December 14, 2016 / Ellis

Laguna de los Tres: Maya-treasure-06 — Geocache of the Week

Traditional: GC5TQT9; by CacheGert

Difficulty:: 1.5
Terrain:: 4

Location:: El Chaltén, Argentina; S 49° 16.806 W 072° 59.031

The plains of Patagonia are boundless, for they are scarcely passable, and hence unknown: they bear the stamp of having lasted, as they are now, for ages, and there appears no limit to their duration through future time.” – Charles Darwin

An enchanting, semi-arid plateau with glacier-encrusted Andean peaks, Patagonia is an adventure seeker’s dream destination. Travelers journey to the region for its iconic vistas, and vibrant wildlife, but stay for the delicious Malbecs and rugged gauchos.

The Patagonian town of El Chaltén is named for local peak Cerro Fitz Roy’s Tehuelche name, meaning ‘peak of fire’ or ‘smoking mountain’. Once you arrive in El Chaltén you will find colorful buildings made of corrugated steel, built to withstand the harsh Patagonian weather conditions including forceful winds that will knock you off your feet. Traditional geocache GC5TQT9 will lead you to El Chaltén, where you will begin your journey to the cache location.

You’ll want to allow about 8 hours to complete the full trip to Laguna de los Tres and back. There’s also the option to make it into a multi-day trek with two different overnight camping sites along the way: Camping Laguna Capri and Campamento Poincenot. The last 1.5 kilometers of the hike are very steep and exposed, so many hikers choose to camp below at Campamento Poincenot and then push for a sunrise view of Cerro Fitz Roy.

Once you arrive at Laguna de los Tres, feast your eyes on the cobalt blue waters glowing before the magnificent peak of Cerro Fitz Roy and take in 360 degree views of the entire mountain range. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, which is a very real possibility, there are plenty of boulders to seek shelter underneath and search for the geocache.

This geocache is part of an amazing series that cache owner CacheGert created for his daughter. He hopes to pass his love for traveling on to her by hiding caches for her in all parts of the world. When she turns 18, he will give her a list of all “her” caches, along with an airline ticket to wherever she wants to go. CacheGert is lucky enough to visit this cache often since he travels to Argentina for work.

¡Qué copado! (How cool!)

Recent logs:

redgecco

What a hike, what a view! Starting in El Chalten, first part is easy. Well maintained hiking paths, beautiful landscape and the FitzRoy in the background. The last 1,5 km you have to climb uphill, the path is also well marked, but steep. The wind blows you away, the knees hurt … but if you reached the edge, this breathtaking view makes you forget everything. We made a little break, enjoyed the amazing scenery and as an extra we get the box! Finally we had around 24 km and 1400 m altitude difference on our GPS. Probably our best hiking tour ever, thanks for hiding a cache there. Of course a favorite point from us, redgecco

mach401

What an amazing view of one of the most beautiful mountains I’ve ever seen. I arrived just before sunset on a perfect weather day and watched the evening shadows crawl across the lake. Wish I could stay longer, but since my time in Chalten is limited, I dropped off a geocoin instead. May it travel farther and longer than me!

Gaiemo

Quite a hike, especially at the end of a full day trip to Lago Torres, Lago del Madre y Hija and finally up here. But the place with the spectacular view is more than worth the effort! Great place for a cache! Thank you for putting one here! Greetings from Switzerland, we will be back 🙂

Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world.
Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.

December 7, 2016 / Andrew Baldwin /

Via des Echelles de la Mort (GC32NMB):—Geocache of the Week

Traditional: GC32NMB; by Sansecousse

Difficulty:: 2
Terrain:: 5

Location:: Franche-Comté, France; N 47° 11.165′ E 006° 52.276

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What is Geocaching without adventure, risk-taking, thrill, and a challenge to overcome? GC32NMB encompasses every one of those elements, and has its own movie trailer. Be prepared to cross narrow monkey bridges that sway over 100 meters of open air, scale rugged rock faces, and climb what the locals refer to as des Echelles de la Mort: the ladders of death. After signing the log-book, zip line your way through the Doub Gorges in the Franch-Comté region of France to cap off this epic journey.

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The howling winds that sweep through the gorges have led the locals to refer to the area as “Death Valley.” Contrary to the name, the region is robust with flowers, colorful meadows, sparkling lakes, and the foothills of the Jura Mountains. The beauty of the Franch-Comté draws a lot of attention and becomes an oasis in the summer time, when other parts of France become dry.

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The T5 thrill seekers come to this area to feel alive and experience the adrenaline. The first stage of obstacles include ladders, originally made of wood and used by smugglers in the 18th century to pass over the Swiss border. Today, in place are safer ladders that are reinforced, and hooks in the side of the rock face to help you traverse en cours to the geocache.

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Just when you thought you were on solid ground, the wobbly monkey bridge and shaky nerves approach. Harness your inner grit to pass the daunting bridge and grab the cache that lies just ahead. The real challenge is simply getting to ground zero and overcoming that ‘stomach in your throat’ feeling along the route.

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“After a good vertical climb and adrenaline to the max . . . I agree our first T5 was a hand trembling experience, and a lot of effort,” say CEPITIFLI, creators of the video linked above.

gotw-france14 — Can you imagine crossing this in the winter time? There are a few brave souls who went after this T5 in the snow!

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From here you can choose between hiking back, head over another bridge, or going a bit further and taking a zip line across the valley. Don’t forget to BYOP (bring your own pulley), or rent a pulley nearby to add to the adventure. The area is regularly maintained by the land offices of la via ferrata des échelles de la mort.

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Thank you for all the great pictures for those who have visited, and thank you Sansecousse et Gountard for recognizing this brilliant area and maintaining the geocache.

November 30, 2016 / Janelle /

Geocaching a geothermal geocache (GC25643)—Geocache of the Week

EarthCache: GC25643; by goldohulk

Difficulty:: 1.5
Terrain:: 1.5

Location:: Iceland; N 63° 52.810 W 022° 26.976

Iceland's Blue Lagoon — Iceland’s Blue Lagoon

No doubt if you plan to visit Iceland, you will probably plan to work a visit to the Blue Lagoon into your itinerary. With its otherworldly landscape, promoted benefits to your health, and mix of rugged rocks and modern architecture, it’s obvious to see why it’s the country’s top destination.

You don’t need to enter the spa to log this EarthCache. But if you do, know that the waters are rich in minerals, and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis. The temperature in the bathing and swimming areas of the lagoon are warm to quite steamy-hot. The Blue Lagoon also operates a research and development facility to help find cures for other skin ailments using the mineral-rich water.

Continue reading →

November 23, 2016 / Alex

Horka Pumpenhaus — Geocache of the Week

Virtual Cache: GCNQ40; by Horka – Pumpenhaus

Difficulty:: 5
Terrain:: 5

Location:: Horka, Germany; N 51° 15.817 E 014° 14.897

Geocaching is an emotional game. There’s the elation of finding a cache after a prolonged search. The frustration of searching and searching for a cache that never turns up. The surprise of a cleverly disguised container, the anticipation of a highly-favorited gadget cache. The despair of losing a trackable…the guilt of losing a trackable. The pleasure of a good conservation with fellow cachers, the anticipation of hiding a new cache, the thrill of racing for the FTF, and of course, the terror and bewilderment of encountering a shark in the middle of a lake in Germany.

Yes, bewilderment and terror are commonly experienced emotions when searching for GCNQ40. This Virtual Cache is under murky waters in Horka Lake, which was once an old mining quarry. Now filled with water, the former quarry is a popular spot for scuba divers because of its unusually high visibility.

2016-11-23_8-24-33 — If a tree falls in a forest, and the forest is underwater, will it make a sound?

In addition to the many natural elements that make for an interesting dive—the underwater forest, for example—the lake abounds with strange objects that were either placed there by divers over the years or are remnants of days when the lake bottom was a quarry bottom.

Someone took a long detour on their ride to work today... — Someone took a long detour on their ride to work today…

An old old pumphouse that was once party of the working quarry. — The old pump house that was once party of the working quarry.

Virtual Caches are a grandfathered cache type, which means no new Virtual Caches can be created anymore. A Virtual Cache is about discovering a location rather than a container. The requirements for logging a Virtual Cache vary—you may be required to answer a question about the location, take a picture, complete a task, etc.

In order to claim the find on Horka – Pumpenhaus, you’ll need to swim to the posted coordinates, then dive 30m down. At that location you’ll find a white object inside the old quarry pump house. Describe the object or take a location of the pump house to prove you were there.

When the Cache Owner, Laird McKai, first placed this cache in 2005, it was probably the first underwater cache in Germany. The CO was a Master Scuba Diver, for whom geocaching had a familiar appeal.

After every dive, you write a log and keep a record. Under water you have to find your way using a compass and sometimes you might try to find some sunken boats, such as the Coreolanus, which I dived to in Croatia. So diving is not to different to geocaching. Why not combine both?

The Cache Owner, Laird McKai, in an old diving helmet.

So… what about those sharks from earlier? Fortunately for geocachers and divers, the sharks aren’t real (though they look realistic from afar). They were placed in the lake by the nearby dive school. The cache gallery abounds with diver/shark selfies.

Geocacher $miley is a bit too close for comfort.

Michao Team goes in for a close-up. — Michao Team goes in for a close-up examination of the shark’s dental situation.

Imagine seeing this from afar. — Imagine seeing this image from afar.

After eleven years, this Virtual Cache is still bringing joy (and fright!) to geocachers with the necessary scuba certifications and gear. And the Cache Owner is happy to still have it around. His advice for other cachers? “Enjoy your hobby, enjoy good quality caches and try to make others enjoy as well your cache you place by trying to make your caches special and memorable!”

Which begs the question, what’s the on-land equivalent of a full-size rubber shark?

November 16, 2016 / Ellis

Welcome to Jurassic Park Cache— Geocache of the Week

Traditional: GC962E; by Team Aloha

Difficulty:: 2
Terrain:: 4

Location:: Kauai, USA; N 22° 03.556′ W 159° 27.384′

Aloha! Have you ever dreamed of visiting the Jurassic Park set?

If you search for the Welcome to Jurassic Park Cache, you can come pretty close to the real thing! Just like the movie, this geocache location’s scenery is seriously epic and requires an adventurous drive through flowing streams and dense jungle. The movie Jurassic Park was filmed on Kauai and the geocache will make you feel as if you’ve been transported to the movie set, or even to the Jurassic period.

Nicknamed “the Garden Isle” for the tropical rainforests that blanket most of the island, Kauai is known for the Na Pali Coast, and Waimea Canyon, both ripe for a movie backdrop. This island is also home to over 150 geocaches that will take you to breathtaking sites. It may be difficult to pick a “bad” geocache on Kauai, but this cache is in the top 10 most favorited geocaches on the island so it is well worth the visit.

Once you have prepared for and set forth on your journey, you will encounter two main streams that run over the road and at high rainfall could be rushing high enough to prevent passage.

Conditions permitting, you may also encounter a third washout that requires caution even with a 4×4 vehicle. If you can’t make it in your vehicle, then get out and start hiking. This cache definitely earns its T4 rating, whether you off road or hike in.

Once you near the geocache, make sure to make note of the cement posts marking the original Jurassic Park Entrance. Looking through this window to the mountains and waterfalls before you will give you a sense of relief that you can enter safely without fear of rogue dinosaurs on the loose.

Talk about a cinematic experience!

Excerpts from recent log posts:

TFTC. What a ride!! Put my 4-wheel to a test today. Did its job going through pot holes, puddles and a knee deep pond without a hitch. Fun adventure with my other half in tow. Got to GZ and found the cache easily. Old logs beyond repair and newest one kind of damp so I left a dry one. Stuffed everything back with zip locks. Also left a path tag. Please log it if you take it. Thanks. –Ilikelooksee

Sure glad we had a 4×4, it was raining and windy. My favorite cache yet. Had to watch the movie again to see the sights. Thanks for a awesome cache.- Wirelessone

Wow! A dream comes true, driving through the original gate into the jurassic park, awesome! !! You definitely need a 4×4 when it’s raining, the second river almost flushed me away on the way back Thanks for showing this magical spot!! I dropped a dinosaur, he is finally back on his track and can stay a couple days with his friend in the park 😉 sorry for keeping him so long, but I think this is the best place for him to rest –oliver.baitz

Official Blog

Tag: GOTW

Laguna de los Tres: Maya-treasure-06 — Geocache of the Week

Via des Echelles de la Mort (GC32NMB):—Geocache of the Week

Geocaching a geothermal geocache (GC25643)—Geocache of the Week

Horka Pumpenhaus — Geocache of the Week

Welcome to Jurassic Park Cache— Geocache of the Week

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