Come join me as we celebrate 25 years of geocaching!
🛰️🐸✏️🪜🎞️🔍♻️📡🌐📱
In particular, I would like to celebrate my favorite cache type - the Mystery!! A mystery (or unknown) cache is just like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. The most popular mystery cache variants are puzzles and challenges. I really enjoy a good puzzle and a good challenge. So, let's celebrate both!
We will gather at the designated place and time and tackle some puzzles together. As an added bonus, these puzzles will come in the form of an Adventure Lab that will be available only for the duration of this event.
To celebrate challenges, we'll spin the Wheel of Challenges!! Everyone will have an opportunity to spin the wheel and see which challenge awaits! Remember: the challenge chooses the cacher. If, by the end of the year, you qualify for your assigned challenge, you will win a geocoin. An event will be held next January to celebrate our Challenge Champions!! I must warn you, though, these will not be ordinary, publishable*, Groundspeak-approved challenges.
Whether you enjoy puzzles and challenges as much as I do, you despise them completely, or you fall somewhere in-between, I bet you will have a good time.
When: Monday, January 27, 2025 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Lawrence Public Library, Lower Level, Meeting Room B, 707 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS 66044
Please submit your Will Attend log with your expected number of attendees. I need to make sure we have enough elbow room to solve all those puzzles. I'll post announcements as we get closer to the event regarding food and some other details.
Challenges
- USA 25 in 25 (25 states)
Find (and log) a non-challenge/non-lab/non-event cache in at least 25 of the 50 US states in calendar year 2025. You must have not already found any of the caches, not own any of the caches, and must have physically visited each cache location during calendar year 2025.
- EarthCache Bonanza (25 EarthCache counties)
Find (and log) 25 EarthCaches in calendar year 2025. Each EarthCache must be located in a distinct county, region, or country (as recognized by Project-GC). You must not have already found any of the EarthCaches, must not own any of the EarthCaches, and must have physically visited each EarthCache location during calendar year 2025.
- Host 25 in 25 (host 25 events)
Host at least 25 events of any type within CY 2025. Each qualifying event must have at least 3 unique attendees (people and caching accounts).
- Letterboxes Through the Years (15 letterbox placed years)
Find (and log) 15 letterboxes within calendar year 2025. Each letterbox find must have been placed in a different calendar year. You must not have already found any of the letterboxes prior to calendar year 2025 and you must not own any of the letterboxes.
- Webcams Through the Years (5 webcam placed years)
Find (and log) five webcams within calendar year 2025. Each webcam find must have been placed in a different calendar year. You must not have already found any of the webcams prior to calendar year 2025.
- Types, Types, Types (15 types)
Find (and log) at least 15 cache types during calendar year 2025. You must not have already found any of these caches prior to calendar year 2025 and you must not have owned or hidden any of the 15 caches. You must have physically visited the cache location(s) in CY 2025.
- FTF 25 in 25 (25 FTFs)
Be first-to-find on at least 25 distinct non-lab, non-event caches in calendar year 2025 on at least 12 distinct calendar dates. You must not own or have hidden any of the caches. You must attach a photo of the log showing only your signature to each of the 25 finds.
- Jules Verne (5 continents)
Find (and log) at least one distinct, non-lab, non-challenge, non-event cache on five continents. For the purposes of this challenge, we will use the continents as defined by Project-GC here: https://project-gc.com/w/Continent. For reference, this includes Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Central America, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. You must not own, or have hidden any of the caches, not have previously logged any of the caches, and you must have physically visited each cache location within 2025. Each cache find counts as a single continent even though Project-GC allows for some overlap (like Russia or Türkiye).
- 42 (42 type/size combinations)
Find (and log) at least 42 distinct non-lab caches in calendar year 2025. You must not own, have hidden, or have previously found any of the caches prior to calendar year 2025. Each cache must have a unique combination of type and size. For example, Traditional/Small, Multi/Large, Virtual/Virtual, CITO/Other.
- Fizzy 25 in 25 (complete 25 fizzy loops)
Complete 25 fizzy loops in calendar year 2025. You must not own or have hidden any of the caches used to qualify. Challenges and events do count including pre-signed challenges. This does not necessarily require 25 FULL fizzy loops in CY 2025, just 25 completed fizzy loops. That is, you could theoretically qualify with as few as 25 finds if you were 25 short in a single D/T combination. Ironically, this challenge does NOT require 2025 (81*25) finds in CY 2025.
- UN 25 in 25 (25 countries)
Find (and log) at least one non-lab, non-challenge, non-event cache in calendar year 2025 in each of 25 countries (as defined by HQ). You must not own or have hidden any of the caches.
- Quarter Century (25 placed years)
Find (and log) 25 distinct non-lab, non-challenge, non-event caches in calendar year 2025. You must not own, have hidden, or have previously found any of the caches prior to calendar year 2025. Each cache must have been hidden in a different calendar year. Note that there are 26 calendar years available.
- Days of the Week (9 types on all 7 days of the week)
Find (and log) 9 non-lab caches on each day of the week within CY 2025. Each of the 9 finds on each day must be a unique cache type/icon. The types don't necessarily need to be the same for all 7 days. This challenge requires 63 finds.
- Event Fizzy (attend 1 event of each terrain rating)
Attend (and log) 9 events within CY 2025 each with a unique terrain rating. Each event must have at least three attendees (people and caching accounts). All event types count.
Prize Rules:
- Each participant who satisfies their challenge will be eligible for a prize that is substantially similar to a challenge geocoin.
- Participants must notify the CO by Jan 1, 2026 if they believe they will be eligible for a prize.
- Participants must submit sufficient evidence to confirm their challenge has been met.
- Prizes will be awarded at an event to be held in about one year.
- You need not be present at the award event to receive your prize. However, prizes will not be mailed.
- You must be present at this Community Celebration event (GCAVZ8Y) to be eligible.
- The CO of GCAVZ8Y (ksseeker47) is the sole arbiter of any disputes related to the challenges or prizes.
Challenge Rules:
- Your profile, stats, etc. must be public for verification.
- Any finds prior to January 1, 2025 do not count towards any of these challenges.
- Only caches hidden on or before December 31, 2025 will be allowed to count for any of the challenges.
- You must submit qualifications (or other evidence) to me prior to the award event.
- All finds must be logged online with all standard caching qualifications met (e.g. physical log signed and any ALRs satisfied).
- All webcam logs must be done via an unedited photo taken by an official webcam for that GC. You must physically appear in the posted webcam photo. In other words, no selfies, no Photo Shop, and no using other webcams that happen to be nearby.
- Any events used for qualifications (when allowed by the challenge) must have at least three people and caching accounts attend (physically and logged online).
- I will consider allowing finds between January 1, 2026 and the day before the award event if you work with me before Jan 1, 2026. This will likely be limited to cases that require travel. This rule is to help account for not starting until the end of January. The other rules will still apply.
Community Celebration Events - 2025
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 25 years of geocaching. Geocachers hosted events between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.
* not publishable outside of Texas anyway
This event is not sponsored by Lawrence Public Library. Any views and opinions expressed are not those of Lawrence Public Library.