Category: Extreme Geocaching

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocacher Viewing the Endeavour Launch: “Right place at the perfect time”

Courtesy: Lorriebird

You never know where you’ll find a geocacher. Avid geocacher Lorrie LeBlanc (Lorriebird) was piloting an airliner over Florida just as the space shuttle Endeavour launched through the clouds this week. She snapped these pictures. Her pictures went viral, even posting on CNN.com.  Here’s her story.

Courtesy: Lorriebird

Lorriebird writes, “I was flying a route from Miami to Montreal on Monday, May 16th. I hadn’t paid much attention to the shuttle launch because I knew I would be working at the time and would miss it. We were cruising at 37,000 feet, and the chatter began on the Jacksonville radio frequency about the launch. Other aircraft started asking for permission to turn toward the launch, but they were denied.

“Then we received a message that the Endeavour was launching in one minute. I started looking at our position relative to the launch site and realized that we were VERY close at only about 40 nautical miles away. I told the Captain that I was flying with that we were the closest plane to this thing! I started looking for it and at that very moment the Endeavour punched up through the clouds in perfect position outside my window! The frequency erupted with questions….JAX center and other planes started asking us what we could see…but I was too busy taking photos to answer them! I mean, if I could have snapped my fingers to re-position our aircraft anywhere else, I wouldn’t have moved it! We absolutely lucked out and were in the right place at the perfect time.

Courtesy: Lorriebird

“I cannot write what I was saying out loud at the time. But all the while I was shooting, I just kept thinking that we were watching history being made. I really cannot describe the feeling properly, because words like amazing and incredible truly don’t cut it for trying to describe that thrill.  It took quite a while for the adrenaline rush to cut me some slack! The other pilot and I just looked at one another….did we REALLY just see that????”

Check out even more of her photos here.

 

Courtesy: Lorriebird

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching.com Presents – Extreme Multi-Caching

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By: Kelly Ranck

Rappelling after a Tree Climb

Consider yourself an adrenaline junkie? Crave physical and mental challenges that include long days of geocaching with “Gear, fear and fun?” If so, Extreme Multi-Caches are your speed. Watch the Geocaching.com Presents video “Extreme Multi-Caching” to experience extreme caching from the comfort (and safety) of your home.

If you’re new to geocaching, a Multi-Cache is a cache that involves two or more locations. An extreme Multi-Cache challenges geocachers to go to their physical limits. The caches are often best enjoyed with an experienced group of geocaching friends. Each location of a Multi-Cache leads to the next, often involving a puzzle of sorts, until you discover the final, physical container.

In the case of Jonathan Burns’ (lefalaf) and Thomas Solly’s (weatherguy726) Extreme Multi-Cache An Extreme Tour of Centralia!, much more than a sense of adventure is required. In this Geocaching.com Presents video ‘Extreme Mulit-Caching’, lefealaf and weatherguy726 are joined by four other geocachers- Dwight Kempf (Clancy’s Crew), Rob Campbell (Sandcast69), Eric Schott (GoHangASalami), and Jeff Kaye (The K-Team). The group wakes up at six am to head to the uniquely dangerous city of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Centralia is a ghost town where steam spews from cracked roadways. An underground coal mine fire has been burning under Centralia since 1962.

Extreme Multi-Cache Rappelling

As the geocachers ascend and rappel up and down trees, scale rocky cliffs, and crawl into deep caves, you will see how this energetic group attempt this five star difficulty/five star terrain twelve stage Extreme Multi-Cache. The cache takes most groups more than ten hours to complete.

The group shows how to experience Extreme Multi-Caches the safe way while challenging your basic human fears such as heights, tight spaces, and bugs (of sorts).

Because Extreme Multi-Caches require working in a team, they are also a great way to build community. The cache page reads, “Like all caches of this type, this cache is best designed to be shared with a group of friends.”

Extreme Multi-Cache Caving

Watch the video to learn more about what it takes to complete an Extreme Multi-Cache. For more Extreme Caching information, visit Extreme-Caching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

‘The Ghost Orchid” GC112JY GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 11, 2011

The journey to "The Ghost Orchid"

The cache page for “The Ghost Orchid” (GC112JY) pulls no punches. Three paragraphs into the description, SeaAggies lets adventure seekers know what awaits them on this difficulty five, terrain five Multi-Cache.

The page reads, “Put on your mud boots, slather on the mosquito spray and be sure to bring a lot of water and some snacks for this four mile journey through some remote parts of Fakahatchee Strand.”

Fakahatchee Strand is home to a delicate ecosystem populated by endangered plants and animals, including the rare Polyrhiza lindenii, known as the Ghost Orchid. All the plants and animals in the Fakahatchee Strand are protected by state and federal laws. The cache page lets geocachers know that the journey to this cache will offer amazing opportunities for breath-taking photos.

The Ghost Orchid

“The Ghost Orchid” includes five challenging stages, some of which even contain multiple components. The cache was placed in February of 2007 and has accumulated 20 Geocaching Favorite Points.

Most geocachers keep the cache on their watch list for months, slowly assemble a group to tackle it and then work together to earn a smiley. One geocacher who recently logged a “found it” on the cache writes, “The strand is beautiful. The plants, the water, the structure and the places you visit/stumble upon inspire some sense of respect and as a biologist I enjoyed the experience of traversing this area by doing the stages.”

Continue your exploration of 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 /

Join in the Geocaching Adventure at the Wild Canyon Games!

 

Courtesy: Wild Canyon Games
Courtesy: Wild Canyon Games

Groundspeak is excited to field a team of seven Groundspeak Lackeys to geocache/bike/run/swim/climb/jump/swing/cliff jump/slide and zip-line their way through the Wild Canyon Games!

The Wild Canyon Games is a team-based adventure race competition. Seven-member teams spend the weekend of June 3-5th competing in events like an Olympic length relay triathlon, a 50 foot canyon swing, a zip-line, the “blob”, an elevated ropes course, and a 170 square mile geocaching adventure (on foot) featuring the largest geocaching grid in the world.

One Lackey says, “The games will be a challenging adventure that will test us physically, mentally and bring us all closer together… especially the geocaching portion. We’re excited!”

Courtesy: Wild Canyon Games

The weekend wraps up with a team relay race called Creek to Peak that features a 7 minute Cyclo-Cross bike ride, an obstacle course, a lake sprint swim, two mountain sprints, and much more.

Companies and individuals look at the Wild Canyon Games as a great opportunity to challenge themselves and build strong bonds among teammates. The extreme adventure allows teams the chance to achieve a common goal together through their wits, stamina and most of all their ability to have fun.  At the end of each day, you’ll hear the laughter and see beaming smiles.

Courtesy: Wild Canyon Games

You can join the event, meet Lackeys and be part of the fun too. There are only a few spots left, so assemble your team and sign up quickly if you are interested in being part of the adventure!

For more information, check out the Wild Canyon Games at www.wildcanyongames.org

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Wahe Ka-Ho-Nee” GCJZDX Geocache of the Week – March 7, 2011

Scaling cliff to reach the "Wahe Ka-Ho-Nee"

“Thank you Colorado for placing a cache here. I am exhausted and will never forget this adventure, definitely one of my all time favorites.” That’s the latest log entry for “Wahe Ka-Ho-Nee” (GCJZDX). It’s an extreme geocache rated a difficulty 2 and terrain 5. The cache owner, Colorado Jones, insists you not try this cache alone and suggests that you tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll return home. It’s easy to see why he’s so insistent. Finding the cache requires a rope, hiking poles, shoe spikes and safety supplies.  Cachers wade through water and encounter poisonous plants, loose rocks and dangerous heights.

Kahonee Falls

The cache description consists of an elaborate story written by Colorado Jones about an explorer completing a rite of passage. For geocachers who complete the extreme cache, they join an exclusive group. Only 31 people have logged a smiley on this cache since it was hidden in 2004.

Continue your exploration of 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.