The Joy of Geocaching Book » Interviews

Celebrating Human Stories

Paul — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:11:41 +0000

The Joy of Geocaching is a celebration of stories; the hundreds told to us by veteran cachers barely scratched the surface of the rich experiences that players have related in logs over the last decade. We decided to make stories the centerpiece of the book, so we were tickled this week to learn that Geocaching.com is now doing the same thing. As part of its 10th anniversary celebration, Groundspeak has added a “Lost & Found” section to its website where cachers can log their stories in an archive. Groundspeak is even collecting video anecdotes!

We’ve been doing the same thing on this site for more than a year. Do we dare say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Seriously, we’re delighted to see Groundspeak formally recognizing the joy that geocaching has given so many people over the last 10 years. This is a welcome addition to Geocaching.com and an inspiration for more people to play this terrific game.

Groundspeak Co-Founder: Android App Coming Soon

Paul — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:01:22 +0000

Groundspeak co-founder Bryan Roth contacted us recently to admonish us (gently) for using a Groundspeak trademark on our site without permission (Sorry, Bryan!). We’re never one to pass up an opportunity, so we asked him to answer a few questions. In the process, we discovered that Groundspeak has just started posting statistics about the number of active geocachers worldwide as well as the total numbers of logs filed on the Geocaching.com homepage.

Here’s our brief e-mail interview:

Q: How many active geocachers are there worldwide?

A: Three to four million cachers. There are some good monthly stats near the bottom of the geocaching.com homepage. They are updated daily. As of today, There are 973,854 active caches and an estimated 3-4 million geocachers worldwide. In the last 30 days, there have been 2,273,706 new logs submitted.

Q: With smart phones now routinely incorporating GPS receivers, we could be looking at 1 billion people worldwide carrying around GPSrs within a couple of years. What impact do you think that will have on the growth of the game? Is Groundspeak doing anything to take advantage of this growth outside of the iPhone application you built?

A: The addition of new and convenient forms of access to geocaching will allow for more people to hear about it and participate. In addition to our iPhone application, we will be releasing an Android application shortly, with other platforms to follow.

Q: Is Groundspeak giving any consideration to opening the geocaching.com service as a platform for third-party developers? Similarly, have you given any consideration of licensing the database for developers to build extended services?

A: We have considered both of these options. We have opened the geocaching service and licensed the database in very limited circumstances for very specific projects. A complete opening up of the service is not likely in the near term however all options are on the table for the future and we will evaluate them on an ongoing basis.

Q: What’s one of your favorite geocaches?

A: GCG9HP - I am claustrophobic (somewhat) and this cache really helped me push my own personal limits. Also, it was super cool to be caching in Finland.

Update, May 13, 2010: There have been many inquiries for more information about the status of the Android application, so we e-mailed Bryan for an update. his response may not satisfy all the enthusiasts, but at least it’s a response:

Unfortunately, I don’t have a precise target to share. Simply put, we will release the app as soon as we feel it is ready and worthy of the geocaching community. Ideally, that will be in the next few weeks, but we’re reserving the right to hold it further if we’re not happy with it.

We’re Android users ourselves, and have found a couple of apps that we like. Our favorite so far is GeoBeagle. We’ve also tried GCDroid and OpenGPX. They’re functional but a bit buggier. Google’s open approach to its marketplace should insure that plenty of apps will be available.

InfiniteMPG and Friends on PBS

Paul — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:55:02 +0000

WEDU, the PBS affiliate in Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL, just ran a seven-minute feature on geocaching that featured Scott Veix (InfiniteMPG) and a group of fellow geo-enthusiasts. Scott contributed tons of stories and photos to The Joy of Geocaching.

“It’s not a perfect science,” Scott tells Jack Perkins, host of “A Gulf Coast Journal. “Your GPS will tell you one second [the cache] is over here and the next second it’s 150 feet away.” Amen, Scott. Geosense is part of the magic.

“Geocaching is providng to be more than a game. It’s about community,” sums up Perkins. ” It’s a game that puts people in touch with nature and in touch with fun. Not a bad way to pass time on a peaceful morning.”

Boy Scouts Go Geocaching

Paul — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:28:31 +0000

The Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a serious geocaching initiative. The Get in the Game! geocaching events are built around local activities in which scouts hide caches that spotlight “Scouting’s great gifts to America” as well as the legacy of the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturing, Scouting Alumni, and Volunteers. This nationwide initiative is an important endorsement of geocaching by a major organization.

The Scouts want to hear from people who want to help the program. Here’s where you can learn more and contact the organization.

A Record-Setting Power-Cache

Paul — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:03:30 +0000

Power cachers are always pushing the limits of the game, and as we were in the final stages of writing this book, we received word of a new record claim by a team that included two people we quote extensively elsewhere: Steve O’Gara (ventura_kids) and Elin Carlson (EMC of Northridge, CA). They joined with f0t0m0m on August 29, 2009 in a midnight-to-midnight run that netted 413 caches in one day.

The trip involved extensive planning using GSAK, Google Earth and Geocaching.com. Ventura_kids created nine possible routes, consuming an estimated 45 hours. The team logged its 100th find at 5:30 a.m. By then, they had already battled swarms of grasshoppers who thought their car was a nifty place to hang out in the darkness of night. All day long, our heroes suffered through heat and dehydration in the process of traveling 471 miles.

We interviewed ventura_kids about this remarkable accomplishment in late September. Listen to the entire interview below.
Time: 54:17