The geocaching community is about giving back by getting a little dirty and clearing a lot of trash. Cache In Trash Out, or CITO, helps preserve the natural beauty of the geocaching world by cleaning up litter, removing invasive species, planting trees and building trails.CITO events are held all year long, especially during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Check out the CITO calendar for events and join one near you. And who says good deeds go unrewarded? Earn The Nature Lover souvenir during the 7 Souvenirs of August by attending a CITO event in, you guessed it, the month of August.
Geocaching HQ staffers love August. The Seattle weather is perfect. We get to meet geocachers from all over the world who come to log the Geocaching HQ geocache or attend Geocaching Block Party. And each year, we find a new way to challenge each other to geocaching greatness.
See, we love teamwork at Geocaching HQ!
This year, we have a collective goal: 100% of the 70+ HQ’ers will earn all 7 Souvenirs of August. This is something we’ll do together, and we would love to see you use the same teamwork-based strategy in your local geocaching community.We’ll carpool to geocaches, help each other solve Mystery Caches, and cheer each other on.
At the same time, we couldn’t resist throwing a healthy dose of competition into the mix.
To add in an extra sprinkle of challenge and fun to keep us geocaching all month long, we’ve formed seven teams that, in addition to supporting each other in achieving the 7 Souvenirs of August, will compete against each other to be the best in the following categories:
First team to have every member complete all 7 Souvenirs of August
Most geocache finds in August
Greatest distance traveled
Greatest number of Travel Bugs moved
Average difficulty rating
Average terrain rating
Best geocaching-themed Instagram video with the hashtag #7SofA
This summer, you and your family, friends, coworkers, and geocaching organization can take the 7 Souvenirs of August to the next level too.
Here are Geocaching HQ’s 7 steps to attaining geocaching greatness this August:
1. Break into teams. Here at HQ, we decided to randomly assign teams to allow staffers to spend time with coworkers they don’t usually get to work with. Dividing by skill level or geocaching interest (i.e. the perfect blend of geocaching personality types) is also a great way to ensure the competition will be close.
Last year was all about orange headbands; this year, we’re rockin’ green sunglasses.
2. Give your team an identity. Team names are a must. Without one, what will you chant when you are victorious? Our teams are (surprise, surprise) named after the 7 Souvenirs of August: The Nature Lovers, The Explorers, The Puzzlers, The Collectors, The Socializers, and The Sightseers. (We’re all going to be Achievers, after all.) Bonus points for jerseys, headbands, sunglasses, and 7 Souvenirs of August SWAG.
3. Set up a leaderboard. Share a spreadsheet to track individual and team stats, or if you’re technically inclined, work some GPX magic.
4. Strategize. Get together with your team to talk shop. Will someone host a midnight Event Cache so the team can earn all 7 Souvenirs first? Or will you focus on find count or terrain rating? Is your team made up of people who are great at solving puzzles, climbing trees, or road-tripping? (Hint: Eating pizza while strategizing helps the brain think. It’s science.)
5. Make a calendar of geocaching outings. Once you have your strategy, plan when you’ll make it happen. Geocaching together is a great way to keep inspired and avoid the dreaded DNF.
6. Create a shared online space. Setting up a Facebook group or email chain is a great way to share updates, make sure you’re on track to achieving your goals (and winning!), and keep the team engaged and inspired.
7. Capture your favorite geocaching moments. So maybe your team won’t find the most geocaches or travel the furthest distance, but you can show off that you had the most fun. Create a geocaching highlight reel and be sure to share it on your favorite social media platforms. Don’t forget to use the #7SofA hashtag.
Ready to start plotting your August strategy? Share this video and invite your friends to join in the fun:
There are some places that deserve to be seen. These rarely visited gems can be anything from a hidden pocket park to a piece of beautiful graffiti—or even a place full of giant presidential heads. However, you can’t always place a geocache there to bring people in. That’s where Virtual Caches come in. While a few rule changes made new Virtual Caches into Waymarks, some of the older Virtual Caches have been grandfathered in since they existed before the rule change. This spot, located in Houston, Texas, is where an artist sculpted and cast these presidential busts for use in a park near Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. You’ll also find sculptures of the Beatles here.
What geocachers are saying:
“I came down to Houston for the weekend to grab a bunch of challenge caches and virtuals…this one was on my list…..very cool place….added a few pictures to my log….thanks for bringing me here……TFTC!” – mightymouse21
“Wow, this was a hoot! Detouring through Texas on our way to GeoWoodstock and had to stop at this one. Glad we did. Took pictures so we will post after we get back to Florida next week. Thanks for the adventure.” – Wilemon
“Wow this is great…the things you get to see while geocaching, never would have come here or new about this had it not been for caching, thanks for placing!!” – Holn1b4IDie
Photos and Video:
Busted! Photo by geocacher MXTrekkerWatch out for the giant Beatles! Photo by geocacher Drew136Just “head” over to this cache to meet these folks. Photo by geocacher ArdentEnthusiastNot even Abe ‘nose’ what you’re looking for. Photo by geocacher Scorpios2931
What little-known spots have you discovered by geocaching? Tell us 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.
Unless you live on the moon, you’ve probably gone geocaching in some sort of natural area—food garden, arboretum, provincial park, nature reserve, etc. Most areas have designated walking or hiking paths, but it can be sorely tempting to march straight off into the bush looking like Kipling’s Mowgli.
Here are three reasons not to release your inner Tarzan unless you’re in your own jungle oasis (or…potted plant patio).
1) You are a big, strong human, and you will crush the plants.
Are you in the new King Kong remake? If not, then there’s no reason to blunder around crushing things. Your wanderings off the path are likely to leave a trail, one that another geocacher might follow thinking it leads to a cache. By the time the next person finds out your trail doesn’t lead anywhere, they’ve made it look even more like a trail that leads somewhere. You see where this is going. Big strong human, please keep all arms and feet inside the designated trails…
2) Stingy, bite-y, slimy things.
What’s red and green and stings all over? Poison oak, poison ivy, and stinging nettles. And they can really ruin a geocaching party. Keeping to the designated paths (and wearing your cargo pants) is key to avoiding these antagonists of the plant world. Nettles, like human children, are best seen and not heard disturbed.
3) Every step you take…the land manager is watching you.
Alright, so that may be unnecessarily creepy. But it’s the land manager’s job to make sure activities like geocaching are done in harmony with the environmental goals of the area. It’s the geocacher’s job to know what that means for geocaching. It’s true that geocaching in public natural areas is a privilege, not a right. Is this patch of hillside closed-off to protect sensitive species? Don’t go there human! No find is worth being kicked out of a park.
Tell us (and share some pics)…what’s your favorite natural area in which to geocaching?
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. Annie or Love works as the Partners Program Manager, supporting all international distributors. This is her Mega-Event experience.
In early June, I had the pleasure to travel back to Portugal to attend 14 Years Geocaching – Sintra | Portugal. After the very warm welcome I received at Geocoinfest in Portugal two years ago, I was excited to spend some more time with the geocachers from one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Even better, this Mega-Event would be taking place in the one of the most magical places. Sintra, a community hidden in the Sintra Mountains of the Lisbon region, is filled with unreal sites including a Moorish castle, architecturally stunning palaces and endless tiled sidewalks.
Mega-Event Attendees
The festivities spanned over five days in the Sintra region, and included a variety of geocaching walks, CITO events, a geocache lab adventure and lots of smiling faces. We walked, we cached and we blew bubbles. If you’ve ever wanted to use geocaching as your form of tourism, this Mega-Event would have been for you.
Bubble-Blowing Event
Some might think it’s weird to start a 14km hike at 10:30pm. Not geocachers. We thrive on adventures like that. If you can find about 35 caches on that 14km hike, even better. On the second night of the event, that’s just what we did. When I finally returned to my hotel around 3am, I was able to reflect on a fun adventure through the mountains of Sintra with nearly 100 geocaching friends. Those are the memories that will stick with me forever.
Geocaching Night Hike
“Bruning” in Portugal
Pride is one word I would use to describe Portuguese geocachers. Several times throughout the five days, I had conversations with individuals or geocaching teams about the incredible efforts they’ve put into their own geocaches. In a couple of cases, the teams had spent over a year perfecting one geocache. These are the types of geocaches that would inspire me to plan a return trip to Portugal.
Love (center) and Geocaching Friends
If you are in search of a place where the people are friendly, the views are amazing, the culture is rich and the geocaching is pretty ‘darn’ good, Portugal has got you covered.
