Sometimes history sneaks up on you… while you’re trying to preserve the future.
It happened to a group of geocachers clearing garbage from a roadside marshland just west of Calgary, Alberta. The geocaching event is called a CITO (Cache in Trash Out). The group cleans up geocaching friendly locations. They had already found and removed a room-sized carpet, a fractured row boat and a steel rope. The location they chose to help cleanup is a wild space frequented by migratory birds. Jean-Francois Cianci (known in the Geocaching word as Monkeyturtle) was headed back to the meeting area when his team decided to clean up one more patch of land.
The Geocachers at the CITO (Kathy, Laika and Chomper the other members of Team Monkeyturtle pictured) removed this discarded rowboat
That’s when a patient message’s 44-year wait to be opened ended. Jean-Francois said, “The message in the bottle discovery came towards the end of the event. We were walking back to the gathering point, alongside the road, and decided to pick some of the garbage we had missed. The bottle was in plain view, near some bushes so I decided to pick it up. That’s when I noticed it had a piece of paper in it with a date. I was in bit shock to find a note with such an old date on it.”
Jean-Francois with bottle
He said the mystery began immediately, “The bottle looked old and we pulled strange enough things that day that we thought it was real from the beginning.” When he opened the bottle and removed the note, he also unlocked a nearly 50-year-old challenge by two girls from July 7, 1970. The note asked the finder to do some finding of their own. Thankfully geocachers are known to be especially good at finding. Jean-Francois had to contact the two girls, now women, who dropped the message in the bottle nearly a half century earlier.
The note read:
“Anyone finding this bottle please contact: Darilyn Yates and Georgia Love… ”
The message in the bottle
The message in the bottle sparked a small quest that would take weeks.
Geocachers, Gumbydude, Mr. Caneohead and Pokey and Reese(the event organizer), were among those that helped cleanup 25 bags of trash. The group plans to make this CITO a twice-annual event.
A decoy from Before You Can Torment, You Must Learn to Annoy (GCK2BA). Photo by geocacher calipidder
I recently attended a the Berkshire Geobash #3 Mega-Event in Massachusetts and came across one of the most devious hides I’ve ever seen. So devious, it inspired me to write a whole blog post dedicated to creating geocaches that some may consider “evil”. Not evil in the possessed by spirits evil, but evil in that when searching, frustration is inevitable. If you’re ever in western Massachusetts, near Pittsfield, finding My Wife Thinks I’m Nuts (GC1MW7), created by Gary, is an absolute must.
The gum nano.
Step 1: Decoys
Geocachers with a few finds under their belts will have developed a keen geo-sense, i.e. they know common places to look for geocaches. Some of these folks have seen it all, so getting past them can be hard. This is where decoys come in. Some geocaches have containers in all of the obvious spots, but instead of a logbook, it’s a note that let’s them know they’ve only found a decoy. Placing multiple decoys can create a fog of frustration that may cloud geocacher’s judgement when looking for the real container. (See image above.)
Step 2: Really Clever Camouflage
Don’t get me wrong—I love camo duct tape. It’s an easy way to add a little bit of cloaking to your geocache. However, when it comes to being truly devious, the right camouflage can make or break your hide. The real challenge is to make your geocache look like everything that’s around it—like it belongs there. Think fake logs, fake rocks, fake gum (ew) or even the always maligned fake dog poo.
Step 3: Hide in Plain Sight
You read that right. Hide in plain sight. This might mean skipping the traditional geocache container for something a little more creative. Just think: if your geocache looks like it’s just part of the surrounding decor, geocachers may not be apt to look there. This step is crucial for clever urban hides.
This just looks like it’s supposed to be there. Surprise! Geocache! Photo by geocacher Lady Nomad.
These are just a few ideas. How would you make your geocache truly devious? Tell us in the comments. You can also check out some devious geocache containers at Shop Geocaching.
Sigh-toe, see-tow, chai-to—No matter how you pronounce it, CITO (Cache In Trash Out) should be a part of every geocacher’s vocabulary. What’s it mean? It’s simple— whenever you’re out geocaching, clean up the area around you. It keeps the geocaching game board (the Earth, duh) clean and shows land managers that geocachers care. Here are a few tips to become the ultimate CITO champion:
Pack an extra trash bag in your geocaching kit.
Trash is gross! Bring gloves or a grabber tool.
Organize or attend a CITO event and turn trash or invasive species into a smiley.
Celebrate the next International CITO Weekend on April 25 and 26, 2015 and earn a digital souvenir for your Geocaching profile.
Finding a geocache can be as simple as walking to a location and looking down. But after a while, it’s natural to want to change it up—even make it more difficult. With this geocache, you won’t have to solve a word puzzle to make the find, but you will have to spin the wheel. Around the edges of this spinning contraption, loosely based on the television game show “Wheel of Fortune”, are many containers—only one of which holds the logbook. Make the hike, give the wheel a spin and see if you’re lucky enough to find it on the first spin!
“I found a large discarded wooden cable spool on the side of the road in Burlington Ontario. I brought it home and separated the 2 large round spools. I searched for small cans of paint the same colors as the Geocache symbols, drew out the Geocache symbol and painted it…I drilled about 25 holes and added film containers in the holes. One container contained the log sheets…It was a “hit” with geocachers. I had some comments that the wheel did not spin.
In 2010 I painted the other spool and drilled holes for film containers and a hole in the center so it could spin. I had a location on Hyway 5 that had abanded sign post. With the help of a ladder I managed to install the spool high on the sign post and make it SPIN. The caches require maintenance from time to time as the film container dry out and crack or fall out of their pre drilled holes.”
What geocachers are saying:
“this was the best cache I’ve found so far, quite the hike to the cache lol it was awesome!! TFTC!” – jessicaswr
“Wow did we have fun with this one. This has been on the radar for a long time and today we did it. This one gets a favorite for sure” – three-amigoz
“Dude, what a great, great cache! Very impressive. We had some fun with this one. A favourite for sure!” – thewhytes
Photos:
Wheel! Of! Geocaching! Photo by geocacher Nonsuch30The wheel requires a little bit of a climb to get to. Photo by geocacher Mark0077Two brave geocachers making the find. Photo by geocacher Superkatze
What is your geocaching lucky charm? Tell us and post photos in the comments.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog.
Can you spot the Geocaching HQ’er? (Hint: Look for the green sunglasses.)
Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are attending dozens of Mega-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching. Each person at Geocaching HQ brings their own unique talent to advancing the adventure. Some write code for the website, others design images for the apps, and some shoot videos explaining it all. Paige Edmiston is a Communications Specialist for Geocaching HQ. She recently traveled to Hampton Roads, Virginia to attend the 12th Annual GCHR Picnic Mega-Event. Here’s her story.
I was the lucky Geocaching HQ staff member who attended the 12th Annual GCHR Picnic Mega-Event in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The event takes place at the crossroads of nature and early American history, where the best of both are highlighted through unique geocaching experiences. But that’s not what makes this event so special. This event is special because it has an extraordinary power to bring people together into community.
At my first Geocaching Block Party, a geocacher gave me a pin that read “Geocachers are the nicest people.” I thought it was cute, so I’ve held onto it all these years. But now, for the first time, I think I fully understand the truth behind that statement. It only took 2400 miles, hundreds of geocachers, and a dance with Signal the Frog (more on that later) for me to finally “get it”.
Geocachers really, truly are the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
What I learned from the 12th Annual GCHR Picnic Mega-Event:
My geocaching chauffeurs.
You can show up knowing no one and leave with friends for life. In what world can you go to a party without knowing a single soul and immediately feel like part of the family? The geocaching world, that’s where. Heck, the geocachers at the 12th Annual GCHR Picnic made me feel welcome even before the event started. A lovely group of geocachers who had driven from Pennsylvania to Virginia for the event waited at the airport to greet me. Showing up at the farewell breakfast the morning after the big event felt like catching up with old friends.
Geocachers are always prepared — and happy to share. Virginia has a few wonderful things Seattle doesn’t, and a few not-so-wonderful things: namely, chiggers and ticks. Luckily, a geocacher at the event had come prepared with enough bug spray to share with an unprepared Geocaching HQ’er. In addition to bug spray, the delightful event organizer Penguincacher equipped me with a yellow, trackable Jeep so that I could drive around in style. And yes, this Jeep was inspired by the Jeep Travel Bugs!
Love is in the details. Sometimes, it’s the small things that reveal how kind, caring and, well, detail-oriented the people you meet along the geocaching trail can be. Just a few examples from Hampton Roads:
A larger-than-life log book.
The brains behind the log book. Think there’s enough room to sign your name?
A contest filled with creative challenges designed to reveal the true “GeoSurvivors.” I’m happy to report my partner Maingray and I took second place. I think that means we would survive a Zombie Apocalypse. Maybe.
The epic slow walk of GeoSurvivor (second place) champions. Photo by steve-n-kim.
A special Lab Cache created to make me feel welcome.
Note: Lackey, Virginia. Photo by Monkeybrad.
And, of course, no portable toilet would be complete without a bouquet of flowers.
An extra dose of geocaching love.
And finally, being quirky is awesome. Geocaching is about exploration, adventure, and discovery, but it’s also about being a part of a community that challenges you to step outside your comfort zone and, at the same time, appreciates you just for being you. I never dreamed I would ever be in a position where I had the opportunity — and the support — to show the world my love of goofy dancing by tangoing with a giant Signal the Frog. Then again, I should have known: geocaching is always full of surprises.
