I'm not as young as I used to be and I guess this applies to most of us. In fact I'm not even as young as I was when I started this sentence. When I order coffee in a restaurant and the server asks me if I wish to wait for a new pot being brewed, I always say "No, I prefer the older coffee because coffee is just like wine, cheese and men - the older the better."
This is a challenge cache for the oldies and I hope you're not too old to make the find. Also, this cache may provide added incentive to complete the difficult Jasmer Challenge Caches.
The Challenge
In order to log this cache as a "Find", you must have found the oldest active cache in at least 10 jurisdictions. For the purposes of this challenge, a jurisdiction is any State, Province or Territory in Canada and the USA as well as the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) since it is not in any state. Also, the oldest active cache in any country, Antarctica or the world will also qualify.
The Rules
- Archived caches are acceptable providing you found them before they were archived.
- If a cache is temporarily disabled, you cannot substitute the next oldest cache in that jurisdiction.
- You are permitted to double dip or triple dip as per the following.
If you have found GCBBA, "Geocache--Canada's 1st geocache", you can count it as the oldest active cache in Nova Scotia as well as the oldest active cache in Canada. If you found GC30, "Mingo", you may triple dip it and count it as the oldest active cache in Kansas, the oldest active cache in the USA and the oldest active cache in the world. These are the only two caches that can be counted more than once. In all other jurisdictions including large countries such as Australia or Russia or small countries, only the oldest active cache in that country qualifies. So if you found GCGGQX, "What a Hole", you may count it as the oldest active cache in Grenada. The oldest cache in Australia is GC3E, "Lane Cove" and it is the only cache in Australia that counts for this challenge. The oldest active cache in Washington D.C. is GCDE1, "Capital View" and if you found this one, you may include it.
In some areas, there are several caches which were placed on the same day such as in New Mexico. GC190, GC192 and GC193 were all placed on January 15, 2001 but GC190 is recognized as the oldest in that State. Therefore in this case as in others only the cache recognized as the oldest is acceptable for this challenge.
While searching out some oldies, I came across two in Denmark which have hidden dates of July 4, 1976 and May 22, 1998 which are not possible. Upon further review, these two are puzzle caches and the hidden dates are part of the puzzles. They were actually published in 2011 and 2008. The actual oldest active one in Denmark is GC6A, "Kippers in the Jungle (Denmark's first)" which was hidden on Sep 30, 2000. There may be others that have bogus hidden dates but only actual dates apply for this challenge cache. To be sure, check the published date although with real oldies, that will not be shown so you should also check the date of the first log to confirm the hidden date appears correct.
The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and overseas territories, so there is only one cache which qualifies as the oldest active cache in the UK and that is GCF0 which is in Scotland.
I have recently learned that there is a controversy for the oldest active cache in Ohio. There is GC31A, "Shawnee Lookout Cache" and GC2DBE, "ancient lake". Based on the description in GC31A and based on the Groundspeak Forum discussion about this, I think that GC31A is the oldest. However, it would appear that many cachers consider GC2DBE to be the oldest active cache in Ohio. Therefore for the purposes of this challenge cache, either would be acceptable.
Resources
To help with your search of the "Oldies", you could refer to any of the bookmarks attached to GC30, Mingo and in particular, tiki-4's bookmark list, called 'Oldest active state/province caches"
Another very good source is ScouterHerb & Mrs B's List of Geocaches placed in the 1st year of geocaching at http://www.barge.ca/oldcaches.htm
You can also use either GSAK or Project-GC to determine the oldest active cache in an area or country. In addition, you may contact me if you need help in determining the oldest active cache in any country.
There is a checker on Project-GC but it only checks for the oldest cache in each province/state/territory in Canada and the United States and it does not include other countries or provide for double dipping the oldest in Canada and triple dipping the oldest in the USA.
Logging
If you do not yet qualify for this challenge cache, you are welcome to find the cache, sign the log and post a note on the cache page. You may not claim a "Find" until you have completed the requirements and submitted proof.
Proof
You may simply list your qualifying caches in your log and please include the GC Code, the Cache Name, the Location, the Date Placed and the Date Found (your find). If you wish, you may instead attach a bookmark list for your qualifying caches but include the information requested above in the comments for each bookmark entry. Also, include this cache in that same bookmark list. An example of my qualifying caches follows:
GC23, Geocache, Hawaii, Placed 07/21/2000, Found 01/30/2013
GC190, Open Space 6, New Mexico, Placed 01/15/2001, Found 05/09/2013
GCA6, Strathcona Wilderness 1, Alberta, Placed 11/04/2000, Found 06/17/2013
GC12, GC12, Oregon, Placed 05/12/2000, Found 07/19/2013 (The 2nd oldest active cache in the world)
GC3B, Potters Pond, Utah, Placed 08/27/2000, Found 07/22/2013
GCF9, XKD-380, Nevada, Placed 12/26/2000, Found 10/02/2013
GC14F, Sask-cache-one, Saskatchewan, Placed 01/07/2001, Found 07/17/2014
GCBBA, Geocache--Canada's 1st geocache, Nova Scotia, Placed 06/28/2000, Found 09/24/2014
GCBBA, Geocache--Canada's 1st geocache, Canada, Placed 06/28/2000, Found 09/24/2014
GC1A17, Charlottetown Memories, PEI, Placed 08/28/2001, Found 09/28/2014
Since this cache was published, I have also found the oldest active caches in Manitoba, British Columbia, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Montana, Colorado, Pennsylvania, the controversial Ohio one, Michigan, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Sweden, Denmark and the granddaddy of them all, Mingo (GC30) in Kansas which is the oldest cache in Kansas, the oldest cache in the USA and the oldest cache in the world.
You can use the following checker but be aware that it only counts the oldest cache in each state, province and territory in Canada and the United States. It does not count those found in other countries nor does it provide for the double and triple dipping described above.
