Do you think you have what it takes to 'out-Geocache' the competition? Do you live for FTF races? Are you all about the numbers? Are you all about difficult hides? Want to try something new and exciting? If you answered yes to any of these questions, GCCO's first-ever Amazing Geocache race is the can't-miss event for you!
BASIC INFO:
When: Saturday, 25 July, 2015 @ 10:00AM-2:30PM
Where: Heckert Pavilion, Grand Lake, Colorado (Corner of Grand Ave & Pitkin St)
Who: All geocachers are welcome to attend the event - We also encourage (but don't require) Race participation!
EVENT TIMELINE:
10:00-10:30: General Meet & Greet. For those participating in the race, we will be giving a short briefing and distributing race materials.
10:30-12:00: For those who are racing, This is the timeframe to go out and get the temporary caches! For those who are not participating we will be continuing the Meet & Greet in the park.
12:00-2:00: Everyone enjoy an Ice Cream Social. Coordinates for the ice cream parlor that is hosting us are provided as a waypoint in this event.
2:00-2:30: Anouncement of the Winners of the Amazing Race!
RACE INFO:
What do I need to do to participate?
First: Create your team! Teams can be as small as 1 cacher, or as large as 6 cachers. We will be averaging scores, so team size is NOT a factor when it comes to where you place at the end of the event. If you want to be in a team, but don't know who you want to race with, let us know and we will place you into a 'Stag' team.
Second: Register your team! There are two ways to register. You can simply include the names of all of your cachers in your team in your 'will attend' log, or click HERE to fill out the registration form. Come up with a creative team name, if you wish!
Third: show up at the listed coordinates for this event at by 10:00AM for a briefing. Make sure you're not late! We will be going over rules, how to load the caches into your GPS'r or smartphone (may be difficult with limited cell service in the area), and handing out coordinates, scorecards, and puzzles to team captains.
**IMPORTANT NOTE** While it is possible to get the GPX file onto most smartphones, we have very limited experience doing so, and the experiences we HAVE had are not all that pleasant. We recommend using a good 'ol GPSr - borrow a friend's if you have to!
At 10:30 we will officially begin the Race!
What Are The Rules?
First and Foremost: We are guests of this beautiful area. Please be respectful of local laws (Obey Speed Limits, Don't trespass onto private property, Keep your vehicle on the roads, etc.). Law enforcement has been made aware of this race and they are more than willing to turn 'overly ambitious cachers' into an opportunity to generate revenue for the county 
.
Second: Every cacher must visit the cache site. Please do not share your scorecards. We don't want to seem to harsh, but we will Disqualify anyone who has been verified as cheating. It's pretty simple - play fair!
Third: Your scorecard MUST be turned in to the official station by 12:00. Any scorecard turned in after 12:00 will count as 0 points.
Fourth: At the end of the day, this is just a game. If you aren't out here to have fun, then you are doing it wrong. Keep a positive attitude and enjoy the scenery!
Okay, So how does the race work?
We will be placing a great number of temporary geocaches throughout the Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain, and Lake Granby area. They will vary in difficulty, terrain, and we will even have some puzzle caches thrown in. These caches will be loaded into a .GPX file that will then be loaded into a flash drive (one flash drive per team) and handed to the team captain. The flash drives will also contain the puzzles for the puzzle caches. We will also be giving the captains printed copies of coordinates and puzzles, for those who need it. Finally each team member will recieve a 'Scorecard' with their name, and team name.
Inside of each cache will be either a stamper or a hole punch. Simply stamp or punch your scorcard in the corresponding location (box 1 for cache 1, box 22 for cache 22, etc). A stamp or punch in the wrong location counts as 0 points!
Each cache will be worth a different amount of 'points'. The points system is fairly simple - we just add up the D/T rating of the temporary cache (so your basic 1.5/1.5 is worth 3 points).
We will also have Three interactive 'Detours', which will be worth a higher point value. At these detours, you will have to perform a task, and once it is done the Monitor for that detour will stamp / punch your scorecard.
Your goal: get as many points as possible before time runs out. The race is officially running from 10:30-12:00! There will be 2 waypoints added to the GPX file for the two scorecard turn in locations at different sides of the course (you can pick whichever one you want) - and make sure you aren't late. Again - Any score card turned in after NOON will be scored as a 0 points.
Additional info: While it is technically optional, the following is a list of "hints" and "nudges"
A good idea is to bring a GPSr, laptop, and cable. You technically can use your smartphone, however there are two potential issues. 1) .GPX apps in phones are sometimes are picky as to what GPX files they will read, and what info they get from the file. We will not be creating multiple files for multiple platforms. 2) Cell service is limited in this area of the state. We cannot gaurantee the ability to recieve the file into your phone.
We will have one laptop loaded with coordinates for those who didnt bring one, but there will likely be a line at that laptop, causing a delay.
Your best bet is to make sure that at least one person on your team has a GPS'r - that way coords flow nice and easy into your device.
Another good idea is to clear your GPSr before the race, that way you arent confused with both real geocaches and race caches showing up on your device.
ICE CREAM SOCIAL INFO:
The Ice Cream social will be from 12:00-2:00 at the coordinates listed as Waypoint 'ICE CREAM' (see 'Aditional Waypoints' on this cache page) There are some benches outside of the ice cream parlor, along with a pavilion to the east and some lakefront seating to the south. Feel free to Meet & Greet, as GCCO's Presidents IMYY4U2 will be there!
