Category: Extreme Geocaching

/ Derek H /

Take a 32-Stage Journey Through Central Park — Bridges & Arches of Central Park (GC17MX1) — Geocache of the Week Video Edition

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Geocache Name:

Bridges & Arches of Central Park (GC17MX1)

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

3/2

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

If you haven’t yet, watch the video above. This geocache is an epic, 32-stage multi-cache that takes you on a journey through Central Park in New York City, NY, USA. The stages of this multi-cache focus on the park’s bridges and arches, which are beautifully crafted but often overlooked. Waiting at the final stage for the intrepid geocachers who make it there is a custom-designed geocoin to commemorate their journey.

 

What geocachers are saying:

“This cache was incredible. It took my son and I three trips starting from September to hit all the points. Finding the rock and coin gave us a great memory of a fun adventure. Thank you very much for this.” – teamtrimble13

“Yay! WooHoo! What a cache, what an adventure! This probably is my biggest personal geocaching achievement. Loved it! I really enjoyed discovering Central Park and the many many ‘hidden’ trails. There is so much to see, I had no idea. Favorite point for sure!!!!” – wanderlusta

“Fantastic, must-do, classic cache! Having placed nothing but the final on this prime real estate, the CO has created a wonderfully researched experience that will delight any explorer, young and old. This cache, unlike any other cache visited, convinced my muggle friend, Tinstaafl2, to create an account and finally join the game.” – Baxter929

 

What the geocache owner, addisonbr, has to say:

“…At some point while roaming around the park I stumbled across the fact that no two bridges in the original design are alike.  We had just started hiding our first caches a few months earlier, and I thought that maybe the bridges and arches could form the backbone of a pretty interesting tour.  I started paying more attention to them while in the park, reading up on them, etc.  I found some out-of-print books that had a lot of background information and details about Olmsted and Vaux’s original designs and started making some trips out to scout them, sketching out some descriptions, looking for information that cachers could retrieve from each site (and that could combine to form coordinates).  After coming up with a route, I play-tested it a few times to see how long it would take (and make sure that I hadn’t made any errors).  It seemed like it was going to take most people 4-6 hours or so, which is on the long side, but I hoped that if I gave people something interesting to read between waypoints it might not seem so bad.
…My biggest concern was that the cache would take too long for people to really enjoy it.  Whenever I play-tested it, I was pretty wiped out by the time I got to the end, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out for other people.  When you publish a cache you’re kind of asking people to trust you with their time, and if your cache takes several hours – it just felt like a lot of responsibility.  I was mostly hoping that when people got to the end they wouldn’t feel irritated about all the time they invested writing down numbers and making calculations and otherwise jumping through all of the hoops they’d been jumping through all day.  Then after it was published and the logs finally started coming in… a tremendous sense of relief.  I always read every word of every log that hits my inbox and it’s heartening that people will take so much time to write as much as they do about their experiences.

Especially for people who attempt this cache while visiting New York – thank you for trusting me with so much of your vacation!”

 Photos:

Bridges, arches and geocaching, #2. Photo by geocachers mcjeeper and stukboy
Bridges, arches and geocaching, #2. Photo by geocachers mcjeeper and stukboy
Bridges, arches and geocaching, #1. Photo by geocachers mcjeeper and stukboy
Bridges, arches and geocaching, #1. Photo by geocachers mcjeeper and stukboy
One of the parks many cool bridges. Photo by geocacher guinea gal
One of the parks many cool bridges. Photo by geocacher guinea gal
Two happy geocachers on their way. Photo by geocacher ChrisAtLarge
Two happy geocachers on their way. Photo by geocacher ChrisAtLarge

 

What’s the best Multi-Cache you’ve ever found? Tell us and post photos 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. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, just fill out this form. Thanks!

/ Carly /

The Story Behind the Photo

 

There are no ordinary days for the adventurous geocaching duo “Chiliconsushi.” The couple spends their free time geocaching all over the world together, 30 different countries so far. They document their travels through photography, a personal blog, and detailed geocache logs. Out of their nearly 2,000 finds, GC41D89 in Laos is one of their most memorable. Here is the story behind the incredible photo they took at the geocache location.

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The young geocache watcher

 

“This cache is in Luang Prabang. We left the touristy places in order to reach this geocache. What we found was unexpected… a temple right in the middle of a rural area surrounded by the forest. The place was peaceful and quiet. At GZ (ground zero) we started searching under the stare of some young monks. One of them walked toward us but didn’t say anything. He grabbed the tip of a “temple-like” construction, put his hand in the hole and there was the geocache…the scene was unreal. We felt like adventurers, lost in the jungle, reaching a grail. After signing the logbook we gave it back to the young monk, we bowed to them, smiled and left trying to believe what just happened,” Chiliconsushi.

 

The road to the temple
The road to the temple

 

And there you have it. Geocaching takes you to the most magical places.  What magical place do you want geocaching to take you??

To see more of Luang Prabang (and additional stunning pictures), follow Chiliconsushi’s blog Seth et Lise.

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Squabbling roosters in Luang Prabang

 

/ Derek H

Epic Winter Adventure Awaits! – Georgia on my mind (GCV3AH) – Geocache of the Week

 

Get to the choppa! Err..I mean the cache!
Get to the choppa! Err..I mean the cache!

 

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Geocache Name:

Georgia on my mind (GCV3AH)

 

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

2.5/3.5

Why this is the Geocache of the Week:

All across the Northern Hemisphere, geocachers are braving colder temps in order to earn smileys, keep streaks alive and get outdoors. It’s difficult to stay stoked on geocaching while the weather isn’t ideal, so this week’s Geocache of the Week is a little bit of winter inspiration. Not only is it the first geocache in Georgia (the country), it’s nestled high-up on a mountain, ready for skiers and snowboarders to find it. The team that hid this geocache made their trip even more epic by working it into their heli-skiing adventure.

 

What geocachers are saying:

“Quite a quick find after some walk on a sunny day. The mountains here are wonderful! Hopefully I will be able to come back here in winter to snowboard a bit. Thanks a lot for the cache! Greetings from Latvia!” – Inez Rodriguez

“Great Cache! the view was amazing! First time in Georgia, but not the last one. Sun, skiing, and Geocaching. TFTC!” – KlizmaHH

“This is until now the most beautiful site of a georgian cache! And i’m happy to found it. It’s good to breath fresh air after much time in Tbilisi and Batumi. The cache is in perfect condition and don’t need any kind of maintenance!” – Gumpf

 Photos:

Where the adventure begins.
Where the adventure begins.
Carving some nice tracks on the way to GZ.
Carving some nice tracks on the way to GZ.
Even in summer, this geocache provides beautiful views. Photo by geocacher Vikani
Even in summer, this geocache provides beautiful views. Photo by geocacher Vikani
That's a pretty sweet Geo-Mobile!
That’s a pretty sweet Geo-Mobile!
The team of geocachers who hid this geocache.
The team of geocachers who hid this geocache.
A geocacher's view from the cache site. Photo by KlizmaHH
A geocacher’s view from the cache site. Photo by KlizmaHH

What’s the most epic winter adventure you’ve had? Tell us and post photos 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. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, just fill out this form. Thanks!

/ Eric Schudiske /

Top 6 Geocaching Resolutions

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by: Danielle Navarre

 

A new year begins the promise of new possibilities…

2015 presents the potential for lifelong memories and a long list of resolutions that we all cross our fingers we keep. Whether it be to spend more time with our families or shed that extra five pounds, we all make resolutions for the better.

But for all the good intentions, only a tiny fraction of people keep their resolutions. However, one should never underestimate a geocacher and their iron will to reach any and everything they set their minds to. Since its early days, goals have been a big part of geocaching. From reaching your next 100 finds to going on a year-long streak, geocachers live and breath for their next challenge. This makes geocachers some of the best resolution keepers around, which is why Geocaching HQ has created the Top 6 Geocaching Resolutions as a conversation starter.

Ring in 2015 by challenging your geocaching skills and making way for new year of geocaches.

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  • 2) Find a new geocache type. Did you know that are 20 (yes 20) geocache types? If your stats are overflowing with Traditionals and Puzzle caches, try branching out by finding a Letterbox Hybrid or Wherigo cache.

 

  • 3) Take a Hike. Take your geocaching to new distances by challenging yourself to hike a mile while geocaching. If that sounds like a cake walk, go for five or more!

 

  • 4) By Land, by sea, by air. There is more than one way to travel while geocaching. While many geocaches are only a short drive or hike away, others require a little farther trek. Try kayaking to a geocache hidden on a tiny island in the middle of a lake or rock climbing to one stowed at a cliff’s peak. Snowshoe to find a cache on a peaceful mountainside or scuba dive to one on the tropical ocean floor.

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  • 5) Take a trip. Geocaches are everywhere…and I mean everywhere. With over 2.5 million geocaches in 184 countries the question that should be asked is “where aren’t they?” Take a geocaching vacation to somewhere new whether that be to a town you’ve never visited or to a country on your bucket list. Better yet hit the road and follow a geo power trail!

 

  • 6) Find the oldest geocache in your state. Take a walk down memory lane and make a historic visit to where it all began in your area. Better yet make a pilgrimage to the original geocache stash and see where the magic all began.

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Now, put it out there for the world to see – share your geocaching New Year’s resolution below in comments!