July 20, 2012 / Adela B /

July Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

Each of July’s Featured Geocacher of the Month nominees has made their mark on the geocaching community. Though many other qualified candidates were nominated, Groundspeak Lackeys selected these three influential and inspiring nominees.

SniperChicken — Sniperchicken – June 2012 Geocacher of the Month

Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as July’s Featured Geocacher of the Month.

Write a comment on this blog post about which of these three geocachers you feel should be crowned.

Last month, SniperChicken was chosen as the June Featured Geocacher of the Month. SniperChicken was recognized for his kindness and creative ability to engage the geocaching community through his caches. As the Board President of the Mississippi Geocachers Association, he is known to go above and beyond to research every hiding location to provide fellow geocachers with a unique geocache and story.

Here are your nominees for the July Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

daggy

Nominated by Deermark, Lynn, a.k.a, daggy “has been the Chairman of the Indiana Fall Geocaching Picnic for 8 years. This event draws between 200 and 300 geocachers every fall. She helped found INKY (The Indiana-Kentucky Geocaching Group). This group meets once a month for a social and has drawn between 30 and 80 new geocachers every month since inception. Daggy has volunteered with Lincoln State Park in Indiana to help with the park’s annual geocaching event for the last 5 years. She was also instrumental in writing the proposal that brought Geowoodstock X to Indiana. Daggy has been caching since September 2001 and has almost 16,000 finds and 137 hides. Her traditional hides have 248 favorite points and 67 of them are still active. She has hosted 14 Event Caches and has found a cache in 50 states. She gives so much back to the geocaching community, not just locally, but nationally.”

De Wijngemachtigde

“Every year a Geocoin race is organized in the Netherlands to encourage people to put their coins in circulation instead of keeping them at home,” says irisisleuk. “When the original organizer suddenly stopped organizing this race, Guus, a.k.a. De Wijngemachtigde stepped in and took over this race. But his actions didn’t just result in copying what was done before. He really wanted to take it to the next level. This year, Guus managed to get a record number of 250 participants in the race. And the coins didn’t just visit the 12 provinces, but all 415 municipalities of the Netherlands. He thought of the idea that photos of the coin with the city limit sign and city hall and/or coat of arms of the city where a coin is dropped/retrieved, should be rewarded with bonus points as well. So, he now checks every log, of each coin for photos to see whether this coin should get bonus points. He does all this himself. The way Guus has organized everything has really got our geocaching community in the Netherlands closer, more involved and resulted in many, many fun coin logs to read. This race has given a whole other dimension to geocaching. It really spices things up and makes moving trackables so much more fun.”

T&AD

bigfish97 writes, “My name is Dustin and I am 14 years old. I have only been geocaching since February and now it is one of my favorite things to do. I was introduced to geocaching by my aunt and uncle, Troy and Amanda,” a.k.a. T&AD. “They showed me everything about geocaching such as Trackables, Geocoins, different types of caches, etc. They have been geocaching since January but have already found over 350 geocaches! I learned everything I know about geocaching from them. They still guide me through a lot of my finds, even from 300 miles away. I love to share my experiences with them because they are beginner geocachers that I can relate to. I am thankful that they introduced me to this great hobby and what I am asking is for you to choose them for the month of July because it would mean the world to me!”

Geocacher_of_the_Month_Large — Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured July Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon, and a certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for July’s award through July 31st.

Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a Featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.

Every nomination must meet the following requirements:

Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and a description (500 or fewer words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month. Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award. Nominations for the August Geocacher of the Month must be received by August 10th.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

July 16, 2012 / Adela B

Gold Country – The Painted Chasm GC1TTW8 – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – July 16, 2012

Painted Chasm I — Colorful view from the Painted Chasm Canyon

The Geocache of the Week is not only rich in history and natural beauty, it is also a part of the Gold Country GeoTour.

Gold Country – The Painted Chasm (GC1TTW8) is rated a difficulty 1 1/2, terrain 2 traditional cache.

Placed in June of 2009, it is one of 72 Gold Country GeoTour geocaches. GeoTour caches are designed to showcase a destination with a tailored series of geocaches hidden at the destination’s points of interest. The Gold Country GeoTour directs adventurers to discover the region’s gold mining legacy.

Located in a remote area of southern British Columbia, Canada, the cache accumulated nearly 225 logged visits and 17 Favorite Points over the last three years. The cache sits along the 8km long painted chasm canyon, whose serene red, orange, pink, and purple colors have been forming for 16 million years.

Painted Chasm II — Geocaching in Gold Country

The page provides detailed information about the history of the area, its natural beauty, and geological importance.

One adventurer logging the cache said, “This was one very special, very beautiful, very scenic, absolutely fantastic, most educational and truly memorable Geocaching trip. Yours to discover….Wish you were here.”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the world. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.

Painted Chasm IV — Exploring Gold Country by horse

July 10, 2012 / Adela B /

Announcing the June Featured Geocacher of the Month

June’s featured Geocacher of the Month is known for his kindness and ability to engage the geocaching community through his creative caches.

Congratulations to SniperChicken for pulling in an incredible 108 votes! We greatly appreciate your dedication to geocaching.

SniperChicken is the Board President of the Mississippi Geocachers Association. He owns over 140 caches and is known to go above and beyond to research every hiding location to provide fellow geocachers with a unique cache and story.

According to one geocacher casting a vote, “SniperChicken is a great guy…you won’t find many more dedicated. He does whatever he can to help others, to make a cache different and exciting. He’s a real inspiration to newbies and seasoned cachers alike. All the candidates are great, but SniperChicken stands out above the rest.”

SniperChicken will receiver a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon, and a certificate acknowledging his contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Thank you to the fellow June nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Groundspeak. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

The geocaching community is encouraged to re-nominate those who have yet to be honored as featured Geocacher of the Month.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.

Every nomination must meet the following requirements: Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and description (in 500 or fewer words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month. Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award. Nominations for July featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Monday, July 16th.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the Latitude 47 blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

July 9, 2012 / Adela B /

Stari Most GC28FXB – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – July 9, 2012

Stari Most III — Geocaching at Stari Most

The Geocache of the Week takes us to a country where fewer than 100 geocaches exist.

Stari Most (GC28FXB), or Old Bridge sits in the heart of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is rated a difficulty 1 1/2, terrain 1 1/2 EarthCache.

The bridge spans the Neretva river and connects two parts of the city of Mostar. Built in 1567, it stood for 427 years before it was destroyed in November of 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak conflict.

Stari Most, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has become quite the tourist attraction since it was rebuilt in 2004. It stands 19 meters (62 feet) tall and spans 28.7 meters (94 feet ) in length.

Much of Stari Most’s charm lies in its tradition of bridge jumping each year in the month of July. Tens of thousands of spectators line adjacent to the bridge and watch the divers of the Mostar Diving Club jump off the highest point (the arch) of the bridge.

This EarthCache is no stranger to geocachers. It has accumulated nearly 250 logged visits, 23 Favorite Points and over 335 images since it was placed in 2010 by Team HeiMat.

One geocacher logged, “I finally made it. I’m so pleased to finally say I’ve stood on the Stari Most despite, or indeed, because of its history TFTC.”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the world. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.

July 3, 2012 / Adela B /

June Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

Whether they are nominated as singles or as teams, these geocachers have one thing in common; they are truly inspirational. The June Featured Geocacher of the Month nominees have traveled the world, climbed trees, and spent countless hours making their caches just perfect.

lulusoy — Lulusoy - May 2012 Geocacher of the Month

Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as June’s featured Geocacher of the Month.

Write a comment on this blog post about which of these three geocachers you feel should be crowned.

Last month, Lulusoy was chosen as the May Featured Geocacher of the Month. Lulusoy was recognized for organizing the very first official CITO event in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico and for running a successful podcast in Spanish called Cache D Island, where she talks about anything and everything geocaching-related.

Here are your nominees for the June Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

SniperChicken

Nominated by lacey38655, Scott, a.k.a. SniperChicken, is “the Board President for the Mississippi Geocachers Association. His dedication to geocaching as a whole, not only in Mississippi but nearby states is immeasurable. He will spend countless hours researching locations to give you the best place to go when searching for a cache. If the location is not the best, then you better bet the story line or cache itself will be unique. He owns over 140 geocaches, varying from Traditional Caches, to Multi-Caches, to EarthCaches. He is an active volunteer fire fighter and likes to use his skills from the fire service in extreme caching. Scott is also one of the few people I know who is a dedicated puzzle cacher. One of the greatest things about Scott is how warm he is to everyone he meets, making them feel the love of the sport through his love for the game.”

Geofogies

Nominated by Tzinny, Michael and Lynn, a.k.a. Geofogies “are a great example of what geocaching is all about. Michael and Lynn recently passed 20,000 finds by traveling all over the world. They have found caches on all 7 continents and in 45 countries. In addition to finding caches, they own 73 of them. They also logged over 1,100 trackables. Most importantly, they are great people with interesting stories to share. They regularly attend events and love to go out on casual cache outings where they like to engage in lively conversation about geocaching. They are very encouraging and beginner cachers are always inspired by them.”

akpatty

“When Keith and Patty are on the hunt, they never give up. Whether that means wading a stream, climbing a tree, or figuring out a difficult clue,” says RanNat1718, who nominated akpatty for Geocacher of the Month. “They have been caching all over the world; Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Canada, Italy, and the Bahamas to name a few. They are very encouraging of using everyone’s talents in order to solve a clue and they leave no one out. Even though they love cracking a clue or making the find, they are willing to step aside and let someone else have the glory if it means that person will be excited for caching. It was akpatty who originally introduced us to geocaching and, since then, we’ve used it to explore unusual spots we never would have found on our own. It’s opened up a whole new way of traveling and exploring where we live.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured June Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon, and a certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for June’s award through July 9th.

Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month.If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a Featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.