Who we are:
We are the geocaching club at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL). The club was formed in 2006, and we are group of dedicated cachers who enjoy all that the hobby has to offer. JHUAPL is, by the way, where satellite navigation all got started!
Who should come:
Anyone! Everyone! Especially you! All are welcome, no matter if you have one find under your belt, or thousands. Events are great opportunities to meet fellow cachers, swap stories, meet the folks whose hides have been tormenting you, and generally have fun.
Event details:
Way back in the day, when geocaching was younger, there was a sort of cache called a locationless cache. Locationless caches could be considered as the the opposite of a traditional cache; instead of finding a hidden container, you are given a task to locate a specific object and log its coordinates. A scavenger hunt of sorts, it involved collecting waypoints of various objects around the world. One of the more infamous locationless caches was associated with the International Space Station (ISS), details can be found here:
http://coord.info/GCC349
Groundspeak later decided to eliminate locationless caches as an available type, archived the existing ones, and creating Waymarking instead.
There is, however (depending on how you define it), still a geocache on the ISS. It is located in storage locker # 218 on the Russion section of the space craft, and consists of a travel bug tag hung on the wall. Because the ISS is in Low Earth Orbit (LOE), and not geostationary (i.e. consistently located above one spot on the earth), it has a constantly moving set of coordinates. In the intertest of weight and safety, there is no log. The cache has a five for terrain rating (which seems reasonable), but also a five for difficulty, which seems kind of odd, as it would not be to hard to find if you could get there. At any rate, Groundspeak has allowed this exceptional cache, given it permanent coordinates at the Baikunor Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and has it listed as a traditional cache even though it does not really fit the guidelines. Here it is:
http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1BE91_international-space-station
Groundspeak has also created a souvenir to honor the day (this event's date) as there is a rocket launch today headed for ythe ISS which includes a travel bug travelling to this cache.
More on souveniers: http://www.geocaching.com/about/souvenirs.aspx
Groundspeak's blog about this event: http://blog.geocaching.com/2013/10/geocaching-in-space-faq/
We are hosting a flash mob meet and greet near our campus, come out and meet us and enjoy a few minutes of camaraderie with your fellow cachers, gain your Groundspeak souvenir for attending an event on this date, and discuss where you might like to get a travel bug to go.
As soon as you arrive look for the guy with a pony tail wearing a white cowboy hat (Zekester if you already know him). He'll have the log.
There will be a group photo before we break.
Parking:
There is parking to be had nearby, either behind the nearby (north side, or event side) white building that is up for lease (please use marked spots), or at the Thai Sophia Institute. Please be respectful of our neighbors, and do not block either the driveway to Thai Sophia, or Montpelier Rd. There is a JHUAPL shuttle that regularly uses Montpelier Rd. that needs to continue to transit.
Hope to see you there!