Remembering Mark of GCTOP Wherigo Cache

I can't remember exactly when I met Mark, Jamie and Alex, but it must have been at an event, sometime in 2013 (I have a really bad memory),and sometime after January. I got my first 5 FTF's in this my second go around at geocaching on the same day, and all 5 belonged to GeoCacheTrioOP. I remember talking to Mark about those caches the day I met him and he told me about a couple of puzzles I owned that he wanted to solve. He also told me about the fact that he was on a daily streak that was almost two years long at the time. And we became good friends after that.

When I decided to continue on my own streak past my original goal of 100 days, I got guidance from them and eventually my streak became second in Florida only to theirs. We actually planned several caching excursions to various power runs, night caches and gadget caches. And together with frick_frack, we participated in the 2016 GeoExtreme Race, a local event held during the winter where you are tasked with finding 6 geocaches throughout a massive local park in Glen St. Mary's, Florida while competing in mental and physical challenges along the way; and the winner is the first team to finish against the clock. The host, local geocaching legend memomls, has prizes for First, Second, Third and last place teams. GCTOP, frick_frack and I formed Team "Scruffy Looking Nerf Herders" and were in a complete disadvantage from the word go, as most teams had at least 5 members to help with the mental and physical challenges. But in a surprise finish, we won the event! The lime green buff with our team name is one of my most prized geocaching possessions, and it was Mark who chose the name.

On June 11, 2019, I learned that Mark had not answered the bell that day. He's not battling cancer anymore. He's now enjoying the spoils of a fight well fought in a place where there is no pain. He's with friends and family, and waiting for his wife and kids to someday join him. And all of us that knew him are better human beings because he was part of our lives. I don't know about you, but I consider that a battle won, not lost. This geocache is a tribute to a full life well lived that ended way too soon. This geocache can't be enough of a memorial to my friend Mark Wooster, but it is a type of geocache Jamie and he both loved. It may not be too complex, but that's not the point. It is meant to be a tribute, not a challenge.