Category: Trackable Week

/ Eric Schudiske /

Announcing the October ‘Featured Geocacher of the Month’

More than a hundred geocachers from around the world weighed in to help name the Featured Geocacher of the Month for October. Each comment affirmed that the three nominees were all deserving. Each is a geocacher who goes above and beyond in geocaching innovation, creativity, respect for the environment and helpfulness. Each nominee should be congratulated as an exceptional geocacher and individual. We are proud that each of the cachers is part of our worldwide community.

Geocacher of the Month winner, coast2coast2coast and his wife Heather

The choice for the October Featured Geocacher of the Month was not easy. A panel of Lackeys, relying on voting and community comments, could ultimately choose only one.

coast2coast2coast has been named the October Featured Geocacher of the Month. More than 50 geocachers posted comments in support of coast2coast2coast’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. According to one comment, “Tom and Heather are the reason why I learned about geocaching in the first place and ever since they have been an inspiration to all geocachers in our neck of the woods. They have hosted multiple events, hidden excellent caches, all at various levels of difficulty, and are always aiding fellow cachers when in need.”

coast2coast2coast will receive a collector’s edition Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. Those nominees not chosen as the Featured Geocacher of the Month 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 renominate those not named Featured Geocacher of the Month.

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

Geocacher of the Month Geocoin

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 the November Geocacher of the Month must be received by November 7th.

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.

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

September's Featured Geocacher of the Month, SuperGoober

Last month the geocaching community voted SuperGoober as the September Featured Geocacher of the Month. According to those who nominated him, “he is a model geocacher which all of us in the area and beyond can be proud of. He is always willing to lend advice/help to any cacher that approaches him or contacts him.”

The featured Geocacher of the Month recognition celebrates geocachers for their contributions to the activity.  A panel of Lackeys had the difficult task of selecting three of the most outstanding nominees. Now it’s your turn to help name one of these nominees the featured October “Geocacher of the Month.”

Geocacher of the Month Geocoin

Write a comment on this blog post about which of these three geocachers you’d like to see as the featured “Geocacher of the Month.” Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. Read the testimonials below and leave a comment with your suggestion. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

seping

(Member since 2007)
seping

Nomination by Ceddy:

“seping is a very active geocacher, he lives in Catalonia / Spain, in his native [country] many geocachers know him! He has found more than 18,000 caches all over the world and has over 240 caches hidden!
seping also already has organized two Mega-Events, including the recent Mega Catlunya 2011, and brought together geocachers from around the world. I met seping. He’s a very friendly and helpful man, and I think that’s he’s seen similarly by many other people.”

 

 

 coast2coast2coast + Zoe

(Member since 2002)
Coast2coast2coast + Zoe

Nomination by adventureseeking3:

“They have hosted multiple events, hidden excellent caches, all at various levels of difficulty, and are always aiding fellow cachers when in need. Tom currently serves in the Canadian armed forces so not only is he promoting geocaching here in BC, Canada, but he is also contributing world wide. They head up a local organization, Mid Island Geocaching that just recently had a summer end event “The Geo-Poker Rally” which was held in conjunction with Our local BCGA year end Blitz. Even though he is currently overseas on a mission supporting world peace, he is still staying in contact and helping people back home who geocache. They are both very dedicated and very well respected in the community.”

 

bpp_picnic

(Member since 2006)
bpp_picnic

Nomination by Mrs.Hoagie:

“Around Chester County PA, caches by bpp_picnic are notorious for their unique locations and even more interesting camouflage.  bpp_picnic hosts a great event at the Brandywine Picnic Park (his family’s place) every September, and though his park, Big Red (his truck), and the event were flooded out this year by all the rain in SE Pennsylvania, bpp_picnic was still gracious enough to feed those of us who showed up with his amazing bbq pork and brisket.”

 

 

 

 

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured October “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 and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by 2 of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments through Monday October 24th.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be the Geocacher of the Month, send an email to

Geocacher of the Month Geocoin

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 the November Geocacher of the Month must be received by November 3rd.

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.

/ Eric Schudiske

Announcing the September ‘Featured Geocacher of the Month’

Congratulations to all the Featured Geocacher of the Month nominees for September. The geocaching community is comprised of inspirational individuals – who go above and beyond in geocaching innovation, creativity, respect for the environment and helpfulness. Each nominee should be congratulated as an exceptional geocacher and individual. We are proud that each of the cachers is part of our worldwide community.

SuperGoober, Featured Geocacher of the Month

The choice for the September Featured Geocacher of the Month was difficult. A panel of Lackeys, relying on voting and community comments, could ultimately choose only one.

SuperGoober is the September Featured Geocacher of the Month. Dozens of geocachers wrote in to share stories about SuperGoober’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. He has hosted and attended numerous events, led many geocachers on their first outings, and is involved in local geocaching organizations. According to one nominee, “Jeff is a model geocacher who all of us in the area and beyond can be proud of. He is always willing to lend advice/help to any cacher that approaches him or contacts him.”

SuperGoober will receive a collectors Geocacher of the Month geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by the founders of Geocaching.com: Jeremy Irish, Bryan Roth and Elias Alvord.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for 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 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 the October Geocacher of the Month must be received by October 3rd.

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.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Trackable Stories of the Week

 

Trackable Week presents a new story Monday through Friday this week about creative ways to experience Trackables. Geocaching.com Trackables allow people to tag and track an item from location to location. Trackables typically come in three varieties, Geocoins, Travel Bugs® or Promotional Trackables like the “Find the Gecko,” Geico campaign. (Watch a video on Travel Bugs)

See the bottom of this article for a place a share your Trackable stories, links to other Trackable stories and a limited time special offer for 30% of individual orders of Travel Bugs through Sunday September 18 (U.S. costumers only).

Here’s Friday’s installment for Trackable Week:

TRACKABLE STORIES OF THE WEEK

A Trackable Sidekick for 14,000 kilometers

By: Binrat

Okay, a quick background.  When I do a major trip or head to a big event I try to find a “plush” Travel Bug to act as the trip mascot and it logs all or most of the caches to track my mileage for the event.

[Binrat’s log reads] Now, with Summer 2009 approaching I retrieved “Beaglescout” (TB211TD) with his jaunty Scout hat and backpack and the fun began!

Binrat and Beaglescout

Trip #1 – 8359.9 kilometers or 5194.6 miles (16 June 09 – 25 June 09)
This was an epic train, plane and automobile trip from Brockville Ontario all the way British Columbia and down to Oregon visiting such famous caches as Groundspeak Headquarters, Mission 9: Tunnel of Light and the Original Stash Tribute Plaque before returning home for a rest.

Trip #2 – 2,175 kilometers or 1,351 miles (01 July 09 – 04 July 09)

A fantastic trip From Brockville to Perce Quebec in the Gaspe Region by train.

Trip #3 – 1,591 kilometers or 988 miles (22 July 09 – 26 July 09)

A fun trip from Brockville to Windsor and on down to Midwest GeoBash in Ohio.  My first time down to “The Bash” and together we met some amazing cachers and some very cool Travel Bugs.

Trip #4 – 1,873 kilometers or 1,164 miles (31 July 09 – 05 Aug 09)

Beaglescout and Bears

This was a major league epic trip that saw all of us drive from Brockville to North Bay Ontario then continue on to Cochrane to board the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee Ontario just for an Event.  Beaglescout even took a trip down the Moose River to James Bay.

So, after four major trips, what has Beaglescout accomplished?
14,000 kilometers or 8.699 miles and visited Ontario, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Quebec, New York and Nunavut.

The Travel Bug tasted salt water on three different coasts(Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic), met many great cachers and had one fantastic summer of excitement.

P.S. Sadly, shortly after I handed him off he was picked up by a newbie/muggle and vanished never to be seen again, but I still remember all the fun including meeting [Lackey] Miss Jenn.

Who Wins a Father and Son Travel Bug Race? (Both)

By vante

The Travel Bug "Lucky" takes a detour to Utah

My dad (who caches as The Frito Bandito) and I (caching as vante) are in the middle of a good ole fashioned horse race. As my dad started becoming more and more interested in geocaching, I used to explain the different aspects of the game to him. When we got on the subject of Trackables, I told him how people held Travel Bug races and competitions. He liked the idea so we found a couple of plastic horses and hitched them up to a couple of Travel Bug tags.

He named his horse The Dark Horse (TBPTYQ), a race horse that is not known to gamblers and thus is difficult to place betting
odds on. I named my horse Lucky (TBQ93P), and claimed he can shoot lightning bolts out of his eyes.

My dad and I hid a cache as a finish line near a racetrack here in Michigan and called it the Winner’s Circle (GC276PV). It
was my dad’s first cache hiding experience and he has gone on to hide several caches of his own. My dad then took the horses to Texas with him and dropped them in a cache on April 28, 2010.

Dark Horse track as of September 16, 2011

We’ve had a lot of fun watching our horses race across the country. Each move prompts a phone call and race analysis. There have been a few stretches of time without any action, but it seems that just when one of us really start to worry that the race is lost, a fellow cacher will move our horse along with an encouraging word. Lucky has lived up to his name, once being pulled out of the back roads of Utah before winter hit and most recently being retrieved from a cache that was destroyed by Hurricane Irene four days later.  So far he has traveled 3862.9 miles and was last in New York.

The Dark Horse appears to be on a more direct course. He has only traveled 1332.4 miles, but as I write this he’s stabled in a cache in Michigan less than 60 miles away from my home coordinates (dark horse, indeed!). My dad told me that it’s taking everything in his power not to drive down there and get it himself. Me? I’m hoping for just a little bit more luck.

Geocaching has been a blast for my dad and me. It’s a great excuse to spend time and to explore the world together.
Travel bugs and horse racing is just part of the fun!

Editor’s note: Both Binrat and vante will receive a set of Trackables for submitting their Trackable stories. Thank you to all those who submitted stories. Look for Trackable Week again on the Latitude 47 blog in coming months.

ADDITIONAL TRACKABLE STORIES:

Click on the image for 30% off Travel Bugs (US customers only)

Go on a mission to take the first geocoin in the world to another country and back

Check out a Travel Bug race with do-it-yourself tips

Read about a Travel Bug Rescue program.

Review and forward Trackable Etiquette

Watch a soldier receive a Travel Bug tattoo.

/ Eric Schudiske /

The Center of the Trackable Universe

Trackable Week presents a new story Monday through Friday this week about creative ways to experience Trackables. Geocaching.com Trackables allow people to tag and track an item from location to location. Trackables typically come in three varieties, Geocoins, Travel Bugs® or Promotional Trackables like the “Find the Gecko,” Geico campaign. (Watch a video on Travel Bugs)

See the bottom of this article for a place a share your Trackable stories, links to other Trackable stories and a limited time special offer for 30% of individual orders of Travel Bugs this week only (US costumers only).

Here’s Thursday installment for Trackable Week:

The Center of the Trackable Universe

 

Groundspeak Headquarters cache

Groundspeak Headquarters, known as the Lily Pad, can be found in an eclectic Seattle, Washington neighborhood known as Fremont. The Fremont neighborhood is the self-described, “Center of the Universe.” While astrologically speaking, this is up for debate, Fremont may be the Center of the Universe for Trackables.

Green Travel Bug

Those that walk into the new Headquarters (and we invite all geocachers to visit) see a large treasure chest. The treasure chest could just be the epicenter of the Travel Bug world. Currently, the cache is holding 192 Trackables. You can see the whole list here.

Some have traveled just a few hundred miles and passed through the hands of two or three geocachers.

There’s one Travel Bug that’s put on enough miles to circle the globe and then some. Green Traveling Bug was released in 2005. The goal for the Travel Bug was simple, “Place in big enough caches that are the closest to any VW dealership across the nation.” Soon though the Travel Bug did what Travel Bugs do. It traveled cache to cache, and then traveled some more. It currently has more than 33,000 miles on its four little tires.

Green Travel Bug travels

The Headquarters cache is so extensive there’s even large Tupperware containers, inside the cache. One is where Travel Bugs with mission inside the United States rest between stops. There’s another Tupperware container Travel Bugs with international missions, and yet a third container for geocoins.

Groundspeak Headquarters cache

In the course of a year, thousands of Travel Bugs move in and out of the Groundspeak HQ cache. Here’s a quick list of what Lackeys have seen as Trackables: a giant bear poster, multiple bowling balls, a hand crocheted Signal doll, a hand crocheted hat and beard, a cinder block, a cane and an iron. They’re all Trackable. Each tells a story. Each person who touches and moves that Travel Bug adds to that story. Thank you for helping Trackables move and continue sharing their story.

What story does your Travel Bug tell? Have you ever had a Travel Bug pass through Headquarters?

ADDITIONAL TRACKABLE STORIES:

Go on a mission to take the first geocoin in the world to another country and back

Check out a Travel Bug race with do-it-yourself tips

Watch a soldier receive a Travel Bug tattoo.

Click on the image for 30% off Travel Bugs (US customers only)

Read about a Travel Bug Rescue program.

Share your Trackable stories for a chance to win Trackables.

Review and forward Trackable Etiquette