Watch this video to see geocachers from around the world united on 10-10-10 for a record-breaking day. More geocaching accounts logged caches on 10-10-10 than any other day in geocaching history. The previous record of 56,654, set on April 18, 2010, was shattered by more than 15,000. Geocachers recorded video of their adventures and posted the videos on the official Geocaching.com Facebook page. Join them and Lackeys as they celebrate ten years of geocaching and ten years of Groundspeak on 10-10-10 by getting outside, geocaching and breaking a record.
The official final count for accounts logging a cache on 10-10-10 is 78,313.
Geocaching on 10-10-10
Explore even more geocaching adventures in the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video gallery. Go along on a SCUBA cache, see a haunted cache in Texas and find out why a U.S. Army bomb disposal technician says geocaching kept him safe in Iraq.
Signal and geocachers at the Lost & Found Celebration
The Groundspeak Lackeys had such a great time meeting our fellow geocachers at the Lost & Found Celebration this past 4th of July that we’ve decided to do it again! The Groundspeak Block Party is planned for August 20, 2011. Geocachers will once again take over the streets outside of Groundspeak HQ in Seattle, WA. Next year’s celebration promises new activities, new prizes and repeat performances at the dunk tank.
We hope to see those of you who didn’t make it this year, as well as reconnect with those whom we had the pleasure of meeting before.
The event page is now available and can be found here. So, arrange your travel schedule, log a “will attend” on the geocache detail page, and don’t miss this event!
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Geocacher Jib Ahmad, Sunshot99, makes his living as a land surveyor. His GPS device is literally his livelihood. A land surveying website lists the occupation as the world’s second oldest job. But it now has some of the world’s most modern, technical and costly equipment.
A $20,000 dollar home in Pennsylvania, USA (not GPS-enabled)
Jib says that the GPS device displayed above costs about $40,000.
Let’s add a little perspective to the price tag.
With the slumping housing market, $40,000 will not just buy you one house, but in some parts of the world it’ll buy you two houses (or more).
Jib was kind enough to answer a few questions about the five-figure device. He says the Global Positioning System is one of his favorite subjects.
Jib says, “I am a land surveyor here in Texas and this is not my personal unit. I use it for work. I have never looked for a geocache with the unit – only verified coordinates with it.”
He says that the device’s accuracy is certified at two to three centimeters on a horizontal surface.
Two centimeters is about the width of a nickel. Jib says he’s found the unit is generally even more accurate.
A nickel is about 2 centimeters across
He says, “This is a ‘survey grade’ system that would not be necessary or practical for most geocachers.”
But in case you’re interested, he has details. A lot of details. Jib says the device is made up of a base unit and a rover unit: “The receiver I was using is a Trimble R8 GNSS with a Ranger TSC2 Bluetooth data collector. The receiver has an integrated antenna that is capable of tracking 44 satellites.”
At this point you may say, ‘Well there aren’t 44 U.S. GPS satellites out there.’ You’d be right. This GPS device can also track signals from Russian and European Union global positioning satellites.
Up close with a $40,000 GPS device
He says, $40,000 doesn’t buy you any more of a geocaching joy. “To search for a geocache that was placed by a handheld GPS would not be much fun with a ‘survey grade’ GPS device. The coordinates would have the standard handheld error of about 3 meters or 10 feet. So really it would not give the ‘survey grade’ geocachers an advantage over other handheld cachers. But for those that would place a cache with ‘survey grade’ equipment, the normal geocachers should have better luck depending on the accuracy of their own handheld unit.”
And Jib has advice for you to get the most out of your GPS device: “Geocachers may find that they can get a better signal and accuracy range by simply moving their body around. In North America, the best direction for the GPS system is to have a clear southern horizon. So, if you are having trouble, move around so that the southern sky is more visible.”
Sunshot99 helping ATMA establish coordinates for E - HABIT - Without Bed Bath & Beyond
He says his best advice is to know your own GPS device inside and out. If you want to test its accuracy, you may have some luck in the Houston, Texas area soon.
Jib says, “I am in the process of getting permission from the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers to set a benchmark/geocache in a Houston area park. The geocache will be a Mystery cache designed to show any cacher how to get different coordinates for the same point. Hopefully this will show them the standard error for their PND (personal navigation device).”
This video follows Ohio, USA geocachers Keith Lemons (keithlemons) and Nancy Steyer (27jack) as they visit the three caches required to complete the Triad. Beware, the video containers spoilers.
The Triad is one of the crowning achievements of geocaching. Geocachers must log three specific geocaches: the APE Cache Mission 9: Tunnel of Light, Groundspeak Headquarters and the Original Stash Cache. Each find is rich in geocaching tradition. The geocaches do not need to be logged in any particular order.
The Original Stash Tribute Plaque hides outside of Portland, Oregon. The plaque there commemorates the placement of the first geocache in 2000.
Project APE cache
Geocachers must also log The Mission 9: Tunnel of Light Project APE Cache, hidden outside of Seattle, WA. Twelve APE caches were originally placed around the world in 2001 to generate publicity for the remake of the movie Planet of the Apes. Mission 9: Tunnel of Light is one of only two APE caches still active in the world. The other, Mission 4: Southern Bowl is in Brazil.
The geocache at Groundspeak HQ
Geocachers need to also visit the geocache at Groundspeak Headquarters. Groundspeak HQ is also known as the Lily Pad. It is home to the offices of Geocaching.com.
Geocachers who complete The Triad says the accomplishment not only earns them personal satisfaction and but also bragging rights.
Have you ever completed The Triad? Do you have plans to do so?
We want to see how many geocachers can go geocaching on a single day! We’ve chosen 10-10-10, since the date represents 10 years of geocaching and 10 years of Groundspeak in 2010. Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your worst enemy (if that’s what it takes) and let’s see if we can beat the previous record of 56,654 accounts logging on April 18, 2010. Even one log counts since we are counting how many accounts log a cache rather than the number of caches logged.
