Sometimes, expectations don’t match reality. Sometimes, geocachers are absolutely fine with that.

The team of intrepid Geocaching HQ’ers who left Seattle on Friday, June 27th were expecting their weekend culminate in a hike halfway up Mount Rainier. At 10,080 feet in elevation, the Camp Muir hike wasn’t one to scoff at. For five hours, the team would slog straight up rock, ice, and snow. Virtual caches GCA69 and GC1192 would be waiting for them at the top (hopefully holding a sign, flowers, and hand warmers). Logging these, one very old T5 and another very old T4.5, would be the ultimate payoff.

Alas, despite fervent pleas and several bouts of sun-dancing, the team of geocachers was not able to ward off the mantle of clouds that hung over the mountain. When the big day came, Mt. Rainier was to reveal itself for only a few seconds before vanishing shyly again.

At that point, the team found itself on the cusp of failure.

A triple DNF hung across their shoulders—two for the caches, one for the mountain itself. They had no back-up plan, for the hike up to Camp Muir had consumer their very beings. It was the only ascent they’d considered, the only slope they’d trained for. The team was inconsolable.

Inspiration hit them like a bison charging down a mountain. What do geocachers do when they DNF? They break into song of course.

Explorers, sleuths, adventurers,

finders, keepers, hey!

We the brave, the geocachers,

three dozen finds per day!

The song, which was sung to the tune of “Ronda Alla Turca”, rallied the team immensely. They realized what they had to do to cancel out their DNF: find some more geocaches! Unsurprisingly, the surrounding cliffs, valleys, trails, rivers, and lakes were dotted with geocaches of every type. In little time, the team was hiking merrily along a thin, winding trail rimmed with wildflowers. The prospect of two more caches at the end of the trail lifted their spirits immensely.

The team thought about all the reasons they loved geocaching, and added one more to the pile: A DNF isn’t synonymous with failure. Lots of things can get in the way of a find. Weather turns south. Batteries die. The dog eats all the snacks. Does that mean the adventure is over? Nope!

Three tips to DNF a DNF

1) Bring a friend. Someone with Pollyanna-style enthusiasm will do nicely.

2) Look around. Are there other caches nearby? Go find ’em.

3) Plan for a return trip. A DNF isn’t a permanent status.

4) Try singing the song mentioned above. Try singing anything to the tune of Ronda Alla Turca. It will cheer you up, we promise.

 

 

Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are  attending dozens of Mega-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching. Each person at Geocaching HQ brings their own unique talent to advancing the adventure. Some write code for the website, others design images for the apps, and some shoot videos explaining it all. Mario Bellemare (|\/|ario) is developer at Geocaching HQ specializing in Lab Caches and other innovations. He recently traveled to St. Charles, Missouri, the final embarkation point of the Lewis and Clark expedition, to join more than a thousand people in a celebration of what Lewis and Clark’s journey represents and what geocaching is all about: exploration. 

Location: N 38° 46.500 W 090° 28.983  –  St. Charles, MO

GC Code: GC4BGXM

Number of attendees: 1,396 Attended Logs

I had the opportunity to attend one of the biggest Geocaching events of the year in the United States: Geowoodstock XII. This year’s Geowoodstock was located in St. Charles, Missouri, a charming location with a really rich history.  Main street is a cobblestone road surrounded by beautifully preserved, restored, and century-old buildings containing a variety of enticing little shops and restaurants. I made my way from the airport straight to the Pre-Geowoodstock Meet-N-Greet event, where I picked up my registration packet and got to meet a lot of the volunteers and attendees. The place was very busy as the Missouri River Irish Festival was rockin’ right next door.  At the end of the evening, I went out to a local pub to grab a bite and share some stories with a few reviewers and some geocachers.

Saturday, the day of the event, was a very busy – and exciting – day.  The mayor, the Leprechaun (representing the Irish festival), Signal the Frog, the organizers and I were led onto the main stage by a bagpipe player.  I stayed on the ground of the main event the entire day only going out for a quick lunch across the street from the event.  I had many opportunities to practice my autograph because one of the squares on the event’s bingo sheet asked the attendees to “Find a Lackey”. The event was very well attended (even surpassing the attendance from last year’s Geowoodstock!) by geocachers from all over the States, as well as some international attendees from Germany and as far as Thailand.

I ran into a lot of interesting and unique trackables, including a nice wooden carved version of Signal the Frog… and a tooth (yeah, a tooth trackable!).

Geowoodstock was followed in the evening, by the Midnight Madness – Geocoin Event – GWXII where I got to hand out some trackables and was given a few trackables including this mysterious geocoin. (I’m still trying to work it out. Hints welcome!)

The following day, I went to the Biking and Caching on the Katy Trail event to see geocachers head out on their bikes for some exploring.  The logbook was well suited for the occasion – a large deflated bike tube.  I wanted to make sure I could complete the Geocaching Adventure (Lab Caches) set out for the event.  So, before I had to head home I set out to do some exploring and also enjoy and take photos of the stunning Main street.

 

 

 

Looking down, there is nothing for 30 feet and then the leafy floor of the Potsdam forest in Germany. My head is red from exhaustion. When I look at my hands, they are shaking. I try to write my geocaching username in the small logbook, but the letters are scrawly. “At least I did not forget the pen down there,” I think to myself.

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