Let the Celebrations Begin!!

The year after I started geocaching held the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of geocaching. Well HQ has announced the celebrations for 2020. It has been 20 years, and it is time.

Background

I remember back in 2010, a number of ideas were passed around to celebrate. It all eveolved into a weekend. Cachers would gather and have events to celebrate the 10th anniversary of geocaching. They were called the Lost and Found Events.

Well you had to hear about it, then request your cache be changed to a lost and found event. They had to have special naming, take a photo at the event, etc. My friend Peanutsparents and i planned a day around them. Traveling from Morgan in the wee hours of the morning and ending at an event I held that night. I think we hit six or seven events on the race through the day. I remember a packed house at a hamburger place, and people just seemed to come out of the woodwork. In my opinion, it was one of the biggest caching day in Utah. It just seemed everyone was out.

The downside, it was just the one weekend. If you did not get the icon that weekend, you were out of luck.

And now….

So here we are again. At a new event season. Happily HQ extended that window. HQ decided that starting in January they would give out 2020 special lost and found events every month. You have to hold your events after May 2nd and the end of the year.

So you need to make sure you sign up. At the bottom of this page there is a button to click. You must have attended a few events in the last three years, and you have to have found two caches in the last six months to be considered active. All of this is based on data from Dec 2nd. So you cant go back and back date finds and get an ok. I am pretty sure HQ did this to prevent people from gaming the system.

Those people have a chance to win one of the 20,200 events to be held around the world. So remember to give it a shot and click the event. There will be some geographic distribution done. How much, I do not know. But they want to spread them out around the world.

The opt in page will only exist until June 3rd, so remember to log on soon. I am guessing as the year rolls on more and more people will sign up, so the people given them in January and Febuary will have the best shot.

Limits?

Well, they events have to last 2 hours. It is a celebration after all. So plan activities, and fun things to do. This is no meet and greet event.

You cant have them within 25 miles (40Km) of a Mega Event on the two days before and day after. Those are someones events after all.

You only get one… no more.

Meet all other guidelines. No stacking of these events, commercial events, etc.

My Recommendations

I would not place one if there is another one in the same weekend, or same area. There are many days in the year, lets celebrate and give many the chance to participate. Spread them out.

Plan something fun. Food, or something else.

Get/make prizes, buy trackables, or just fun things to share. Many people shared signature items in years past. Do that again, go and get some Extags, pathtags, or have geocoins made.

Share in geocachings history, QnA with old timers, reviewers, or share stories.

How To Create A Memorable Earthcache, And Get It Published

In the beginning….

Creating an Earthcache can be daunting, and frustrating. A few seem to fly to publication quickly, while other drag along for months. I know of one that it a year old that is still in the process of getting listed, but I will toss more light on that in a bit. It can be incredibly rewarding, I get lots of photos, favorite points, and thanks from visitors from around the world that come to visit my Earthcaches. Yet the creation can be a hair pulling experience. I thought I would go over a few things step by step, and touch on what I see work, and what fails.

1 - Something Unique - Something Geological

First take the time for find something unique, and something that you would like to highlight. It is a very good idea to have it something that you know about, or can find more information about. remember to focus on the geology, not the history. I have sometimes found unique locations but have no idea about the geology I am trying to highlight. So I start my research with what I know and see.

Often people forget about looking at other Earthcaches around them. For example I find a great location about a geyser, and that would make a fantastic Earthcache. There does not appear to be another one within a kilometer. So I trudge ahead and toss something together. Yet, I am in Yellowstone National Park in the USA. There are a dozen Earthcaches on geysers within a a half hours drive. Remember that proximity for Earthcaches are different than standard cache types. We look to see if a similar one is nearby.

Sometimes we also think of the big picture. You know the big mountain, or the big river. We also see a number of great Earthcaches that highlight the very small. A particular vein in a stone outcropping, or seeing the small fossils can be as enlightening as a giant feature. Those working on larger visions are going to have far more problems. I can see a picture of the area on Google streetview, how do you not just get the answers without visiting. Often the mountain, or looking to the large valley is going to be harder than the smaller unique item.

2 - Permission

After I have an idea, I jump to getting permission. The rules governing this varies from area to area, and from country to country. So contact your reviewer. In the USA, generally you will be asked for permission from the land manager if you leave a highway. Walking trails, backcountry areas, wilderness, city parks, may all need permission. So plan on that.

I have had, and seen, a number of caches denied over the years. A few were in locations that had obsidian, or gems. Though rockhounders go there regularly to gather, the land managers did not want to highlight the locations and have denied permission. Another feature was asked to be removed because it was getting too much traffic. Land managers wanted to control it a little more. Even though it is a popular tourist site. So don’t assumer permission.

A special note on the National parks. “These locations are loved to death by visitors.” That is how a park ranger described it to me. If you want to put one out in a National Park in the USA you will need permission. Include the reviewer in the emails, and/or give him a copy with all the permissions. Those land managers want to make sure that educational material is correct, and that they are not in a location that may cause extra traffic or damage.

Often when approaching a land manager I will pull up nearby Earthcaches. I will share with them my ideas, cache content, location, and ask them for input. I see how many visitors nearby Earthcaches get in a year, then let them know what that number is. Usually I see 10-15 visitors a year at my Earthcache locations. That number can make them feel better. Sometimes they fear social media, It highlights locations, then hundreds of people are drawn to a site to a site that they do not have a management plan for.

3 - The Information Hunt and Selection

There are many books, websites, and people that can help you out. take advantage of what you can. Usually I end up with a pile of information on some caches. On a cache I did on a natural arch I had many options. I gathered info on how arches form, the different types, the sandstone that makes up different layers in the arch, how it eroded, what it may have looked like in years past, rates of erosion, how hard/soft some of the sandstones are.

All of this information I gather and look at. Sometimes I do not have much information, or at least I do not have much information on topics that I know much about. So if i cannot gather more info, I sit down and think what makes the best teaching experience at the site.

I also try to focus on one thing. Don’t turn this into a masters thesis on the creation, evolution, erosion, mass wasting, faulting, and future prospects of the location. Select one thing. Simpler is better. Educate on that one thing.

4 -Writing it all up

I usually start with my questions. I put them at the top. Often they are not very good at this point, however I get them written out. They are my goal. What I need to educate to get it published. If my tasks are on identifying granite, I could write on how granite resists weathering, but why? It is not part of my questions. I will sometimes make a note of an alternate question if one does not work, but mostly I go with it. I can focus my write up on what is between my goalposts, There may be a ton of neat history, or other geology, but the biggest complaint I hear about Earthcaches is that some are school reports 20,000 words long.

Keep it simple. Remember this is not your college geology term paper. Try and explain it to a 13 year old. Enough that they understand, but you do not need to get into particle physics (usually, unless that is what you are doing it on). Also if you focus on the history, your reviewer will roll their eyes. History is not part of the Earthcache program.

• Make you think

• Asks open ended questions. Why do you think…. How did this stone…. Is the wear even across…..

• Is focused on one subject.

Bad logging tasks

• Asks elevation, names, direction, or something else I can just get off a map

• Asks a pointless counting question. like How many boulders are here?

• Words off sign. The lake is _______ years old.

• Bounce between different subjects.

5 - Review your logging tasks one more time.

Then i look through my logging tasks again. One last time to make sure I am not missing anything. Try and think how others will react when they read these. If you make them too complicated they might chase people away. However they should not be solvable without visiting the site.

A thought on photos. The Earthcache reviewers now let you place a photograph if the logging tasks are good. It is only there to prevent cheaters. So you still must have the logging tasks that are good without the photo. I have added a photo on some of my most heavily visited Earthcache because a few people have shared the answers. This lets me proove that they were actually there, instead of combing through their find history.

6 - Sit Back and Breath.

Stop for a moment and walk away. Come back the next day and look at it.

1. Do you have permission

2. Do your logging tasks focus on geology and something unique

3. Can I answer the questions without visiting the site. This can be a killer. Is the entire cache answerable from google streetview? or sometimes people give the answers in the cache page.

4. Did I attribute science info on my page

Then… hit the submit button.

Been a while over 10 years.

I have been thinking about the past decade of caching. Well, I can cheat and say almost 15 years. I found my first geocache when my kid was younger and playing soccer (football for all those not in the USA). My daughter wandered out to the corner of the field and when I went to find her I found an ammunition can. The Cache was Lehi Parks GCR0X6.

I had heard of caching for some time. Though I had not taken the time to actually get involved. I was a scoutmaster in the BSA and was scrambling to keep on top of everything. Well, after a bit I decided it would be smart to get a GPS. So off the the store I went.

I bought the worst GPS ever made. Literally the worst. I could not get it to run, it crashed constantly. I took it back to the store and paid more for a better model. It was crap as well, so back to the store. They had a policy that said I had to contact the maker to be fixed. So I was really pissed. I eventually badgered the guy until he let me switch to a Garmin.

Well, with that trusty old crappy GPS I did find a few caches. On May 4th in 2008 I stumbled upon Generic Cache GC17484 It was a two minute walk from my home. I looked twice, before I found the stupid thing. It was on a guardrail on a bridge over a creek. Wow, my eyes were opened.

I chose firennice as a handle from gaming. I started using the computer and internet back in the early 1990’s. It was a cool time, new tech every month. In that time period there were not really a lot of online gamers. I saw the origin of spamming at least in forums. There would be a discussion, and someone would say. “I like spam”. That was followed by a “I hate spam” and the boards discussion would devolve into that discussion. But I digress. I would try to grab firenice or fire-n-ice as a handle. There and on AOL. It was often taken, so I would add an extra n. It was never taken, so I grabbed it and rolled on. That became my geocaching handle.

I dove in really heavily that first year. I think I had well over 100 caches, and made a number of new friends. I remember attending my first event, and kind of sat in the back by a campfire. I had put out a series that was very well received by the local cachers, and it made me feel good to get the comments, and see the reactions.

I do remember getting home and my wife asked how it was. I remember saying that you had never seen so many OCD people gathered in one place at one time. It was really funny to her because she worked in the mental health industry.

Well. As this year rolls into my 11th year… whats up?

I have seen the rise of Earthcaches. they were around, but I feel like they came into their own later. I ran one mega event, attended a few others. I have many many coins. Had a few made. Hosted thirty events, and placed some 500 caches. I don’t look at my find count. I am behind on logging. I need to get back to that. So I really do not know how many I have.

My stat that I am the most proud of is the 1450 favorite points. I really try to pick and choose some of the locations. I think those are paying off as time goes by.

so thanks for everyone that has made this trip so great. I plan on more, perhaps a bit more picky than in times past, however I do plan on more. As I move closer to retirement and see kids slowly head out into the world.

Springtime = Earthcache time.

Yep it is that time again.   Spring is here, and it is time to get going. I was thinking it was time for me to give advice on getting an Earthcache published.  I am surprised as I see there appears to be a number of people that just seem to struggle.  Some sail through the process and others get bogged down in minutia  They fall in a few categories.  

GC5H550 Fin Erosion, Photo by geogriefer from geocaching website

The Historically Interesting

Remember Earthcaching is about the geologic world around you. It is not about the building, dam, fort, city hall, or the history of the ancient people that lived there.  We are trying to teach about Geology Yes I know it is a little wider that just the science of geology, I will cover that in a minute.  Unless I loose track and start rambling, which happens often. 

As much as the building of the dam, the people it displaced, and the history may be interesting it cannot be the primary focus of the cache.  If part of your Earthcache is on topic we may ask you to remove it.  Some fight tooth and nail to keep it in, but it can't be the primary focus. 

I can go here so no permission is needed

Wow this has been a huge fallacy for some time. This is primarily for the US Earthcaches.  Differences in laws and land manager policies give other locations different opinions.  Recently I asked the other US reviewers.  Everyone was pretty much on the same page.  You need permission, there can be some leeway for a road pullout, but if you place off road you will be asked for permission. 

I have good relations as a reviewer for Earthcaches with many National Park Service, BLM, state parks and other agencies.  I regularly get emails from a few of them. I have taken the time when traveling to greet them if they were in their offices.  They are good people doing their job.  If you want to make them mad, publish and lie about permission.  That works for me as well.  I have had a few people that apparently lied to me.  I have contacted the email given and was told they never asked.  On the flip side, a manager from Zion National park contacted me, upset they had not given permission, and was thinking about having a number archived.  We pulled records with names and he left happy, after a good discourse.  So mistakes do happen. 

In another instance a cacher said there was no need for permission and pointed me to the BLM webpage.  At the bottom is stated "please contact the BLM office to make sure the location is appropriate.  I have had, and seen,  a number turned down.  For a number of reasons

1. Area is closed.  Though no signage exists, it is a closed area. 
2. People were gathering the material to be seen (archaeological, fossils, obsidian, etc) and they did not want to advertise. 
3. A permit was needed, and contact with the managing agency.  They wanted to make sure the site was not advertised.  
4. Dangerous location. 
5. Plants/animals were considered endangered. 

In the end take the time.  They can be a help to you as well. 

Take a photo

Yep, not allowed.  Since about 2011 a photo requirement is optional.  It was not grandfathered.  I hear that a lot.  I have let a few cache owners know.  Log disputes are up to someone else, HQ and the Geological Society, however if the requirements do not meet the guidelines I will go back and address it with the cache owner. 

The terrible logging task

I will point to this in the Help Center

An EarthCache teaches an earth science lesson. The cache page must include logging tasks that help teach the same lesson. Remember that the EarthCache is based on the world around us, not on an informational sign at the EarthCache site. Geocachers must complete the tasks before they log the EarthCache as found.

What are good tasks?  Tasks that ask people to interpret what they see.  How did this form this way? I have one where people try to burn a piece of oil shale, I ask them what they see and learn.  Others ask people to describe the formation, and why it formed like that. 

What are bad tasks? Eleveation, measure the width of the river, or depth. Find a word on a sign, give me a diameter of the boulder.  Remember we are here to teach. 

Clastic Pebbele Dikes, photo by oxsling

The wrong earth science

Earth science is pretty broad.  For the sake of the Geological Society of America, it means the hard earth, the physical part of our planet.  Geology and its related fields. 

I know it is sad.  I have proposed a few times to people at Groundspeak to create a BioCache or something similar, however until then, we are stuck with using the GSA options. 

What is not ok?  Biology, ecology, geodesy, archaeology, oceonography, zoology.....  I think you get the point. 

Wayyyy to many

Once and a while something spreads.  Bob places an Earthcache, and everyone copies it.   You see a mirror of it all over.  So many are limited.   We can also see a time when things just are too problematic, they are not bad ideas, but really they are not doable. So what are these?

• Springs, 
• Building and decorative stones. 
• river confluences
• waterfalls 
• artesian wells
• glacial erratics
• river gaging stations

Now an area may be saturated.  Yellowstone is buried with caches on geysers.  If there is nothing new to be taught, you may not be allowed to list a cache.  Every reviewer will have his limits on how close you can have a cache to a similar one. 

GC5FM6F, photo by utahsnowflake

What can I do?

Well first, remember it can be a long haul.  I have had a few I have worked on for years.  I need a bit more info.  Many people take a few weeks to a few months to get it listed.  I am always impressed with the people that do it on the first try.  So do not be discouraged.  Don't try and overwhelm the visitor either. This is not a doctorate thesis on geology.  Pretend you are teaching a Jr High student. 

Remember to take it a step at a time. 

1. Do I meet the focus of the Earthcache program
2. Do I have the science to teach?
3. Do I have logging tasks that use what I teach?
4. Do I have permission?

Done.  See how easy?  Ok it is not that easy, but you know what I mean.  Take it in steps.

The Virtual Reward

There are hiders and there are hiders.  There are those people that do amazing work have a great many fantastic caches that people tip their hats too. We all know there.  There are a few in every area.  Perhaps they specialize in the Earthcaches that are interesting, it may be the gadget caches that keep others entertained.  Other cachers may place caches in locations that make others ooh and ahh at the scenic beauty. So now there is a reward for some of them.

First I had nothing to do with it

As a reviewer, we were not asked who, how, or what should be included in the algorithm. So don't contact any reviewer mad that you did not get one. We had no input.  A small group of lackeys sat down and (I am sure) pounded out the thoughts of what should be included, and what should be weighted. 

However, I know people will ask.  Why was cacher X chosen, and not Y?  Well, obviously the most good looking, smart, and happy cachers got chosen.  So when you are asked, that is the answer that should be given.  That seems simple enough.  Well, I can't say that, because I do not know who was chosen.  No one has even shared that with me. So once again, I am no help.

You got an email

So you will have received an email from HQ if you got it.  Other than that, I don't know much.  The caches are supposed to go out to the top hiders, not in your area, but worldwide. Some people you may have been sure to get one, may not have, and I am expecting people to be surprised at others.  That seems to be how a computer will spit things out.  Congrats enjoy the day, you have a while to use it and get it listed.

If you did not get an email

Not much you can do this time around.  There will be a lot that does not get them, I have no great advice.  Place better caches?  Place some?  Just enjoy the new ones?  The cache pages are not adoptable, so I am assuming that some people will not even use the ones they have.