This is the 4th of 12 geocaches we have placed corresponding to the 12 years of the annual West Bend $1,000 Cache Ba$h, with this one celebrating Cache Ba$h #4 (GC2E0MD), from the year 2011. The cache is located almost exactly 1/2 mile from parking along the Ice Age Trail, and there are three other new Cache Ba$h caches on the trail you’ll encounter on the way to this one. Free parking is available in the 90-car lot at N 43° 24.875 W 088° 13.155.
Cache Ba$h 2011 was the 4th-ever Cache Ba$h in West Bend, and the first one that we ever attended. There weren't any specific themes for those first several bashes in the "early" years, but the concept was unique: lots of new caches (66), pre and post-bash meet & greet events, plus it was and still is one of the few geocaching events in the world to offer large cache prizes.
Each geocache hider for the bash chose their own theme, if any. This year’s theme is Celebrating 20+ Years of Geocaching. But back then with each hider choosing varied topics, the theme that was most memorable for us was The Goldie Diggers’ 12-cache series on different SPORTS, most of which were placed along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Mrs. Hack1of2 was especially pleased to see that one of the caches in that series was on cheerleading, since she was a cheerleader back in high school and thought it was great that cheerleading finally got some recognition! It was also the year that we had heavy downpours of rain, which added to the fun and the challenge of finding caches during the bash. So since those fabulous caches in the series were based on sports, that’s the theme we chose to honor Cache Ba$h 4.
Other activities included a Friday night meet & greet event and two fun night caches, a post-bash event on Saturday night, and a breakfast event on Sunday hosted by the Wisconsin Geocaching Association. Also, for the first time, instead of pathtags being given out, a limited edition Cache Ba$h geocoin was available for purchase (pictured below).
Some of the statistics:
- 527 attended logs (1,200+ people?)
- 800 caches overall located within 10 miles (currently 1,200 within 10 miles)
- 66 new cache hides
- 787 favorite votes (the first year favorites became available)
- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday meet & greet events
- 12 of 66 caches still active as of summer 2021 (get them while they're still there!)
NFL TRAVEL BUG LAUNCH
This cache is also a travel bug launch site! In keeping with the sports theme, over 20 football helmet travel bugs are among the initial contents of this cache! If you’re one of the first finders of the cache and take a travel bug (only one per family/team please), please log the trackable at geocaching.com and move it along to another cache.
We hope you enjoy all of the caches at this year's Cache Ba$h 2021!
Placed by members of the:
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