Samstag, 20. August (besser bekannt als internationaler Geocaching Tag) kommt schnell näher – somit auch die Ziellinie für Tausende Trackables, welche sich im HQ Enten – Rennen messen.
Diese Trackables rasen zu Events am internationalen Geocaching Tag. Du kannst am Rennen teilnehmen, indem Du am 20. August Dein eigenes Event veranstaltest – und kannst zuschauen, wie ein paar der Deadly Ducks über die Ziellinie watscheln.
Zusätzlich dazu, kannst Du das Souvenir zum internationalen Geocaching Tag 2016 verdienen, indem Du am 20. August an einem Event teilnimmst oder einem Geocache findest. (Bonuspunkte wenn du Beides tust!)
At 2,864m (9,396ft), Mount Triglav may not be breaking any peak height records (though it is the highest peak in Slovenia), but it could be the only mountain in the world with a rocket on top.
Triglav rocket. Photo by Očko.
Okay, okay, so it isn’t really a rocket. But the comically small, perfectly cylindrical hut does look more aerodynamic than quite necessary for something entirely earthbound.
Mount Triglav rises well into the clouds above Slovenia, towering over a national park of the same name. Since its first recorded summit on August 26, 1778, droves of climbers have made it to the top. According to the cache page, “It is now said that you are not a complete Slovenian until you have climbed Triglav.” Although the climb is strenuous and requires special equipment, it can be done by most people in reasonably fit condition.
Triglav from below. Photo by Soilworker.
It’s customary to pose for a group photo with the rocket.
Photo by jaja a paja.Photo by Jpety.Photo by Ke4up
For many geocachers, finding the Mount Triglav cache is an even better reward than the photo opportunity or the sense of superiority you have over your friends who haven’t climbed a mountain.
Photo by jakteam.
The cache may have one of the best views in the world…at least, when it’s not buried underneath the snow.
GC14N3H. Photo by aqua55.
Although the cache faces the same hazards of weather and climate that many mountain caches face and sometimes goes missing, we hope that it remains active for many years to come.
Photo by Whoever_CZ .
Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world.
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Back in 2001, long before I knew anything about geocaching, a promotions staffer at 20th Century Fox emailed Geocaching.com. The studio was interested in pairing geocaching with promotional efforts for its upcoming science fiction film, Planet of the Apes. Fifteen years later, the results of that promotion led me to visit South America for the first time. (More on that in a minute.)
Jeremy Irish, Geocaching HQ’s co-founder and CEO, worked closely with Fox to develop what came to be known as Project A.P.E. (Short for Alternative Primate Evolution, a storyline that Fox created for the promotion.)
Jeremy assisted in hiding the now-archived Mission 9: Tunnel of Light. (Photo from the Aug/Sept 2001 issue of Business 2.0)
At the time, geocaching was a relatively unknown game. The first cache was placed less than a year earlier, and only around 450 caches were listed on Geocaching.com. “It was a very exciting project,” Jeremy says today. “The website was still in its infancy, so it was pretty cool that a major movie studio wanted to partner with us. Project A.P.E. did a lot to inform the general public about geocaching.”
An unused A.P.E. cache logbook (left) and the original logbook from Mission 9: Tunnel of Light (GC1169)
Jeremy and Fox staffers worked with local cachers to place containers in the USA (New York, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, California, Georgia), the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil and Japan. Each week, clues were released to give hints to each A.P.E. cache location. The clues became more detailed until the complete coordinates were finally revealed. Once the location was known, it was a race to be FTF and get dibs on whatever movie props might be inside the cache.
Some of the A.P.E. caches were archived within weeks of publication. Others lived on for many years. Today, only one remains: Mission 4: Southern Bowl.
This cache likely owes its longevity to a remote location. Brazil’s Intervales State Park is a 3-4 hour drive from São Paulo, the nearest metropolitan area. The park is renowned for fantastic birding, caves, waterfalls and other natural wonders. Suffice it to say, the A.P.E. cache is only one of many interesting things to see!
My long-planned pilgrimage was helped by a caching friend who lives in Brazil and also happens to be a Community Volunteer Moderator. Rui graciously agreed to meet me in São Paulo and join the voyage to Intervales, even though he had already been there twice! Not only does he know the area well, but he also speaks the language (Portuguese).
Rui and I at Intervales State Park
Upon arriving, we visited with park manager Junior (aka JRintervales). Junior maintained the A.P.E. cache for many years on behalf of its original owner, the legendary JoGPS, who sadly passed away last year. Junior recently adopted the cache listing and is a wealth of information for those planning to visit Intervales.
We chose to stay at one of the park’s lodges. There is also a dining hall / restaurant on the grounds which serves three meals each day. Add those amenities to dozens of caches around the park, and you have a recipe for a fun caching weekend.
Hiking inside Intervales State Park
And so after 18 hours of air and car travel, we found ourselves on the trail to one of the biggest items on my geocaching bucket list. Only one problem: I had loaded the cache into my GPS, but the GPS didn’t recognize the A.P.E. cache icon. So, the cache wouldn’t show up on my GPS map! Thankfully, Rui knew the trails well enough to lead us to the general area of the cache. And, as you can see from the photo, the cache is big enough to be pretty easy to spot once you’re close. After inking the log, we snapped the requisite celebratory photos before continuing on to a full day of caching around the park.
Me and the last remaining A.P.E. cache
We were back in São Paulo the next day, and I returned to Seattle the following night. Quite a whirlwind tour!
I think we’d all agree that geocaching takes us to places we might never have visited if not for the game. Isn’t it amazing to think that a 15-year-old promotion would lead me and so many others to a beautifully remote area of Brazil that we may not have experienced otherwise?
Have you found an A.P.E. cache? If not, is Brazil beckoning you?
El destino del universo geocaching está en sus manos. En este fin de semana, 13 y 14 de Agosto, puedes conseguir el segundo de los tres souvenir Mission GC.
Los usuarios Premium han estado ocupados decodificando un mensaje encriptado, creyendo que incluye instrucciones para obtener el próximo souvenir. Esas instrucciones estarán disponibles a miembros de cualquier nivel de seguridad el sábado 13 de Agosto a las 00:00 horario del Pacífico (Pacific Standard Time). Esta información será publicada en los principales canales GCHQ 47, incluyendo Geocaching.com. Geocaching® app, Facebook y Twitter. Buena suerte, agente.
