... GeoWoodstock was started in 2003 as a way for the Top 10 cachers in the world to come together and meet in a laid back atmosphereI would like to thank the staff of Today’s Cacher for its support in helping us get the word out about Geowoodstock III. Each year since JoGps founded the GeoWoodstock tradition, it has continued to grow. We are currently, as of writing this article, planning to host over 500 cachers in Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Fla. May 28.
To be able to pull off a feat like this it takes the dedication or fanaticism of you, the caching community, to drive, fly, bus or however you are going to get to Florida to come and be here with us.
It is our sole desire to make your caching experience in Jacksonville a memory you will be able to cherish for many years to come. With that thought in mind I want to give you as many details about the event as possible in this month’s issue of Today’s Cacher.
As many know, GeoWoodstock was started in 2003 as a way for the top 10 cachers in the world to come together and meet in a laid back atmosphere and spend the day getting to know each other. Last year in Nashville that tradition was continued and that will be the focus of this year’s event as well.
We are scheduling the activities of the event to focus on getting to know each other, share stories of caching adventures and to celebrate those who make our great sport what it is. As of the printing of this article we have verbal commitments from cachers as far away as Sweden, Germany, Canada and all over the United States. We have at least half of the top 30 cache finders and hiders as well who have committed to come.
Unlike last year’s Woodstock Event, this year we decided to make the caching during the event secondary to the social aspects of the event. Coined by the founder, the motto for the event is “Woodstock; where it is all about the numbers.” While that may be true, and the basis for the event, we are kicking off the event officially May 27 with a little old-school caching, a 10 to 13 mile hike in Guana River State Park for a cache that is affectionately known around here as Guana Quest.
The brainchild of Dave&Michelle, Guana Quest is a multi-stage cache, which takes you on a tour of one of premier State Parks in Florida’s First Coast. That evening, Friday’s Night Event, will be held at one of our local eateries.
We are currently working on an event where everyone can come and meet & greet and just have a time to socialize and make plans for the weekend. The start time has yet to be determined. After dinner we are working on a group cache hunt but plans are still underway for that.
The main event on Saturday will continue the tradition of laid back southern style hospitality. We, the members of NEFGA will be barbecuing chicken for everyone to eat along with baked beans, coleslaw and a pie eating contest to top it all off.
The day’s events will include a round of GeoBingo to introduce everyone and a round of True or False to get to know each other better. For those who are interested in helping out with GW3 please send a short caching story that has happened to you or your team. It can be humorous, horrible or just plain scary or unbelievable. We will read it out and try to bluff everyone with the story is it True or False. Send stories to the federation.
Unlike last year’s Woodstock Event this year we decided to make the caching during the event secondary to the social aspects of the event. There are currently 10 to 15 caches in Hanna Park to hunt at your pace and leisure but they will not be part or will play a smaller part in the door prizes for the event.
Speaking of door prizes, as last year we have the biggies back with door prizes from Garmin, Magellan and Groundspeak. In addition we have had a few new players stepping up to the plate this year, including GSAK, Today’s Cacher, The Geocaching Video and others of interest to the community. Also Groundspeak has graciously offered to set up a store for official Groundspeak merchandise at the event, which will be hosted by JoGps. They will have a variety of products available so you can save on the shipping and handling by purchasing at the event.
There will surely be much caching on the side going on but we leave that up to everyone to make arrangements with others to hook up and cache with the locals or friends from around the world. On Sunday, May 29, starting at various times to be announced, will be the cache runs or wagon trains, if you will. Each run will be highlighting a different aspect of caching around NEFGA.
For the pure number hos: The Beaches Marathon Cache Run hosted by IceCreamMan 100 plus caches in 12 hours or the St Augustine Historical Cache Tour, led by the federation is a tour of the nation's oldest city with 75 caches in 12 hours.
For those who come equipped and want to get a little dirty, try Clan Barron's 4WD Cache Run sponsored by Clan Barron and his new Toy (remember Jeeps Rule). For another distinctly beautiful area of NEFGA the Fernandina Beach Cache Run sponsored by our very own Caraloopy.
For those who want a little challenge in their caching we have the Camo Cache hide run sponsored by Stressmaster. Stressmaster has also agreed to do a Handicaching run for those cachers who have a need in this area both of these runs and a few others are still in development.
On a side note, please keep in mind as you run pocket queries for Jacksonville, we have re-evaluated all of our caches and our terrain ratings to accurately reflect the accessibility for the handicapped; therefore, if you filter by 1&1 you will miss a large segment of Jacksonville caches.
There will surely be much caching on the side going on but we leave that up to everyone to make arrangements with others to hook up and cache with the locals or friends from around the world. The cachers from the Jax area are a great lot and most of us can be contacted through our profiles to hook up or make plans with.
You can also contact us here if you have general questions or needs GWIII Discussion Forums. One thing we would like to suggest is that you post in our Guestbook on the GWIII website where you are staying or what arrangements you have made for your time with us that way if others want to hook up with you they will have a central place to look for that info.
There has been much discussion about 24 hour world record attempts at GeowoodstockIII. The Current 24 hour record is held by a group of cachers from our area and there has been plenty of talk about upsetting that record. The Jacksonville area will be ripe for that achievement if you are so inclined.
All of our caches are currently in the process of having logs replaced and verified to be in place before the event. While you may see on our registration page, World Record Run, we have decided not to officially sanction or sponsor record runs. While we have locals who are working with cachers coming into town for logistics, advice and even some driver/navigators, NEFGA will not officially be hosting a world record run.
We are proud to announce the sale of a limited edition GWIII GeoCoins. We are asking for advance payment. The coins will be numbered from GW3001 and up. The first 30 coins are reserved for various GW3 and promotional things. The remainder will go to purchasers in the order that the payment is received.
If you want to be certain to receive a coin you should order and pay for them NO LATER THAN April 5th. Our order will be based on the number of prepaid coins and we cannot assure that there will be any coins available to anyone who does not pre-order and prepay. Pricing will be as follows...
Those who would like to order, please pay via Paypal to PirateLA40@aol.com . Please include in your Paypal information that it is for the purchase of the coins and the number that you are purchasing.
Here are some helpful links for various GWIII areas: GWIII Online Registration Page – Please register here by May 1st so we can have an accurate count for food. GWIII Web Page -latest updates and other useful info about the event. GWIII Discussion Forums - A place to come and discuss the event or contact us with need or suggestions, also general information.
We thought it might be nice to include a few details about caching in Jacksonville to assist in cache pages, phraseology or general trends if you will. So here are the details if you see:
No matter what happens or comes our way, no matter what people say or do, we always try to do things NEFGA style. We always keep the ability to laugh at ourselves and to not take things too seriously. It is with that thought we invite you all to GeowoodstockIII- NEFGA Style.