Searching through bushes, reaching under benches, looking through tree branches—to the untrained eye, a geocacher can look a little suspicious. Muggles (aka non-geocachers) who get curious have been known to unknowingly take or damage geocaches, which is why it’s important to maintain a level of stealth while geocaching. This new video will give you five tips for stealthiness.
Er sucht in Büschen, greift unter Bänke oder schaut hinter Ästen hervor – einem Außenstehenden kann ein Geocacher durchaus verdächtig erscheinen. Durch dieses Treiben neugierig gewordene Muggel (anders ausgedrückt: Nicht-Geocacher) sind bekannt dafür, gern mal unwissentlich einen Geocache zu beschädigen oder zu entfernen. Aus diesem Grund ist es wichtig, sich beim Geocachen möglichst unauffällig zu verhalten. In diesem neuen Video erhältst Du fünf Tipps für eine gute Tarnung beim Geocachen. Schau Dir das Video an.
Sechs weitere Gründe, die Welt zu bereisen.
Als ob Geocacher noch weitere Anreize bräuchten, nach draußen zu gehen und die Welt zu erkunden! Trotzdem gibt es ab sofort sechs neue Geocaching-Souvenirs für Brasilien, Griechenland, Italien, Belgien, Kroatien und Mexiko. Seit dem Start der neuen Souvenirs am 22. Dezember haben schon mehr als 317.000 Geocacher eines oder mehrere von ihnen erhalten.
Wenn Du bereit bist, loszuziehen und Dir diese Souvenirs zu verdienen, mach Dich im Geocaching-Blog mit dem örtlichen Jargon vertraut. Beispielsweise heißt “Danke für den Cache” auf Brasilianisch “Obrigado pela Cache”. Hier findest Du weiteres lokales Geocaching-Vokabular.
A few weeks ago we read about three geocachers who go above and beyond for their local geocaching community.
HikingSeal, Mr Donut WP, and Team Geologynut are a trio of geocaching superheros spanning two continents. Their event caches, geocache series, and challenging puzzle caches are loved by all who encounter them. Best of all? These three are happy to lend a hand to folks who are new to the geocaching scene…you may have been one of those yourself once!
Each of the nominees is already a winner, with a prize package headed their way. But only one geocaching person, or couple, can be named the Geocacher of the Month. Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ reviews community input and blog comments.
Of HikingSeal, one geocacher says:
“Hikingseal has my vote —- well rounded cacher doesnt even start to sum it up. I love all the ways she has inspired me to look at caching in a new way. I love the games within the games — from the challenges, to the hikes/ biking events, to interesting cache placements and CITO events she has covered a wide variety of what makes this game such a joy.” -Mzblubrd
Praise for Mr Donut WP:
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin
“Mr Donut not only holds wonderful events where he always makes everyone feel very welcome but he has set some great caches, the Bike or Hike series being one series we are still enjoying trying to complete. Wherever needed he shares his knowledge and experience of the Geocaching world and is always full of enthusiasm for the Hobby. I didnt hesitate giving him my vote for Geocacher of the month as its the least he deserves for everything he has done for our community. Good luck Mr Donut!” -wright girls
Kudos to Team Geologynut:
“Team Geologynut has done wonderful things for the East Tennessee geocaching community. During a time when the area community was going through a transition, he stepped up to provide the leadership to keep things not just going, but thriving. His State Quarter series is entertaining and challenging to even seasoned cachers, and it ends with a special award. He has created several GeoArt series in the area that are quite popular. He has sponsored monthly Tennessee Valley Geocachers events for several years, which are well-attended by the TVG community. For several years he has been instrumental in organizing a TVG Cache Dash, a day of competitive caching with a Poker Run and a Trail Run. It would be difficult to imagine a geocache who has done more for his local community.” -PokerLuck
Although all three of these geocachers deserve accolades, there has to be one winner.
November’s Geocacher of the Month is one of the youngest we’ve had yet — but that’s all we’ll say about his age. His contributions to his local geocaching community in Northwest England are impressive for a geocacher of any number of years.
Congratulations Mr Donut WP!
With just over 2,100 finds, there’s no arguing that Mr Donut WP is already a force to be reckoned with in the UK geocaching community. But the username entered in all those logbooks isn’t the only imprint he’s made.
“My vote would be Mr Donut without a doubt. Like a DONUT, he is a real treat to the cachers in the UK. He certainly gets a ROUND and he puts his HOLE heart into geocaching. I have been given many stories about this young cacher for the UK geocaching magazine, he is spoken very highly of. Where most people his age are playing computer games hes is out there pushing old people about… Pushing them to enjoy more geocaching, to get more involved in the community and pushing himself to achieve more at same time.” -Adam Redschaw
Based on the comments we read, Mr Donut WP makes an impression on every geocacher he meets, even if it’s just once:
“Came across Mr Donut operating in the Midlands a couple of years ago, when I was after some advice. This he happily gave giving me an insight into my problem.” -R&MLtd
Mr Donut WP’s “Hike or Bike” series is a must-do if you’re in the area (and worth the trip if you’re not). We think StridentUK says it all:
“Back when I started caching, just over a year ago now, Mr Donut was one of the first caching names that I started to recognise, thanks to his many interesting & well-thought out hides and fun series. His caches alone account for over 250 of my current total; that’s many days, if not weeks of caching time. Especially enjoyable was his mammoth Bike or Hike series which, over the course of the year it was released, took me all around the area I grew up in, to places I’d never ever been. A real lynchpin of the local caching community, organising many excellent events each year, Mr Donut’s enthusiasm and passion for caching and definitely make him worthy of the Cacher of the Month award.”
We’re honored to be able to present Mr Donut WP the Geocacher of the Month award for November 2014. Thank you for all that you do for the geocachers around you, and best of luck with all of your future endeavors!
Do you know someone who deserves the honor of being Geocacher of the Month? Nominate them!
The 14th year of geocaching is coming to close. Our passion for adventure this past year bubbled over with Personality, First to Finds, Wet Surprises, a Message in a Bottle and another epic First to Find.
Those are your Top 5 Posts of 2014. Click on any post to see what the fuss is about.
5) Epic First to Find
5
4) Message in a Bottle
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3) Wet Surprises – The Video
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2) First to Find – After 4,355 Days
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1) Take the Geocaching Personality Quiz
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Now, brag a little bit, share your top geocaching moment of 2014 in comments below. Who knows, we might just contact you to post the story here on The Geocaching Blog.
Editor’s note: DNF’s or Did Not Finds are an important part of the geocaching experience, and maybe one of the most frustrating parts. The questions start to boil over, is it even here, why is the hint so vague, can’t anyone post a picture which offers a clue? WHY!?! But, as we learn through exploring, it’s not often the destination but the journey. Geocachers, Peanuts or Pretzels, show us that sometimes a DNF is the gift of a story, a voyage, a view and a sunset.
Recently, we took to the roads of New Zealand in an RV and wanted to do some Geocaching. So during our drive toward the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, I pulled out my GPS and found just the cache for us. Located along the coast, it had a lot of favorite points and according to our watches, we had just enough time to get there before dusk. So off we went!
Upon arrival, we parked our RV near GZ and started walking along the rocky coast. Eventually we came to a grassy opening, with the ocean on our right and a steep hill on our left. The cache was located up on top of the hill, but there was no visible trail. We decided that our best option was to climb up a small wash-out ravine.
After a tricky climb, we arrived at the top, which was a flat plateau. The Geocache was only 183 feet away. But we quickly realized that we had a problem. The entire area leading to the cache were full of giant briar bushes. These bushes were thigh high, with thorns 2-5 inches long…seriously! We’ve done our share of “bushwacking” before, but we had never seen anything like this before.
We tried many ways to get to the geocache, even trying to use giant sticks to make bridges or push down the bushes. But nothing worked. We were getting stabbed by the thorns and tearing our clothes. Ultimately, we realized that there was no way for us to get to the geocache. Disappointed with the thought of admitting defeat, we turned back toward the ocean just as the sun was beginning to set.
“Wow, look at the sunset from up here!” Liz said. And you know, she was right. It was a gorgeous sunset, and we had the best view perched up on this hill. No one was around, and we had this entire sunset to ourselves. So in the end, we decided thatwe would accept this DNF proudly. Because even though we didn’t find the cache, we had a fun adventure, and we were taken to this place that we had no idea existed. I looked over at Liz and said “this might have to be the best Geocache we never found.”
Thanks to Geocaching for taking us to another great place on our world travels. Sometimes, you don’t have to find the cache to have a great memory. #DNFPride
Congratulations Mr Donut WP!
Based on the comments we read, Mr Donut WP makes an impression on every geocacher he meets, even if it’s just once:
