The story of the first Reverse Geocache™ took nearly an entire year to play out, from its auspicious and mysterious beginnings to a climactic ending. The intercontinental suspense just ended in November.

Inventor Mikal Hart shifted geocaching in reverse for a wedding present last year. Hart’s “Reverse Geocaching Puzzle Box” is a locked box that needs you to deliver it to a secret location.  The GPS-enabled box won’t unlock until you take it to the pre-programmed destination. Hart delivered the first-ever Reverse Geocache™ as a wedding present for friends.

The wedding took place in Paris last autumn. Hart gave the gift with no explanation. The curious wooden box had just a single button and a small display. When the button was pressed the display flicked to life and read, “Attempt 1 of 50: Distance 391km.”

Hart’s original Reverse Geocache™ was promptly placed on a shelf in the couple’s home, and for months sat largely forgotten.

But Hart almost immediately began stirring interest. He posted an article, and before long hundreds of thousands of people were enraptured by the romance and adventure contained in that one little box. But not his newlywed friends. They didn’t see the articles in major newspapers, the videos on YouTube or discover that Mikal started producing more and more Reverse Geocaches™.

Fast-forward nearly a year. A major motion picture is now in the works using a Reverse Geocache as part of the plot, Mikal  is traveling spreading the story of the Reverse Geocache™ far and wide, and still nothing from his friend.

Then, one day last month, an email arrives. The not-so newlyweds tracked down the location where their box would open. The original Reverse Geocache™ whirled and unlocked on a small island in the English Channel. The presents inside were gift cards. But the married couple said that the adventure was the real present, writing, “There’s some pretty cool and clever design in that little box!”

Mikal was able to sit down with his friend recently to tell them how the Reverse Geocache™ had evolved since their wedding. He details the conversation in a recent blog post. He says: “His response was just what you’d hope and expect: surprise and amazement yielding to quiet delight, and finally the inevitable series of questions and suggestions for how the magic of the puzzle box might be kept alive. ”

For more information and to read Mikal’s complete account of the story click here. Click on the video below to see the Geocaching.com Lost & Found video on the Reverse Geocache™.