Do you think you have what it takes to 'out-Geocache' the competition? Do you live for FTF races? Are you all about the numbers? Are you all about difficult hides? Want to try something new and exciting? If you answered yes to any of these questions, GCCO's Second Amazing Geocache race is the can't-miss event for you!
BASIC INFO:
When: Saturday, 30th July, 2016 @ 9:30AM-12:00PM
Where: Heckert Pavilion, Grand Lake, Colorado (Corner of Grand Ave & Pitkin St)
Who: All geocachers are welcome to attend the event - We also encourage (but don't require) Race participation!
Pre-registration closes Tuesday July 26th at Midnight. We will have blank scorecards for those who didn't pre-register, however they will be limited as we need to do our best to plan the race event.
EVENT TIMELINE:
9:30-10:00: General Meet & Greet. For those participating in the race, we will be giving a short briefing and distributing race materials.
10:00-12:00: For those who are racing, This is the timeframe to go out and get the temporary caches! For those who are not participating we will be continuing the Meet & Greet in the park.
RACE INFO:
What do I need to do to participate?
First: Register as part of a team. This year we will be running 4 different teams. You will be scored both individually AND as part of your team, so your strategy can be adjusted accordingly. The teams will be color coded - Red, Blue, Green, and Pink. If you want to be placed on a certain team, you can select which team when you register. Otherwise, you can select 'No Preference' and will be placed on a team. Click HERE to fill out the registration form. Remember pre-registration closes on Tuesday July 26th at Midnight.
Second: Your team will all recieve an email from the race coordinators approximately 1 week prior to the event. This will generate an email thread is so everyone can talk to each other and formulate plans as a team (some teams like to stick together, others like to find out each others strengths and seperate accordingly, some like to split off in groups based on the number of GPSr's they have). This email will also contain a copy of the official race rules about staying safe and fair.
Third: show up at the listed coordinates for this event on Saturday at by 9:30AM for a briefing. Make sure you're not late! We will be going over rules, how to load the caches into your GPS'r or smartphone (may be difficult for smartphones with limited cell service in the area), and handing out coordinates, scorecards, and puzzles to team captains.
**IMPORTANT NOTE** While it is possible to get the GPX file onto most smartphones, we have very limited experience doing so, and the experiences we HAVE had are not all that pleasant. We recommend using a good 'ol GPSr - borrow a friend's if you have to!
At 10:00 we will officially begin the Race!
What Are The Rules?
First and Foremost: We are guests of this beautiful area. Please be respectful of local laws (Obey Speed Limits, Don't trespass onto private property, Keep your vehicle on the roads, don't disturb the patronage of local businesses, etc.). Law enforcement has been made aware of this race and they are more than willing to turn 'overly ambitious cachers' into an opportunity to generate revenue for the county 
.
Second: Every cacher must visit the cache site. Please do not share your scorecards. We don't want to seem to harsh, but we will Disqualify anyone who has been verified as cheating. It's pretty simple - play fair!
Third: Your scorecard MUST be turned in to the official station by 12:00. Any scorecard turned in after 12:00 will be deducted 20 points per minute late (no lower than 0 points). 12:00 is based on the iPhone of the race coordinator.
Fourth: At the end of the day, this is just a game. If you aren't out here to have fun, then you are doing it wrong. Keep a positive attitude and enjoy the scenery! Yes, we will disqualify anyone who creates a hostile environment in this friendly competition.
Okay, So how does the race work?
We will be placing a great number of temporary geocaches throughout the Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain, and Lake Granby area. They will vary in difficulty, terrain, and we will even have some puzzle caches thrown in. We will also have a number of 'Activity Caches', where the player will have some sort of interaction. These caches will be loaded into a .GPX file that will then be loaded into a flash drive (one flash drive per team) and handed to the team captain. The flash drives will also contain the puzzles for the puzzle caches. We will also be giving the captains printed copies of coordinates and puzzles, for those who need it. Finally each team member will recieve a 'Scorecard' with their name, and team name.
Inside of each cache will be either a stamper or a hole punch. Simply stamp or punch your scorcard in the corresponding location (box 1 for cache 1, box 22 for cache 22, etc). A stamp or punch in the wrong location counts as 0 points!
Each cache will be worth a different amount of 'points'. The points system is fairly simple - we just add up the D/T rating of the temporary cache (so your basic 1.5/1.5 is worth 3 points). We do take into account travel time (some caches may take a bit of extra time to get to, so get a terrain bump), and other factors.
We will also have interactive 'Activity Caches', which will be worth a higher point value. At these 'Activity Caches', you will have to perform a task, and once it is done the Monitor for that Activity will stamp / punch your scorecard. Every player must complete at least one of these activities, or suffer a significant 50 point penalty (down to 0 points).
Your goal: get as many points as possible before time runs out. The race is officially running from 10:00-12:00! There will be 2 waypoints added to the GPX file for the two scorecard turn in locations at different sides of the course (you can pick whichever one you want) - and make sure you aren't late. Again - Any score card turned in after NOON will be penalized 20 points per minute down to 0 points.
Additional info: While it is technically optional, the following is a list of "hints" and "nudges"
A good idea is to bring a GPSr, laptop, and cable. You technically can use your smartphone, however there are two potential issues. 1) .GPX apps in phones are sometimes are picky as to what GPX files they will read, and what info they get from the file. We will not be creating multiple files for multiple platforms. 2) Cell service is limited in this area of the state. We cannot gaurantee the ability to recieve the file into your phone.
We will have one laptop loaded with coordinates for those who didnt bring one, but there may be a line at that laptop, causing a delay.
Your best bet is to make sure that at least one person on your team has a GPS'r - that way coords flow nice and easy into your device.
Another good idea is to clear your GPSr before the race, that way you arent confused with both real geocaches and race caches showing up on your device.
MikeAndJuli would like to thank the Town of Grand Lake for allowing us to host this event in their town for the second year. We would also like to thank the Colorado Geocaching community for being so supportive of this event and the original amazing race. Events like this couldn't happen without the ongoing support of cachers like you!