March 31, 2015 / Janelle /

It’s Time for Tick Talk

Yes indeed - this image of ticks is disgusting - Image (c) California Department of Public Health — Yes indeed – this image of ticks is disgusting – Image (c) California Department of Public Health

It’s time to get serious about staying safe in the outdoors this year. It’s time for Tick Talk.

Most ticks do not carry diseases, and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems. But it’s important to avoid, check for, and remove ticks as soon as you find them. Removing ticks may help you avoid complications such as Lyme disease. Avid geocacher (and dedicated nurse) Kelley Piekarek* put together these safety tips so all outdoor enthusiasts can keep themselves safe during tick season.

Different types and sizes of ticks – Image (c) eMedicineHealth.com

How to prevent ticks:

Cover as much of your body as possible in grassy or wooded areas by wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants (with the legs tucked in to your socks), and a hat
Wear light-colored clothes – ticks are easier to spot on light colored clothing plus it’ll keep you cool
When you come in from the outdoors, check your entire body from head toe
When you come in from the outdoors, also check your entire pet from head to paw
Heat and sunshine can kill the ticks on clothing. Put your clothes in a hot dryer or lay them in direct sunlight for at least 15 minutes
Consider using insect repellents that contain DEET
Remember to check any gear (cameras, backpacks, dog collars) you were wearing for ticks, too!

Pants inside socks is actually quite fashionable – Image (c) marisaincopenhagen.tumblr.com

GAH! I found a tick! How do I remove it?

Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick key or – do not handle the tick with bare hands
Grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible
Pull the tick straight away with even pressure
Do not grab the tick around its swollen belly or squeeze it – that could push infected fluid from the tick into your body
Do not twist the tick – this may break off the tick’s body and leave the head in your skin
After the tick has been removed, wash the area of the tick bite with lots of warm water, soap, and rubbing alcohol
Apply an over the counter antibiotic ointment on the bite
Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet or placing it in a sealed bag or container
If you cannot remove a tick, call your doctor or veterinarian

If you’ve been bitten by a tick and develop a rash, headache, joint pain, fever, or flu-like symptoms with a few weeks, you may have a tick-borne illness. A healthcare provider or veterinarian should evaluate you to determine the best course of treatment.

Stay safe out there my friends, and cache on! How do you stay safe while enjoying your favorite hobby?

This blog post was written with help from geocacher extraordinaire Kelley Piekarek. If her name sounds familiar, it may be from this story that made national geocaching news.

March 25, 2015 / Carly /

You hid your first geocache, now what?

You did it. You hid the coolest, most creative geocache and followed all the necessary guidelines… right? Well, the work is not over. As a geocache owner, you have a responsibility to maintain and manage your geocache after it is published. The hide itself is just the beginning of your ‘geocache owner’ journey.

Note: The cache was screwed into a tree for this photo, but this was not a permanent placement.

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind as a new geocache owner…

1. It’s your job to perform maintenance on your geocache. That includes replacing full or wet logbooks, fixing the container as needed, cleaning up trash around the geocache, editing text on the listing page, etc.

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2. If a trackable is listed online as being in your geocache but is not physically there, mark it missing.

3. If your coordinates are off or you need to move your geocache to a new location, update them.

4. The “Needs Maintenance” red wrench icon will show on your geocache listing if it has been reported by the community as needing maintenance. Geocachers see this icon as a sign that your geocache may not be in good condition and they may skip trying to find it. Once you have made repairs, post an “Owner Maintenance” log on your geocache page. This log removes the Needs Maintenance icon.

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5. You can temporarily disable your geocache if needed. Do this if the geocache needs repairs, or if the area is closed for a period of time (construction, hunting, winter closures, etc.). This is meant to be temporary, which means a few weeks, or perhaps a couple of months.

6. Don’t log your own geocache. Save the smiley for use when you’ve truly discovered a hidden geocache.

7. Use your owner powers wisely. Logs that fail to meet stated requirements (such as ‘Found It’ logs by geocachers who have never found the geocache) or logs that conflict with our Terms of Use Agreement may be deleted. Read more about log deletion .

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8. Sometimes life happens and you can no longer maintain your geocache. You will want to archive the geocache listing, which will permanently remove it from the geocaching.com website, or adopt the geocache out to someone else. Remember to also remove the physical geocache container if you archive.

9. Lastly (and most importantly), have fun! One of the greatest perks to being a geocache owner is reading all the wonderful logs by other geocachers discovering your geocache.

maria

March 23, 2015 / Eric Schudiske /

Earn New Souvenirs — Celebrate 15 Years of Geocaching

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Unlock Your 2015 Geocaching Mission on May 2 and 3

This May 2nd and 3rd, celebrate the history of geocaching by unlocking your mission for 2015. May 2nd and 3rd signal the beginning of geocaching, some 15 years ago. On May 2, 2000, GPS signals were descrambled, increasing the accuracy of GPS devices worldwide by ten times. The following day, what would become known as the first geocache was hidden.

Celebrate 15 Years of Geocaching on May 2nd and 3rd by finding any geocache or attending any geocaching event. You’ll earn a new digital souvenir for your geocaching profile.

Unlock details of your 2015 geocaching mission by reading the souvenir’s description. Join the conversation with your fellow geocachers on social media by tagging #Geocaching15 in your posts.

(Hier kannst Du den Artikel auf Deutsch lesen)

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Thank You for a Deliciously Successful Pi Day!

On March 14, 2015, aka 3/14/15, geocachers around the world celebrated Pi Day by finding a Mystery Cache or attending a Pi Day event and earning two souvenirs. In case you missed it, there was another puzzle hidden within the souvenirs.

Take a look at the two Pi Day souvenirs. Notice the numbers and letters around the rim? Combine those to find the page for GC31415, which contains a very special message from one of the co-founders of Geocaching.com and a few delicious pi(e) recipes.

(Hier kannst Du den Artikel auf Deutsch lesen)

March 20, 2015 / Carly

#Geocaching Instagram: 30k

“A camera is a ‘save button’ for one’s mind.” Rogu Kingston.

Geocaching is more than a hunt. Geocaching is that “first to find” smile… the secret beach you stumble upon… the mountain you never thought you’d climb… the unexpected sighting of a rare bird… a forgotten piece of history… a new friend you pick up along the way. All of these geocaching “moments” can be captured through a camera lens (and beautifully, with a nice filter).

Everyday, geocachers on Instagram share their visual geocaching experiences with the world through the hashtag #geocaching. The official geocaching Instagram is our way of joining that conversation, sharing beautiful and inspiring geocaching images. Launching only 2.5 years ago, we’re thrilled to announce that the Geocaching Instagram has reached 30,000 friends and is still growing! Our eyeballs have never been happier.

Here are some of the most stand-out Instagram images from the last couple years.

8-13-13 Found it! #TFTC #geocaching #31in31

8-21-2013 Sometimes #geocaching takes you to forgotten places and shadows of the past. #31in31 #ilovegeocaching

11-27-13 Even in this concrete jungle we continue to be inspired while #geocaching. What's your favorite #UrbanCache? — 11-27-13 Even in this concrete jungle we continue to be inspired while #geocaching. What’s your favorite #UrbanCache?

10-23-2013 Fog and rain can't deter us from #geocaching! What's the most extreme weather you've gone #geocaching in? — 10-23-2013 Fog and rain can’t deter us from #geocaching! What’s the most extreme weather you’ve gone #geocaching in?

5-14-2014 #geocaching takes us to some of the most incredible places. GC3C2JW is located in Lisboa, Portugal - and what a beautiful stop along the way! What's the coolest thing you've discovered while #geocaching? — 5-14-2014 #geocaching takes us to some of the most incredible places. GC3C2JW is located in Lisboa, Portugal – and what a beautiful stop along the way! What’s the coolest thing you’ve discovered while #geocaching?

4-29-2014 View from GC1CWV4 in Iceland. This #EarthCache is of a glacial river lagoon - and incredible wonder of nature. What amazing natural spectacles has #geocaching shown you? — 4-29-2014 View from GC1CWV4 in Iceland. This #EarthCache is of a glacial river lagoon – and incredible wonder of nature. What amazing natural spectacles has #geocaching shown you?

7-24-14 GC13N11: An epic #geocaching hike to Lake Serene in the foothills of the Cascades. How long have you hiked for a geocache?

10-7-14 Geocachers, who's up for an extraordinary #hike? The coordinates for EarthCache GCZ5YD in Utah will lead you to the start of the Zion Narrows trail. The rest is up to you. — 10-7-14 Geocachers, who’s up for an extraordinary #hike? The coordinates for EarthCache GCZ5YD in Utah will lead you to the start of the Zion Narrows trail. The rest is up to you.

11-11-14 Here lies an official geocache... do not disturb :-). — 11-11-14 Here lies an official geocache… do not disturb :-).

1-6-15 On top of the world! Geocacher "jcnbee" soaks it all in at GCGGHB in Rogaland, Norway. #geocaching #adventure #explore — 1-6-15 On top of the world! Geocacher “jcnbee” soaks it all in at GCGGHB in Rogaland, Norway. #geocaching #adventure #explore

1-13-15 GC3Q9VP: Tomb Raider! Snag this geocache at sunrise to avoid muggles at the world famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia. #geocaching #adventure #travel

10919683_431843023635118_286317334_n — 1-17-15 How many compartments can one geocache have? #geocaching #explore #makers

Camo'd Ammo. #geocaching #getlost #adventure — 2-04-15 Camo’d Ammo. #geocaching #getlost #adventure

1-31-15 GC1D7NJ: Would you cross this bridge for a geocache?

3-4-15 GC2TJKV is a must see if you are visiting the lovely city of #Amsterdam. What looks like an ordinary latched door, is actually a geocache. #geocaching #urban #travel

You too can join in the Insta-fun and share your #geocaching endeavors with the world! Oh, and follow us too www.instagram.com/geocaching.

March 18, 2015 / Eric Schudiske /

The World’s Most Forgettable Geocache and its Secret Lesson

The geocache page for Krneki #1 reads, “You don’t really need to visit this cache. The place is not of any interest, the container is awful…” If you’ve read this far, you’ve just read the sub-sub-genre of geocaching satire. Krneki #1 geocache owner icabrian recently visited Geocaching HQ in Seattle. He popped in after traveling thousands of miles from his home country of Slovenia. The emerging geocaching country is home to more than 3,600 hidden caches, and it’s also home to a fiery debate. Each geocaching community wrestles with this very question at some point:

What defines a quality geocache?

icabrian uses Krneki #1 to raise the issue in Slovenia. He writes on the geocache page, ” Everything is wrong with this cache, because it was placed to spark a public debate about where this game is going, what we want from it and especially what we don’t want from it.” He also claimed, when I spoke with Igor (his real name) that the logbook for the geocache was always wet. That’s mighty bold bragging about an awful geocaching experience.

krneki 2 — The world’s most forgettable geocache?

Perhaps not surprisingly the community embraced the conversation. People like to talk about quality geocaching, and they know it when they see it, and they know when they don’t. Krneki #1 has more than a dozen favorite points. Igor’s answer to what defines a quality geocache? He tells me, “(Geocaching) is not just about hiding a box. The box becomes a geocaches with something on top.” He talked about placing the geocache at an inspiring location, crafting a rich story or a clever puzzle, something beyond the box which transforms the container into a geocache.

How would you define a quality geocache?

Put your answer in comments below and through the magic of the internet, we’ll create a word cloud soon and see what gems pop out.

DIY: Quality Geocache Video

Check out this quick video for a few tips to create a Favorite Point worthy geocache

Click to learn about placing a Favorite Point Worthy Geocache

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