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Video: Geocaching For Buried Treasure!

Kryptic — Sun, 30 May 2010 12:05:46 +0000

Watch as two newbie geocachers hunt their first geocache. They do a great job explaining the basic aspects of geocaching and the looks on their faces when they discover it is going to be a puzzle cache are priceless!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM-pmR050bo

Found this YouTube Video on “Jon’s Adventure Vlog: Geocaching For Buried Treasure!”

Creative Geoache YouTube Style

Kryptic — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:16:03 +0000

A creative geocache is a thing of beauty. Finding one will make you giggle with delight and provide endless fodder for geocaching stories at events or around a campfire. A creative geocache may be a hand crafted specialty item designed to match perfectly to it’s environment or a clever multi-stage puzzle that taxes a geocachers brain to distraction.

Geocachers never cease to amaze me with their creativity. I have found geocaching containers so cleverly hidden in plain site, that as a muggle, walking that same path daily, I never noticed their existance. I even photographed one once and didn’t realize that the shot contained a geocahe until many moons later.

Geocaching containers are not the only way to be creative with your geocache. The cache coordinates can be skillfully hidden in an image on a geocaching.com listing page or woven into the fabric of a story written to disguise clues to the cache. Some caches are theme based with elaborately decorated geocache containers, filled with ornately decorated geocaching log books and geoswag all reflecting it’s theme. These are some of those extra steps taken by many geocachers to engage our imaginations and uplift our spirits while geocaching.

I have found micros in the woods hidden in hollowed out sticks. I have found ammo cans hidden behind a garden fence in an urban alley. But until today, I had never found a geocache online.

ErikaJean, a geocacher from Arizona, has introduced me to a new kind of creative geocache. She has put together an interactive introduction to geocaching on YouTube. Using a series of short videos hyperlinked to hot spots on the main video, she takes us on a tour of her backyard during our hunt for a geocache. It’s as close to geocaching as I’ve ever seen on a screen and a great way to introduce geocaching to your muggle friends when they won’t leave the computer to go outside and play. (I used to resemble that remark!) I may not be able to log a smiley on geocaching.com for this one, but the smile it brought to my face was well worth it.

Thank you ErikaJean for your splendid version of a creative geocache!

(And yes, I did giggle )

Geocaching Has A Dark Side: Anti-Caching

Kryptic — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:52:51 +0000

Geocaching and Letterboxing in Washington State Parks have fallen victim to Anti-Caching. A person or group calling itself “Forest Defenders” has recently been destroying geocaches and letterboxes here in the Pacific Northwest. They have a blog which I will not dignify with a link to here, but if you want to read it, you can find the web address here in the geocaching.com forums.

If these people would use their blog to educate (one of their stated goals) about eco-sensitive areas and the specific types of plants, fungi and lychans to pay special attention not to disturb, I would be more inclined to value their opinion about geocache placement. I am always happy to learn new ways and change my behaviors to be a more responsible patron of the outdoors. But…

I think that these people might better serve the environment by sharing their points of view in an educational way rather than the destructive route they are engaged in. Geocachers share things. It’s the basis of what we do. We share knowledge of beautiful locations with each other by placing geocaches. We share knowledge of trail conditions, outdoorsmanship, safety considerations and much more at geocaching events. If these persons truly want to stop environmental damage done by geocachers seeking caches, then teach. The few who are taught will always forward the information to other cachers. Sharing knowledge with 64 Geocachers instead of stealing 64 geocaches, would go much further in the effort to change the current conditions in our Washington State Parks and the world.

Instead, they geocache freely. Signing some logs and using the services of geocaching.com to find many more beautiful and interesting places. Then appoint themselves as “defenders” of public property. Property held in trust for the benefit of all citizens and animals alike protected by trained professionals who have dedicated their lives to the service of the land, it’s people, its wildlife and remove other geocaches as they deem fit.

Letterboxing has been around for centuries. Geocaching 10 years. Both activities are known to all governmental agencies and park personnel. If the authorities and real “defenders” allow them and in many states actively encourage and engage in these pursuits, what right do you have to remove them?

Geocaching has many side benefits. The biggest one for me has been a dramatically increased awareness of the environment, its ecosystems and my effect upon them. It has changed the way I live everyday. In effect it has taught me to be a more earth-friendly consumer and has started me upon a path of green living. These changes take time, but the changes I’ve made have had a ripple effect into the lives everyone I know. And the ripples just keep spreading. Teaching changes the teacher and the student. I am now also learning more about living green form those very friends who, once influenced, took it a step further. The circle returns. This is educating.

But. These part time geocachrs/eco-anti-cachers do not teach, enlighten or foster support for their views with their actions. They destroy.

Doesn’t say much for them in my humble opinion.

“With All Sincerity”
Kryptic

- Geocachers Victimes of geo-smashers

Creative Cache Cryptex Series

Kryptic — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:26:52 +0000

There is only one attribute that a “creative geocache” must have. The “WOW” factor. The “Wow” can come from the cache listing page, the view at the location, the devious hide, the beautifully accessorized log book, or the outstanding and unusual container. The “Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper” series by Soxter & Billini takes “WOW” to a whole new level!

If there were and awards ceremony for Geocaching this series would sweep every category. Location: Check. Devious: Check. Log: Check. Outstanding or Unusual Container: Check! Check! Check! Let’s face it folks; If Geocaching had it’s own version of the Oscars, this series would awarded the “Golden Signal” for every category!

I can’t imagine the time and effort that it took to put something like this together, but the results speak for themselves. As of the time of this writing there have only been seven finders of the final cache. Here is a sample of their logs:

What an awesome series of caches leading up to an an awesome final! The cryptex is amazing and very easy to open and close.” – High Maintenance Co-FTF	The cryptex was amazing. So well made. The cache owners are to be congratulated for this series. It was interesting, challenging, and creative.” – Puddle Duck 21 Co-FTF
This is a very well thought out and executed cache series and an awesome cryptex. We want to make one but you’ve allready done it. I guess we make one and wait a while to plant it. We recommend this series to all cachers. Thanks so much!” – WOLVERINESTacFour
I am very impressed the handy craftman work that you have put into the whole series, from the hides, to the details of the cache pages, and the cache cards, to the final puzzle. To anyone watching this is how you put a puzzle series together, Not to hard, unique, enjoyable for the whole family, and leaves you at each cache wanting more, and caching with anticipation of what twists will be in stored for you from one stop to the next. – Adroit Seeker STF

Now here is the kicker. These are the first caches they have ever placed! And they only have 55 finds! Blows every newbie guideline I’ve ever heard right out of the water!

Here are the links to the caches in the series and to the instructional drawing for making your own cryptex.

Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper Series

Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper (Stage 1 of 4) – GC237VW
Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper (Stage 2 of 4) – GC23RJ7
Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper (Stage 3 of 4) – GC23WYG
Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper (Stage 4 of 4) – GC23WYH
Maple Ridge Cryptex Caper (Final) – GC23WZ0

Go check these out and be inspiried!

I’ll be in line at the Passport Office. I think it is high time this So.Cal. native takes a trip “North of the Border”!

“Tupperware Tuesday” Blog Carnival

Kryptic — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:25:57 +0000

Tupperware Tuesday

“Tupperware Tuesday” is about getting to those geocaches that have been sitting on our “To-Do” list for way too long! You know the ones I am talking about. Those quick caches that are languishing just off our usual route to the grocery store, pharmacy, vet appointment, etc. The “Oh yeah I should have turned left, well maybe next trip”, caches that we all pass everyday. Those “I’ve been meaning to go get to that one”, puzzle caches that we solved last winter and forgot about come spring. (I now have a binder full of those pages I found while cleaning out my files!) And oh yeah… leftovers.

You see, Tuesday is the day my “significant other” plays darts at the local Am-vets post in the evening. Tuesday night is the one night of the week that I can honestly say that there is no cooking required! The fridge is usually full of leftovers (sitting in tupperware) from the weekend just begging to be eaten. A-la dinner for one! Reheat and dinner is served. So, Tupperware Tuesdays, serves a dual purpose: to clean out some caches and the fridge!

No matter what day of the week you choose for your “To-Do” list caching, you can help encourage me and support your fellow cachers by joining in on current “Tupperware Tuesday”

All of this fun and excitement will begin January 5, 2010. I’m hoping to make 2010 a much better caching year than 2009 has been! The “how-to’s” of participating are below. Please help keep me motivated this winter by joining this quest!

“Tupperware Tuesday” is a Blog Carnival or Theme Meme

Participating is easy:

1. You create a post or write an article about getting to one of those long overdue caches and add one of the banners below or a link back to http://coastcacher.com so readers can find other participants.

Copy and paste this code for a textlink:

 coastcacher.com

Copy and paste this code for the above small banner link:

Copy and paste this code for the above large banner link:

2. Then go to the current “Tupperware Tuesday” post and create a link to your post using the MckLinky form at the bottom of my current “Tupperware Tuesday” post.

3. If you do not have a blog, you can still participate by posting a brief “Tupperware Tuesday” story in the comments section. You can include a link to your Twitter or Facebook account if you wish.

4. I’ll publish my “Tupperware Tuesday” post sometime between 5pm and 9pm on Tuesdays. I’ll keep linking open to the post until the following Monday. As with all links and comments on this site, I reserve the right to delete any that are inappropriate, do not follow the guidelines or are not family-friendly.

Using MckLinky is easy:

1. At the bottom of each post you will see:

2. Enter your information in this new window like this:

Click the “enter your link” button.

3. A confirmation screen will appear with a link to go back to my post and view your link.

4. This is what the completed link will look like.

5. Congratulations! Now I and other readers can quickly and easily find your blog post! I look forward to reading your “Tupperware Tuesday” Tales!