One of the joys of geocaching is what you discover on the way to the geocache.

Geocachers searching for One, If By Land (GC16C0) are challenged to hike along the rugged coast of Maine, U.S.A.   They’re rewarded with the skeleton of weathered shipwreck and, according to the cache page, greeted by notorious Maine mosquitoes.

More than 150 geocachers have logged a smiley on this geocache.  It was hidden more than nine years ago in August of 2001.

Hardy adventurers have to travel to Sawyer’s Island, Maine.  The cache reads, “The mosquitoes hope our cache you’ll seek. Under oak, fir and birch, go take a peek. Near water’s edge you will want to be. Just follow trail in clockwise route, past an ancient wreck, you’ll see.”

Cache owner BRLT adopted “One, If By Land” in 2006 and tells us that coordinates may soon be readjusted to bring geocachers even closer to the difficulty two, terrain 1.5 cache.

It might be the ideal time of year to search for “One, If By Land.”  The leaves in Maine are just beginning to change color as the fall season approaches.

Your exploration doesn’t have to stop here. There are now more than 6000 geocaches in Maine, and nearly 1.2 million geocaches around the world.  You can explore all the Geocaches of the Week here.

Wat Prachumrat (GC2D5PM) is one of nearly 500 geocaches in Thailand.  This urban Micro Cache takes treasure hunters outside of Bangkok to the district of Lam Kuk Ka. It was published just last month and has only been logged once so far.

Geocachers visiting the cache will discover a Buddhist temple nearby. The three story gold Buddha you see to your left sits inside.

The geocacher who hid this cache, JamieZel, is the owner of 33 geocaches.

He says, “I love how Geocaching helps people explore what is around them. The place you drive past hundreds of times but never take the time to stop and look. Wat Prachumrat is a great place to stop and see a part of Thailand that most just quickly drive by. Yes there are many temples and each one is beautiful but this one had an interesting twist. A huge statue of Buddha. The temple is very peaceful and one that I go past a lot while taking the daughters out to a wake board park.”

He goes on to say, “I hope over the years to draw more locals and tourists out of the suburban jungle to see the beauties that Thailand has to offer and use Geocaching as a tool to do so.”

There are now more nearly 1.2 million geocaches around the world.  You can explore all the Geocaches of the Week here.

Have you ever geocached internationally?

Sometimes what you see isn’t what you get.  According to the cache owner, the geocache “Totem Pole Rock” (GCGY8P) is really Gooney Bird Rock. Whether you call it Totem Pole or Gooney Bird, hcameron‘s hide has still been logged nearly 200 times.

The difficulty 1, terrain 1.5 geocache was placed in September of 2003.  It has been found by geocachers from around the world.  Adventurers simply drive outside of Moab, Utah to find the geocache.  They should exercise some caution. As indicated by the vehicle in the picture above, four-wheel drive is recommended.

The desert in the Moab area is rich with scenic geocaches.  A short drive away from “Totem Pole Rock” is “No Bull — Great Canyon” (GC12R1z).  See the picture on the right.

As with any geocache in an extreme environment, take precautions.  Make sure you pack plenty of water, a first aid kit and food. Geocachers, prepared with supplies, recently rescued two women who were stranded in the desert not far from these geocaches.

You can see all the Geocaches of the Week by clicking here.

This Geocache of the Week was chosen from the video monitor in the lobby of Groundspeak Headquarters.   The monitor randomly selects a geocacher’s log, in real-time, every thirty seconds.

The map zooms to the location of the cache that was logged.   Geocacher CASTINE logged the find as I stood in the lobby of Groundspeak’s Headquarters 4900 miles (7886 km) away.  GR34 – Pointe de la Vicomte (GC1Q0VM) is located in Saint Malo, France.  Watch the video below to see the selection.

Geocachers describe the location of the cache as a mix of history and nature.  The geocache is rated a difficulty 1.5 and a terrain 1.5.  Gdugardon hide the cache in April of 2009 along the GR34.  The “GR” stands for Grande Randonnée, translating to Grand Walk.

The GR34 is a walking path that skirts the coast of France.  It was created in the late 1700s to guard against smuggling.  In modern times, more than 100 geocachers have discovered this view thanks to GR34 – Pointe de la Vicomte.

Explore the all the Geocaches of the Week.

“Steinmaenncher” translates to English as “Stone Man.”  Steinmaennchen 3(GC1BZ5M) is one of nearly two dozen geocaches throughout the island nation of Seychelles.  The traditional cache takes geocachers up a steep slope and through a dense jungle on the main island, just outside the capitol city of Victoria.

The key piece of advice from the cache owner, Motoleni,  is to bring adequate water for the 1.5 km hike.

We asked Motoleni why he named the geocache “Steinmaenncher.”  His answer, in his native German, below, describes seeing the “Stone Men,” or cairns, as he drove his motorcycle through the mountains. The piles of rocks were used to hold sign posts.  He asks geocachers to create a cairn at the site of the geocache.  So far, there are nine cairns at the site – some even have painted rocks.

Motoleni says, “Bei meinen Motorradtouren im Gebirge habe ich immer wieder alte Wegmarkierungen in Form von Steinmännchen gesehen.So kam der Gedanke
diese Idee auch fürs Geocaching zu verwenden. Das erste Steinmännchen steht bei mir Garten und die Resonanz der Geocacher ist überwältigend. Jede Menge toll bemalter Steine und nicht weniger tolle Logeinträge. Inzwischen ist die Zahl der Steinmännchen auf 9 angewachsen. Verschiedene Owner haben mich angemailt, und gefragt, ob sie diese Idee aufgreifen können.”

The difficulty 1, terrain 3.5 cache was placed in April of 2008.  It’s been found nearly 40 times since. Geocachers who have logged the find write, “The way to this cache is quite challenging, but worth doing. We wouldn’t have done it if not for the cache. The view from the top is really marvelous! Good shoes are recommended for the walk.”

You can explore all the world of geocaching by checking out all Geocaches of the Week.