The search for the EarthCache “Glaciar Perito Moreno – Patagonia” (GC1JPHG) brings geocachers to a natural wonder of South America. The Southern Patagonian Ice Field represents the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water. To claim a smiley on this EarthCache adventurers must email the answers to two questions and a picture to the cache owner. Geocachers will only be able to find the answer to the questions if they’ve arrived at the coordinates on the cache page.
Glaciar Perito Moreno - Patagonia
Dutzig created the difficulty 2.5, terrain 2.5 cache in 2008. So far, nearly 80 geocachers have logged a “Found it.”
The cache page details the powerful potential of the “Perito Moreno Glacier.” Dutzig writes: “The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. Periodically the glacier advances over the L-shaped “Lago Argentino” (“Argentine Lake”) forming a natural dam which separates the two halves of the lake when it reaches the opposite shore. With no escape route, the water-level on the Brazo Rico side of the lake can rise by up to 30 meters above the level of the main lake. The enormous pressure produced by this mass of waters finally breaks the ice barrier holding it back, in a spectacular rupture event.” The last rupture of the glacier was documented in July of 2008.
View inside the glacier
Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the world. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on our blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.
You never know where you’ll find a geocacher. Avid geocacher Lorrie LeBlanc (Lorriebird) was piloting an airliner over Florida just as the space shuttle Endeavour launched through the clouds this week. She snapped these pictures. Her pictures went viral, even posting on CNN.com. Here’s her story.
Courtesy: Lorriebird
Lorriebird writes, “I was flying a route from Miami to Montreal on Monday, May 16th. I hadn’t paid much attention to the shuttle launch because I knew I would be working at the time and would miss it. We were cruising at 37,000 feet, and the chatter began on the Jacksonville radio frequency about the launch. Other aircraft started asking for permission to turn toward the launch, but they were denied.
“Then we received a message that the Endeavour was launching in one minute. I started looking at our position relative to the launch site and realized that we were VERY close at only about 40 nautical miles away. I told the Captain that I was flying with that we were the closest plane to this thing! I started looking for it and at that very moment the Endeavour punched up through the clouds in perfect position outside my window! The frequency erupted with questions….JAX center and other planes started asking us what we could see…but I was too busy taking photos to answer them! I mean, if I could have snapped my fingers to re-position our aircraft anywhere else, I wouldn’t have moved it! We absolutely lucked out and were in the right place at the perfect time.
Courtesy: Lorriebird
“I cannot write what I was saying out loud at the time. But all the while I was shooting, I just kept thinking that we were watching history being made. I really cannot describe the feeling properly, because words like amazing and incredible truly don’t cut it for trying to describe that thrill. It took quite a while for the adrenaline rush to cut me some slack! The other pilot and I just looked at one another….did we REALLY just see that????”
Version 2.0 of the Geocaching Application for Android Devices Now Available!
Groundspeak developers are pleased to unveil the latest update to the Geocaching.com Android application. Version 2.0 of the Geocaching.com app for the Android platform is now available in the Android Market. Geocachers will enjoy a new look and feel for the app.
Check out the Geocaching.com blog, Latitude 47, for a full list of updates. We expect to release the latest version of the iPhone Application in the next couple of weeks.
Find the Gecko Sweepstakes
The GEICO Gecko has teamed up with Groundspeak to give away 20 Magellan eXplorist GC GPS units and release 6,000 trackable Geckos into the wild. It’s free and easy to participate in any (or all!) of the following ways:
1. Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of 20 Magellan eXplorist GC GPS units, valued at $150! This is one of the top-selling GPS devices among geocachers.
2. Help the trackable Geckos meet their goals by moving them from cache to cache. 6,000 Geckos will be released to spread the word about the Sweepstakes. Note: You don’t need to actually find one to enter the Sweepstakes!
3. Request a Free trackable Gecko and we’ll mail you a brand new, un-activated one (while supplies last) as long as you agree to place it in a geocache and help it get started on a geocaching journey.
Groundspeak developers unveil the latest update to the Geocaching.com Android application. Version 2.0 of the Geocaching.com app for the Android platform became available on May 18. Geocachers will enjoy a new look and feel for the app. They will also experience more powerful search options and an overall enhanced treasure-hunting adventure. The geocaching adventure will even last longer: developers increased the performance of the app, extending the battery life.
New User Interface for "Nearest Caches," "Geocache Details" and "Trackables"
New Features include:
* Advanced search
– Location Search
– Filter by Cache Types
– Filter by Size
– Exclude Finds
– Filter by Difficulty
– Filter by Terrain
– Search by Geocache Name
– Filter by Other Users’ Finds
* Battery drain issues addressed
* Major User Interface update
* Geocaches, Searches and Pocket Queries may now be saved into custom lists
* True multi-user support; multiple users have their own geocache database on a device
* Most recently viewed geocaches are cached on the device
* New cache icons
* Cache search list remembers your sort settings when retrieving “more” caches
* Log/recent photos can now be found with the actual log. When a log has a photo icon, click the log and the photo will appear. Only the cache photos will be found in the photos link in the cache details
* Added a “waiting” animation when the cache hasn’t yet fully loaded
* There is a photo loading animation instead of a frowny face
* Update a saved geocache by selecting “update” from the menu in cache details
* Cancel Pocket Query download by pressing the back button
Ready to get started?
Android owners can download Groundspeak’s Geocaching for Android Application from the Android Market.
Discuss Geocaching with Android devices and submit feature suggestions on the Groundspeak feedback site.
Editor’s note: Groundspeak Lackeys are traveling thousands of miles from H.Q. this year to share smiles, shake hands and make geocaching memories at more than a dozen Mega-Events worldwide. Nate, akaNate the Great, attended the Mega-Event11 Years! Oeiras – Portugalon May 1st in Lisbon, Portugal. Nate has been a Lackey since 2003 and guides new Groundspeak development as a Product Planner. This is Nate’s account of his trip.
Lackey - Nate the Great
I’m more than 8000 miles from home and among 500 of my closest friends (whom I just met today), in a park outside Lisbon, Portugal having my caricature painted while the DJ spins a-ha‘s “Take On Me.” The absurdity of the situation is enough to keep me grinning like a lunatic for the 10 minutes it takes to complete my portrait. A geocacher swoops in smiling, snaps a picture of my Trackable Lackey nametag, high fives me and then disappears into the crowd. The artist complains: “Please, try and sit still.”
Geocachers: iURKings
It’s difficult to sit still at a Mega Event.
Culture shock? Geocaching is culture. When you’re on the road and feeling out of place, attend a geocaching event and you feel right at home. Witness the familiar cast of characters: the frenetic first-to-finder with smartphone glued to his hand, the prolific cache hider with more Tupperware in the woods than smileys, and more cachers with muddy boots than a pack of school kids on holiday. Except for the lovely shushing sounds of Portuguese being spoken all around me, I could be anywhere right now.
Nate is not pictured
An adventurous spirit is naturally shared by all people, but the Portuguese in particular have exploration baked into the national identity. Age of Discovery explorers like Vasco da Gama brought fame and riches to Portugal from the 15th century to the 17th. You can’t go anywhere in Portugal without tripping over a monument commemorating this voyage or that. Chances are good you will find the solution to a mystery cache on your way down, too. Nowadays you can buy detailed topographical maps at the corner store. This may help explain the huge growth of geocaching in Portugal in the last couple of years as cachers find expression for their urge to explore, and are impelled to rediscover their own backyards. As a country with more than its fair share of enticing and historical backyards, Portugal is ground zero.
Or maybe geocaching is just fun. Why overthink it.
Geocacher TZR
I’m back in the States now, sifting through a notepad of hastily scribbled ideas for improving Geocaching.com. Yes, I admit to an ulterior motive for my presence at the Mega. No, my motive wasn’t only to stuff my face with roasted pork on a spit (heavenly), or to avail myself of local geocachers’ hospitality (limitless), and certainly not to hear 80’s music while becoming a cartoon (bizarre). I wanted to connect with geocachers and learn more about what Groundspeak does right and what we can work to improve. I have learned in my experience as a Lackey the best thing I can do for geocachers is show up and take notes and then help the website match up with how the game is already being played by those muddy boots on the ground. Because cachers in Portugal are at the leading edge of innovation in geocaching, I have my work cut out for me.
