You don’t read the words, “We’re going to space!” very often. So, how about we soak up the joy of reading those words once more? Let’s add a little pizzazz and shout it by using all capital letters: “WE’RE GOING TO SPACE!” Yeah! A Geocaching Travel Bug® is hitching a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio straight to the International Space Station. The mission is currently scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:08 GMT on November 7, which is 5:08 a.m. in Berlin and November 6 at 8:08 p.m. in Los Angeles. (Convert to your time here.)
Astronaut Richard Mastracchio (Source: Nasa)
Rick will live aboard the ISS for 6 months. He plans to use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students on Earth, in his home state of Connecticut, about geography and science. He’ll also earn the Solar System’s most elusive smiley and find the International Space Station geocache.
We’ll be following Rick the whole way, beginning at liftoff. Ready for some more pizzazz? Geocaching HQ will issue a Geocaching in Space souvenir to those who attend Event Caches during the launch. You can watch the launch live online or check out the recording later and celebrate the geocaching community’s spirit of exploration.
Find out answers to frequently asked questions and everything you need to know about hosting a Geocaching in Space event at the Geocaching in Space Event Center. We’ll be updating this blog post with the latest information about the launch as it happens. All Event Caches must be submitted at least two weeks before the scheduled launch date of November 6. For more information on Geocaching in Space and Rick’s mission, visit the Geocaching in Space FAQ.
Check out this vintage Geocaching video of the first Travel Bug journey to space.
Whew! What a crazy, wonderful, mixed-up month we have had here at Geocaching HQ. In the last few weeks, we hosted a party that brought geocachers from all over the world together (Geocaching Block Party – maybe you’ve heard of it?), celebrated International Geocaching Day, and unveiled the first ever International Geocaching Film Festival (GIFF)….all while keeping the 31 Days of Geocaching streak alive. Okay, we didn’t all go #31in31. There were some frustrating 13-hour DNFs and some waking up at 12:08 am only to realize what was forgotten the day before. But we all learned a bit more about what it means to be a geocacher and what it means to work and to play at Geocaching HQ. So overall, not too shabby. And as if that wasn’t enough, rumor on the street is that we’ve made “orange headbands” the hottest fashion trend of 2013 (you ‘ll want to keep reading to learn more).
Maybe this was the train Ozzy Osbourne was singing about in “Crazy Train”. Photo by geocacher Brasstax.
This week’s Geocache of the Week was born from the depths a fiery train crash. You might be thinking, “Jeez, that’s kind of a bummer. I hope no one was hurt in the wreck.” Until, of course, you learn that the train wreck was all a piece of Hollywood cinema. If you’re up for a hike and a challenging find, Ring of Fire (GCJYHZ) will show you a piece of movie history.
In 1961, the film “Ring of Fire” was released. This film is a classic, campy story of boy meets girl, all while a giant forest fire rages through the Pacific Northwest. You can even watch the original trailer. Movie spoiler alert: The grand finale of the film occurs when a train is stuck on a flaming bridge. Eventually, the bridge weakens and collapses, sending the train cars tumbling into a ravine. While the movie is set in Oregon, the actual filming location for this stunt was in Washington. After filming, the crew did their best to remove the wreckage, but several pieces still remained. Several years later, geocacher ironman114 found the location and placed this geocache there.
Check out the epic grand finale (skip to the 13 minute mark):[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gGnzVdnFkmI#t=758s]
A piece of wreckage from “Ring of Fire”. Photo by geocacher cougarcach24.
Since then, many geocachers have found this difficulty 3.5, terrain 5 geocache and ended up with great stories. Geocacher crouchcrew had this to say in their log, “What an awesome, amazing cache for an awe-inspiring, epic milestone! He did good by picking this one. From the ropes, the climb, the railcars, the view, the history, the celebration, the beautiful day and finding the cache en masse made for a geocaching top 10 day! Thanks so much for placing and maintaining this consummate cache!”
As a fan of old movies, the CO, ironman114, knew this spot would make a great geocache. Regarding the positive logs and favorite points, he says, “I derive a lot of satisfaction to see all the cachers enjoying the trek and hunt for this cache… If you get a lot of positive logs then you know you did it right.” He goes on with a message for other geocachers who plan to hide a geocache, “Location, Location, Location. Take time to think about it and if location is bland then make a good container or story to go with the geocache. Just because you can hide a geocache within feet of a full smelly pit toilet doesn’t mean you HAVE to!”
Have you ever come across old wrecks, abandoned buildings or other once-inhabited places while geocaching? Tell us about it in the comments.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching 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@geocaching.com.
Many anxious geocachers set alerts to ping them when a new geocache is published. Within minutes of going live, a geocacher rushed to claim the FTF (First to Find). In the case of one lonely geocache, in an uninhabited swath of Canada, it took nearly 12 years for a brave and determined geocacher to venture into the wilderness and sign the logbook. 4.5lb Walleye (GCDFB) was hidden June 23, 2001. It registered its first find on June 8, 2013 by geocacher Stormgren-X. Here’s his story.
The idea for finding this geocache came to Stormgren-X months before he set out. “I planned the trip myself over a six month period from researching the route, history, other accounts of this amazing canoe route, food, gear, and logistics of getting to the launch site and getting out and back home,” he said, “I was prepared to do the trip solo, but managed to convince my life-long friend to join me on this amazing journey along this historical canoe route.”
On the day before they left, Stormgren-X posted about their journey in the Geocaching Forums and included a link to the Spot tracking page, “I expected a few people on the geocache watchlist to perhaps follow along from time to time. By the time we reached Fort Albany and were set up in our lodge, I…was overwhelmed to see 375 replies to my thread. It was amazing and I felt great that so many people were watching and cheering us on…So many emails of encouragement and positive comments. We were pleased that we offered some sort of live entertainment and discussion to the geocaching community on our journey…”
From there, the real adventure began. The first two days of canoeing proved to be the most difficult. Stormgren-X recalls, “The winds and rain were non-stop and made for freezing toes and fingers, [and] poor morale…” After the initial problems, the weather cleared and made for an enjoyable trip. On the eighth day, they reached ground zero and finally found the geocache, “…I saw a foreign object. It looked like a rounded corner of something, and I grabbed it between index finger and thumb and pulled on it. I easily pulled it out from it’s hiding spot under the moss and yelled at Gord, “Here it is! I found it!”I placed it on the ground and immediately took notice that it was intact and contents were still inside.”
Found it! Stormgren-X with the 4.5lb Walleye.
Regarding the trip, Stormgren-X said, “The eight and a half days we spent on this arctic watershed adventure is one I won’t soon forget. Being immersed in that environment, without communication with the outside world, and seeing so few people was so refreshing from the busy and modern life we are so accustomed to. The historic places we visited and the thoughts of men and women who toiled in this land to make a life for themselves was astounding. Many times we felt so small and insignificant in such a vast wilderness, but so connected to it at the same time. To travel 435 km along such a huge waterway and not see many people, any roads, bridges, railways, dams, or industry is something difficult to find in this world. I consider myself lucky to have experienced the voyage and the great memories.”
A group of geocachers attending the Mega-Event with a well-traveled banner (I’m third from the right, green coat, goofy smile)
The rains fell for three straight days. The rivers rose. Roads were overrun with flood waters. And yet, more than 1300 geocachers from throughout Europe (and one geocacher from Geocaching HQ in Seattle—me) chose this water-logged weekend to visit a small Austrian community.
If you’ve never heard of geocaching you might wonder why not stay home. The couch is dry, it’s warm, the TV works just fine. The series Game of Thrones is really heating up. However, if you’re a geocacher, you’re probably thinking, “well, what’s a little rain?”
The geocaching Mega-Event, Projekt 2013, delivered a geocacher’s dream line-up. Get this: more than 600 geocaches were published throughout the day of the Mega-Event. That’s more than 600 First-to-Finds hiding in fields, and even one scuba geocache waiting patiently at the bottom of a lake. The mandate for all the geocaches was one word: quality. Organizers spent months lining up the geocache hiders and mixing together just the right chemistry of events for people to enjoy, when not searching for the fresh geocaches.
Want to show off your Trackable before the Mega-Event at a CacheMobile Event? Yeah, there’s that. Itching to learn how to safely climb to find your next geocache? It’s on the agenda. How about a concert for hundreds to cap off the Mega-Event? Okay, you get the idea. But one more—how about hearing the latest news from Geocaching HQ and have a nice little question and answer? Yep, I led that discussion.
Ma Ma saves the day
The organizational team from The Upper Austrian Geocaching Society planned it all. Before the event, the mayor of the Austrian community had never heard of geocaching. After 1000+ geocachers poured into his town, he’s now one of geocaching’s biggest fans. Especially after the Mega-Event when hundreds of geocachers cleaned up during (a rainy) CITO Event. But it’s the type of people who geocache who made the event. Take one of the organizers, for example.
His name is Mattias, or rightly known by his geocaching name as ma ma. The night before the event, he gets a call. A geocacher he didn’t know was stuck in the mud. Their car wouldn’t move. Five minutes later, we’re there and pulling the car free. And here’s a little detail you shouldn’t know: it was his birthday. Whatever you do, do not go to his profile, send him a message and wish him a happy birthday. And whatever you do, do not click this link and wish him a happy birthday. (Okay, click the link.)
Signal poses with geocaching rock stars
If you’ve never been geocaching in Austria, consider this Mega-Event an invitation. The FTF’s won’t last forever. If you’re from outside Austria here’s what you should know: there are more Multi-Caches and Puzzle Caches in Austria than Traditional geocaches. A city next door to the event, Wels, is known as The Riddle Castle because of all the Puzzle Caches. Get ready to crack some geocaching puzzles. The Mayor of Wels would appreciate your visit, and if your car gets stuck, you know who to call.
Check out all the pictures below of the event. And tell us in comments, what’s you favorite part of a Mega-Event or what would be on your list?
Upper Austrian Geocaching Society thanking local geocaching community reviewer, Tafari. (They really do not glow in the dark)The Log Wall could only be seen in black light
[Click for information on the Seattle Geocaching in Space Event]
