April 23, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

What a Red Geocaching Wrench Means to You

Geocache Maintenance in Two Acts

maintenance_300x400 Each “Needs Maintenance” request has two acts. One act delivers a red wrench, the other act takes that red wrench away. A red wrench attribute on a geocache page means the geocache most likely needs maintenance. The geocache container could be cracked, the log book could be full or the geocache contents might be soaked with water. Or a giant plant may have eaten it (see image).

Act 1) The Geocacher. If you come across a geocache that needs some repair, post a “Needs Maintenance” log on the geocache page. This will notify the geocache owner and add a “Needs Maintenance” icon (red wrench) to the geocache page. This lets other geocachers know that the geocache may not be in the best shape before they start their hunt.

Act 2) The Geocache Owner. Once you have made repairs, post an “Owner Maintenance” log on the geocache page. This log will remove the “Needs Maintenance” icon. Don’t let your geocache be filtered out in searches by forgetting to post your “Owner Maintenance” log.

There’s a way to help stop “Needs Maintenance” logs: preventive care. If your geocache will not be accessible due to seasonal weather conditions, note this on the geocache page. Also, be sure to check in on your geocache and make sure:

Good time to perform geocache maintenance – unless ants are also geocachers…

The geocache container is still watertight
Contents are free of debris
There’s plenty of space in the logbook for more entries

Maintaining your geocache doesn’t have to be a pain. Think about working it into a monthly routine or you can even see if some of your geo-buddies will check in on it for you. Think of it this way: owning a geocache is kind of like owning a roller coaster: take care of it and it will keep making people happy for years!

April 22, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

CITO 2013 – It Takes a Village

Congrats Space Coast Geocachers... 9 events, More than 200 geocachers and 4300 lbs of garbage collected! — Congrats Space Coast Geocachers… 9 events, More than 200 geocachers and 4300 lbs of garbage collected!

It’s takes a village to do many things, say, raise a child. It also takes a motivated village to clean up the earth. The village geocachers created with Cache In Trash Out (CITO) events has a population of 11,124. That’s the population of Fredonia, New York. That’s the exact number CITO souvenirs that have been earned by geocachers who have logged an “Attended” for a CITO event so far. Geocachers attended hundreds of events in dozens of countries from April 20 through April 22. If each geocacher picked up ten pounds of trash, that’s over 50 tons of garbage removed from geocaching areas worldwide.

Geocachers in Montana cleaning the roadside.

It’s the same weights as a couple army tanks or say a large metal bridge. But each piece of litter was a crumpled wrapper or an old tire or a piece of discarded lumber. It’s 50 tons of trash that’s no longer polluting that earth. Well done geocachers, well done.

CITO weekend isn’t over yet. It continues today during Earth Day. Expect the final total number of geocachers who earned the CITO souvenir within the next couple of days.

Geocachers from around the world posted pictures of their CITO events on the Geocaching Facebook page. We chose a few of the photos posted to feature in this blog.

While the CITO weekend occurs only once a year, please CITO every time you geocache. It’s as easy as packing out a few soda bottles or a few pieces of litter. It may not seem like much, but when we all do it, it adds up quick!

45 geocachers attended http://coord.info/GC494V1 in near Suhl, Germany to clean up all this trash. — 45 geocachers attended GC494V1 near Suhl, Germany to clean up all this trash.

CITO is for all ages. Kids, Caching and Cleaning CITO GC48DD9 in Ontario, Canada

April 18, 2013 / Derek H /

A Geocache 113 Million Years in the Making – Dinosaur Valley Earthcache (GCQMHY) – Geocache of the Week

Staring contest, you and me. Go. Photo by geocacher Indigo Parrish.

Millions of years ago, a sea covered a large portion of the land that is now the United States. During this time, dinosaurs called Sauropods and Theropods roamed North Texas. Some experts* say they were geocaching, potentially looking for terrain five geocaches. These giant reptiles left footprints in the soft mud that have been preserved for millions of years. And until this documentary becomes a (terrifying) reality, finding the Dinosaur Valley Earthcache (GCQMHY) might be as close as we can get to living dinosaurs.

Mrs. Scattermycaches excited to be at the park's entrance. — Mrs. Scattermycaches excited to be at the park’s entrance.

The dino footprints that you’ll see while you’re in the park were made about 113 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. The tracks were discovered in the early 1900s, however they did not become famous until 1937 when palentologist R.T. Bird saw them while collecting fossils. Bird continued exploring the Paluxy River looking for more prints and eventually uncovered a large Sauropod and Theropod trackway.

As you follow in the footsteps of these dinosaurs, you might be wondering what these beasts looked like. The three-toed footprints are most likely from Acrocanthosaurus, a smaller relative of T-Rex. These meat-eating, giant lizards were about 20–30 feet long.

Discovering Theropod tracks. Photo by geocacher Silver Fox 62

The round and smaller hoof-like footprints come from Sauropods. This group of dinosaurs are large plant-eaters that walked on all fours. Bones found in 1996 led to the discovery that the tracks belonged to a new species of dinosaur: Paluxysaurus jonesi. At 60–70 feet long and 12 feet tall, these giants became the official dinosaur of Texas in 2009.

To earn your smiley for this Earthcache, you’ll have to answer a few dino-related questions. Although the questions aren’t easy to answer, that hasn’t deterred geocachers from experiencing this amazing place. “We love Earth caches for the education that they provide, and this one was no exception. It was amazing to walk in the same footsteps as the dinosaurs!” said geocacher BANDA in their log.

These amazing tracks were discovered by someone searching in the woods. What’s the most amazing (and appropriate) thing you’ve discovered while searching for a geocache? 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 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.

*experts at Geocaching HQ

April 17, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Texas Challenge XI: A Taste of Southern Hospitality

adela and de — Adela (left) and Texas Geocaching Association President, De

Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are joining geocachers at Mega-Events around the world to celebrate and share the adventure of geocaching. Adela Bahtijaragic, a.k.a. DellaBell, attended Texas Challenge XI (GCW8GT) in Port Aransas, Texas, USA in April. Adela has been on Geocaching HQ’s marketing team since 2012. This is Adela’s account of her trip.

By Adela Bahtijaragic, a.k.a. DellaBell

They say that half the geocaching journey is getting there. This much was true when I traveled to Port Aransas, Texas – home to Texas Challenge XI. Located deep in the heart of Texas, “Port A” was the place to be during the weekend of April 5. Geocachers in the great state of Texas, and beyond, gathered to celebrate what they love – geocaching.

Over the course of 11 years, the challenge has grown into a fun-filled weekend comprised of activities for people who wish to compete in the contest or those simply looking to socialize and geocache around town. With plenty to see and do, I was lucky enough to have had my very own tour guide for the day. I got to hang out with the 2011 – 2013 Texas Geocaching Association (TXGA) President, De (of Team-DnD), who went above and beyond to make this an unforgettable day for me.

De and I spent the day exploring the city, the beach, and local geocaches. She introduced me to members of the TXGA, seasoned and new geocachers, and a number of geocachers who attended from places as far away as Australia (firesafe). Of course, I took part in some of the creative Mega-Event challenges, including a joust with a knight from Monty Python’s Holy Grail.

A bonfire gathering at the beach (GC454VH), which included a jalapeno eating contest, potluck, and limbo was the perfect way to end a busy day. We quickly figured out that the lack of a logbook was no problem. Thanks to Travis (SKnight579) and his Hawaiian shirt, turned geocaching “logbook,” we had a conversation piece and possibly even a new tradition for future after-challenge-events.

I felt welcome and a part of a community I had never celebrated with before. The weekend of April 5 was only my very first trip to Texas, but also my very first Mega-Event. I could not have asked for a better group of people to embrace geocaching with. Their hospitality and love for geocaching goes beyond everything I expected.

TXCXI Group Photo — Texas Challenge XI Group Photo

April 15, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

Fastest 15 Minutes in Geocaching – WWFM X

By: The Podcachers

Your geocaching schedule should be packed as we enter the busy season, but everyone has 15 minutes to create an amazing Geocaching memory. The WWFM X (World Wide Flash Mob #10) is coming to a location near you. Nearly 400 events in more than 30 countries will take place on May 4, 2013.

Thousands of geocachers are anticipating the 15 minutes of fun from this global event. It’s coming up quick, but there’s still time for you to plan your own WWFM event. The WWFM events are 15 minutes of fun and excitement, packed with “typical” geocaching event activities like group photos, tiny event meals, prize giveaways and trackable trading.

The World Wide Flash Mob was born back in May 2007 when Sonny and Sandy of the PodCacher podcast hosted the PodCacher Flash Mob Cache Event, coordinated with 20 other events on the same day and time. From that small beginning, the WWFM has grown astronomically spreading around the globe to include more geocachers and more events every year. The previous WWFM IX held in June, 2012 brought together 15,487 geocachers at 312 events in 31 countries. This year is the milestone 10th WWFM and it is expected to be even bigger. With about three weeks left to go before May 4th, there are already 396 events posted in 31 countries.

WWFM events have come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny to enormous. And they’ve been held in all sorts of locations, from the cold of Alaska to the desert of Iraq and from downtown Zürich, Switzerland to a small town in Peru. WWFM events have been held in 50 countries and almost every single US state and Canadian province. It’s hard to say what is so appealing about a worldwide geocaching flash mob. Maybe its the sense of community and knowing that geocachers all around the world are having the same fun and hilarity at the same time. Maybe it’s having a lightning fast, organized-chaos event that happens in public and shows the muggle bystanders the fun and creative people who count themselves as geocachers.

The unique and creative twists that WWFM event hosts have added are endless. There have been water gun fights, bubble blowing, kazoo bands, banana-phones, a prom theme, chicken dances, umbrellas, frozen-turkey bowling and more!

This year for WWFM X, many events are planning Star Wars themed activities, based on the date of May 4th (“May the Fourth be with you!”). It’s a good fit, since many geocachers know that using their Geo-Jedi sense is the best way to find those tricky geocaches!

WWFM events are a fun, friendly and creative way to promote geocaching around the world. If you want to attend a WWFM X event near you, you can browse the bookmark list or check out the Geocaching.com event calendar for the date of May 4th.

If you would like to host a WWFM X event, you can find all the information you need at the Official WWFM Website. But you’ll need to hurry! Events must be published 2 weeks prior to the event date and you’ll need to make sure your local geocaching community volunteer reviewer has enough time to review and publish your event.

Come and FLASH (mob) with us—and May the Fourth be with you in all your geocaching endeavors.

Official Blog

CITO 2013 – It Takes a Village

A Geocache 113 Million Years in the Making – Dinosaur Valley Earthcache (GCQMHY) – Geocache of the Week

Texas Challenge XI: A Taste of Southern Hospitality

Fastest 15 Minutes in Geocaching – WWFM X

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