/ Eric Schudiske /

Basel 1 GCG95Z GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 9, 2012

 

View near the cache location

Basel 1 (GCG95Z) hides along the banks of the Rhine River in Switzerland. It’s the most “favorited” geocache in the country. Basel 1 has accumulated nearly 300 Favorite Points to date. Some geocachers simply write in their logs, “One of the best caches in the world!!!!”

The traditional geocache was hidden by muelsee in 2003. The geocache combines an historic location with an unforgettable experience. The difficulty three, terrain one geocache has been found by more than 1500 geocachers from around the world.

Read the logs on the cache page for an idea of what makes the geocache so spectacular. Many of the log entries are in German and may need to be translated. Warning as spoilers may be contained in the logs.

View from near the cache location of a reenactment on the Rhine

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.

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

GeoKu – Geocaching Haiku Contest

Signal crafting a Haiku

Are you like this? When you’re not geocaching, you’re thinking about geocaching. Maybe when you’re off the geotrail, you’re planning your next geocache? Or maybe you’re exploring your thoughts on geocaching through the majesty of a Haiku.Yeah, you read that right, a geocaching Haiku. The geocaching Haiku is alive and well, and a great Haiku could win you serious geocaching swag.

PodCacher podcast is sponsoring the “GeoKu – Geocaching Haiku Contest.” A geocaching Haiku looks like this.

Green and lush landscape
Rhythmic footsteps towards our goal
We seek adventure

A Haiku is composed of three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables and final line is five syllables again. Interested in competing? Check out the contest and details here. The winner will be selected by a panel of Lackeys. You have until Friday, April 20 to enter. Good luck!

/ Adela B /

Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – April 4, 2012

This Week…

Be a Better Hider

 

Being a better hider begins long before a lucky adventurer claims a FTF (First to Find) on your brand new geocache. It even begins before you submit your freshly hidden geocache for review. Some geocachers are already experts at hiding great caches. For the rest of us, here are four quick pointers to be a better hider.

1 — Land Owner or Manager Permission
Make sure to get permission from the land owner or manager before placing a geocache – even many public locations require permission. This step will help to offer a great experience to geocachers without them being concerned about seeking the cache at that location, and means you won’t need to worry about cache removal.

2 — Location
Geocaching guides treasure-seekers to a precise set of coordinates. The adventure begins there. Make sure that “there” is the right “there.” You should double (even triple) check your coordinates using a dedicated GPS receiver. Avoid using smartphones to establish coordinates for new geocaches.

3 — Weather Proofing
Do your best to ensure the cache and the log sheet are weather proof. A soggy log sheet can dampen the joy of geocaching. See examples of great geocache containers that help keep the log and contents of the cache dry.

4 — Creative Caching
Place the geocache in a location you would like people to visit. Ask yourself, “Would I show my favorite person in the world this geocache?” Is the geocache placed in a scenic overlook? Does it reveal a hidden history or is the geocache experience creative? If you answered at least one “yes,” you’re on the right rack to placing a great cache. Check out some creative cache ideas here.

You can learn even more. Get to know the geocaching guidelines. Your geocache needs to meet all the guidelines before it is published.

 

/ Eric Schudiske

Shop Geocaching April 2012 Newsletter

Cachin’s the Fashion!

We like a good joke here at Groundspeak and we were excited to present a fun video to help enhance your April Fool’s Day this year.  In doing so, our production artist Roxxy came up with what we think is an awesome t-shirt design.  We think all of you will love the design as much as we do, so we’ve added the new ‘Cachin’s the Fashion’ design in the shop.  Order yours today! (US only – See International Distributors here)

Make your own trackables!

Have you considered making your own trackable geocoins or other unique trackables?  We work with a number of manufacturers that can help you through the entire process of creating your own trackable geocoins or tags.  You also have the option of ordering tracking codes directly from Groundspeak for unique projects such as a personal swag item that you already leave in geocaches.  To learn more about the process or to see pricing and minimums, please check out our tracking code policy.  If you’re working on a smaller project that doesn’t meet our minimum order requirements, consider purchasing a Travel Bug and adding the unique tracking code onto the item you want to make trackable (just remember not to send out the tags as well to avoid confusion in the game).

Cache In Trash Out (CITO)

Just a reminder that the official CITO weekend is coming up soon!  We have a variety of official CITO merchandise including trackables and trash bags that can help enhance any CITO event!   The 10th annual Cache In Trash Out weekend will be held April 21st and 22nd.  View the CITO event calendar to see what events will be in your area!  Starting in mid-April, the free sticker of the month will feature the CITO logo.  One sticker is included for free with every order (while supplies last).

What’s New!

As usual, we’re always busy adding new items to the shop to keep the selection fresh.  This past month has seen the addition of several new trackables.  These include the first five in a series of trackable State Medallions (Washington, Oregon, Kansas, Illinois and California).  A fun Treasure Hunt board game, new Farmtagz and the GeoSoftie Signal Travel Tags have all been added to the mix.  Check these out and more in our What’s New section!

 

 

 

 

For orders outside the United States, please visit our International Distributors list.  They feature many of the same listings in our shop as well as unique geocaching items of their own.

If you have any questions or suggestions on products for the website, please send us an email to shop@geocaching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske

Citygarden Tour GC2AX7Q GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 2, 2012

Sculpture located at "Citygarden Tour"

Urban Multi-Caches can reveal take geocaching a  park, new vantage point, or hidden gem in a city geocachers never expected. “Citygarden Tour” (GC2AX7Q) delivers adventurers to a sculpture park in the middle of an American city better know for blues music and barbeque than public art.

St. Louis geocachers tracking down the answers for this difficulty three, terrain two Multi-Cache walk away discovering a slice of St.Louis culture.

The cache requires adventures to answer six questions they unlock by exploring the park. The questions ask people to find the birth year of artists, count wind chimes, and more. The answers are then plugged into a formula that is found on the cache page. The results complete a set of coordinates which lead geocachers to the cache.

Sculpture located in "Citygarden Tour"

Strider hid the micro cache in  2010. It’s accumulated more than 30 Favorite Points. Cache who logged the “Citygarden Tour” write, “This was a totally awesome cache. We thoroughly enjoyed taking in all the features in the park… Thanks for bringing us here, and for an imaginative cache.”

Have you ever completed an Urban Multi-Cache that helped you explore a city?

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.