Video

Watch this Lost & Found video to learn more about Geocaching.com souvenirs — the new way to expand your geocaching experience.   Capture the “eureka” moment as you discover and collect a rapidly expanding gallery of virtual art.

You can discover the postcard-like “souvenirs” by logging a cache within a specific zone, such as a particular state or province (coming soon) or by using a Geocaching Application on your mobile device and searching for a geocache within the souvenir zone.

Current souvenir zones include Groundspeak Headquarters and The Original Stash Plaque. There was even a special souvenir for those who logged a geocache on 10-10-10.

10-10-10 Souvenir
Groundspeak HQ Souvenir

Some souvenirs will only be available for a specific time. For instance, those that you will discover when attending a Mega Event. Other souvenirs will reward geocaching achievements. The souvenirs are displayed on your Geocaching.com profile page.

More souvenirs will be released soon.

You can explore more videos on the adventure of geocaching.  Check out  the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video gallery.  Explore a Geocaching.com DeLorme Challenge, meet a family who says geocaching helps their autistic son and experience a haunted cache in Texas.