Category: Lackeys

/ Guest Writer

Geocaching with Love in Alaska

Written by Annie Love, a Geocaching HQ Employee

This article was originally published in the Portuguese “GeoMagazine.”

Not many people would choose to visit Alaska in December. But that didn’t stop a group of nine Geocaching HQ Lackeys and friends from spending 24 hours visiting the capital city of Juneau. I feel fortunate to work with such amazing people who don’t think twice about spending their own money and giving up their weekend for a fun geocaching adventure.

Cute group

With a cheap flight and our sense of adventure, we took off early on a Saturday morning for a 24-hour geocaching journey. The only way to reach Juneau is by plane or boat, as there are no roads that lead to this isolated part of Southern Alaska. Our plane descended into Juneau at sunrise treating us to a spectacular view of seemingly endless white capped mountains.

Moody Mountain

Upon arrival we picked up our two SUVs and took off on our adventure. Within minutes we were stopping at our first geocache. The setting: a lifting fog on a beautiful wildlife refuge surrounded by mountains. We couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Alaska. After a tasty breakfast, we set off for one of Juneau’s top tourist attractions: Mendenhall Glacier (a 13 mile long river of ice). This place is unreal. If you ever get a chance to travel to Alaska it’s well worth the visit. It’s also a great place to log several EarthCaches and learn about the interesting geology and history of the area.

Posing like a band cover

Local geocacher Avroair (Mark Clemens) was hosting an event at the Visitor’s Center to celebrate his accomplishment of finding caches in all 50 states. Our group of nine met up with a handful of local geocachers and enjoyed talking about our hobby while taking in the amazing view of the glacier.

Pointing

We then took off on the one-mile nature walk to Nugget Falls – an impressive nearly 400-foot tall waterfall. We posed for some silly pictures in front of the glacier.

Waterfall

Lucky for us, one of the local geocachers is a long time employee at Alaskan Brewing Co. We got our own behind-the-scenes tour of the brewery while sampling the local beer. Naturally, there was a geocache in front of the brewery that we had to find before starting our tour.

Arms out

Our very long day ended with a dinner event with even more local geocachers. Since it was a nice small group, we were able to have some great conversations and really learn a lot about the area and the local geocaches. We barely scratched the surface of the great geocaching Juneau has to offer and I was inspired to return someday – hopefully next time in the warmer summer months!

Group jumping

See Annie Love’s Geocaching journey atop Mt. Fuji. Where do you want to take a Geocaching journey?

/ Paige Edmiston /

The Quest for the Oldest Unfound Geocache in Washington

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Watch a Geocaching HQ’er Take On a 5/5 FTF Challenge

About 4 hours from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, sitting atop Liberty Bell Mountain is Tensegrity on Liberty (GC1G5BY), the oldest unfound geocache in Washington State. The reason it remains unfound? It’s a Difficulty 5, Terrain 5 geocache that requires a long hike, a scramble and 400 feet of fifth-class technical climbing.

In our new video, Geocaching HQ’er Derek, along with a muggle friend, attempts to be the FTF and earn the new Geocaching Road Trip ‘15 Let’s Get Extreme souvenir. You’ll probably recognize him from some of our other videos, but outside of (trying to) act and writing things for Geocaching.com, Derek is an avid rock climber. Watch the new video to see if they make it.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/134247543]

Inspired to find a T5/D5 geocache? Visit the new geocache search page to find one near you.

/ Alex /

Komm mit auf die Reise zum Mittelpunkt des EarthCaches

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Werde Teil des harten Kerns der EarthCacher

Anfang dieses Jahres folgte das Videoteam des Geocaching-Hauptquartiers einer Gruppe von mutigen Geocachern bei einem bisher einmaligen Unterfangen. Ihr ultimatives Ziel: den schwierigsten EarthCache der Welt zu finden. Das Video ihrer Reise ist jetzt fertig. Schau es Dir hier an.

EarthCaches sind aus einer Partnerschaft zwischen Geocaching.com und der Geologischen Gesellschaft der USA entstanden. Es gibt dabei keinen gegenständlichen Behälter. Dafür vermittelt der EarthCache Dir eine geowissenschaftliche Lektion. An den angegebenen Koordinaten müssen Fragen beantwortet werden, um einen Fund zu loggen.

Schau das Video an und folge diesen begeisterten Geocachern auf ihrer Reise zum Mittelpunkt des EarthCaches.

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CITO-Wochenende verlängert

Du hast jetzt zwei weitere Tage Zeit, um das CITO-Souvenir für 2015 zu erhalten. Zwischen Freitag, 24. April, und  Montag, 27. April, bekommst Du das Souvenir für die Teilnahme an einem CITO-Event.

Durch CITO (Cache In Trash Out) [Cache rein, Müll raus] erhalten Geocacher ihr Spielfeld, also die Erde, in einem großartigen Zustand. CITO-Events sind Treffen, bei denen Geocacher Müll und eingewanderte Arten entfernen, Wege bauen und Gebiete restaurieren.

Finde ein CITO-Event in Deiner Umgebung und logge Deine Teilnahmeabsicht.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Want a Reward for Finding Geocaches? Keep Reading…

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Geocaching HQ Staffer: Chris Ronan, Rock Chalk

My name is Rock Chalk and I’m addicted to GeoTours and geotrails which offer rewards.

Whew. That feels better. Now that I’ve admitted my problem, perhaps I can persuade you to follow me into a realm where one can earn geocoins and other prizes, just for finding geocaches. (As if finding geocaches isn’t rewarding enough!) I currently work at Geocaching HQ in Seattle. But long before joining the team here, I discovered my passion for GeoTours and geotrails.

GeoTours and reward geotrails are collections of geocaches that take cachers on a tour of a specific area. They’re often sponsored by local tourism boards, historical associations, and even the National Park Service. In most cases, players find a certain number of geocaches to qualify for geocoins and other prizes.

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A bunch of GeoTour and reward GeoTrail Geocoins
GeoTours and geotrails map
Click the GeoTours and geotrails map to explore

I first became hooked when we happened upon the Washington County GeoTrail while planning a vacation to Maryland a couple years ago. We spent a day visiting some amazing historical spots, finding geocaches, and capping it off by claiming a geocoin. Since then, I’ve enjoyed nearly 20 similar experiences throughout the United States.

Official GeoTours, which are organized through Geocaching HQ, have introduced me to the beauty of the riverwalk in Columbus, GA, the incredible learning opportunities at the National Museum of Natural History, and more than 50 of Washington’s amazing state parks. I grew up in Kansas, but had little knowledge of the Santa Fe Trail until their new GeoTour inspired me to follow the Santa Fe Trail through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico last summer.

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Clinton County Barn Trail (Ohio)

 

We’ve recently created a list of GeoTours and reward geotrails, so you can easily find them and learn about the cool rewards that await. We’ve also added a new forum where geocachers can discuss their adventures and ask questions about GeoTours and reward geotrails.

We hope these new resources can help your travel and geocaching become more rewarding than ever!

Check out the map and if a geotrail with a reward is missing, let us know in comments.

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Washington State Parks GeoTour (Deception Pass)

 

Washington State Parks GeoTour (10,000th find at Deception Pass)
Washington State Parks GeoTour (10,000th find at Deception Pass)

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

The Lackey Geocoin: An Unexpected 26,000-mile, 5-Year Journey

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By Holly Walker, Geocaching HQ Guest Experience Coordinator

There’s the “you” when you begin a journey, then if by magic, there’s a completely different “you” when you finish a journey. As geocachers, we’ve all experienced this phenomenon. You learn and you grow and you change, even if ever so slightly, into a new person. And so it’s the same as we vicariously travel through Geocaching game pieces known as Travel Bugs®. We’re able to track an object as it moves around the world to new places. And sometimes when we see that Travel Bug, years later, the whole world we know has changed. This is one of those stories.

On February 7, 2010, Arkfiremedic placed a 2009 Groundspeak Lackey Geocoin in a Travel Bug hotel in Arkansas. The mission? “Try to make it back to Groundspeak Headquarters [in Seattle, WA] from Arkansas.” Lackey Geocoins are limited edition items annually released by Geocaching Headquarters. Commemorating its employees, or Lackeys as they we occasionally (and lovingly) referred to by the community, these Geocoins feature each Lackey’s unique pixel icon, an artistic characterization of each person and a rite of passage when hired. (You can see that latest Geocaching HQ Logbook Geocoin or Lackey Geocoin here.)

What could have been a simple 2,000 mile trip from Arkansas to Geocaching HQ across the country became, in the end, much more. This 2009 Geocoin, featuring just under 30 Geocaching Lackeys, spent nearly five years traveling to eleven different US states, visiting three countries across three continents, and logging over 26,000 miles all in an effort to visit us. To the delight of the coin’s owner, this lackey geocoin reached its final destination a couple weeks ago. On January 5, 2015, the coin finally arrived at Geocaching Headquarters and met a staff of over 80 lackeys! My how things have changed here at headquarters in the last 5 years!

TB-Map

Shortly after arriving, the Geocoin was discovered and photographed by the Lackeys and quickly retrieved that afternoon by a kind geocacher visiting HQ. Wondering where the coin is headed next? “The coin would love to come back to sunny Arkansas to retire the rest of its days in its owner’s collections.” And off it went back into the world…

This is just one of the many awesome trackable stories we encounter each day at our office. You’re invited to join. Schedule a hosted visit with us the next time you find yourself in Seattle. Discover all the interesting trackables our geocache contains and pick up your own Lackey Geocoin. Or activate a trackable from home and send it our way to travel the world for you. Who knows what kinds of adventures it may have.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway

Holly in the Geocaching HQ lobby
Holly in the Geocaching HQ lobby