We will be celebrating the 20 year anniversary of Geocaching, and the 15th anniversary of Before the Snow Flies! By attending this event you will earn the Community Celebration Souvenir! Our theme is birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones!
This is the 15th Before the Snow Flies event. Things will be a little different because of COVID-19.
The rules: WEAR A MASK. OBSERVE SOCIAL DISTANCING. LIMIT GROUP SIZE (we are staggering start times). NO TB or PRIZE EXCHANGE TABLE. BRING YOUR OWN SANITIZER. BRING YOUR OWN PEN.
We can live within these guidelines and still have a good time, while staying safe and keeping each other safe.
Saturday October 17, 2020. 10 AM to 2 PM ish at the Mayo Farm Event Field; Additional caching at Sterling Forest thereafter
GEOCACHERs of all ages are WELCOME!! Make sure to bring an extra jacket, hat and gloves. It is Mid-October and the weather could be quite chilly.
OUR VENUE this year is the Mayo Farm Event Field in Stowe VT. The coords are for the event field with parking obvious on way in. There are alternate parking coords in case the first parking area is full. There are portapotties at Mayo Field. There are no cooking facilities or picnic tables. There is a second site for our event in Sterling Forest, to take place after the events at Mayo Field. Coords for these caches will be available at Mayo Field. This is a new power trail of nine caches!
Directions: For Mayo field, vt 108 to West Hill Rd. Then right at Event Field sign. From the north, right at Shaw’s on West Hill Rd, stay left at two junctions, then left into field.
SCHEDULE:
-Arrive between 10 and 11 AM. There will be a giant birthday card as a log. (Bring your own pen)
- Pick up new cache listings. We will be giving you staggered start times to cache the Mayo Farm new caches. Alternatively, you may work on the Stowe Adventure Lab or other older area caches.
10 to Noon: Cache in Mayo Field area and on your own.
Noon to 1:00 PM: Lunch on your own. You may bring a picnic of your own and your own chairs and have a tailgate lunch near the cars. Or, you may find food from your choice of vendors in the Stowe area, and bring it back to Mayo Field parking, We will be able to socialize, from safe distances. (If you go out for lunch, please be back before 1:00 PM)
1:00 PM: Awards followed by a Socially Distanced Group Photo, all wearing masks.
Immediately after the photo, our formal event at Mayo Field ends, although you may continue to use parking here. You are invited to visit the other new caches in Sterling Forest. Many will be leaving MF to drive to Sterling Forest and park there. The total hiking loop is around 2.5 miles long, a moderate trail, easy walking with one significant hill halfway around. People can do what they have time and energy for. You may also choose to cache on your own. The organizers each have an Adventure Lab, in Stowe, Montpelier, and Barre, respectively, if you want to try them. For those who go on to Sterling Forest, bring your mask and observe social distancing there, if hiking near others.
Geo Recognition's Awards ---by Cwgray
As we have done in the past years we will be voting on 3 categories.
This year's categories are:
- 1. Most Devious/Best Hide of the year (This is just one particular hide that either drove you nuts or was super clever), Please vote only for a cache hidden since the last BTSF event.
- 2. Puzzler/Series/Challenge (this doesn't necessarily have to be the most prolific puzzler, just the cacher who you thought put out the most fun or ingenious puzzle or interesting series or challenge)Please vote only for a series which was hidden at least in part since the last BTSF event.
- 3. AllStar Geocacher (this person exemplifies good sporstmanship, is willing to help others, and does his/her part to promote the positive aspects of geocaching) GOLDEN AMMO BOX. Please vote only for a cacher or team that has not already held the Golden Ammocan
Past Winners of the GOLDEN AMMO BOX award are:
DJ and CAL
QSeekers
Roostersting
Zebra Girl
lonestarr and mwein
Cornflakes
CacheThePlanet
crashco
ski-guide
Bren1467
yogacrone
BevanQ
Salts&marbles
Snarfmon23
Cwgray (2019)
PLEASE START VOTING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. JUST SEND YOUR PICKS to Cwgray at crwgray@comcast.net . YOU DO NOT HAVE TO VOTE ON EVERY CATEGORY..(e.g., some people don't do puzzles and therefore wouldn't have an opinion). Each geocacher gets a vote! That means that if you are a team account each person in the team gets their own vote.
(There will be prizes for winners, but we will not have a prize table as we do in other years due to the pandemic)
Congratulations to last years' winners:
--All-Star Geocacher - Cwgray
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2020 WINNERS!
All Star CELING99
Puzzle/Challenge CARRIVT
Best Hide TKDSCOUTER
Our event has been approved by the Stowe Town Manager. We will be observing all state requirements with respect to COVID-19, including mandatory mask usage in public. Please be prepared to take all that you bring in out with you.
In addition to the two anniversaries, we have some birthdays of our hosts to celebrate. In your log, tell us if you have any milestones coming up! Hope to see you in Stowe Before the Snow Flies 15!
Community Celebration Events - 2020
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 20 years of geocaching. Geocachers hosted events between May 2, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.