Just here for the geocache?
The "Ojai Adventure Lab Starts Here" is the mandatory FIRST STOP for anyone wanting to do the Ojai Adventure Lab. The combination is 7707 However, any geocacher is welcome to find it as a Traditional Geocache, but if you do, please do not attempt to take the item that is glued in place. It is not a trade item. It is a critical component of the Adventure Lab. Sign the log; claim the find; have a great day.
Instructions for completing the Adventure Lab
If you are getting this geocache because you are doing the Adventure Lab, please note the FIVE LETTER WORD and TWO NUMBERS on the pin that is glued in the geocache. This is the CODE. You must include the CODE with your answer as explained in the Lab Cache instructions. If you have the Ojai Adventure Lab running, you have probably already triggered the Answer box, so you are on your way. When you answer the questions at the locations, you must use the format:
CODE WORDS<space>ANSWER. They are not case-sensitive.
Why are there CODE WORDS?
The short answers are:
- Some people enjoy finding ways to cheat the system more than finding geocaches;
- I care enough that I want to stop them.
The longer explanation is that Geocaching HQ believes that the correct way to play a location-based game requires people to go to a location. One of the vulnerabilities in the original Lab Caches is that all one needed to do was to type in an answer. It was common at mega-events for people to pass a list of the answers around, so one could complete all lab caches without visiting any of the locations.
As GCHQ was implementing the Adventure Lab program, they sought to close that vulnerability by including a component that required a person to be within a certain distance before the question would pop up, geofencing. Unfortunately, some apps spoof a phone to believe it is somewhere else, and computer programs can quickly generate thousands of answers. A friend in Michigan created an Adventure Lab. More than 60 people in Germany claimed the find on the first day it was published. I don't know if I can stop them, but I hope to be able to slow them down.