That’s a Geocache?!? The Unending Evolution of Geocaches

Traditional geocache

For most, the evolution of the geocache container begins with a sturdy great-great-great-grandfather geocache.  It’s the iconic metal ammo can. But in one decade of geocaching, the geocache family tree branched off into dozens of directions.

Each branch embodies the spirit of evolution.  Geocaches now blend more and more into their natural environment.  Say you place a cache on the outskirts of an estuary?  There’s a bird geocache for that.  You’re considering an urban cache on a park bench?  We’ve heard of magnetic microcaches that resemble gum for that.

Take a quick look at the picture below on the left.  Guess how many geocaches are in that picture?  Ok, I know there are a few caveats. There can only be one geocache every tenth of a mile and none of these are activated, but how many possible geocaches do you see? The answer is… six. The bird, those pinecones, that rock, even two of the sticks are actually geocaches.

How many geocaches are hidden in this picture
Just enough room for a log

Geocaches are not the only part of the geocaching equation to evolve.  Geocachers developed a keener “geo-sense” over the past decade.  Say that you placed a corn cob shaped cache in field of corn… the cache will be found.

A cache like this one pictured at the bottom of the page is all in a days work for an average cacher.

I’d love to hear your most difficult find.  How many DNF’s did you log before uncovering the cache?  Let us know, just post a comment to this blog.

Thermometer reveals a geocache

Geocoin – Geocaching.com’s Lost & Found Video

Meet the man behind one of the most engaging evolutions in geocaching… the geocoin. Jon Stanley, alias Moun10bike, is now a Lackey.  But almost ten years ago he forged his way as a pioneer in geocaching.  Go along with Jon as he retraces his steps in placing the first geocoin.

See all the Lost & Found videos, from a geocache in space to an 88 year old geocacher, here.

Grandpa Geocacher – Geocaching.com’s Lost & Found Video

Bruce Alexander began geocaching three years ago, when he was 85.  See how geocaching unites three generations of his family and keeps Bruce active in his retirement.

Share the video with family and friends and aging adults searching for a fun way to explore, engage and stay active!

You can view all the Lost & Found videos, from a geocache in space to geocachers cleaning up the environment, here.

The Four Types of Geocaching Texans Who will Rule the Universe

I’ve thought about how to rule the universe since I started writing this sentence. I’m therefore an expert. I believe it takes only four types of people. (Are you writing notes?) 1) The Genius 2) The Champion 3) The Mad Scientist and 4) People Who Really Really Like Each Other

We’re traveling around the world shooting videos showcasing the best of geocaching. On a trip to Texas to shoot video for Geocaching.com’s Lost and Found stories, we met all four types of people. Watch out universe.

The genius is Mikal Hart. He invented a device that’ll change the face of geocaching by putting the game in reverse. Hard to imagine? It’s not for a genius, and soon it won’t be hard to imagine for the rest of us.

The Mad Scientist is Richard Garriott, the best type of mad scientist.  His innovative video games like Ultima kept us entertained and on the edge of madness for decades. He not only went to extremes, like space and the ocean floor, to place the highest and lowest caches. Garriott is also about to launch one of the most imaginative (and potentially frightening) caches on earth.

The Champion is known as Mrs. B. She’s a school teacher in McKinney, Texas. Mrs. B is using geocaching to teach her 5th graders about coordinates, distance, geography, math and interactive learning. The kids love her and learning, and that’s tough.

The final and possibly most important type of people are those that really really like each other. Dillar and Karen are those people. Karen proposed to Dillar by using stealth and their favorite hobby, geocaching. Dillar unsuspectingly opened the cache “All the little things I love” and by the time the cache closed, was engaged.

Yeah, watch out universe they’re all in Texas. Thankfully I believe they don’t want the administrative hassle of running the universe. Imagine the paperwork, the meetings, the power mongering. If you want to watch their stories (and others) you don’t have to wait long. Lost and Found launches this May.