Experience geocaching in one of its most extreme forms, scuba caching. Follow geocachers bblhed and MessSGT. The geocachers are certified as scuba divers. They suit in scuba gear to search for a geocache at the site of a sunken boat. Scuba gear is one of nearly ten equipment attributes that help you understand and prepare for each geocache.
Earning a "smilie" on a scuba cache
Scuba caches typically receive the highest difficulty and terrain rating. The five rating is due to the specialized equipment required for the geocache and the unforgiving environment in which the geocaches are placed.
Explore even more geocaching adventures in the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video gallery. You can go along on a kayak geocache, see the geocache on the International Space Station and find out why a U.S. Army bomb disposal technician says geocaching kept him safe in Iraq.
An accident inspires a Thank You from a Mom to the geocaching community
July of this year rates as the most memorable geocaching month yet for Chrissie and her kids. But it might not be for the reasons you think. Chrissie and her kids geocache under the name silvertipskids. The Washington State, USA family prepared for GeoWoodstock and Groundspeak’s Lost & Found Celebration. The Mega-Events were not just in the same weekend, but within driving distance of one another in Chrissie’s home state. She expected to make wonderful memories but she never expected a single, terrifying moment would endear her family to the geocaching community forever.
It all started late in the day at GeoWoodstock. Chrissie says they family was pulling their car over to explore a giant geocaching ammo can.
Chrissie and Ryan
She says,”Ryan was very excited and unbuckled and said he was going to see what was in it. Both his sister and I told him he needed to wait, but he took off running without waiting for [his sister] Kelci.” Chrissie then watched the next moments in shock and disbelief.
She says, “Within seconds we saw a car hit Ryan and he flew into the grass on the side of the road.”
Geocachers who were witnesses quickly jumped into action. Chrissie says, “By the time I got my car in park and ran across the street four people had jumped out of their cars and ran to check on Ryan.”
She says the geocachers not only called for help but gave first responders the precise latitude and longitude of the accident scene. Chrissie says, “I know many people called 911 and were able to give coordinates. Thank goodness for these people and the fact that each one had a GPS unit, as I didn’t know where we were.”
Chrissie says the geocaching community then united to transform the confusion after the accident into order. “A couple of nice ladies directed traffic around the commotion and my son was brought a blanket to put his head on. The very nice man who hit my son parked, and also stayed with Ryan the whole time. I don’t know any of these people, and I didn’t at the time think to get their names, but they all stopped to help out, offered kind words, and kept the chaos down to a minimum while waiting for the medics to arrive.”
Ryan escaped the accident with little more than a bruise and a scrape on his ankle. Chrissie says she and her family are left with something else though — a heart-felt appreciation for their fellow geocachers. “I am grateful for each person that called 911 and told them the location using latitude and longitude. I am thankful for all who stopped to help Ryan that day.”
She says that the next day Ryan was well enough to go to Groundspeak’s Lost & Found Celebration. Chrissie says, “Ryan stayed a little closer to me that day and was more aware of his surroundings. Even if something had happened at the event on Sunday as well, I know that we belong to a community that cares.”
Explore the good works of other geocachers. Read other “Geocachers Care” blog posts.
It’s not always your feet that do the work of taking you to a geocache. Sometimes geocachers paddle a kayak or canoe through pristine waters to hunt down a cache. Follow geocacher Claire Delavigne, known by the geocaching name Planet. She navigates through a Connecticut nature preserve and combines kayaking and geocaching. True to the world of geocaching, her adventure doesn’t go as planned.
Explore even more geocaching adventures in the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video gallery. You can go along on a heart racing five terrain/five difficulty geocache, see the geocache on the International Space Station or find out why a U.S. Army bomb disposal technician says geocaching kept him safer in Iraq.
A five terrain, difficulty five geocache tops the extreme scale. They’re dangerous, by their very nature. This is a Lost & Found video of an attempt to log a 5/5 outside of Chehalis, WA USA. “* rivers and lakes” (GC6982) is rated 5/5. The rating on GC6982 is perhaps more than precautionary. Any hiker faces the real possibility of serious injury on this geocache.
View from near "* river and lakes"
A five terrain geocache traditionally requires specialized equipment. This cache requires study hiking gear, including tear-resistant gloves. Geocachers BrewerMD, DubyaDee and Towtrkdug, along with cache owner Slinger91 signed up for the adventure. See their hunt for treasure and the waterfall waiting at the end their journey.
Explore even more adventures of geocachers in the Geocaching.com Lost & Found gallery.
Believe me, I’m not trying to talk you out of attempting a five terrain, five difficulty geocache. I’m just trying to keep you from acquiring any scars or a metal plate in your neck. Geocaches are ranked from one to five based on difficulty and terrain. Five is the most imposing. Let’s be clear — preparation is key. You should known the geocache rating before attempting the cache. The ratings exist for your safety. But, say you’re part of the “Lost & Found” documentary video crew? And it’s your job to produce a video on completing a 5/5?
This is one (tall/uncoordinated) Lost & Found video producer’s perspective on one particular 5/5 named “* river and lakes” (GC6982). Completing this 5/5 only really requires three attributes. They are endurance, balance and agility.
Lost & Found videographer Reid
I sorely lacked two out of the three. I’m a teetering 6’4” with the balancing skills of an unmanned bicycle. My default while falling is to land on my forehead. It’s a precarious landscape for anyone who’s crowning athletic achievement sits atop his refrigerator even now. (It’s a bowling trophy from when I was 11.)
The cache owner and three geocachers were all bush-whacking to the cache ahead of us. Lost & Found videographer Reid was capturing the zigzagging footfalls of the geocachers. The terrain we faced for “* rivers and lakes” is a Paul Bunyan-scale crisscross carpet of fallen trees, inches thick ecosystems of green wiggling moss and glossy boulders with the traction of ice.
The cache sits inside a U-shaped canyon at the base of a waterfall. It’s a near vertical descent through thorns and an inviting thorn-ridden shrub aptly called “Devil’s Club.” After a half hour, I’ve already realized waterproof boots are waterproof… unless your foot slips three feet into a stream and then the boots become sloshing bags of water.
A banana slug named, "Signal"
It’s about this time that I think a thorn catches my ear. Suddenly my ear is wet and it’s cold. I think I’m simply in a wonderful form of shock and that I’m bleeding. I reach back to feel the blood. I think, “This can’t be worse.” It is worse.
My fingers curl around “something” attached to my ear. I pulled it forward and stared eye-to-antenna with a giant banana slug.
I named the slug “Signal.”
This Signal was placed gently back into his or her habitat. It’s a relationship I won’t forget though.
The geocachers and Reid reached the cache moments later (relatively) unscathed. Then we had to hike back out, the same way. Signal didn’t make a repeat performance. I was left with just a few scratches and memories of a wet and cold kiss from a banana slug.
Most geocachers have similar stories. And like the Lost & found documentary crew, they’ll do it again. Why? You tell me. What keeps geocachers going back to the trail?
Soon, you can watch the adventures of the hardy geocachers who attempted this 5/5. The Lost & Found video is scheduled to post on Tuesday, September 14th.
