Lorrie LeBlanc “Lorriebird” is one of six Geocaching.com members that can claim a smiley on the Cache Across America – Series Final (GC12E08).  According to the cache page, “This is a series of caches that will take you on a coast to coast tour of the entire United States. One cache in this series is hidden in each of the 50 United States. These caches each contain a numeric clue that that will lead you to this final cache located somewhere in our nation’s capitol upon completion of the series.”

It’s a daunting series that Lorrie, an airline pilot, started in 2008. She says, “While traveling anywhere in the world is a great thing, I just believe that the United States has so much to offer that most folks will never see!  I have a ‘bucket list’ of places I wish to visit, but my list started with visiting all 50 states.”

Lorrie discovered geocaching after reading a newspaper article about the treasure-hunting adventure. “I tried to get my younger brother interested in geocaching…  I ended up being the one addicted.” Her discovery came only two years before beginning the Cache Across America series. “I started caching on July 9, 2006…the last day that I ever touched my golf clubs (which are still gathering dust in the garage to this day…).”

On the cache page for the final cache in the series Lorrie writes, “Oh sure, the many trips were amazing. The thousands and thousands of miles of driving seemed endless at times. Some of the sights I saw were breathtaking (and so were my VISA bills ).” But she says something was more important than all of that, “Cache Across America (CAA) was really all about people.” Read her Geocaching.com log to find out about the people who cheered Lorrie on to complete the challenge.

But she has advice for you too, if you’re considering attempting a major geocaching adventure. She says, “Technology is your BFF!  I wouldn’t do it without a ‘paperless capable’ GPS.  Spend lots of time beforehand planning routes and downloading Pocket Queries to save in your files before long trips in case your plans change. I carried an aircard so I could access the internet anywhere on my laptop and that became a real help many times on the road.  And if you are going after a specific cache research it beforehand and make sure it is not disabled before you drive thousands of miles!  Take lots of pictures and jot down some notes…you will happy later that you did.”

Lorrie not only completed the challenge and made new friends, but she also put her conquest in a video. She says, “Actually there is no ‘video’ in my video! It is just the collection of still photos that I had in my files from my Cache Across America journey.  I was recently asked by the organizers of Florida’s annual Cacheapalooza event to give a presentation about Cache Across America, and this video is what I made for that presentation.  I am happy now that I spent so much time taking pictures, especially of all the state boundary signs.  Those were the toughest and many times I had to exit a highway and circle back around to get another shot at a missed one.  I found my first CAA cache in October 2008, and finished the CAA final in June 2010.”

Watch the “video” and wonder… could you complete a geocaching series like this?

A family of four took the idea of the ‘road trip’ and turned a traditional drive into a fast-paced geocaching adventure. Delta68 is the husband and wife team of Mark and Donna. The couple was vacationing in Europe this September with their two teenage children Steven and Beth.

The family was all packed and set to return home to the United Kingdom when Mark made a realization. Their trip home from the Netherlands to England could yield caches in five, maybe even six, countries if they included Luxembourg. But the cache in Luxembourg was more than a hundred miles out of the way.

Mark admits that he had to do a little convincing. After some negotiating, the family launched on their treasure hunt at 7 a.m. They began logging caches in country after country. Their first cache in in the Netherlands was GC233ZX Echt-Susteren en zijn kernen (Roosteren). The family then navigated to caches in Germany and drove out of the way of their departure city in France. They turned south into Luxembourg and Belgium.

They stopped for lunch in Belgium—now more than two hundred miles from Calais, France and their way back to England.

Mark says, “I checked TomTom to see how long it would take to get to Calais … 5 Hours!! I asked Steven and Beth how I was going to break it to Donna. ‘Mum! We’re five hours from Calias!’ shouted Steven. That’s solved that dilemma. :-)”

The family then drove 205 miles to log a cache in France. The long-haul set the stage to find geocaches in six countries. They just needed to return to their home in England.

Delta68 and their two children traveled back to England before the day ended. One final cache in the U.K. sealed the geocaching achievement. They family logged caches in six countries in less than 24 hours.

They set another record for a family best. Mark says, “We decided to continue straight home stopping off at GC27YDV Welcome to Warwick! just before midnight to set a new personal ‘maximum distance in a day.’

Mark says the total distance traveled added up to 617 miles. He sums up the family’s geocaching feat as, “Certainly a memorable day.”

Read more about the family’s adventure and see all the caches that they discovered, on their blog, Delta68’s Geocaching Blog.

 

What about 2010 will you remember in the next decade, or even next year?  The answer to that question is easy enough for a group of close friends and geocachers from the West Coast.  F0t0m0m, Foomanjoo and Ventura_Kids found 1157 geocaches in Nevada in a span of just 24 hours. This is the highest number of geocaches to be found in a 24-hour period.

The four geocachers (Ventura_Kids is a team of two) spent 24 straight hours geocaching on September 27, 2010. They all piled into one vehicle to track down geocache after geocache on a power trail known as the Alien Highway. In an interview with “Latitude 47,” Steve from the Ventura_Kids said the memory of those fast-paced hours will last for years. But the world record of 1157 geocaches in  24 hours that they set may not last that long.

Latitude 47: I think a lot of people will simply say “Why?” Why attempt the world record?

Ventura_Kids: Because it’s FUN!!! When we heard about the Alien Highway, we were thrilled. There were 1021 geocaches all in a row and each were just over 528 feet apart. We decided it would be an “EPIC” adventure and we would remember it for years.

Latitude 47: What was your total? You held the previous world record. How much did you break your previous record by this time?

Ventura_Kids: We found 1157 geocaches in 24 hours. Our previous record was 566 finds….but Sandy broke her leg on that run.

Latitude 47: Did you use all 24 hours?

Ventura_Kids: Yes. We found 1,108 caches in 18 hours along the main Extraterrestrial Highway segment. We also found 20 caches in the first two hours on the way to the E.T. Highway, and 29 caches in the 4 hours following the main run, until the clock expired. We geocached on the Alien Highway in Nevada, from Alamo to Tonopah. We only stopped to add gasoline to our fuel tank, using the 5 gallon cans we brought with us (“wasting” about 40 minutes).

Latitude 47: What’s your advice for those considering a record run like this?

Ventura_Kids: Choose your team carefully, and remember to enjoy yourselves out there. Be safe.

Latitude 47: What do you say to those who say, “It’s not about the numbers?”

Ventura_Kids: It’s ALL about the numbers. Everyone follows them differently. As an example; I still haven’t completed even one Delorme challenge, and we have over 24,000 finds. Geocaching has something for everyone. Play it your way, and enjoy the journey.

Latitude 47: If your record is broken would you attempt to regain the record?

Ventura_Kids: Certainly. We love this type of geocaching.

What geocaching memories are you going to remember next year and in ten years?