❅Before the Snow Flies 19❅
It's time for the 19th installment of the Vermont Geocaching Community's annual gathering to celebrate the current year's activities, recognize outstanding cachers in three categories, generally have a good time getting together to share a meal, chat about all things geocaching, and look forward to the upcoming year when we'll be celebrating geocaching's 25th anniversary.
This year's event will be at the Barre Town Recreational Area from 10:00am to 2:00pm (or so) on Saturday, October 12, 2024 in the town of Barre, Vermont. The event's posted coordinates and the parking coordinates below will guide you to the Rec. Area Pavilion. The event will take place come rain or shine or (gasp) snow. Kids and geo-pups are welcome. The pups will need to be on leashes.
Directions:
From I-89 Exit 6, take VT-63 E. Drive about 3.7 mi. and drive straight across VT Route 14. You'll be on Middle Rd. Go about 1.5 mi. and turn left onto Graniteville Rd. Drive about 1.1 mi. and turn right on Websterville Rd. Drive 0.2 mi. to the access road for the Barre Town Recreational Area. The pavilion is a little over a half mile from the entrance along the access road.
Schedule:
| Time |
Activity |
| 10:00am |
Arrive, sign the event log, drop off trackables, prize table items & potluck items, swap stories, cache away! |
| 12:00pm |
Lunch |
| 1:00pm |
Recognize caching highlights, raffle prizes, present awards, group photo |
| 2:00pm |
Event wraps up |
Lunch Menu:
TBD - We will update this as we learn what people will bring to share.
As in previous years, we plan a potluck. Please bring a dish, dessert, or beverage and let us know via e-mail to btsf.vt.info@gmail.com. Please do not bring glass containers. The pavilion has electric outlets and a large grill. We will have a charcoal fire going. The pavilion has many picnic tables, but you may want to bring your own chairs if they are more comfortable than wooden picnic table benches or if chairs give you more flexibility for socializing.
82HammFam - charcoal, plates, bowls, utensils, napkins, cups, and bottles of water
1611sld - a package of hot dogs and buns
BevanQ - cookies
BlackCats3 - fruit
bren1467 - a box of individual packs of assorted chips
BrownDog09 - homemade queso
CarriVT - Beef and plant-based hot dogs, rolls or bread for the hot dogs, ketchup, mustard, relish
CCFwasG - big salad
Cornflakes - Toll House bars
cwgray - pumpkin bread
kdhusky - cold drinks
littleblkdog - 35 or so hamburgers with buns and cheese. Also something to drink.
mwein - a bunch of crackers and dip
ndjeff / wdjeff - krispy treats and cider
opensesme - meatballs & maybe a dessert
Snowsunflowers - pie
solid-rock-seekers - Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Stew, fruit (melon, pineapple)
StoweGirl1 - sweet and sour vegetarian chili
Team Bullis - baked beans & Kielbasa
TKDscouter - blueberry pie
Twlighter - several dozen cupcakes
yogacrone - hummus and pita chips
Caching Highlights:
If you have particular caching highlights or milestones since the last event that you'd like to share with the group, please let us know by sending an e-mail to btsf.vt.info@gmail.com.
Raffle / Prize Table:
When you arrive and sign the event log, we will hand out tickets for a prize raffle. In order for the prize table to work, please bring a caching-related item to donate to the prize table.
Awards:
BTSF has a tradition of recognizing cachers in three categories:
- Most Devious Hide
This is just one particular cache located in Vermont that either drove you nuts or was super clever or creative. Please vote for a cache hidden since the last BTSF event - October 21, 2023.
-
Best 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. All caches in this category need to be placed in Vermont and hidden since the last BTSF event - October 21, 2023.
-
All-Star Geocacher
This cacher/team exemplifies good sportsmanship, is willing to help others, and acts to promote the positive aspects of geocaching. The winner gets custody of the GOLDEN AMMO CAN until next year's event. Please limit your vote to a Vermont-based cacher/team that has not already held the Golden Ammo Can.
How to Vote:
Each geocacher gets a vote! That means that if you are a part of a team that uses a single geocaching name, each team member gets an individual vote. Be sure to express your opinion!
Feel free to send in your votes as soon as possible to btsf.vt.info@gmail.com. You do not have to vote on every category if you don't want to. (E.g. some people choose not to do puzzles and therefore would have no opinion on that category).
We will accept votes up until 6:00pm on Friday, October 11th so we have time to prepare awards.
Last Year's Winners:
We hope to see you on Saturday, October 12, 2024! We expect that some new caches will be published that morning, and maybe a new Adventure Lab will pop up on our maps!
FYI: We do not have information about campground availability or local lodging for the event.