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First Cache In Alberta Found After 5 Years!

balloonatic

By balloonatic
in Canada

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balloonatic

+balloonatic

Posted
Posted

What a great story this has turned out to be...

 

This is the story of the First Cache In Alberta, Canada. It's an amazing series of events that took place over the course of five years. Here is the timeline of events that took place in Alberta, Canada starting in November of 2000. An amazing FTF story indeed!

 

 

Nov 4, 2000

Michael Houle (aka. scummy-boots) hides Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6) the second cache in all of Canada and the first cache hide in Alberta.

 

Jan 13, 2001

After over two months the first seeker of the cache, Scratch, logs a DNF. Scratch was single handily responsible for starting the sport of Geocaching in Alberta with his public appearances on television to promote the sport and with his early cache hides such as the Building42 series. Scratch also planted the first cache (Building42 - Hawrelak One) in Alberta that was actually found!

 

Jan 16, 2001

Cache owner, scummy-boots, looks for the cache and cannot find it. He subsequently archives the cache.

 

Jul 18, 2005

Page ahead four years...out of curiosity I decide to see if I can uncover the First Cache In Alberta. Can't be that hard right? Probably still active right? :roll:

I do a little research and determine that GC16C called Building42 - Hawrelak One (Jan 14, 2001) by Scratch is the first cache in Alberta. This information is confirmed using the data generated by Mount10bike according to this post.

I post the topic on the Calgary Area Geocachers forum and Scratch confirms my research but also indicates that there may have been an earlier cache that was never found.

 

Jul 19, 2005

Scratch posts a message to the forum indicating that the first cache was Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6). He was checking back in his records and found a reference to this cache.

 

Jul 20, 2005

I confirm with Mount10bike that the first cache in Alberta was indeed Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6) and he agrees to set the official records straight.

 

July 21, 2005

I make a successful attempt to contact the owner of Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6), Michael Houle (aka. scummy-boots) and he agrees that his cache was the first but it was never actually found and when he went to confirm the location he himself could not locate the cache. He subsequently archives the cache.

 

July 25, 2005

scummy-boots agrees to unarchive and reactivate the cache in the same location to keep the First Cache In Alberta alive. He offers to organize a 5 year anniversary event cache to honour the cache.

 

July 28, 2005

Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6) is unarchived by cache-tech. Cache is still not active.

 

Aug 20, 2005

Cache owner goes to the location to plant a new container.....here is his log from the cache page.

 

I had fully intended to replace the cache today. I was 99% sure that the cache was geotrashed almost 5 years ago. Some users had requested that this cache be unarchived. I spent 20min refamiliarizing myself with the area and to make one final check for the missing cache. This was the 3rd time I have looked for it. I gave up and went to look for a place to hide the replacement. I found a decent spot and it looked familiar. I was flabbergasted as I discovered the original ice cream pail untouched. Amazing. I replaced the container and half the contents. The pail was broken and everything was soaked, even inside the ziploc bags. I left what I could and replaced the rest. I decided to leave the wallet behind as an example of what almost 5 years does to a package. I updated the coords as my original stash was recorded with a Magellan 300 with only 2 digits of accuracy instead of the standard 3.

 

The cache is reactivated!

 

Aug 22, 2005

Almost five years after it was planted Geo-Explorer finds the First Cache In Alberta!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 

Stay tuned for THE REST OF THE STORY! The event cache 5 year anniversary of Alberta geocaching

is coming up on Nov 5, 2005. It's sure to be a lot of fun!

 

Visit the First Cache In Alberta and get your historical smiley!

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Brat & Testy

+Brat & Testy

Posted
Posted (edited)

Gee, what a great history and story. I thought it was well written to give us a good history of what has come before and since.

 

I also heard a rumour :rolleyes: that this was the second one in Canada. But maybe I was reading something else. Anyway. Thanks for the write up it looks good.

Edited by Brat&Testy
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dogbreathcanada

+dogbreathcanada

Posted
Posted (edited)
This is great stuff.. I would have left the topic in a world wide forum...

It was in "The Hunt The Unusual", which I don't think very many people look at.

Good call on the move, mtn-man. Even though I posted in "The Hunt/The Unusual" today, I'm only ever in that forum rarely (once per month, maybe). Chances are I never would have seen this very cool story.

 

And I second what Murfster said. If you have photos, get this story into Today's Cacher. Would be nice to see a Canadian story in there. Maybe then it'll be worth purchasing. :rolleyes:

Edited by dogbreathcanada
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dani_carriere

+dani_carriere

Posted
Posted

This is a great story! It's almost like finding a time capsule.

 

With that cache being #1 in Alberta, but #2 in Canada ... does anyone know what the #1 Canadian cache is?

 

And for that matter, what is the #1 cache for geocaching.com?

 

GCA6 ... c'mon A6!!! right now we're at GCQxxx. At this rate, we'll be getting into 7 digit Waypoint codes soon. This is SO cool!

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The Blue Quasar

+The Blue Quasar

Posted
Posted

Wow! That is an amazing story.

 

I am afraid to suggest the same thing for Ontario, since Deer Bait (GC2B4) is considered our first successful cache. but another cache called Tazz (GC228) was placed 9 days previously but never found.

 

I hope you get into Today's Cacher.

 

And MTN-MAN... good call, most of the people I talk to rarely look beyond the Canada forum... it's a scarey world out there LOL

 

:laughing: The Blue Quasar

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The Lost Geeks

+The Lost Geeks

Posted
Posted
This is a great story!  It's almost like finding a time capsule.

 

With that cache being #1 in Alberta, but #2 in Canada ... does anyone know what the #1 Canadian cache is?

 

And for that matter, what is the #1 cache for geocaching.com?

 

GCA6 ... c'mon A6!!!  right now we're at GCQxxx.  At this rate, we'll be getting into 7 digit Waypoint codes soon.  This is SO cool!

 

Hi All to answer your question dani_carriere, the first cache in Canada is here in Nova Scotia GCBBA. It was placed on 6/18/2000 by Ken Kane and still going strong!

 

Geocache by Ken Kane

 

The Lost Geeks

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dogbreathcanada

+dogbreathcanada

Posted
Posted
Hi All to answer your question dani_carriere, the first cache in Canada is here in Nova Scotia GCBBA. It was placed on 6/18/2000 by Ken Kane and still going strong!

 

Geocache by Ken Kane

What's really amazing is that it's apparently NEVER gone missing. So it's still the original cache.

 

What's a little strange about it is that it took a little over a year for someone to find it? Placed June 2000, first log June 2001?

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ZoopD|ngle

ZoopD|ngle

Posted
Posted

 

What's a little strange about it is that it took a little over a year for someone to find it? Placed June 2000, first log June 2001?

Yes, that's very strange. Might be related to the hider not joining the site until June of 2001?

 

Would GCBBB be the waypoint assigned immediately after GCBBA? Just curious.

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Hard Oiler

+Hard Oiler

Posted
Posted

What's a little strange about it is that it took a little over a year for someone to find it? Placed June 2000, first log June 2001?

Not that strange - I'm not a geocaching historian but early logs were just logs in the log book and maybe a note on a newsgroup I believe - a web-site to log finds didn't come until later. Also of course when you're the only cacher in the province it's not too surprising that it takes a very long time for someone else to log one of your hides :( Somewhere I recall reading the whole story of the Ken Kane cache but can't remember where.

 

For the record here's the newsgroup record of the first record of a cache being found

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dogbreathcanada

+dogbreathcanada

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

What's a little strange about it is that it took a little over a year for someone to find it? Placed June 2000, first log June 2001?

Yes, that's very strange. Might be related to the hider not joining the site until June of 2001?

 

Would GCBBB be the waypoint assigned immediately after GCBBA? Just curious.

Ah. Giving it a think, geocaching.com probably didn't come into being until around 2001. Most caching before then was done on the sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup.

Edited by dogbreathcanada
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The Blue Quasar

+The Blue Quasar

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm a little confused here. And this might be opening a can of worms, especially since we are talking about First Caches

 

The currently accepted First Cache in Canada is GCBBA, located in Nova Scotia and reportedly placed on the 18th of JUN 2000.

 

But the Cache in Alberta is GCA6... and hidden on the 4th of NOV 2000, and if we were to follow the numbering system that seems to be obvious.... this cache was placed far in advance of the other one in Nova Scotia.

 

So, for fun I put in GCA5 to the search box... hidden in Oregon on the 4th of NOV, 2000

 

So, to complete the research... GCBBB is hidden in Nebraska, and placed on the 8th of JUN 2001

 

Even Deer Bait in Ontario is GC2B4, and placed on the 17th of FEB 2001... this too would be before GCBBA both in date and GC#'ing system.

 

Caches are listed as MM/DD/YYYY

 

Since GCBBA claims to be placed on the 18th of JUN 2000

But... GCBBB claims to be placed on the 8th of JUN 2001.

 

I'm betting that the Nova Scotia cache when submitted, clicked the wrong year and it was never caught by anyone till now.

 

So, I think that the Alberta cache is the First in Canada.

 

:D The Blue Quasar

 

Additional... His profile says he was caching in 2000 so he probably back dated the cache to reflect when he put the cache out, long before it was listed on Geocaching.com

Edited by The Blue Quasar
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ZoopD|ngle

ZoopD|ngle

Posted
Posted
I'm a little confused here. And this might be opening a can of worms, especially since we are talking about First Caches

 

The currently accepted First Cache in Canada is GCBBA, located in Nova Scotia and reportedly placed on the 18th of JUN 2000.

 

But the Cache in Alberta is GCA6... and hidden on the 4th of NOV 2000, and if we were to follow the numbering system that seems to be obvious.... this cache was placed far in advance of the other one in Nova Scotia.

 

So, for fun I put in GCA5 to the search box... hidden in Oregon on the 4th of NOV, 2000

 

So, to complete the research... GCBBB is hidden in Nebraska, and placed on the 8th of JUN 2001

 

Even Deer Bait in Ontario is GC2B4, and placed on the 17th of FEB 2001... this too would be before GCBBA both in date and GC#'ing system.

 

Caches are listed as MM/DD/YYYY

 

Since GCBBA claims to be placed on the 18th of JUN 2000

But... GCBBB claims to be placed on the 8th of JUN 2001.

 

I'm betting that the Nova Scotia cache when submitted, clicked the wrong year and it was never caught by anyone till now.

 

So, I think that the Alberta cache is the First in Canada.

 

:D The Blue Quasar

 

Additional... His profile says he was caching in 2000 so he probably back dated the cache to reflect when he put the cache out, long before it was listed on Geocaching.com

You may be confusing placement of the cache with listing of the cache. I believe the theory is that the cache was posted on usenet in 2000 and on gc.com in 2001. Hence the discrepancy with the placement date and the waypoint.

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Hard Oiler

+Hard Oiler

Posted
Posted

No real discrepancy. Geocache by Ken Kane was originally GC41 . If you look at the listing it was pretty basic and Jeremy archived it and published the same cache with an updated description. I guess in those days cache pages weren't editable by the owner.

 

Note that the first official log on the original cache page was October 2000.

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mtn-man

+mtn-man

Posted
Posted

I do know that my first cache, GC35A, was entered into the site by me pretty much like we do now. It was entered on 2-24-2001. I know I was looking at regular cache pages back then, not a newsgroup.

 

It is my recollection that caches were entered around early September of 2000. They were all entered by Jeremy. They were not entered in a specific order from what I recall. I think that the method of cache entry by users was put into place at that time. Before that there was a site that Mike Teague had, but again this is sketchy memory cells being tapped.

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ZoopD|ngle

ZoopD|ngle

Posted
Posted
No real discrepancy. Geocache by Ken Kane was originally GC41 . If you look at the listing it was pretty basic and Jeremy archived it and published the same cache with an updated description. I guess in those days cache pages weren't editable by the owner.

 

Note that the first official log on the original cache page was October 2000.

Cool. Someone should ask Groundspeak to add the old logs to the new page.

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balloonatic

+balloonatic

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for all the great comments!

 

I don't mind moving the topic to the Canadian thread. I debated where I should post it but I guess it fits both places. I've contacted El Diablo regarding submitting the information, I hesitate to call it an article, to Today's Cacher. I have to confess I'm not exactly sure what Today's Cacher is but I think I may have read it once or twice. :ph34r:

I'll check it out when I'm done writing this.

 

I guess the cache owner has left a wallet from the original contents in the new container to show what 5 years in a cache will do to a wallet. I wonder if there are any other objects out there that have been in a cache for that long?

 

The short history of geocaching is quite interesting and if you have a look at the thread mentioned in the original post regarding Mount10bike and follow some of the links it will take you on an interesting journey through the genesis of geocaching (thanks j2d2 for the link).

 

Anyone know what the longest period is between a when a cache was hidden and when it was found?

This cache (GCA6) was found 1752 days after it was hidden!

 

Maybe I shouldn't go there?

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TeamRB&R

+TeamRB&R

Posted
Posted (edited)
Anyone know what the longest period is between a when a cache was hidden and when it was found?

This cache (GCA6) was found 1752 days after it was hidden!

 

Maybe I shouldn't go there?

Scratch told be there's one stashed on the top of a mountain in Banff National Park. Has never been found yet. :lol:

 

Mount Temple Cache- Hidden: 8/12/2001

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...f7-7800dabbbe21

 

I'll bet the park wardens never bother to climb it to remove it either. :ph34r:

Edited by lancetay
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Olar

+Olar

Posted
Posted (edited)

Obviously the "date hidden" and the approval date can be quite different. Not really important at this point of the sport but it sure blurs the history books. Have a look at the hidden date of this Cache GCF. In this case I think someone was trying to be funny. :ph34r:

 

Olar

 

p.s. Just noticed something else. Check out the coordinates.

Edited by Olar
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Hard Oiler

+Hard Oiler

Posted
Posted
Obviously the "date hidden" and the approval date can be quite different.  Not really important at this point of the sport but it sure blurs the history books.

I think I can beat that one: Check out the hidden date for GC6

 

BTW the only caches prior to that in the system are GC4 - the original stash and GC5 - another Mike Teague stash

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Dew Crew

+Dew Crew

Posted
Posted
Obviously the "date hidden" and the approval date can be quite different.  Not really important at this point of the sport but it sure blurs the history books.

I think I can beat that one: Check out the hidden date for GC6

 

BTW the only caches prior to that in the system are GC4 - the original stash and GC5 - another Mike Teague stash

One of Mike Teague's original caches GC4 was near Mount Saint Helens. When it was archived he made a new one close by that is still active today! GC8 Check it out! His only surviving cache!

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Mr.Yuck

Mr.Yuck

Posted
Posted (edited)
Geocaching.com is five years old today :P  B)  :P  In this post by Jeremy Irish there's a link to the mainpage on November 9, 2000 which shows Strathcona Wilderness 1  cache as one of  "Caches placed in the last 7 days"  B)

 

Yes, that is the oldest available snapshot of geocaching.com available on the "Wayback Machine" aka http://web.archive.org

 

But of much more interest to this thread is the Wayback Machine's August 15th, 2000 snapshot of Mike Teague's pre-geocaching.com stash hunt website. It lists the cache in question as the only cache in Canada at the time.

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815110954/...yngwie/gps.html

All the links work, but are notoriously slow, even with cable or DSL. Note some caches have descriptions or "stash notes" which were usually copies of emails from the cache placer to Mike Teague. But "Geocache" was one of the many that had only the coords listed. And Teague lists the placement date as 6/28/2000, not 6/18/2000.

 

[EDIT] Misunderstood the post I quoted originally

Edited by TheWhiteUrkel
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Mr.Yuck

Mr.Yuck

Posted
Posted
But of much more interest to this thread is the Wayback Machine's August 15th, 2000 snapshot of Mike Teague's pre-geocaching.com stash hunt website. It lists the cache in question as the only cache in Canada at the time.

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815110954/...yngwie/gps.html

This refers to the first cache in Canada.

Well really, this thread was started regarding the 2nd cache in Canada, which I didn't really notice because I jumped to it from a different forum (it was moved here).

 

But the cache in Nova Scotia, the oldest in Canada is listed on the archived pre-geocaching.com website by Mike Teague, a snapshot taken before the Alberta cache was placed. Plus I just thought any historically minded geocachers would find Teague's website extremely interesting. I know I do

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The Blue Quasar

+The Blue Quasar

Posted
Posted (edited)

So are we in agreement that GC41 - Geocache is the oldest ever listed Geocache in Canada?

 

Logger is looking through the oldest ones, starting from GC1 (doesn't exist) and there are several that do not exist... or have been "unlisted".

 

It sort of appears that many are "transfers" from the USENET or other NEWSGROUPS.

 

In the words of Jeremy...

 

"Workin' On It!"

 

;) The Blue Quasar

 

edit : typo

Edited by The Blue Quasar
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parker2

+parker2

Posted
Posted

Wow... what a great look back at geocaching. When I looked at the webcaches of the site, It brought back memories of the site as it was when I joined. lol I wished I would of picked up the first Saskatchewan cache back then with my garmin 12 (that I still use at times when I have my kids along), but I will get that one for my 50th find as kind of a milestone.

It is great that it first Alberta cache has been found and reinstated, hopefully it will be around for the long run. As we all know, some caches and cachers just disapear as quick as they show up. I think next summer I might have to go on a road trip to find some of the oldest caches in Canada.

 

parker2

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balloonatic

+balloonatic

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Just an update to the original First Cache in Alberta story. The cache event, 5 year anniversary of Alberta geocaching , celebrating five years of caching in Alberta took place this last Saturday with an incredible turnout of cachers from all over Alberta and even one from New Hampshire. It was a fun event and we all got a chance to find the First Cache in Alberta. The cache now has a spanking new camo-ammo box and it has been stocked with a bunch of new stuff!

 

If you get a chance to visit this cache you'll be treated to a spectacular little forest in the middle of the Alberta prairies. The area is well signed and has over 10 km of nicely groomed trails. Some at the event even saw a female moose in the area that morning.

 

I must say that this was/is an excellent spot for the First Cache in Alberta!

Edited by balloonatic
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