Click here for a map of Northampton's parking areas. Parking may be tricky in downtown on a Saturday afternoon, so plan to park anywhere. Parking meters will require a few quarters!
The entrance to the event is on Center Street! Take the steps or the ramp by the First Churches sign to the entrance. Continue forward and to the right down some steps to the basement where the Rec Room is. The event is here! If you go left from the front door, you will find yourself in Lyman Hall. (There is a cool arts event happening here all day, check it out!)
Brief History
This geocaching event is based on 12/13/14, the result of a Gregorian Calendar phenomenon and the American dating format. This unique consecutive date phenomenon will not occur again until January 2nd, 2103! The Western Massachusetts Geocachers Facebook group, which consists of some cachers from MA and CT, tend to enjoy meeting up every now and then. This has raised my interest in hosting an event. This will be my first event to host, and all geocachers of any skill level, home location, etc. are welcome to come hang out!
What's Going To Happen?
At 12 PM the event will begin for attendees who come. There will be a special logbook for attendees to sign and a spot for trackables to be dropped off. There will be a separate, designated spot for trackables that may only be discovered. (If you prefer, a few cards will be available if you wish to write your trail name to group your discover-only trackables together.) Cachers are free to chat, swap stories and trackables, and participate in two special raffles! There are also a lot of new geocaches being released at Lake Fitzgerald. A group hike there will occur after the event for those interested.
Two Raffles!
At 1:30 PM a raffle will begin! Everyone who attends is given a raffle ticket to win free prizes that include some geocaching containers, travel bugs, and more! Attendees will also be able to complete an "ice-breaker-styled" bingo card based on interactions with other attendees. (You may only use an individual geocacher for two spaces on the board.) Those who complete the ice breaker card will receive a special raffle ticket into a raffle for 1 of 4 geocoins, two of which are specially dedicated to this event! (An individual can win in both raffles!) Write your trail name on the raffle ticket so if you are not present, you will still win the prize! No name, no prize. Check in with me for tickets for either raffle.
A Group Hike Afterward!
At 2 PM the main portion of the event at First Churches will conclude. If the weather permits, a group hike at Lake Fitzgerald will commence for anyone interested. The meeting spot will be at the Moose Lodge entrance at the end of Cooke Avenue at 2:20 PM. The group will hike to the dam for a photo and then walk south of the lake for some of the new caches. There will be many new caches placed for the event, which you are free to search for during the event at First Churches, after it (with the group or not), or at any later point since these caches will be permanent hides. If the caches are not published by the time of the event, details for each hide will be available at First Churches.
Click here for a list of all published geocaches at Lake Fitzgerald.
See You There!
Hopefully you can join us for this special event and share in some fun of sharing stories, swapping trackables, winning some prizes, munching on some snacks, and finding some new geocaches. If you have any questions, do email me and I will either try to clarify or update the listing when I am able to. Thank you, and happy caching! Hope to see you there!