Geocaching Headquarters (GCK25B): Been There, Logged That.

Panorama HQ Lobby
Panorama HQ Lobby

 

Geocaching Headquarters (aka GCK25B).

Many have heard of it, only 7,000 of 9 million geocachers worldwide have logged it. Whether on a geocaching road trip across the country or living down the street, geocachers love to make a pit stop at Geocaching HQ to sign the famous logbook, celebrate a milestone, share stories with fellow geocachers and see for themselves where all the geocaching magic happens.

You made it
You made it

History was made.

In 2004, the official HQ geocache was placed in the downtown office of Groundspeak Headquarters. Over the last 10 years, the geocache has lived in four different locations, now residing at the newest office in the Fremont neighborhood. Co-Founder Bryan Roth said the geocache was placed so that everyone at HQ could stay connected to the community.

“Geocachers were already stopping by the office before we placed the geocache” said Bryan. “We felt that adding an official HQ Geocache would enhance the experience and help create an environment where geocachers always feel welcome.”

Originally on Friday’s only, HQ visits are now available Tuesday-Friday at 2pm to accommodate all travel schedules and the influx in visitors.

 

Logo
Logo

 

What to expect during a scheduled visit.

1) Awesome encounters and conversations with Geocaching HQ employees. The staff at Geocaching HQ anxiously awaits for the clock to strike 2pm. For an entire hour, the lobby transforms into a room of geocaching chatter and storytelling.

2) A giant trunk with a plethora of trackables, SWAG and signature items. Don’t believe us? Check out the trackable inventory for yourself.

Inside the HQ Geocache
Inside the HQ Geocache

3) Geocachers from across the globe. In the last year, visitors from over 30 countries have visited HQ, making it an international destination for all geocachers to gather, swap stories and even learn a new language (or as least communicate in geo-language.)

4) Photo-op and selfie heaven. With a photobooth and new signage to pose in front of, the photo opportunities are endless.

5) Historic geocaching relics including the original International Space Station Travel Bug. In case you are new to geocaching (or have been hiding under a rock for a year), this travel bug went all the way to outer space.

6) The Geocaching HQ Store. Shop for trackables, geocoins, t-shirts and other goodies including some exclusive HQ merchandise.

HQ Geotour: GC32A0H
HQ GeoTour: GC32A0H

 7) Geocaching! The fun doesn’t stop after you leave the lobby. Before and after a scheduled visit, geocachers wander around the local quirky Fremont neighborhood in search of the nine geocaches on the HQ GeoTour. With over 2,000 favorite points, geocachers don’t want to miss out on these creative geocaches hidden by the staff at Geocaching HQ.

The ultimate HQ experience.

In addition to HQ Visits, Geocaching HQ invites the entire community to join them for the annual Block Party Mega-Event in August. The week prior to the big event, geocachers can sign up for full office tours to get the full breakdown of what goes on every day at HQ.

So geocachers, when do you plan on joining the other 7,000 geocachers and logging the HQ Geocache? We’d love to meet you!

Your New Mission: Earn the 7 Souvenirs of August

 

 

MailerImage_07072014_7-Souvenirs_of_August_vFINAL_BLOG

 

New Souvenirs for August, New Quiz Now

 

Welcome to your geocaching mission this summer. During the month of August, earn six new Geocaching souvenirs by finding specific types of geocaches. Only by finding all six souvenirs do you unlock a special seventh “Achiever” souvenir. And we always knew you were an achiever.

Check out your personalized 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case for details. It’s a page that’s worth adding to your bookmarks. You’ll need it. Once you’ve collected all six souvenirs, visit your 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case to unlock the rare 7th “Achiever” souvenir. If you’re new to geocaching, a souvenir is an exclusive digital reward for your online profile.

While your journey to find the 7 Souvenirs of August begins on August 1 and lasts through August 31, you can start the adventure right now. Take the new Geocaching Personality Quiz. Each of the six personality types in the quiz reveals a souvenir you’re challenged to discover in August. Questions? Check out your 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case for answers. Ready to begin celebrating? Check out the new 7 Souvenirs swag on sale now.

Click to learn more
Click to learn more
Click to play
Click to play

 

 

7 Souvenirs of August FAQ

MailerImage_07072014_7-Souvenirs_of_August_vFINAL_BLOG

I found all six souvenirs, but my achiever souvenir wasn’t issued?

Visit your 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case to unlock your Achiever souvenir.

I can’t see my friend’s/spounse’s/brother’s/pet’s 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case. What’s up with that?

You can see all of the souvenirs that you friend/spouse/brother/pet has earned on their Public Profile under the Souvenirs tab. You can find their Public Profile using this tool.

How do I delete these souvenirs?

You can hide a souvenir from your Public Profile on Geocaching.com by selecting the “Hide This” button below the souvenir you would like to remove on your Private Profile. Please note that this will not remove the souvenir from your Private Profile or the mobile app. You can make the souvenir visible again at any time by selecting “Show This”, underneath the souvenir in your Private Profile.

Oh no, it’s the end of August and I just signed up. Will there be another opportunity to earn the 7 Souvenirs of August? 

Well, well… we have no plans now, but who knows? This challenge might come around again.

There’s no way I can find them all. Can I have an exemption for X souvenir?

Geocaching is about exploration and discovery. Unfortunately, exemptions are not being issued.

I have the Geocaching Intro app and I can only see traditional geocache types. How can I participate?

You can earn the Explorer souvenir by logging a Traditional geocache in the Intro app. You’ll then be able to see this souvenir in your Trophy Case, which is mobile-friendly. To earn the other souvenirs and unlock the special 7th one, you can use the website or upgrade to the Geocaching Pro app.

I found all the souvenirs in August, but I didn’t log my geocache finds until September. Do I still earn the souvenirs?

You’ll be able to receive the first 6 souvenirs by back-dating your logs to the correct date. However, the Achiever souvenir will only be issued to those who have earned all 6 souvenirs and then visit their Trophy Case during the month of August.

Break it down for me. How do I earn each souvenir again?

  • The Nature Lover = Log a Found It on an EarthCache or an Attended for a CITO event.
  • The Explorer = Log a Found It on a Traditional geocache.
  • The Sightseer = Log a Found It on a Multi-Cache.
  • The Puzzler = Log a Fount It on a Mystery Cache.
  • The Socializer = Log an Attended for an Event Cache, Mega-Event, or Giga-Event.
  • The Collector = Log a Found It on a Virtual Cache, Whereigo, Letterbox Hybrid, or Webcam Cache.
  • The Achiever = Visit your Trophy Case after earning the 6 other souvenirs. To learn more about geocache types, go here.

What’s a souvenir, and why do I want one?

Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art displayed on your profile page that you can earn for various geocaching achievements, like finding a geocache in a new country. The 7 Souvenirs of August are extra special, as they only available during the month of August. To learn more about souvenirs, visit our Help Center.

Do I need to find the souvenirs in a specific order?

Nope! Bonus points if you do though! (Just kidding. There are no bonus points for earning the souvenirs in any particular order.)

I’ve heard rumors that Geocaching HQ has developed a very scientific quiz to reveal my geocaching alter-ego. Can you confirm these rumors?

Yes! The rumors are absolutely true. (Well, not the *very scientific* part.) Discover what type of geocacher you are: http://bit.ly/1z8vjKz.

When exactly will I be able to start earning the souvenirs?

August 1st at 12 AM your local time!

1 Month Later… A Breakdown of the Record Breaking World Wide Flash Mob 11

WWFM XI – World-Wide Flash Mob

The Fastest 15 minutes in Geocaching

By Sonny and Sandy, of the PodCacher Podcast.

June 7th was another record-breaking experience for flash mob participants. Over 27,000 geocachers gathered at 792 events in 52 countries for this annual event.

WWFM hosts are known for their creativity and quirkiness and this year’s events did not disappoint. Here are some “WWFM snapshots” from around the globe.

Pretoria, South Africa

We had an awesome event blowing bubbles around a giant sculpture of an upside down cow.  It was freezing here in Pretoria but geocachers are not put off by a bit of cold weather and we had a super turnout of 35 people.  It was great to see some new geocachers attending their first ever event and a Flash Mob at that!

Pretoria, South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa

Mikkeli, Finland

During the event the geocachers gathered to the main park of our town to take a football club type of photo – with everyone wearing a red shirt and black pants. All participants were asked to gather to the different parts of the park. When the referee whistled, everyone gathered in front of the main building in the park in three rows and took their places as professional football players in front of the building. After the photos were taken, the referee whistled again and everyone disappeared without saying a word.

Mikkeli Finland
Mikkeli Finland

Hong Kong

26 geocachers decided to copy Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks at the busiest zebra crossing in Causeway Bay, HK. There were zombies, gymnasts, supermen and women, backwards walkers and couples with their own silly walk. We had to cross 5 times to earn our smiley.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Pennsylvania, United States

Painting it Purple was our theme. Attendees were to dress and accessorize in purple and to bring along a paintbrush with purple ribbon tied to it. When the event began, we started “painting” everything in sight with our paintbrushes. The color purple was chosen because our event was held very near the Relay For Life of Lancaster.  After the event, some of the cachers went into the Relay and walked some laps around the track to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back against cancer.

Pennsylvania, United States
Pennsylvania, United States

Delft, the Netherlands

With pride we would like to report our WWFM XI event, “Applause for Hugo”. Hugo, in this case, is a statue of Hugo the Groot on the central square in Delfs. At 19:00 hours, a lot of people walked up to this statue and gave it a standing ovation.

 

WWFM NETHERLANDS 1
Delft, the Netherlands

Oregon, United States

58 people (most on Pool Noodle ponies) rode into the Riverfront Carousel and sang Happy Birthday to the Carousel ponies (who were all wearing party hats for their 13th Birthday party). The Operations Manager was surprised and delighted and really, really wants a geocache there now!  He said “it gave him goosebumps seeing us”.

Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon

The 10 largest WWFM XI events were all in Germany, each with over 150 participants. The very biggest was in Dortmund with 450 people. The other countries with events over 100 people were Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, The Netherlands, Portugal, France, and Team PodCacher’s San Diego event.

On the other end of the scale, there were actually quite a few with only 2 participants. Events in Poland, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Indonesia and Greenland.

To hear more stories from the amazing WWFM XI, listen to PodCacher show 473 and show 474. To get more information on the WWFM, you can visit gcwwfm.com, and listen to Show 473 and Show 474.