Please Note: Event has been rescheduled for Friday, July 31st, 2020. I look forward to seeing you all there!
Community Celebration Event at Jiaming Lake
Brief History of Geocaching and Community Celebration Events
On May 2nd, 2000, more accurate GPS services were made available to everyday citizens around the world. The very next day, a computer consultant by the name of Dave Ulmer wanted to test this "new" technology out so he hid a container or some “stash” in the woods of Oregon, USA, and posted the coordinates on a GPS Internet site. Within three days, a few GPS enthusiasts read about this "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and used their GPS devises to locate the stash. Upon finding this treasure, those GPS enthusiasts shared their experience online. Soon others followed suit — not with just finiding these stashes but with hiding their own and posting the coordinates also on the Internet. And so Geocaching was born.
Ten years later, Geocaching celebrated a decade of the “Modern Treasure Hunt” and offered a new cache type — The Lost and Found Event Cache. At that time only 362 such Events were held, including one in Taiwan — 10 Years! Taiwan, Happen., hosted by one of the first Geocachers in Taiwan — hkw0704.
Now in 2020, that same event type that is only available once every ten years is back, but now under a new name — Community Celebration Event. So, twenty years after the very first Geocache was hidden, this community has grown from a few dozen caches to over three million active caches hidden in virtually every country and continent on Earth!
Here in Taiwan, our Geocaching Community has also grown. Over the past two decades we have gone from just a handful of caches and cachers to now over 3,000 active caches and a hundred active cachers with many more joining the community regularly.
Reason for this Community Celebration Event at Jiaming Lake
Now one of the most unique features of Taiwan is the amount of mountains this island has. Taiwan boasts over 250 peaks that are over 3000 meters high with other geological formations like lakes and forests that also sit high above the clouds. Because of this abundance of Mother Nature at our fingertips, it is no surprise that one of the favorite pastimes of the Taiwanese people is hiking.
So to celebrate 20 Years of Geocaching, I wish to hold this Community Celebration Event at Jiaming Lake not only to showcase the beauty of this island that I have called home for over a decade but to also commemorate the month and the place the very first Geocache was ever hidden — in May in a forest, hence this event also being held in May, and among Mother Nature. Also, I want to incorporate a favorite hobby of the Taiwanese people — hiking — and at the same time pay tribute to the first ever “Community Celebration Event” in Taiwan, which also went with an outdoors theme in the mountains. Jiaming Lake is arguable the most beautiful alpine lake in all of Taiwan. Therefore, it is the perfect place for celebrating 20 Years of Geocaching as the very first hide reflected going out and exploring Mother Nature. So come celebrate 20 Years of Geocaching in the year 2020 at Jiaming Lake!
Event Info
- Date: Friday, July 31st, 2020
- Time: 8:00 a.m. ~ 3:00 p.m.
- Place: Jiaming Lake
We will picnic at Jiaming Lake, take funny photos and even have a Fun Run around the lake! For more information about the overall hike including applying for permits, route planning, booking accommodations and paying for any fees, please refer to the official website here. Come celebrate a 2020 Community Celebration Event at Jiaming Lake!
Community Celebration Events - 2020
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 20 years of geocaching. Geocachers hosted events between May 2, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.