/ Eric Schudiske /

Preview of Geocaching.com May 4th Website Release

Get ready for a new look and experience on Geocaching.com beginning May 4th. Geocaching.com will go offline for four to six hours on the 4th beginning approximately 9am PDT (GMT -7). Lackeys will be upgrading the database server to improve site performance. We will also be releasing the latest website update, which includes a sleek new design and interface for the homepage. Watch this screencast for a sneak peak of what to expect! Closed captioning on the screencast is available in both English and German.

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/ Eric Schudiske

“Vermont 1” GC86 GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – May 2, 2011

View from near "Vermont 1"

Five months after the first geocache was placed in Oregon state in May of 2000, geocaching had spread Vermont. “Vermont 1” (GC86) was the first geocache placed in the state of covered bridges and brilliant fall colors.

GPS Guy and Michael McNeany placed the Multi-cache on October 15, 2000. More than ten years later, there are now more than 3700 geocaches in Vermont.

But Vermont 1 still has a place in local geocachers hearts. The cache has the most Geocaching.com Favorite Points in the state. The difficulty three, terrain three cache has been found more than 100 times. Located among the wooded rolling hills, this cache offers Geocachers scenic views. The first geocacher to log Vermont 1 this year wrote, “This was the find of the month for us! Thanks for the fun cache hunt and keeping this special one active.” Others thanked GPS Guy and Michael McNeany for planning the cache to take geocachers past a roaring waterfall.

Waterfall on the way to the cache

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.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching.com Presents – Extreme Multi-Caching

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By: Kelly Ranck

Rappelling after a Tree Climb

Consider yourself an adrenaline junkie? Crave physical and mental challenges that include long days of geocaching with “Gear, fear and fun?” If so, Extreme Multi-Caches are your speed. Watch the Geocaching.com Presents video “Extreme Multi-Caching” to experience extreme caching from the comfort (and safety) of your home.

If you’re new to geocaching, a Multi-Cache is a cache that involves two or more locations. An extreme Multi-Cache challenges geocachers to go to their physical limits. The caches are often best enjoyed with an experienced group of geocaching friends. Each location of a Multi-Cache leads to the next, often involving a puzzle of sorts, until you discover the final, physical container.

In the case of Jonathan Burns’ (lefalaf) and Thomas Solly’s (weatherguy726) Extreme Multi-Cache An Extreme Tour of Centralia!, much more than a sense of adventure is required. In this Geocaching.com Presents video ‘Extreme Mulit-Caching’, lefealaf and weatherguy726 are joined by four other geocachers- Dwight Kempf (Clancy’s Crew), Rob Campbell (Sandcast69), Eric Schott (GoHangASalami), and Jeff Kaye (The K-Team). The group wakes up at six am to head to the uniquely dangerous city of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Centralia is a ghost town where steam spews from cracked roadways. An underground coal mine fire has been burning under Centralia since 1962.

Extreme Multi-Cache Rappelling

As the geocachers ascend and rappel up and down trees, scale rocky cliffs, and crawl into deep caves, you will see how this energetic group attempt this five star difficulty/five star terrain twelve stage Extreme Multi-Cache. The cache takes most groups more than ten hours to complete.

The group shows how to experience Extreme Multi-Caches the safe way while challenging your basic human fears such as heights, tight spaces, and bugs (of sorts).

Because Extreme Multi-Caches require working in a team, they are also a great way to build community. The cache page reads, “Like all caches of this type, this cache is best designed to be shared with a group of friends.”

Extreme Multi-Cache Caving

Watch the video to learn more about what it takes to complete an Extreme Multi-Cache. For more Extreme Caching information, visit Extreme-Caching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – April 27, 2011

Website Downtime Wednesday, May 4


On May 4, 2011, Geocaching.com, Waymarking.com, Wherigo.com and all related mobile applications will be going down for several hours as we perform site maintenance. You may or may not be aware that Groundspeak’s servers are powered by hamsters.* We are adding several additional hamsters to the mix**, which should fix website service issues. Groundspeak products will go offline around nine am Pacific Daylight Time (UTC/GMT -seven hours). We are not sure how long it will take to complete the upgrade; we estimate four to six hours, but it may be more or less. We will be providing updates on the 4th via Facebook and Twitter. When the Groundspeak products come back online, Geocaching.com will have an updated look and the website performance will be improved.

*Our servers are not powered by hamsters
**Upgrading our database server

 

Throw a Geocaching-Themed Celebration!

 

Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt? The pursuit of hidden treasure turns people of all ages into outdoor adventurers. We are following the dotted line to where X marks the spot, only nowadays the dotted line is a GPS device and the X is a geocache.

The universal appeal of geocaching makes it a great activity for any celebration. It entertains and serves as a great teambuilding activity at children’s birthday parties, family gatherings, company meetings, and other events.

Geocaching.com member fatman1969 recently threw a geocaching-themed birthday party for his daughter Jordan. He hid goodie bags in the woods near the party and marked their coordinates. Each girl drew a number and received a set of coordinates. She then navigated to the location and found her hidden “geocache” (goodie bag). fatman1969 says, “I think the girls really enjoyed it.”

Guests at your geocaching-themed celebration can search for geocaches already hidden nearby or seek temporary geocaches that you have hidden for the event. Temporary geocaches cannot be listed on Geocaching.com, but you can create your own course by following these three steps at each cache location:

1. Hide the cache

2. Mark the coordinates on your GPS device

3. Input these coordinates into any other devices that you will use for the event

4. Set the teams loose to go find their geocaches

In some cases, it may be better to hide your own caches for the event since you may want to target them to a specific age group or fill them with extra special SWAG. You should still obtain land owner or land manager permission to hide these caches. This will help to ensure that your celebration is not interrupted or cut short by a concerned individual. Please remember to clean up the area when your party is over!

Have you thrown a geocaching-themed party? Tell us about it on Facebook or Twitter.

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Arngast” GC1JC94 GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – April 25, 2011

"Arngast"

Discover a lost island in Germany while attempting to claim a smiley on the EarthCache “Arngast” (GC1JC94).

Geocacher Keitaro64 created the difficulty 2.5, terrain 4.5 EarthCache in August of last year. The cache page describes the adventure like this, “The walk starts on land that once was sea and leads into the sea, which once was land.”

Geocachers walk their way across salt meadows and tidal flats. Geocachers eventually navigate their way to the remain of Arngast island. The land, along with a dozen small villages, was claimed by the sea after centuries of flooding.  The hiking tour covers six waypoints. Geocachers must answer questions about the location to claim a smiley.

Arngast

The EarthCache is quickly becoming popular, already amassing six Geocaching.com Favorite Points.  Favorite Points. 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.