Celebrating 20 years of Geocaching
On May 2, 2000, at approximately midnight Greenwich Mean Time, the great blue switch controlling selective availability was flipped. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. This gave rise to GEOCACHING.
Dave Ulmer, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. On May 3, 2000, Ulmer placed a black bucket in the woods of Beavercreek, Oregon, near Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various prize items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. Within three days, two different readers learned of the stash via the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others began hiding their own containers worldwide and posting the coordinates. Like many new and innovative ideas on the Internet, the concept spread quickly.
Within the first month, Mike Teague, the first person to find Ulmer's stash, began gathering the online posts of coordinates around the world and documenting them on his personal home page. Geocaching, a term first coined by Matt Stum on the "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list on May 30, 2000, was the joining of two familiar words. The prefix geo, for Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity. Caching, from the word cache, referred to a hiding place someone would use to temporarily store items.
Jeremy Irish, a web developer for a Seattle company, stumbled upon Mike Teague's website while researching GPS technology in July 2000. The idea of using tech gadgets to hunt treasure married two of his greatest interests. Discovering that a geocache was hidden nearby, Jeremy purchased a GPS unit and went on his first hunt the following weekend. With Mike Teague's valuable input, a new geocaching website was completed and announced to the stash-hunting community on September 2, 2000. At the time of the site’s launch, there were 75 known caches in the world. Through word of mouth, press articles, and even accidental cache discoveries, more and more people have become involved in geocaching. First started by technology and GPS enthusiasts, the ranks of geocachers now include couples, families, and groups from all walks of life. The excitement of the hunt appeals to both the inner (and outer) child. Today you can go just about anywhere in the world and be able to walk, bike, or drive to a nearby hidden cache.
In late 2000, Irish partnered with Elias Alvord and Bryan Roth, two co-workers, to start a new company called Groundspeak Inc. (originally "Grounded Inc."). Today the company, situated in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, is known as Geocaching HQ.
Now, Dave Ulmer, Mike Teague, Matt Stum, Elias Alvord, Bryan Roth, and Jeremy Irish are the answers to many geocaching trivia questions.
Geocaching HQ announced a year-long celebration of 20 years of geocaching beginning on May 2, 2020. Due to Covid19 this became a 3 year celebration until December 31, 2022.
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This event celebrates 20 years of Geocaching
Not only does it celebrate 20 years of Geocaching.com but it also celebrates the host's (Sludge_Shoveler's) 20 years of geocaching!
Sludge_Shoveler found his first two caches on October 20, 2001: Holt, who goes there?(GC64D) and Atsa Biggie (GC1164). GC64D was archived soon thereafter as the location became a subdivision. But Atsa Biggie is still active and thriving with over 600 finds! Not many caches last 20 years.
Here are some silly Sludge_Shoveler stats:
He created over 250 caches. He found ten cache types in a day, five states in a day, 13 counties in a day. He found a cache in 27 countries. Cache to cache distance over 9 times around the earth. Max distance in a day is over 4400 miles.
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Event Details
The Covid19 rules are changing frequently, so it is hard to define just what we can do at an event. So at this point this is a "Save The Date" type notice. This IS an outdoor venue so I expect that we can have up to 100 participants, which is far more than likely will attend. I am hoping that this will be a pot luck meal event, but I can't promise that at this point. At least it will be a Meet 'n' Greet event. Maybe we'll have a couple prizes to give away. Stay tuned and check back as the date nears.
Attending a Community Celebration Event will enable cachers around the world to commemorate the 20th anniversary of geocaching with a new icon and souvenir.
About the Park
This 45 acre site at the corner of Keller and Pine Tree Roads is Delhi Township's largest and most highly developed park. Valhalla features a wooded area, open fields, a pond, and a lake, all of which are used to provide diverse year round recreation.
During the summer months, a beach and swimming are the focal points of the park. Next to this area are bathrooms and changing rooms. Adjacent to the beach is a large, semi-wooded, picnic area and a playground. Other warm weather facilities include three softball diamonds, a nature trail, and fishing areas on both the lake and the pond. The park has three picnic pavilions that are available on a rental basis.
For the winter sports enthusiasts, Valhalla offers cross country ski trails throughout the park. There is ample parking year-round
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, 2022. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.