7 Tips for Achieving All 7 Souvenirs of August

MailerImage_07072014_7-Souvenirs_of_August_vFINAL_BLOG

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyuepAOlhrg&feature=youtu.be]

This August, your mission is to explore more of the geocaching universe and, ultimately, to become one of the super-cachers who earn the highly coveted Achiever souvenir. To unlock this special geocaching achievement, you’ll need to find 6 specific geocache types in the month of August.

Here are 7 tips to help you achieve, well, Achiever status:

beprepared
During the summer, the best TOTT can be a water bottle. You can drink out of it, use it to cool off, and even celebrate your Achiever status.

1. Be Prepared

This motto is not just for the Boy Scouts. Finding 6 different geocache types requires planning ahead, especially if you live in Traditional-heavy area. Check to see what souvenirs might require leaving your neighborhood, and see if you can tie them into a weekend road trip or business travel. And, of course, always carry your tools of the trade (TOTT) in case opportunity strikes. (Never, never get caught without a pen!)

2. Start Early

With only 6 geocache finds needed to earn the Achiever souvenir, it can be tempting to put them off until the last weekend. Warning: This is not college. Cramming is no longer a safe bet. Start knocking off the souvenirs early in the month to allow room for error.

3.  Partner with Friends

Feeling intimidated by finding a new geocache type? That’s what friends are for! As we learned with the Geocaching Personality Quiz, it takes all kinds to make up the geocaching community. Find someone who has a different personality type than you so that you can each specialize in finding specific geocache types. Friends can even help you sprinkle extra awesome on the 7 Souvenirs of August.

4. Throw a Party

To earn the Socializer souvenir, you need to log an Attended at an Event Cache, Mega-Event, or Giga-Event. Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter to learn about upcoming events in your area, or host one yourself! Remember, hosts can log an Attended for their own Event Caches.

5. Host a CITO

Don’t have an Earth Cache near you? No problem! Every neighborhood could use a CITO event. You’ll earn the Nature Lover souvenir and Mother Earth will thank you.

6. Double Check Your Neighborhood

Partner with friends
Sometimes earning a souvenir will take two… or four!

We’ve all done it. You’ve cleared out all the Traditional geocaches in your area, and you feel like there’s nothing left to find. (Okay, you Puzzlers and Collectors. Some of us have done this. Okay, fine. I can only say with certainty that I’ve done this. Happy?) This is your chance to take off your Traditional geocache blinders and see the Multi-Caches, Mystery Caches, and Letterbox Hybrids for what they are: geocaches waiting for your autograph.

7. Put it in Perspective

Yes, earning the Achiever souvenir can be daunting. But let’s put the challenge in perspective: Traditionals are easy to come by, you can attend or host an event, and if there’s not an Earth Cache in your area, you can host a CITO event. Knock those three out and you’re already halfway there! That just leaves three more geocaches to find: one Mystery Cache, one Multi-Cache, and either a Virtual, Whereigo, Letterbox Hybrid, or WebCam Cache. Take a deep breath… and go get ‘em. (But wait for August 1st of course.)

Tell Us Your Tips

Are you an expert in finding a specific type of geocache? If so, leave your tips for finding that geocache type in the comments below. This is going to take teamwork, friends!

Paige (ThePaigeTurner) is a Marketing Specialist at Geocaching HQ. She likes books.