All the latest news from the world of geocaching.
We often hear geocachers say they love the game because they get to experience new places like a local. We love this about geocaching too.
We are excited to announce that GeoTours — custom collections of geocaches designed to introduce you to new locations — are now in the Geocaching® app! It’s easier than ever to explore the 60+ GeoTours currently available around the world.
The mailman recently delivered a nice surprise to me: a beautiful trackable geocoin from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) GeoTour. I completed the GeoTour last year, and in the process earned a digital badge for my Geocaching.com profile. Little did I know that the NMNH was working on a geocoin that would eventually take a place of honor in my collection.
The National Museum of Natural History is a truly spectacular place. Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it’s the most visited natural history museum in the world. The NMNH GeoTour debuted in 2013 with several Mystery caches, a Traditional cache and three EarthCaches.
All but one of the caches’ posted coordinates are at the museum, with one outlier located about a two-hour drive north, in Pennsylvania’s Michaux State Forest. (The NMNH also owns a Letterbox Hybrid with posted coords on the museum grounds. It is not an official part of the GeoTour.)
My wife and I started the GeoTour during a trip to D.C. in November 2013, when we were able to stamp our passport for all but two of the caches. I was back in that part of the country for the GeoWoodstock Mega-Event last year, and jumped at the opportunity to complete the tour and earn my digital badge. The NMNH GeoTour is a really fun way to enjoy the museum from a new perspective, and to continue exploring outside the Smithsonian walls. I had visited the NMNH a time or two in the past, but this GeoTour encouraged me to dig into subjects that had escaped my attention on previous trips. Plus, it led me to a few beautiful sites outside of D.C.
So how can you qualify for a digital badge and one of these super-cool geocoins? The requirements are listed on all of the NMNH’s GeoTour cache pages. If you’re looking for a way to enhance your next visit to the U.S. capital, I highly recommend making this GeoTour part of your trip!
UPDATE: Registration for the HQ Duck Dash is now closed. However, you can still enter the race by purchasing an official Deadly Duck tag, which will be automatically entered into the race upon activation (even after the official start of the race on July 20, 2016). Get a Deadly Duck.
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On August 30, 2001, Geocaching.com Founder Jeremy Irish activated the world’s first trackable, TB1.
Jeremy says, “When we first started Travel Bugs, I released 7 Deadly Ducks in the wild.” Each of the new trackables were based on one of the deadly sins. These Deadly Ducks, with the names of Envy, Sloth, Pride, Gluttony, Lust and Wrath, headed out into the world to travel from geocache to geocache. (The Greed Deadly Duck was placed in a geocache that was never listed on Geocaching.com and may still be hidden in Virginia.)
Thus began a game within a game: trackables. Today there are more than 2,655,951 trackables traveling around the world — making friends, creating memories and patiently waiting to complete their mission.
Travel Bug Story by Chiliconsushi from Geocaching on Vimeo.
In honor of the 15th anniversary of trackables, we’re hosting a worldwide trackable race featuring the reincarnated Deadly Ducks. You’re invited to enter!
The race will begin July 20, 2016 at 12:01am PST and ends on August 20, 2016 at 11:59pm PST.
Enter your trackable into the HQ Duck Dash.
How Do I Win?
First off, everyone’s a winner! All participating trackable owners will receive a HQ Duck Dash badge to add to their profile.
To be eligible for the following recognition, trackables must end their journey at a geocaching event on International Geocaching Day, August 20, 2016. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in the following categories will be chosen and featured by Geocaching HQ, thus earning eternal and international bragging rights:
Best Trackable Photo
Awarded to the trackables with the best photo from the race as decided by HQ. Photos can be submitted through this form (by the original photographer).
Most Story-Worthy Moment (Best Log)
Awarded to the trackables with the most heartfelt, epic and/or generally entertaining log as decided by HQ. Logs must be submitted through this form (by the trackable owner or logger) to be eligible.
Furthest Distance Traveled
Awarded to the trackables that travel the greatest distance between geocaches from July 20 and August 20.
Most Geocaches Involved
Awarded to the trackables that drop in or visit the greatest number of different geocaches between July 20 and August 20.
Most Geocachers Involved
Awarded to the trackables that are grabbed and moved by the greatest number of geocachers between July 20 and August 20.
Ready to race? Get your Deadly Duck trackable from Shop Geocaching or one of our International Retailers, or register a trackable by submitting this form before July 17, 2016.
Questions? Check out the Trackable Race FAQ.
What’s your dream vacation? Sandy beaches? Adventure and intrigue? Incredible geocaches? These epic GeoTours — curated collections of geocaches designed to introduce you to new locations — have all of the above.
Neue und abgeklärte Richtlinien für Challenge Caches
Im Frühling letzten Jahres haben wir uns entschieden, eine Pause bei der Freigabe neuer Challenge Cache-Listings einzulegen. Wir wollten diese Zeit dazu nutzen, Daten zu gewinnen, die uns dabei helfen, den Einfluss den Challenge-Caches auf das Spiel haben, objektiv bewerten zu können. Wir freuen uns, Euch heute mitteilen zu dürfen, dass Challenge-Caches von nun an wieder eingereicht werden können. Dabei müssen neue Challenge Caches den überarbeiteten Richtlinien für Challenge Caches folgen.
