August 12, 2014 / Alex /

Top Tips for Puzzle Caches

By Dani Navarre

About to sing an "Ode to the Golgafrinchan Phone Workers"...GC32A0H — About to sing an “Ode to the Golgafrinchan Phone Workers”…GC32A0H

Do puzzle caches leave you scratching your head?

Does the thought of having to decode encrypted messages make you break out in hives? If no, then you might be a geocaching Puzzler in disguise. If yes, then take a deep breath and find your happy place because we have just the tips to sooth your puzzle anxiety.

Puzzle caches, Mystery caches, or Unknown caches are a type of geocache for those who enjoy an extra challenge.

They require geocachers to solve complicated puzzles in order to decode the correct cache coordinates or crack secret clues to unlock a cache’s stash. If you haven’t encountered this kind of cache before the prospect may seem daunting, but have no fear! Puzzle caches are fun way to spice up any geocaching adventure while flexing your beefy brain muscles.

These folks are just a puzzle away from 'Within Reach"...GC4B84C — These folks are just a puzzle away from ‘Within Reach”…GC4B84C

So don your trenchcoat and channel your inner Sherlock.

(‘Cause who wouldn’t want to be Benedict Cumberbatch?). Here are Geocaching HQ’s top tips for puzzle caches:

Practice Makes Perfect. Start easy by tackling puzzle caches that have a one or two star difficulty rating. The more puzzle caches you conquer over time the more tricks of trade you’ll pick up and the easier it’ll become.
Check what type of puzzle needs to be solved. There are different kinds of puzzle caches that call for different strategies, so before you head out check to see what the requirements entail. Some caches are in-the-field, meaning you have to use visual clues from the surrounding location to decipher the coordinates or unlock the cache. Other caches can be solved before you even step out the door! These ask you to solve a particular puzzle off of the geocache’s webpage or lookup information on the internet.
Gather the Mystery Gang. Two heads are better than one! Bring your geocaching pals along, not only is geocaching more fun when you have your buddies but they can help you brainstorm through those extra tricky questions.
Check for invisible ink. Sometimes cache owners will hide clues on a geocache’s webpage in white font. Highlight the page to reveal the secrets that were right in front of your nose the whole time. Bonus points if you caught this one! You’re a Puzzler already!
The source code isn’t just a movie. Cache owners may add comments with hints in the cache’s html source code. To find this open the source code on your browser’s menu selection and search for comments.
It’s all in the name. A hint to the cache’s location may be located in the cache’s or cache owner’s name or give you an idea of where the cache may be or what it may look like.
When in doubt use Google. Search engines may not have the answer to everything, but they have the answer for a lot of things. So if you’re truly stuck, look to the internet to give you a helping hand. Some cache pages may even include answer checkers to see if you guessed the correct coordinates.

Whether you want to step up your geocaching game or are trying to earn your Puzzler’s badge for 7 Souvenirs of August, puzzle caches are an excellent way to mix your geocaching routine. If you’re looking for a little cache-speration check out “Ode to the Golgafrinchan Phone Workers” (GC32A0H), an unique cache inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that requires you to listen carefully and dial in the right code. Close by is the geocache “Within Reach” (GC4B84C) which asks you to use visual clues to open a cache that also moonlights as a piece of functional art!

Do you love a good mystery? Tell us about your puzzling geocaching experiences or share your favorite puzzle tips! Be careful not to reveal any cache spoilers.

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Can you spot the mystery within this post?

August 5, 2014 / Eric Schudiske /

How to Speak Geocaching – A Mega-Event Journey to Germany

Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are attending dozens of Mega-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching. Each person at Geocaching HQ brings their own unique talent to advancing the adventure. Some write code for the website, others design images for the apps, and some shoot videos explaining it all. Justin Dover or dova dov is part of the IT team at Geocaching HQ. This is his Mega-Event experience.

By Justin:

As someone with very little world traveling experience, I was somewhat intimidated when I discovered that I had been selected to attend GC4MEGA Big Äppel. My foreign language is limited to rusty high school spanish and innumerable programming languages that I’ve supported over the years. However, any discomfort I had was quickly put at ease when I started communicating with Robert Fitzsch, my contact and one of the passionate members of the Big Äppel Orga-Team. He reminded me that we all share the common language of geocaching.

Traveling with my wife Hailee, we arrived in Frankfurt on Thursday and had an opportunity to see the old town area known as Alt-Sachsenhausen. It’s a quaint outdoor setting with lots of bars and restaraunts. This would be the first of many times that we were asked if we had tried der Apfelwein (the apple wine). Consumed during all seasons, applewine is an acquired taste not appreciated by all. I found it palatable, but much prefered the local pilsners.

The event was scheduled over two days at Commerze Bank Arena with a conclusion event Sunday aboard The Applewine Express. The main venue was most notably remodeled to support the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Friday night hosted the GC4MEET Meet&Greet. As attendees got a lay of the land and greeted one another, they also had the opportunity to observe two influential geocachers share their craft. Enno Seifried, producer of a film roughly translated as “Stories Behind Forgotten Walls – The Lost Places”, hosted a viewing which detailed the abandoned locations in eastern Germany that host a treasure of extreme caches. Bernhard Hoeker, a comedian, actor and geocaching author, performed a book reading and signing.

Berhard, Justin and Enno participating in book signing/picture/autograph session — Bernhard, Justin and Enno participating in book signing/picture/autograph session

The band Dangerous Comfort was scheduled to perform indoors in the VIP area during the event, however, a popular German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz (Evil Uncles) stole the attention with televised public viewing of their reunion concert in the center of the arena. The concert was taking place an hour south at a racetrack in Hockenheimring, but they sold so many tickets that some of the fans were diverted to Commerze Bank Arena for safety reasons. As a result, cachers were treated to a free suite-level show.

justin 10 — Fans starting to arrive for the Böhse Onkelz

Saturday brought lots of activities, with the central geocaching goal of completing the event’s Lab Cache adventure. This incorporated the use of augmented reality, a code emitting wireless access point and deciphering a passphrase on a telephone booth nearby. The Labs series also incorporated published traditional and multi-cache hides to complete the Adventure. This experience was a wonderful example of how Labs provide the geocaching experience in a small area bending traditional rules and only available for a limited time.

When Hailee and I weren’t helping English speaking visitors at the welcome booth, we had an opportunity to walk around to visit with the vendors and presenters. We discovered some unique and clever geocache containers, but we were most impressed with the folks using laser technology to create duplicate low-cost trackables to share. There were also panel discussions and workshops on using GSAK, OpenStreetMaps and Wherigo–as well as a Q&A hosted by yours truly.

Once the event started nearing the end of the day, the excitement for geocaching began to shift toward pride of country. As fans began filing into the area wearing black, red and gold, it became quite clear that Germany was about to play Ghana in the World Cup and the venue was host to another public viewing. Over 30,000 fans came together to watch Germany on what was advertised as the largest canvas.

The event officially culminated on Sunday at the Frankfurt Main Train Station with GC4M3ET Big Äppel Bye Bye. It was a trolley tour around Frankfurt aboard the Applewine Express. We had an opportunity to take in the notable sites around the city while enjoying der Apfelwein one last time.

For our final experience of the visit, Robert and Annika of the Orga-Team arranged a tour of Castle Eppstein and dinner in the surrounding town.

This was a small event for 20 or so cachers entitled GC4M3GA Meet a Lackey. We had an incredible time touring the ruins, learning of the lineage and counting the steps all the way to the top of the tower. Dinner provided the best meal of our visit and a relaxed atmosphere to discuss common interests inside and outside of geocaching. It was a great chance to make new friends and we even learned a new game.

donkey — It’s a little like Jenga, a lot more difficult, and I have no idea what it’s called

Nicolas, Laporca, takes a break from checking in on exhibitors and vendors to have a beer with Hailee and Justin.

pier — Touring Alt-Sachscenhausen with our gracious guide Pier, Napoleone1972, and his wonderful family

Robert Fitzsch, reality666, considered the rock of the orga-team and responsible for finance

July 22, 2014 / Eric Schudiske /

Airstream Find & Go – A Geocaching Trackable Giveaway

airstream 1

by Christy:

Do you enjoy summer adventures and a good geocaching road trip? We have just the treat for you! Geocaching has teamed up with Airstream for a trackable tag designed for those with a penchant to roam, a heart for exploration and a willingness to Find and Go.

The Airstream Silver Bullet Trackable Tag will make its debut at select Geocaching events in the United States in August. 2,000 tags will be released among the events. If you can’t make it to the events, keep an eye out for Airstream Silver Bullet Trackable Tags in the wild as they make their way from geocache to geocache and travel across the country. Find one and take it some place incredible, whether it’s a big city or the great outdoors, it’s all about having an experience and sharing it with others.

Submit photos of where the Airstream Silver Bullet Trackable takes you for chances to win prizes from Airstream. Photos of the trackable can be submitted to the Airstream Facebook Page. A winning photo will be selected each month starting in August, for Airstream prizes including a t-shirt, a journal, a flashlight, and more! See contest rules for details.

Geocaching Premium Member, FluteFace, is planning to attend the Airstream event in Redmond, WA. “As both a geocacher, and an Airstream (1984 Sovereign) owner, I’ll be there! What a great combination!!” She adds, “We have enjoyed caching with our Airstream and, since we’ve recently equipped it with a solar panel, we intend to find more caches in cool places, off the beaten path.”

To make things even sweeter, geocachers can earn the Socializer Souvenir for attending an event in August as part of the 7 Souvenirs of August program.

airstream 3 — A photo of FluteFace’s Airstream on a caching/camping trip with other geocachers in Washington State’s Deception Pass State Park, about a month after she purchased the Airstream

July 13, 2014 / Derek H /

The Secret Double Lives of Geocaching Containers

Not all of these containers we specifically developed as geocaches.

Even though some geocache containers seem like they were handcrafted specifically for geocaching, most of them have been repurposed from something else. With things like Ammo cans, it’s pretty obvious what they used to be. For others, it requires a little bit of a deeper look into history:

Those Small, Clear Geocache Tubes aka Preform PET Tubes

These small, waterproof, durable containers are perfect for micro-sized geocaches. They can be attached to different camouflage and will last a long time. Plus, the larger tubes can hold both a logbook and a pencil. But their story isn’t just geocaching. In fact, you’ve probably used these hundreds of times and not even know it. Hint: There’s a key word in the heading to this section, “preform”. These small tubes are manufactured to be heated and expanded to form plastic bottles. Check out this video to see an animation of the process:

[vsw id=”eyiu18DsItk” source=”youtube” width=”560″ height=”315″ autoplay=”no”]

Nano Caches

Oft-maligned in the geocaching community, these smaller-than-small, magnetic geocaches are popular for high-muggle areas and urban geocaches. With so little room inside, it’s hard to believe that these geocaches were actually created for a reason other than geocaching. Mark Yvanovich, one of the early makers of these containers told us a little bit about the history, “These containers were originally LED blinking jewelry. The space where the log sheet is stored was where the button cell batteries went. They came with a separate rare earth magnet that could be used to attach it to clothing, etc…” Once these lights obtained new lives as geocaches, Mark and his wife made thousands of these, hand rolling all of the logbooks!

Bison Tubes

What did the buffalo say when he dropped his kid off at school? Bison. #dadjokes

It’s no secret that these tubes look nothing like real bison. Not even close. So what’s the reason behind the name? These containers were originally created by a company named Bison Designs. The company originally made aluminum carabiners in multiple shapes, including dog bones, mouse ears and more. Seeking out new things to create out of aluminum, the need for a small, waterproof container to carry medicine in arose—and thus, the Bison Tube was born.

Have you repurposed a container originally made for something else as a geocache? Tell us in the comments.

July 8, 2014 / Eric Schudiske /

7 Souvenirs of August FAQ

I found all six souvenirs, but my achiever souvenir wasn’t issued?

Visit your 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case to unlock your Achiever souvenir.

I can’t see my friend’s/spounse’s/brother’s/pet’s 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case. What’s up with that?

You can see all of the souvenirs that you friend/spouse/brother/pet has earned on their Public Profile under the Souvenirs tab. You can find their Public Profile using this tool.

How do I delete these souvenirs?

You can hide a souvenir from your Public Profile on Geocaching.com by selecting the “Hide This” button below the souvenir you would like to remove on your Private Profile. Please note that this will not remove the souvenir from your Private Profile or the mobile app. You can make the souvenir visible again at any time by selecting “Show This”, underneath the souvenir in your Private Profile.

Oh no, it’s the end of August and I just signed up. Will there be another opportunity to earn the 7 Souvenirs of August?

Well, well… we have no plans now, but who knows? This challenge might come around again.

There’s no way I can find them all. Can I have an exemption for X souvenir?

Geocaching is about exploration and discovery. Unfortunately, exemptions are not being issued.

I have the Geocaching Intro app and I can only see traditional geocache types. How can I participate?

You can earn the Explorer souvenir by logging a Traditional geocache in the Intro app. You’ll then be able to see this souvenir in your Trophy Case, which is mobile-friendly. To earn the other souvenirs and unlock the special 7th one, you can use the website or upgrade to the Geocaching Pro app.

I found all the souvenirs in August, but I didn’t log my geocache finds until September. Do I still earn the souvenirs?

You’ll be able to receive the first 6 souvenirs by back-dating your logs to the correct date. However, the Achiever souvenir will only be issued to those who have earned all 6 souvenirs and then visit their Trophy Case during the month of August.

Break it down for me. How do I earn each souvenir again?

The Nature Lover = Log a Found It on an EarthCache or an Attended for a CITO event.
The Explorer = Log a Found It on a Traditional geocache.
The Sightseer = Log a Found It on a Multi-Cache.
The Puzzler = Log a Fount It on a Mystery Cache.
The Socializer = Log an Attended for an Event Cache, Mega-Event, or Giga-Event.
The Collector = Log a Found It on a Virtual Cache, Whereigo, Letterbox Hybrid, or Webcam Cache.
The Achiever = Visit your Trophy Case after earning the 6 other souvenirs. To learn more about geocache types, go here.

What’s a souvenir, and why do I want one?

Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art displayed on your profile page that you can earn for various geocaching achievements, like finding a geocache in a new country. The 7 Souvenirs of August are extra special, as they only available during the month of August. To learn more about souvenirs, visit our Help Center.

Do I need to find the souvenirs in a specific order?

Nope! Bonus points if you do though! (Just kidding. There are no bonus points for earning the souvenirs in any particular order.)

I’ve heard rumors that Geocaching HQ has developed a very scientific quiz to reveal my geocaching alter-ego. Can you confirm these rumors?

Yes! The rumors are absolutely true. (Well, not the *very scientific* part.) Discover what type of geocacher you are: http://bit.ly/1z8vjKz.

When exactly will I be able to start earning the souvenirs?

August 1st at 12 AM your local time!

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