HO HO HOoray to the December 2023 Winner!
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- Written by Terri Nealon
- Hits: 1547
Santa Cachemas got a Christmas gift too! SLAGA's very own VP, Geokid12 (Robert Klemme), is the winner of the December 2023 Adventure Awaits challenge! The officers had to laugh, during their monthly meeting, when the random number generator happened to draw Robert's number. Obviously the task of qualifying was easy enough for him given his 12 Days of Cachemas duties, since nine of the caches were hidden by elves, so he was able to find them along with other geocachers this past month.
As a SLAGA officer, Robert feels that it's good to set an example by participating in the monthly challenge, and as one of the brains behind Adventure Awaits, he also believes it's a great way to drive community engagement within SLAGA. Besides Cachemas caches, Robert chose the SLAGA Christmas party event as an entry because he felt it thematically tied into the December qualifications. His entries were:
GCADHZ6 Day 6 - 2023 Cachemas in STL
GCAE56C Day 7 - 2023 Cachemas in STL
GCAEBQV Day 8 - 2023 Cachemas in STL
*GCAFWP9 SLAGA-land Christmas Bash. Event*
If you've ever wondered how a geocacher chooses their caching name, here's Geokid12's back story. In 2007, when Robert was just 12 years old, he was introduced to geocaching on a Boy Scout troop outing at Whitecliff Park. He was enthralled by entering coordinates into a Garmen eTrex Legend, then being able to hunt and find a cache container at ground zero. So he bought his own eTrex, decided he'd register with GC.com and chose the username Geokid12, since he was a 12 year old kid who was now a 'Geo'cacher too.
Young Robert didn't start off as an avid cacher though, due to his schooling, scouting, non-driving lifestyle, followed by intense college studies. But once he graduated all that changed. His 575-day caching hiatus (Aug 2014 - Feb 2016) and only 400 total finds would soon be a thing of the past.
Starting in 2017, as a driving, employed young man, Robert got back into geocaching and became involved socially in SLAGA, which was a huge geocaching motivator. Since then he hasn't stopped. To date, he has over 10,800 finds and is working on conquering that 575 no-find streak of his with an even greater find streak. Adventure definitely awaits Robert on his geocaching quest!
Best of SLAGA 2023
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- Written by John Layman
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Best of SLAGA, Favorite Caches Placed in 2023
Of the 390 new caches published in the 100 mile radius SLAGA territory in 2023, these are the top caches, as determined by % of favorite points awarded.
By cache type
Traditional | The Dial of Destiny - MtO Gadget #2 | knowles5150 | GCACMQB |
Multicache | Floating the Meramec with a Park Ranger | StormRider22 & jray131 | GCA9HWH |
Letterbox Hybrid | Letters to Signal | Forest-Ghost | GCAE5PR |
Puzzle | The extreme puzzle hike | paulgracie | GCA4JE3 |
AL Bonus | Exploration Garden Adventure Lab Bonus Cache | NEgirl55 | GC9W6J5 |
Earthcache | Daily Dose of Happiness US # 14 Chert in Missouri | Iamgrateful | GCAAPX1 |
Wherigo | Reverse Wherigo - High Ridge | Mike Fitz | GCA4A52 |
By overall % of favorite points awarded
92 | The Dial of Destiny - MtO Gadget #2 | knowles5150 | GCACMQB | Traditional |
75 | Mount Olive Fire Station 1 - MtO Gadget #4 | knowles5150 | GCADM3D | Traditional |
70 | Floating the Meramec with a Park Ranger | StormRider22 & jray131 | GCA9HWH | Multicache |
68 | Appletree/Bridgeway Park | cootie_man | GCA7Q0C | Traditional |
67 | Gadget Golf | L Frank and Denmother | GCA8018 | Traditional |
67 | BYOL? | JoeBum | GCAGG20 | Traditional |
64 | Letters to Signal | Forest-Ghost | GCAE5PR | Letterbox Hybrid |
62 | Woodie | tiname55 | GCABJR3 | Traditional |
60 | Stars & Stripes at 314 | nan-d1955 | GCAG5FB | Traditional |
60 | The Pullet Surprise Returns! | stevendede | GCAF8DG | Traditional |
Congrats and thanks to the Cache Owners and everyone else who continues to create and support quality caches in the St. Louis area!
SLAGA Cachers Represented in FTF Geocachers Magazine
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- Written by Terri Nealon
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The bi-monthly publication of the FTF Geocachers Magazine is enjoyed by thousands of geocahers as it is a forum to share their stories, photos, advice, milestones, and more. Our SLAGA VP, vorlon40 (John Layman), was surprised when he received his copy, which was a special 'Golden Seal' trackable edition! John was honored because he was one of the few drawing winners of the past edition's "Were You Puzzled?" contest called, 'Catsup or Mustard." "It was cool that it was close to home and one I had visited," said John.
In addition to John's accolade, both PaulGracie (Paul Williams) and TerriBikes+ (Terri Nealon), the SLAGA reporter/article writer, were also thrilled to see their names in print. Terri's August 11,2023 article, which has been viewed nearly 800 times, entitled, "Bike 'Across America' - PaulGracie's Adventure," was chosen as a Feature Story in the same FTF Geocachers Magazine as vorlon40's win! "It's exciting to see that Paul's adventure could now reach geocachers worldwide, and I'm psyched to be a 'published' feature story writer in the magazine," commented Terri. When Paul was asked how he feels about his article in the FTF Geocachers Magazine, he exclaimed, "It's cool...I'm famous now!"
If you subscribe to the magazine, you'll notice your local cachers being honored in the edition. Kudos to all three SLAGA members!
November Adventure Awaits Winner
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- Written by Terri Nealon
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GCA1FPG. Rapunzel Traditional
GC6FXDF Lewis and Clark Expedition. Letterbox
GC7KT9P 1150 AD. - Tour Through Time. Wherigo
GCACYW6 Pop-A-Squat Port-A-Pot Challenge. Mystery
*GCAEF3M Geocaching International Film Festival SLAGA Style. Event *
A Most Wonderful Time
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- Written by Terri Nealon
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It's the most wonderful time of the year.
With cachers just 'gelling'
And everyone telling you be of good cheer.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
It's the hap-happiest season of all.
Food and toys were collected and all felt connected
When geofriends called.
It's the hap-happiest season of all.
Geo-parties for hosting,
Hope you saw the posting,
Cause Nan planned a really fun day.
There were sweaters so ugly,
But they were still snuggly,
And raffle gifts given away.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
The event smiles were showing
And hearts were all glowing
with geofriends near.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
(Parody of original song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," written by G. Wyle and E Pola, 1963.)
The SLAGA-land Christmas Bash Event (GCAFWP9), hosted by nan-d1955, was held Saturday, December 9, 2023 in Arnold, MO., and was a smashing success! There was a tremendous turn out of nearly 75 geocachers, with a few muggles scattered here and there. Attendees brought charitable donations, enjoyed delicious food, had fun conversation, laughed at some pretty ugly sweaters, and crossed their fingers for raffle prizes.
Caching in the Cold 🥶
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- Written by Terri Nealon
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There is nothing like bundling up head to toe for a hike in the crisp winter air, through a forest blanketed with snow. The beautiful scenery, lack of bugs, spotting animal tracks, and uncovering nearly frozen geocache containers, hidden under a foot of snow, makes caching in the cold a worthwhile and fun adventure. But being prepared for winter caching is a must, because you leave behind the warmth, shelter, food, water and other comforts of home.
Before you head out for a hike and geocache find, in this beautiful cold world, keep in mind several winter hiking and geocaching tips and essentials. Obviously the longer the adventure and more intense the winter bushwhack, the more of the following information will apply, but it's good information regardless.
Begin at home by checking the weather conditions during your trip outdoors. Then see if the geocaches you're interested in finding are actually available and able to be found. Check the cache page attributes and recent logs. Remember too that some trails are closed in winter, or not marked and maintained. so route-finding skills are important. Plan and know your route because snow-covered landscapes look very different than in those warm dry months. If creek crossings are required, remember thin layers of ice on water can be decieving and dangerous, so don't count on walking across unless you know the freeze is over a long period of time and the ice is indeed thick.
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