Geocaching -- Trackables and Events

While this may not be the last geocaching post ever...
this should be the last one for... a while :)

The glitter and glue of geocaching: trackables and events.

Trackables

One of the fun perks of geocaching are the trackables: travel bugs and geocoins!

Keychain TB in Banff, AB

Travel bugs (TBs) are items made trackable through the use of specially coded dog tags which you can buy. First, someone buys the travel bug dog tags, attaches one tag (and keeps one tag) to an item, activates the code online, and then places it in a cache for someone to find and bring to another cache. The finder will then log the cache site s/he found and then log the trackable that s/he found, hopefully adding comments.

TB: Aang, mastering earth

Why? For fun, of course! Often the travel bug is of some personal significance and maybe given goals. Goals range from simple ones of going the furthest, racing another TB, or getting to as many cache sites as possible to more complicated ones. And as the TB travels from site to site, it gathers little stories along the way if the finders add comments to the travel bug's page (where the finder logs it). More details and FAQ can be found by clicking Trackables. 

Croc Out of Water TB with Monty

Our first TB was a toy crocodile that wanted to be photographed with other reptiles. Some travel bugs have no specific goals, but we've hosted TBs aiming for specific destinations, a butterfly one that wished to be photographed with other butterflies, and had a TB that wanted to "master the powers of air, water, earth, and fire!" { Note, the dog tags are hidden in the photos so that the TB code would not show up}

Geocoins are like TBs without the tags and attached personal items. Geocoins are coins, go figure! They come in all shapes and sizes and commemorate all kinds of things. The trackable code is part of the coin itself.  As you collect geocoins (which you do have to log and release, like TBs), your geocaching account shows little icons for the ones you found-- you collect them virtually! Like travel bugs, geocoins can be given goals too.


Events

The geocaching community often has some kind of local events on a regular basis. Edmonton has monthly meetings, and regular Cache and Release events (there's definitely a winter one). In the spring time, there are often Cache in Trash Out (CITO) events where geocaching is combined with the removal of trash! Actually, part of geocaching is that we should be observing CITO all the time, but the event gets the community together and makes it a social occasion. Any geocacher can set up events and have them posted. Some events are small and some are mega events. There's even GeoWoodstock!

If you sign up for a free geocaching account at Groundspeak, you'll likely get weekly newsletters sent to your email detailing all the new local geocaches and all local events. If you want to learn about newly posted cache sites as they are posted (thereby giving you a fighting chance to be the first to find-- FTF), then you'll need a Premium Membership ($10 USD for 3 months or $30 UDS for the year). Premium membership also comes with other perks too.

Geocaching on Vacation

Truth be told, I believe the majority of our cache finds are outside of Edmonton. The fantastic thing about geocaching on vacation, or on short/long car trips, is the neat places you may find that otherwise would have been missed. If it's not a fantastic location, at least we got out of the car to stretch our legs!

Two of our first out of town geocaching adventures were on our way to visit the Ukrainian Village, to the east of Edmonton. We stopped off at a little cemetery smack dab in between the divided highway! 100 Fun Adventures (GC1JH8B) and YellowHead East YLHDAB (GCM6QR).

Found While Geocaching

We have geocached in and around Jasper, Banff, and Canmore. Wagner Natural Area (just outside of Edmonton to the west) is a lovely place to geocache. I've even geocached around Sylvan Lake during a storytelling retreat. These are all in Alberta, of course, but we've geocached outside the province too.

Manatee Cove. Unseen in photo: two dozen manatees!

Manatee Cove (GC10260) in Florida, USA was an amazing geocache. The cache was hiding within the mangle of roots of a very cool tree, but the really great thing about this geocache (which we found on a Valentines Day) were the manatees! We counted about two dozen manatees slowly swimming and grazing in this inlet--- they had come in for the warmer waters.

The B.B. & B.C. Cache (GCWQ5K) took us to a wonderful model train museum in Bellingham, Washington, USA where we had to find the answers to the questions by searching the place. This went over very well with our son, lol!

Model Train Museum

Spin the Bottle (GCGY7J) was a traditional cache at Bottle Beach, Washington, USA. A really great place to stop and stretch the legs on a long car trip. Even better if you're a bird watcher.

And one of my all time favourites...
DR. Who. (GCW6EM) in Portland, Oregon. I can only aspire to be so clever! This one required taking *all* the clues and hints with you in order to get to the cache container... or else you'd be sadly disappointed. That's all I can say publicly/online :P

Geocaching in Edmonton

"The Migrant" at City Hall with Rabbit

I love hiking in the river valley or visiting Edmonton ravines and geocaching at the same time; it's a great way to explore the natural beauty of Edmonton. However, those aren't the only type of geocaches that capture our attention. There are tons of great geocaches in Edmonton, and we have barely scratched the surface ourselves, but I wanted to list a few to provide a sense of what geocaching can be.

Lil' Mama's City Hall Sculpture Tour (GC14J93) a cache by Bonkerstheclown. This is a multi-cache which means that you must visit more than one location before seeking the final, physical, cache container. As the title suggests, this is a tour of the sculptures around city hall. At each you have to find the date, collect numbers, and do a small bit of easy math to figure out the final coordinates of the cache container. Who knew there were so many sculptures!

Star Blanket Sudoku (GCRWX1) a cache by Team Scratch. This is a mystery/puzzle cache. On the geocaching map, it looks like it is located downtown, however, you must solve the sudoku puzzle to find the real coordinates. I won't say where this is located, the fun is in the solving. I will say that the cache container is a regular size ammo can and contained lots of good swag for children when we found it. It's always fun to find these larger containers with great swag (aka trade items). One thing to note about swag/trading is that you should always make sure your trade is of equal or better value than what you take out!

Something on a Stick 'YXD' (GCBB2A) a cache by Tommi Potx. This is a virtual cache-- a cache that takes you to a location and asks questions of you in order to log your visit since there is no physical cache container. You can no longer create these types of geocaches at Geocaching.com. This one was grandfathered in. Now, virtual caches are considered waymarks and can be created at waymarking.com instead.

Spaceship Landing (GC1QHRO) a cache by cerebus48. This is a typical traditional cache that is easy to get to. I am offering it up as an example of a fun/unique cache container that may take some searching to find!

A Typical Ammo Can Cache with Swag

The Camel Humps (GCGR5J) a cache by Shumway. This is another typical traditional cache with a small/decent sized container. But I love these types of caches: unknown-to-me historical sites! I really enjoy being introduced to parts of Edmonton and its history that I had not known about. From the cache description: "The area was the site of a brick factory in the early twentieth century. There are several small hills here that were created by the piling up of waste from the brick making process - mostly clay. Nature being as she is quickly took root. The humps are now covered in vegetation - almost to the point that you can't tell the humps are man-made."

We've been to another historical cache when it was in need of maintenance (it was missing and needed replacement), so we need to go back and find it still: Schools Out (GC1FX06) a cache by Geo Muggler. This is Edmonton's oldest schoolhouse (1881)!


Edmonton even boasts Earthcaches, one of my personal favourites!
From geocaching.com:
"An EarthCache is a special place that people can visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth. EarthCaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location (latitude and longitude). Visitors to EarthCaches can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage the resources and how scientists gather evidence to learn about the Earth."

Of course there are earthcaches in the river valley (Dawson Park Hoodoos--GC1AXTN by EngGuyJay... hoodoos in Edmonton), but there are also two downtown.
City of Edmonton-- Rockwalk Tour 1(GC19JJT) by Celestial Badger is one of two rockwalks that tour you around downtown to learn about the rocks and minerals used in building our city!

Like I said, that is only a glimpse into the types of geocaches out there.

Idea: Geocaching?!

A Rainy Day, But Still Geocache-able!

Geocaching is a wonderfully flexible outdoor activity which I highly recommend. Whether you're out for some solitude or with the family, there are a multitude of easy and difficult caches to find here in Edmonton... and all over the world. It's a treasure hunt! Often geocaches bring you to great locations and places you've never been, even in your own home town. Some caches bring you to historical locations complete with educational trappings. Some have specific themes like Harry Potter while others are designed to create a challenge. From basic hidden caches or earth-caches to complex puzzle caches and multi-caches, really, there is something for everyone!


From the official website at geocaching.com:

"Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment."

We went geocaching today to find "Net-0" on the River (GC2FQWN).  This cache, set up by Sara and Grant as their very first cache, honours a gorgeous river valley view, the downtown skyline, and a new housing project with aims at being net-zero and has a blog: Chasing Net Zero. While the terrain on this one wasn't particularly kid friendly, the majority of caches are family friendly and great fun for all.