/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching.com Presents: “First to Find”

[Editor’s note: This video contains spoilers and was filmed with cache-owner permission. The video is in Czech. For English subtitles, play the video then click on the CC button.]

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Geocaching.com Presents: “First to Find.” Watch this video and be part of the hunt to claim a FTF on a newly published cache (GC2X6AW). The Geocaching.com  video team perched at ground zero as a Groundspeak Reviewer published the cache listing. The cache is located in the rural countryside of the Czech Republic. The crew counted the minutes until the first cacher arrived, but being FTF on this cache would take more than being first to the coordinates. Watch to find out why. The video mentions “instant notification” which is a Premium Member feature. Find out more about instant notifications and Premium Memberships here.

The next Geocaching.com Presents video showcases some of the most exciting geocaches with Favorite Points. It’s scheduled for release on October 20th. See a preview of all the Czech videos to come by clicking here.  Geocaching.com will  continue to release English, Czech and German language geocaching videos in the coming months. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be one of the first to see new videos. Watch the more than 40 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.

Geocaching.com uvádí: “First to Find.” Podívejte se na toto video a zúčastněte se lovu a závodu o FTF nově uveřejněné keše (GC2X6AW). Video posádka z Geocaching.com číhala u cíle, když kontrolor společnosti Groundspeak zveřejnil podrobnosti keše. Keš se nachází ve venkovské krajině České republiky. Posádka počítala minuty, než dorazil první kačer, ale získat FTF této kešky nebude tak snadné. Dívejte se a zjistíte proč. Video obsahuje spojlery a bylo natočeno s povolením majitele keše.

Další video Geocaching.com uvádí se soustředí na geokeše s nejvyšším počtem příznivých bodů. Plánujeme jeho zveřejnění na 20. října. Podívejte se na ukázky všech českých video záznamů kliknutím zde. V příštích měsících bude Geocaching.com také dále zveřejňovat geokešingová videa v angličtině, češtině a němčině. Podívejte se na více než 40 video záznamů, které vyrobil Geocaching.com na naší video stránce.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – October 5, 2011

Trackable Glossary

Geocaching Trackables add another level of fun to the game, but they also add a few terms that you may be unfamiliar with. Here is a guide to the key Trackable terms so that you know what to do the next time you come across a Trackable in a cache.

Retrieve or Grab — When you have picked up a Trackable to move it to another geocache, you must log its movement on Geocaching.com. The two logging options that you have in this situation are “Retrieve it from [cache name]” and “Grab it.” If you took the Trackable from the cache in which it is listed, choose to retrieve it. If you took the item from elsewhere, choose to grab it.

Discovered — This is a logging option for Trackables that indicates you have seen the Trackable, but have not moved it. At geocaching events, geocachers often “discover” the Trackables in others’ collections.

Missing — If a Trackable has been missing for some time, the Trackable owner or the owner of the cache in which the Trackable is listed can mark the item “missing.” This will remove it from the cache inventory and place the Trackable in an “unknown location” so that others will know it is no longer in the cache. More info.

Collectible — Trackable owners can choose to set their Trackables as “Collectible” or “Not Collectible.” “Collectible” may mean that the owner has decided to keep it in their personal collection or, if you find it in a cache, that they are okay with you keeping the item and placing it in your own collection. “Not collectible” indicates that the item should continue to travel. The Trackable’s page will state the owner’s preference. If the page indicates that the owner has not set their collectible preference, you should assume that the item is not collectible. Learn more about Collectibles, including how Trackable owners benefit from setting their preference.

/ Eric Schudiske /

“At Rest At His Master’s Feet” GCMCTM GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – October 3, 2011

At Rest At His Master's Feet...

Tokyo public transit crowds with millions of people each day. Under the blur of hurried commuters, one train station holds a story of canine loyalty. “At Rest At His Master’s Feet” (GCMCTM) reveals the story for geocachers on the hunt. Geocaching.com Charter Member Biggles Bear hid the Multi-Cache in 2005. The cache page tells the story of a faithful canine, Hachiko, who would greet his master at the train station.

Cachers read, “Hachiko would accompany his master to Shibuya station in the morning, and then meet him again in the evening when he returned from his work at the Imperial University. This routine continued until one day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill at work and later died. Despite this Hachiko continued to make his way to the station and patiently await his master’s return. Hachiko became a familiar sight to commuters as he kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.”

Cache container for "At Rest At His Master's Feet..."

The difficulty two, terrain one Multi-Cache starts at the memorial for the professor and his loyal dog. To find he final stage with the cache container, adventurers must use information found at the site to deduce the final coordinates.

A cacher who logged a smiley on the cache writes, “Seeing Hachiko’s memorial and sharing the story with my two sons was very heartwarming. We battled mosquitoes (might want to prepare yourself with bugspray if you plan to visit) to figure out the calculations.”

The cache as received 14 Favorite Points to date.

Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the globe. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching Vlogs and Online Videos – The New Horizon of Caching Media

Geocaching.com's YouTube Vlog: GoGeocaching

Reading is one thing. Seeing and doing and hearing is another. Enter geocaching vloggers and geocaching video series. As globalization advances, so does technology and the interconnectedness of social media. Vlogging, or “video blogging” has become an increasingly popular medium for sharing and connecting people all over the world.

Geocaching vlogs, as well as YouTube based TV series, have proven to be influential and highly popular amongst the geocaching community. For example, if you search for ‘geocaching’ on Youtube.com, you discover 7,000 geocaching channel results, including the Geocaching.com channel GoGeocaching. Many geocachers use geocaching vlogs and TV series to show and tell and allow people to both see and experience the hobby.

Zaid Adham is one of the many people flooding the global bandwidth with geocaching videos. He is a Canadian director and producer. Zaid’s most recent creation is a geocaching TV series based in the Middle East. The series, titled ‘Treasure Hunters’, is being broadcast on satellite TV and posted to his vlog.

Zaid, Middle Eastern Vlogger

Zaid decided to make the TV series because he says he, “… loved the idea that an adventure such as this can be so full of excitement and exploration on so many levels.” Zaid explains that, “the point of creating the show was to raise awareness of the sport in a region where outdoor activities are greatly cherished in the months when the weather allows them.” For example, in Saudi Arabia,  temperatures can rise above 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the months of June through August.

Zaid says that the Middle East is home to some of the most challenging and extreme caches. His series focuses both on geocaching and the region itself.  He says, “the show not only covers the hide and its find, but the significance of the area it’s been placed in. This makes it both adventurous and educational!” Zaid’s passion to share geocaching with the world is evident in his excited proclamation in his videos: “Guess what?! You don’t have to just watch this! You can do this too!” Tune in to Treasure Hunters in order to take part in many captivating Middle Eastern geocaching adventures!

Alex, German Vlogger

alexschweigert is another prominent international geocaching vlogger. His German vlog, Geocaching Nordfriesland, is successful amongst German geocachers because, as Alex states, “It just makes [people] enjoy that outdoor hobby combined with weblog/videos.” Alex’s vlog has been around for more than ten years and covers an assortment of geocaching related posts including geocaching advice and videos highlighting unique geocaching experiences. Alex uses his intense curiosity and big personality to attract viewers to the adventure that is geocaching. Alex states, “There are so many beautiful things in life that are worth discovering.”

Both Zaid and Alex showcase geocaching in their local language. They are among a substantial number of vloggers who talk about geocaching in languages other than English.

Make sure to check back next week for a blog on English language vloggers, including one vlogger who has over 40,000 hits on his site – and they just started producing geocaching videos this year.


 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – September 28, 2011

Seasonal Geocache Maintenance

As the northern hemisphere passes into fall and spring comes to the southern hemisphere, it is time for geocache owners to think about cache maintenance. Seasonal changes can affect both geocache locations and geocache containers. Perhaps the hint to find your cache was “near the log in the middle of the field,” but the log that was very obvious in the winter has since been obscured by tall grass and wild flowers. You will need to visit the cache location to see the new setting and update your hint. Maybe the elements have been hard on your cache container and it needs to be replaced.

There are many other factors that can affect the quality of your cache – everything from animals to full logbooks – so please make sure to visit the cache location every so often and keep an eye out for any “needs maintenance” logs on your cache page. Our goal as a community should be to make sure that any issues with a cache are fixed quickly; geocachers should seldom, if ever, find a cache that needs maintenance. If there is an issue with your cache that cannot be immediately fixed, please temporarily disable the cache listing, so that people do not search for it, and fix the issue as soon as possible.

Read more about proper geocache maintenance.