Let’s set the scene. You’ve heard a few friends talk about this thing called “geocaching” and you fancy you might be pretty good at it. After all, you are fairly certain that your uncanny ability to locate lost car keys must mean that you have pirate’s blood coursing through your veins.
With your handy-dandy smart phone in hand, you set off to find the nearest geocache. According to your GPS you are right on top of it – but wait! Where’s the X marks the spot? You search high and low. You are on the verge of giving up when you spot a rock that doesn’t quite look like a rock….and yes, you’ve found it!
Finding a geocache feels kind of like this!
Now rewind the clock to a time long, long ago – a time without smartphones, Facebook, or (gasp!) geocaching. Thirteen years ago today Mike Teague became the first person to find the first geocache (at the time called a “stash”). It’s an adventure shrouded in lore. The word “geocaching” hadn’t even been invented yet. You can read much more about Mike Teague and the history of geocaching here. But the sense of wonder the first geocacher felt, is the same sense of wonder that now ripples through six million more geocachers. Are you one of them?
Share the story of your first geocaching find below in comments!
Jedi mind tricks aside, this is the geocache you’re looking for. Luckily, you won’t have to travel to a galaxy far far away to find it. This week’s Geocache of the Week, Star Wars Cache (GC2FDRQ), takes us to the filming location for the Mos Eisley scenes in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.
“Mos Eisley spaceport: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi Hmm….looks fine to us. Photo by geocacher lagosi
If you aren’t sure why this week’s Geocache of the Week is Star Wars themed, I’ll explain. This Saturday, May 4, is a special holiday for Star Wars fans. “May the Fourth” sounds similar to “May the Force” which is part of the famous line, “May the Force be with you.” Basically, it’s just a day for Star Wars fans to boast about why Star Wars is better than Star Trek, remember the epic saga of the original trilogy, try to forget the prequel trilogy and emphatically declare who shot first (FYI: it was Han).
Another view of Mos Eisley. Photo by geocacher Kitou&Laulo44
Since time when Mos Eisley was a bustling spaceport filled with smugglers, villains droids, Jedi and everyone’s favorite alien band, Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes, things have calmed down quite a bit. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to even find a smuggler that can do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. However, you will be able to explore the remains of this once lively town on Tatooine. Actually, the set used for many of the scenes set on the planet Tatooine were located in Tunisia, near the town of Tataouine. Coincidence? My intuition tells me no.
A young Padawan near the geocache. Photo by geocacher Blaue-Elise
Even without the presence of Tusken Raiders, the journey to this difficulty 1, terrain 5 geocache can be quite treacherous. Geocachers will have to travel through miles of sand dunes to reach the town. However, once you arrive in the town, finding the geocache won’t be too difficult—just make sure to use your cloaking device to prevent muggles from catching on. Geocachers from around the world have traveled to this iconic location to see a piece of galactic history. Geocacher s1las wrote, “My son and me found the force and the Cache…Our first overseas cache its the best yet TFTC.”
Movie-themed geocaches are everywhere. What’s your favorite movie theme or what movie theme would you most like to see in a geocache? Tell us in the comments.
Also, this year’s Geocaching Worldwide Flash Mobs will take place on Saturday with the theme, “May the Fourth be with you.” It would be a great time to meet other Star Wars loving geocachers. Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.
The force was with this team of geocachers. Photo by geocacher Lukas.Veverka
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@geocaching.com.
How was I supposed to know the fire hydrant WAS the cache?
Tell us your funniest caption for the above picture of these two geocaching dogs, like, “I have no idea what I’m doing.” You could even win a ‘barely coveted prize’ in the 38th Geocaching Caption Contest. This picture was discovered on the Recent Geocaching Log Images page. You can discover the 1000 most recent images from recent logs.
Submit your best caption by clicking on “Comments” below. Please include your Geocaching username in all entries. Then, explore captions other geocachers have posted.
Barely Coveted Prize… or is it?!?!
“Like” the caption that you believe should take home the barely coveted prize. If you think your caption should win, convince your fellow geocachers, your friends, and family to “like” your caption. Geocaching HQ staff will vote from the top finalists to decide the winner of the contest.
Click on the image to see the winning caption from this Geocaching Caption Contest
The winner receives this month’s ‘barely coveted prize.’ The prize, which might be coveted in many circles, consists of three vintage Signal the Frog pins, including a rare 2007 Happy New Year pin.
Click on the image to your right to discover the winner of the last Geocaching Caption Contest.
Explore all the winning captions by checking out all the Geocaching.com Caption Contests. If you have suggestions for Geocaching.com Caption Contest photos, send a message and the image to pr@groundspeak.com.
Upside-down or right-side-up geocaching can lead you to some heart racing locations.
Geocaching can lead you to see the world in a different way. The symptoms begin early. First you see a location and think, “there could be a geocache right there.” Next you see a a park or a familiar fence line and think, “I’ve found a geocache there.” Finally you see an inspiring location and think, “There should be a geocache there.”
And some geocachers go even further. They see a geocache hide and think, there’s no way I won’t get that. It doesn’t matter that it might mean dangling from a cliff, or climbing a tree or navigating into the darkness of a winter forest.
These are an extreme breed of geocacher. They search for geocaches with a terrain rating of 5. Not only do they enjoy the thrill of turning upside-down or wiggling into a small cave to find a geocache, they also enjoy sharing their geocaching adventures online. Geocaching can be dangerous, so make sure you always take the proper safety precautions. A good example is the final picture of geocachers who brought a guard dog to a mountain top.
Geocaches have difficulty and terrain (D/T) ratings so you can make the decision before you even leave the house. The rating slides from a 1/1, which means the geocache is easy to find in a handicapped accessible area, to a 5/5, which means that after hours of exhausting physical work to get to ground zero involving specialized equipment like a boat, you’re still going to have a hard time finding the geocache. Find more info on the difficulty and terrain ratings.
Below you’ll find images posted to the Geocaching Facebook page of geocaches with terrain ratings of 4 or 5. When you see them, ask yourself, “would I make an attempt to find these geocaches?”
Extreme geocachingExtreme family geocachingExtreme geocachingUp close and personal (Photo Credit:FradoMedia) GC11A56“Triglav 2864″ GC14N3H
“Hey, I can see my house from up here.” Photo by geocacher devilmanrocco.
At 12,461 ft (3798m) the Grossglockner stands proudly as Austria’s tallest mountain and the tallest peak in the Alps (east of the Brenner Pass). Though incredibly impressive from afar, those that dare can take a closer look with the Grossglockner High Alpine Road—a winding stretch of mountain road that takes you through 36 bends to a top altitude of 8,215 ft (2,504m). From the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe Visitors Center, you can look out on some of the highest peaks in the alps—and log a smiley for Way to Heaven (GCPJDZ).
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Photo by geocacher Milancer.
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road loosely follows ancient trade routes through the mountains that were used by the Celts and Romans. The idea for the road was first envisioned in 1924 and the first version, a 3-meter-wide gravel road, was completed in 1935.
Now, nearly 900,000 visitors per year make the trek through the mountains. This geocache has a difficulty and terrain rating of 3.5, however, if you want to kick both of those rating up a notch, you can travel up the Grossglockner High Alpine Road by motorcycle or bicycle.
Watch out for marmot muggles! Photo by geocacher parda.
Many of the “found it” logs (and even some of the DNFs) mention one thing: the incredible view. “Took a drive up the Grossglocker on a cold and rainey morning, skipped this area and saved it for the way back after heading to the Glacier. Got lucky as the view opened up on our return a little (before clouding over again quickly)…What a great location, so glad we came here,” wrote geocacher stephia4 in her “found it” log. When asked why he thinks geocachers love this destination so much, the geocache owner, Quaxi, said, “I think the reason for most of the travelers is to pass through a unique world of mountains with blossoming alpine meadows, fragrant mountain forests, massive cliffs and eternal ice to the foot of the Grossglockner, the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe.”
The Grossglocker High Alpine Road is closed during the winter, but should be opening next month. If you’re in Austria during the summer, this geocache is a must-find. For more information on the road and to see webcams, visit the official website. As with many geocaches, this hide is all about the amazing views. What’s the most incredible view you’ve ever had while finding a geocache? Tell us in the comments.
A panorama from GZ. Photo by geocacher js_plasma.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@geocaching.com.
