Explore geocaching at new heights! Watch “This is My Hobby – Rock Climbing and Geocaching.” Rock climbing offers a vertical dimension to an extreme geocaching adventure. Geocaches which require specialized equipment, like ropes and harnesses, are rated a difficulty five. It’s the highest difficulty rating. Rock climbing takes geocaching to the physical extremes. Have you ever logged a smiley on geocache which required rock climbing? Share your story in a comment below.
This is My Hobby - Geocaching and Rock Climbing
Premium Members of Geocaching.com can sort geocaches by difficulty and locate rocking climbing caches with ease. Explore membership options here.
Subscribe to the official Geocaching.com YouTube channel to be one of the first to see new videos about the evolving world of geocaching. Watch the more than 60 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.
Geocaching.com celebrates International Geocaching Day on August 18 by inviting the world to our backyard in Seattle, Washington. We’re hosting the 2012 Geocaching Block Party. It’s our annual Mega-Event that offers Groundspeak Lackeys and Volunteer Reviewers a chance to mingle with you and trade geocaching stories. Last year, more than 2000 members of the international geocaching family traveled from around the globe to attend the Block Party. Join us this year!
You’ll also experience geocaching hospitality. Challenge yourself with beginner, intermediate, and advanced geocaching courses. Entertain the kids with “pin the antenna on Signal” and design your own pirate hat. Explore the Seattle neighborhood where Geocaching.com is based and win prizes with “Fremont Funventures.” There will also be a few surprises!
Geocachers who attend the Geocaching Block Party can log HQ and receive the Block Party icon – all while swapping geocaching adventures. The Block Party might be just part of your visit. Local geocachers and organizations are also planning several geocaching events before and around the Geocaching Block Party, like the “Going APE…” Mega-Event.
Log your Geocaching Block Party “Will Attend” now for August 18 from 11am to 3pm in Seattle. We’ll see you then!
Be prepared to break a sweat to get to Green Lotus Peak (GCE866) in the off-the-beaten-path town of Yangshuo, China. This difficulty 3, terrain 4 1/2 traditional cache requires a hike and a climb to the top of a jagged peak.
The regular size cache container was hidden in 2003 by ooga booga / 10th_coq_scouts / meryl. Since then, more than 120 geocachers have dared to make the climb and log a “Found It.” This cache has earned a number of Favorite Points over the last nine years and it’s easy to see why.
The cache brings visitors to a striking scene, composed of numerous peaks, rosy clouds, villages and the Li River.
The trail to the peak
As one cacher logged, “WOW man! That’s one of the best caches! That’s how I like caching ;-)! The way up is some kind of a jungle trail with some ropes and bamboo in which are very helpful! And then you arrive on the top, totally wet from your sweat and you feel like you’re reborn! The view is just amazing! If you ever come to Yangshuo, you just have to do this cache!”
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com
If you’d 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@groundspeak.com.
Editor’s note: Groundspeak Lackeys are traveling thousands of miles from H.Q. throughout the year to share smiles, shake hands, and make geocaching memories at nearly 20 Mega-Events worldwide. Cathy Hornback aka, Prying Pandora, attended the Mega-Event GeoWoodstock X (GC2X6ZV). It took place in Indiana, USA. Cathy has been a Lackey since 2009 and works in Customer Relations. Here’s Cathy’s account of her trip.
Cathy aka Prying Pandora
Written By: Cathy Hornback
On Memorial Day weekend 2012, I had the honor of representing Groundspeak with our CEO and co-founder Jeremy Irish at GeoWoodstock X in the small town of Sellersburg, IN. Sellersburg is about 10 miles north of the much larger city of Louisville, Kentucky.
GeoWoodstock is not just any event, and this was not just any GeoWoodstock. The event is held annually at different locations in the US, and for its 10th anniversary, GeoWoodstock returned to its roots in the Louisville area where the first GeoWoodstock took place. The event has grown from 75 attendees at GeoWoodstock I, to 1500 attendees at GeoWoodstock X!
I was eager to begin my Mega-Event adventure so I booked the first flight out of Seattle on Thursday morning, which meant I needed to be at the airport at 4 AM. I hoped to attend an event in Louisville on Thursday evening after I arrived, but my layover in Houston was extended due to a delayed flight so I did not get there in time. One of the nice things about a big Mega-Event is that there are many opportunities to interact with the community spread out over the weekend, so I settled in my hotel for the night looking forward to Friday’s events.
Belle of Louisville
Friday began with a delightful event, a cruise aboard the Belle of Louisville with 650 fellow geocachers. The Belle of Louisville is the oldest river steamboat still in operation, and it’s a National Historic Landmark. We boarded to the merry sound of the boat’s calliope and spent several hours cruising the Ohio River, socializing, and viewing the massive steam engine and boilers that power the boat’s paddle wheel. An afternoon of geocaching with new friends followed along with a visit to Churchill Downs, the location of the Kentucky Derby. Soon it was time for the evening event, the Miles of Smiles Meet & Greet. Set up like a geocaching street fair, it was a chance to meet more of the community. The evening air was a relief from the powerful heat wave that had settled over the area for the weekend.
Saturday was the big day – GeoWoodstock X. I met up with Jeremy for breakfast, who was back in town after spending that Friday attending the opening of the Geocaching Adventures Maze Exhibit in Dayton, Ohio. When he and I arrived at the event, we were greeted by a crowd of geocachers and a traffic jam of more cachers arriving.
GeoWoodstock Wedding - Signal gives away the bride
A big hot air balloon was being inflated on the hillside where a huge Hollywood-style event sign had been set up. The temperature was even hotter than the day before – 93°F and humid – but cachers are an intrepid bunch and there was a smile on every face. A full day of activities awaited all of the attendees – a group photo, silent auction, educational sessions, caches in the park to find, a vendor expo, catered lunch, a reviewer panel for Q&A, and more. There was also something you rarely get to see – a geo-wedding!
Two cachers from Texas, Crossmage and Phoenix Lady, were married on the GeoWoodstock stage, with Signal giving away the bride! I had a wonderful day meeting more new geocachers than I can count and putting faces to names I had only seen online. I love our friendly, helpful, and clever community. All too soon, it was time for the closing ceremony and announcement of GeoWoodstock XI’s location. It will all happen again next year in Lakeland, FL!
Watch Geocaching.com Presents: World Wide Flash Mob (WWFM) for a look inside this geocaching phenomenon. The 9th geocaching WWFM is just over a week away. On June 9, more than 300 WWFM events are already planned in 31 countries. Those who attend WWFM IX will walk away with great memories, a smiley, and receive a custom WWFM Souvenir on their Geocaching.com profile. The Souvenir will be awarded within 72 hours of the WWFM.
WWFM in Germany
At least 10,000 geocachers are expected to attend WWFM IX events on June 9, 2012. Find an event near you by exploring the WWFM IX Bookmark list.
Check out this blog post for advice if you plan to attend a WWFM.
Subscribe to the official Geocaching.com YouTube channel to be one of the first to see new videos about the evolving world of geocaching. Watch the more than 50 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.
