Geocaching Alter Egos: TheVillains!

TheVillains

Some people pack a GPS device or smartphone, a pen and some gear to hit the geocaching trail. Mr. and Mrs. Mysterious who geocache under the team name TheVillains also pack mustaches, sunglasses, and comic books. Their geocaching alter ego is all about spreading the joy of evil geocaching. Their logs and cache pages are populated with quotes like this, “Horrible Hunting…. Muhahahahahahaha!!!!”

When asked by Geocaching.com “How evil is your evil geocaching?” Mr. and Mrs. Mysterious simply replied, “Very.”

TheVillains humble beginnings

TheVillains beginnings are humble enough. They started geocaching in February of this year. Mr. and Mrs. Mysterious write, “Well it all started with comic books. We wanted to leave a trademark item and we decided that comic books were awesome and so were the villains in them. So we decided to become villains ourselves with awesome disguises and take over the world of geocaching.”

Like all great comic book villains, the geocaching team has a simple, yet universal villain goal. They say, “Our goal is to dominate the world of geocaching by finding every single geocache in the world!!!! So one day your own geocache will be dominated by TheVillains!!!!! BEWARE!!!!! We also leave every geocache with our calling card and a villainous comic book (if it fits).”

They’ve definitely left a mustachioed mark on their geocaching community. They write, “We get a few emails from other geocachers after finding their ‘difficult’ geocaches, challenging us to find others. We also have quite a fan base, and get photos of people who have found our own geocaches… or not… posing as if they had a cool mustache like our own.”

TheVillains cache page log photos

With their alter egos TheVillains injected some… well… theatrical, villainous flare into the Southern California geocaching scene. They even square off against arch enemies.

Mr. and Mrs. Mysterious write, “We published our most well know geocache Mrs. Mysterious’s Mustaches (GC316RZ) where there is a series of false geocaches that when you find them, they have similar logos to our own, but the wrong mustache! We got a message from a fellow geocacher saying that she recently published a cache nearby and it was just found by our arch nemesis’s BBsquared and Spoons1 and that they are probably on their way to ours to be the FTF right now!”

It’s at this point where the evil geocaching duo sprang into action. They say, “So we put on our disguises and jumped in the car and drove over. Sure enough, there they were crawling under bushes and looking in trees trying to find our cache. We rolled down the window, they recognized us obviously, and we gave them a few foreboding hints leading them in the wrong direction and drove off with a Muhahahahahaha!!! It took them over an hour to find it.”

TheVillains, the next generation

BBsquared logged the cache and wrote, “We hopped like bunnies, searched in trees, TheVillains stopped by and laughed at me. We searched and looked and laughed, our clothes are pretty dirty but Spoons1 and I weren’t leaving until we logged a smiley. T4T [thanks for the] very devious and horrible $ – Muhahahahahahahahahahahahaha.” He finished by saying, “Happy – errrr I mean Horrible hunting.”

TheVillains are still in their first year of geocaching, they’re gaining notoriety and a following. The photo to the left was fresh crops of villains was recently uploaded on their Facebook page.

Even TheVillains mustaches are open to change. “We have been through a plethora of mustaches we recently grew these new handle bar ones, what do think? But we are always looking for new styles. But as far as costume changes go, we are sticking with the glasses and ‘stashes as our trademark logo shows.”

TheVillains at a night-cache

If you’re thinking about a career in evil geocaching, or creating an alter ego in your geocaching community, TheVillians have advice. “We can always use more henchmen…. But really, just be creative. No one likes finding lame geocaches, try to make everything you do interesting and create a theme, maybe one day you can be as cool as us….. not…..”

Then they signed their email with their trademark sign off, “Horrible Hunting,- TheVillains”

 

Geocaching.com Presents: “The Rock”

[This video contains spoilers with express permission from cache owners. The video is in German. For English subtitles, play the video then click on the CC button.]

 

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A war-torn bridge along the banks for the Rhine River serves as the imposing destination for geocachers attempting, “The Rock” (GC1EJ43). Watch the Geocaching.com Presents video, “The Rock” to experience what over five hundred geocachers have accomplished. Go along as geocaching daredevils attempt this physically intense difficulty five, terrain five puzzle cache. The cache is one of Europe’s most popular geocaches with more than 300 Favorite Points. Geocachers should only attempt “The Rock” if they have advanced climbing experience and proper equipment.

Filming of "The Rock"

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 50 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.

Eine am Ende des Kriegs zerstörte Brücke am Ufer des Rheins dient als imposantes Ziel für Geocacher, die den Cache “The Rock” bezwingen wollen. Schau Dir das Geocaching.com Presents Video, “The Rock” an, um zu erfahren, was schon einige geschafft haben. Schau zu und sei dabei, wenn waghalsige Geocacher diesen physisch intensiven T5/D5 Rätselcache machen. Der Cache ist einer der beliebtesten Geocaches in Europa mit mehr als 300 Favoriten-Punkten. Geocacher sollten “The Rock” nur dann angehen, wenn sie fortgeschrittene Klettererfahrungen und die richtige Ausrüstung haben.

The Rock

Geocaching.com wird auch in den kommenden Monaten weitere Geocaching Videos auf Englisch, Tschechisch und Deutsch veröffentlichen. Abonniere unseren YouTube-Kanal. So erfährst Du umgehend, wenn wir ein neues Video veröffentlicht haben. Du kannst Dir inzwischen mehr als 50 Videos auf unserer Videoseite anschauen, die von Geocaching.com produziert wurden.

Geocaching in the Dark: The Great Canadian Night Caching Event

Geocaching doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. That’s especially true when the winter days grow short. A group of Ontario, Canada geocachers known as the BFL Crew go night caching every Friday. Once a year though, it’s not just a few people on the hunt for night caches – more than two hundred geocachers take the woods after dark. Saturday, October 29 will mark the sixth annual “BFL BOOT CAMP.”

The cache page promises, “an evening full of mischief planned, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy it.” John Robb of teamvoyagr is one of more than 15 organizers for the event. He’s been introducing people to night caching for years. He says, “It is natural for people to be apprehensive about going in the woods at night to find caches. Your senses become heightened. You have to keep your eyes open for branches, roots, rocks and other obstacles that are in your path. Noises sound different and much closer at night. The creaking tree always seems closer when it’s dark. This heightened sensitivity is what makes night caching so much fun. You feel the experience more than you see it. ”

BFL Boot Camp

The night caching community has grown over the last six years of BFL Boot Camp.  Attendance for the 2011 event has  already climbed to more than 200 “will attends” and there’s still time to register.

John says part of that success of the event is experiencing the joy of night caching and part of it is enjoying the geocaching community. Hey says, “The BFL Bootcamp combines the fun of caching at night with the group camaraderie of caching with friends. Small groups form up and head out to find the caches. The event runs from 2100h to 0400h and over the course of the night groups will encounter each other on the trails.  At those meetings previous finders pass on encouragement and warnings about the challenges of certain caches.  As word spreads anticipation mounts.”

This year John says there’s more to experience at night than any other BFL Boot Camp. He says, “This year there have been caches that use reflectors, ultra-violet light (UV), infra-red light, glow in the dark, lasers, LEDs, polarized light, Wherigo and one even used braille.”

If you can’t make it Ontario for the BFL Bootcamp, John offers this advice for your own night caching event, “Start with the basics. Not everyone wants to go traipsing through the woods at night. Create some caches that aren’t too complicated so that people can be rewarded for overcoming their apprehension with a find or two.   Finding a night cache is more about your awareness skills than it is about your GPSr. ”

Here’s four easy tips from John about how to get started night caching in small groups:

1) Find a Partner: (or partners): John says, “[We] encourage group searching.  We don’t advise doing anything in the woods alone at night.”

BFL Boot Camp

2) Light up the Night: John says, “Another important point about night caching is having good lights.  An LED headlamp is the best type of light to use.  FireTacks [special reflectors] seem to show up better with an LED light.  Anything that is retro reflective is much brighter the closer the light source is to your eye.” You may also want to bring a UV light. Many night caching clues involve UV light.

3)Don’t go Dark: John says, “And don’t forget the extra batteries.”

4) Be Aware: Check out some of these favorite night caches to see what’s out there. John says, “Blind Man’s Bluff (GC2G4AV) which required the finder to use locate six tubes that had braille numbers punched on the inside. Underworld (GC2D81G).  This cache required the finder to enter several slot caves in the Niagara Escarpment and locate reflectors.  This was a physically as well as mentally challenging cache. A tricky cache from two years ago was Signs of Night (GC1Y19Z).   The simplicity of this cache can fool you. My group couldn’t figure it out without the help of the hint. I really enjoyed this cache for its elegant simplicity.”

For more on night caching check out this Geocaching.com video.

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15 Countries in 24 Hours – One Big Day of Geocaching

Click on the image to see the geocaching team's official site

Nine geocachers invested months of planning and preparing for a single day this weekend. The group based in the Netherlands included Team Mac Bean Stash, The Heuv, Ellino, Mr. Loggy, Demostar, The Axe Factor, and Fine-Line. They all launched on their mission on October 9, 2011. (That day can also be read as 9/10/11 – if written day/month/year.) Their goal was simple and extraordinarily complex.

Every geocacher enjoys the game their own way. Some enjoy spending months on one puzzle cache or hiking for days to find a dozen caches in the wilderness. This group wanted to challenge their wits, endurance and planning abilities to claim a world record in the geocaching community. The geocachers researched the most countries any group logged within 24 hours. Geocaching.com does not keep nor endorse official records.

Latitude 47 posted this article in August about a group of three geocachers who logged geocaches in ten countries in 24 hours. A reaction came back that a group of geocachers from Sweden accomplished 14 countries in 24 hours.

The geocaching group from the Netherlands set out to break the record. They say on their official website that they beat 14 countries in 24 hours. The group says they geocached in 15 countries in 24 hours. They countries, in no particular order include, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland in 24 hours.

They also promise more details will be available soon. After a cache run like that, there must be time to re-coup. Check back for updates in the story as they occur.

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, titledTreasure 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.