On Saturday, June 11, 2016, anyone can earn the Get Outdoors Day souvenir! To do so, find any geocache or attend any geocaching event.
With over 2.5 million geocaches hidden around the world, you’ll have to make some choices. And choices are hard! To help, here are 7 ways to combine geocaching with another outdoor activity! Continue reading →
Given that my college alma mater’s mascot is a bird (albeit a mythical one—the Jayhawk), perhaps it’s no surprise that some of my favorite geocaches are ones that get me in the air. I love climbing caches!
Climbing for a cache in Florida
Some climbing caches are more accessible than others. Those that require ropes, harnesses and other gear can be fantastic, but may be beyond the reach of non-technical climbers. However, geocaches in trees are often suitable for a wide variety of ages and abilities. So what makes for a great tree climbing geocache experience?
The right tree: It should be sturdy enough for an adult to climb. If the limbs are too thin, it can be hazardous for the geocacher and the tree. (Never damage a tree or other wildlife while attempting to find a geocache.)
The right equipment: Even if you don’t need ropes or harnesses, you must wear the correct footwear and other apparel. Flip-flops are a no-no!
The right day: Don’t attempt to climb in wet, icy or otherwise dangerous conditions. And be sure to bring a friend. Not just to keep an eye on you, but to take great pictures!
Climbing in Iowa
Tree climbing geocaches are a blast. For me, it’s a combination of adrenaline rush and natural beauty that’s hard to beat. Just last week, I was signing a log and thought, “What a spectacular view!” followed quickly by, “Okay, now how exactly am I gonna get down from here?” On that note, I can’t stress enough the importance of safety in your pursuit. If at any point you feel you’re taking an unnecessary risk, just stop and return to terra firma.
Ascending in Nebraska
I could talk all day about my personal favorite tree climbing experiences, but just a few that come to mind are “Bird House” (Fort Myers, FL) and Free Bird (Parkville, MO). Sadly, my tree climbing experience doesn’t yet extend beyond North America. But I hope to change that someday.
Any serious geocacher probably has a list of geocaches they wish to find before they “kick the bucket”, so to speak. We’ll be doing an intermittent series dedicated to bucket list geocaches, and the first theme is, “Amazing Views.” We hope this blog post takes your breath away!
1. GC1FPN1 – München-Venedig / Munich-Venice / Monaco-Venezia Multi-Cache in Bayern, Germany D2/T4 What has 28 legs, spans 3 countries, and covers 560 kilometers (65,000 feet) of altitude? Why, this amazing Multi-Cache of course! Make sure to set aside at least 2-4 days to complete this life-changing journey from Munich, Germany to Venice, Italy.
3. GCVTH7 – Chimney Top Cache Traditional in West Virginia, USA D4/T4.5 The North Fork Mountain Trail offers a plethora of breathtaking views. According to the cache page, “If this trail is the best for scenery in the state (I think it is), then Chimney Top would be the golden crown upon this king of trails.” Gorgeous.
You want me to climb that?!
Breathtaking
Wow!
Hikeable in summer and winter
4. GC3QR3J – Arctic Circle Trail (K –> S) Multi-Cache in Greenland D5/T5 Only found 11 times due to the remote location and D5/T5 rating, this unique Multi-Cache is worth the effort. There are several adorable huts along the way to seek shelter, but make sure to pack in your own food and beverages since there are no stores along the route.
Camping along the way
A slight upgrade in lodging the next night
It’s so quiet above the valley
Stunning sunsets
Time to grab those hiking boots out of storage and get packin’! Special thanks to acadicus, eigengott, and Keystone for their wonderful contributions to this list.
Are there any amazing views you’ve visited while geocaching that you would add to this list? What about other “Bucket List” themes or geocaches you’d like to see featured? Tell us in the comments below!
Yes folks, it’s officially October. We’d like to keep the party going by referring to this month as ROCKtober. Here are 10 ways to make your geocaching world “rock”!
GC5G7A7 – G.P.S. I. NORTH COAST WALK – The Mushroom Rock
This idyllically placed geocache takes you to the North coast of Gozo, Malta with sheer high cliffs. The area shows rock strata and breathtaking views across the Mediterranean sea. If you’ve logged this geocache, you’re probably a really fun guy . :-\
GC5BMM0 – Moon Tower
Since your in Malta, swing on over to nearby Sardegna, Italy. This geocache is on the way to the top of a giant rock with panoramic views. GPS signals can be temperamental here, so check the photos if you need a hint (or even a spoiler).
Tesco Wolf TB visits GCA68D – Stonehenge
Stonehenge has been around for over 7,000 years, and this location has been a Virtual Cache since October 2002. No need to purchase tickets, just post a photo with this amazing wonder from the Middle Ages in the background, and you’re good.
GC45DC3 – Can you eat rocks?
Gluten intolerant? No worries with this loaf of bread. This geocache is located in near at Bread Rock in Castle Peak, Hong Kong. This is a D1.5/T4 cache in a “maze-like-area”, so make sure to do this one with a few geo-buddies!
TB3XM3T – GEOCACHING ROCKS! Geocoin
But why should geocaches get all the glory? Trackables can rock, too. This Geocoin’s page states, “GEOCACHING ROCKS geocoins were designed by FOX 661L‘s friend Adam – DIVINGDJ – who DJ’s Rock Karaoke evenings around Coventry and had the coins created to bring some heavy metal into the geocaching world!”
The now famous Frog Rock has a romantic and heartwarming history. Located at the intersection of Phelps & Hidden Cove roads, Frog Rock was created by two Bainbridge High School sweethearts on “Paint Night”, back in about 1971.
Paint Night is an old tradition for graduating seniors, on Bainbridge Island. They go out and paint their first names and graduation year on the roads. Even back in 1971, the tradition was frowned upon, because motorists would drive over the wet paint, and the paint would slop up off their tires onto their cars.
So, creating Frog Rock was an extraordinarily creative way (and a responsible way) to participate in Paint Night, without painting the roads. Painting the roads was not just frowned upon; it was then, and is now, illegal.
The best part of this story is that, a few years later, the young couple got married and they’ve been together all these years.
GC1G5BY – Tensegrity on Liberty
Maybe it’s the influence of Grunge music, but here’s a second geocache from Washington state that rocks. Until very recently, this was the oldest unfound geocache in the state. But why wasn’t it found for seven years? It’s a D5/T5 geocache with a challenging hike, and 400 feet of intense rock climbing. Geocaching HQ’s own video team attempted this geocache in July of 2015. Watch the breathtaking video here.
GC2FFRV – The Secret of Rolling Stones (USA)
A rolling stone gathers no moss, especially when it’s located in the middle of Death Valley, California. Here you’ll find this Earthcache based on a recently “solved” mystery: self-moving rocks. This phenomenon has been studied for over half a century. Can you figure out how they move?
GCQEVF – Patriotic Rock
This somewhat famous rock in Iowa was originally painted by artist Ray Bubba Sorenson, and is close to (what else?) an ammo can geocache. “For generations, kids have painted slogans, names, and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. Now, it stays painted with something worth seeing. Each year around Memorial Day, Ray uses white paint to cover over his previous year’s work, then spends one to three weeks creating new scenes on his blank canvas.”
GCHFT2 – Earthcache I – a simple geology tour of Wasp Head
Lastly, the very first EarthCache ever created went live on January 10th, 2004 and is located in New South Wales, Australia. Explore this beautiful area and learn about worm burrows, split joints, dikes, drop stones, and fossils (including a Bryozoan colony).
Tell us how geocaching rocks your world in the comments below!
Call me Geocache. Some time ago – never mind how long exactly – having little or no finds in my profile, and no particular geocaches to interest me on shore, I thought I would cache about a little and see the watery part of the T5 rating scale.*
What better way to fill out the Terrain rating on your Fizzy Grid than going underwater to find your caches? Grab your snorkel, SCUBA gear, and wet suits, then check out these awesome and inspiring underwater caches:
GC2W056 Hilma Hooker is located in Bonaire, just off the northern coast of Venezuela. The geocache is almost 30 meters (100 feet) underwater at an actual shipwreck. Some underwater caches have special paper and pencils to sign the log, but for this cache, you must write your name in the sand under the yardarm of the ship’s main mast.
Going for the dive cache!Gotta look out for muggles when “signing” the logHilma Hooker sank on September 12, 1984
The ex-USS Kittiwake was a Submarine Rescue vessel (ASR-13). She was part of the 6th Submarine squadron (SUBRON 6) home ported at the Destroyer-Submarine piers in Norfolk, VA. She was transferred from MARAD to the Cayman Islands Government in August 2009 and was cleaned and remediated in Norfolk, Virginia to become an artificial reef. This included substantial work including the removal of all hazardous materials (like pcb’s, asbestos, mercury, cabling, wires, oils, lubricants and a very long list). Additionally, all thin or loose materials that could break off during or soon after sinking were removed. The Kittiwake is possibly the ‘cleanest’ wreck ever to be sunk as an artificial reef.
Aha! GC4BAC0 Kittiwake has been found!Now time to sign the log.Oh the things you’ll see and do while SCUBAcaching!
Did you know there are freshwater lake sharks in Germany? Well, not technically, but there is a fake shark 30 meters (98 feet) below the surface near GCNQ40 Horka – Pumpenhaus. (You gotta admit that you were taken aback the first time you looked at these photos…) This Virtual Cache is, “…the cache owner’s revenge for all the climbing caches, which [he] will never reach.”
SHARK!!!! Oh, it’s only GCNQ40 Horka – PumpenhausEveryone’s safe. The shark was impaled by… a huge steak knife?This is the beautiful location for this underwater cache
But what if you don’t have all that fancy scuba gear or deep water submersibles? Well, we have a couple of other options for you.
Head over to GC3KG2M Father Thames & The Mermaid (AS TIDES GOES BY) in London, England and wait for the tide to go out. This geocache currently has 387 Favorite points, and you can see why; it’s clever and takes you to a memorable location.
GC3KG2M Father Thames & The Mermaid (AS TIDES GOES BY) is only accessible at low tideLondon Low Tide Truck TBI think I found it!
We got one last geocache that may, ahem, float your boat. GC2H5GD Winnepesauke bumblebee scuba is located about 400 feet from the shore and about 35 feet below the surface. This geocache is available year round by diving in the summer, and ice fishing in the winter. Really depends on your perspective on what’s more difficult.
GC2H5GD in the summerGC2H5GD in the winterAgain, GC2H5GD in the summerAgain, GC2H5GD in the winter!
Have you ever found a geocache underwater? How was it, or what’s holding you back from obtaining this type of cache? Tell us in the comments below!
*Deepest apologies to Herman Melville for this complete and very pathetic rip off of the opening passage to Moby Dick.