The countdown begins. It’s t-minus 12 hours and ticking down toward liftoff of a rocket bound for space. U.S. astronaut Rick Mastracchio will pack along a Geocaching Travel Bug on his six month mission to the International Space Station. He’ll use the Geocaching game piece, which typically moves from geocache to geocache on Earth, to teach students about geography and science.
Join Geocaching HQ from this Google Hangout at 6:45pm and 8:00pm Seattle time tonight to connect and celebrate Geocaching in Space with the global geocaching community. Then turn to NASA TV to watch the rocket launch live. The launch is scheduled for 8:14pm Seattle time (PST). Convert to your time zone here.
Enjoy this look at Geocaching in Space in pictures as envisioned by the Geocaching HQ staff. Spread the word about Geocaching in Space by sharing your favorite picture through social media and tagging #SpaceCaching. Follow all the #SpaceCaching tags at Tagboard.com/SpaceCaching.
Imagine: The midnight darkness of the desert is lit only by a pale moon. You’re driving down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere Nevada. You see the wink of a meteorite falling to Earth. It’s slower than any you’ve seen before, it’s greenish in hue. The trajectory of the fast moving light shows it landing in the area you’ve been told doesn’t officially exist even though you pretty much know for a fact it does. You feel validated when your friends agrees with you that this might not be a meteorite. In fact, it very well could be aliens. Yes. Aliens.
This would seem weird under normal circumstances. This doesn’t fall under normal circumstances though. This is geocaching. Specifically, this is the ET Highway.
Annie Love with Moun10Bike, Princess Trouble, dsvaughn, Joe of JoenSue
Bordering the place that doesn’t exist (Area 51), this geocaching power trail is not for everyone. It’s the ultimate in power caching. Film canister after film canister at 6,000-7,000 feet in elevation, this trail leads you through some spectacular country. Originally 2000 geocaches, recently expanded to 2400, this is one of the largest power trails on Earth. Traveling through this part of the world makes you feel like it’s impossible not to ‘believe.’
Knowing that Geocoinfest 2013 was going to be in Las Vegas, I immediately thought ‘I should do the ET Highway.’ Over the nine years I’ve been geocaching, I’ve only found just under 1200 caches. It’s definitely not about the numbers to me. For me, it’s the experience I have geocaching. That’s what appealed to me about doing the ET Highway.
Before I could make my own plans, I received an email from Princess Trouble (one of the hosts of Geocoinfest). After a few more emails, a team was formed. My colleague Moun10Bike, Princess Trouble, dsvaughn, Joe of JoenSue and I had plans to leave bright and early after Geocoinfest.
Blazing through rugged Nevada backcountry with our minivan and Jeep, we found the 2400 caches over four days. In our quickest hour of geocaching, we found 116 geocaches. Being in the company of cows, jack rabbits, coyotes, wild horses and fun geocachers made for a truly amazing adventure.
Some tips for folks thinking of doing the ET Highway:
-Plan to bring at least 50 film canisters with logs (for cache maintenance along the way)
-We had two stamps with us and these were both nearly dead by the end, so three might be best
-Figure out a plan in advance for getting gas or hauling gas with you so you don’t get stranded
-Cell phones don’t work on most of the trail, so be prepared with plenty of food, water, flashlights, clothing layers and make sure you have a spare tire in your car
-Allow for extra time to find the other really interesting geocaches, visit the Little A ‘Le’ Inn, and check out the ghost town of Belmont along the way
Geocache Finds on the E.T. HighwayGroup ShotView of the E.T. HighwayAn Alien “selfie”
Do you love the woods or are you more of a city geocacher? Do you live for meeting new people at geocaching events or do you prefer a quiet evening deciphering a puzzle? Take this quiz to determine your geocacher type, then get personalized tips and tricks for your ultimate geocaching experience. Caution: This quiz involves some math.
1. What is your favorite geocaching snack?
A. Energy bars B. Sampling the local cuisine C. [Root] Beer D. Wheaties – the breakfast of champions E. Brain food
2. What inspires your geocaching happy dance?
A. A day out in the wilderness B. Visiting new and exotic locales C. Meeting other geocachers D. FTF! E. Solving a D5 puzzle geocache
3. Which photo is most likely to be found in your gallery?
A. Scenic views from a mountain peak B. The Pyramids of Giza C. You, surrounded by all your geocaching friends D. You grabbing the FTF E. A particularly tricky geocaching container
4. What geocaching tools can you not live without?
A. Pocket Queries and Offline Lists B. Caches Along a Route C. The Geocaching Event Calendar D. Your Statistics E. GeoChecker
5. If you were a fictional character, who would you be?
A. The Lorax B. Captain Kirk C. Iron Man D. Hermione Granger E. Miss Marple
Now add up your answers for points: A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, E=5
To learn what type of geocacher you are, click your point total below:
Finished? Tell us what type of geocacher you are in the comments below. There are more than five types of geocachers out there. Feel free to let us know what category we missed!
Using your brain is the name of the game. You enjoy creative geocache hides that put your mind to the test…and so you laugh in the face of D5 geocaches.
Don’t head out on the trail until you know you are on the right path. Use GeoChecker to double check that the coordinates you have puzzled out are correct.
Try creating a Pocket Query for Difficulty 5 geocaches. These geocaches are sure to make you furrow your brow.
Quick Tip for the Brainy Geocaches: Absolutely stumped? Try viewing the page source on the geocache details page, or look for white text. You may just find the clues you need…
Do you have additional tips and tricks for your fellow Puzzlers? Tell us about them in the comments below. Don’t think this geocacher type fits you? Try taking the quiz again!
You were voted “most likely to see Bigfoot” in your high school yearbook. You live for the days you can get out on the trail and leave civilization behind. Trail mix and energy bars are your go-to snacks. You are happier spending all day hiking for just one (preferably T5) geocache than you would be finding 100.
Heading out for a day of hiking? Be prepared! Create a Pocket Query to find all the geocaches on the trail in advance. You can then download up to 1000 geocaches to your GPS, or they will automatically appear in the Geocaching App when they are ready for download.
Using the Geocaching App? Make sure to save your geocaches in advance so that you can access them when you are out of cell range. To do so, create an Offline List in the Geocaching App for Android or iPhone.
Do you have additional tips and tricks for your fellow Nature Lovers? Tell us about them in the comments below. Don’t think this geocacher type fits you? Try taking the quiz again!
You are…The Puzzler!
You are…The Nature Lover!