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Geocaching timeline ?


GeoLobo

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Here is my list of 10 Significant events or people in Geocaching history.

 

What would your list be (10).

 

1.) removal of Selective Availability from GPS on May 2, 2000

2.) Dave Ulmer - Great American GPS Stash Hunt

3.) Mike Teague -"GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list

4.) Matt Stum -first coined the term Geocaching

5.) Jeremy Irish - founder of geocaching.com

6.) Elias Alvord - founder of geocaching.com

7.) Bryan Roth - founder of geocaching.com

8.) Jon Stanley - Moun10Bike - first geocoin

9.) Groundspeak - geocaching headquarters in Seattle Washington

10.) Signal the Frog - The geocaching mascot

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Some alternatives:

 

erik88l-r - First Volunteer Cache Reviewer

Hydee - First person employed by the Groundspeak Founders; first geocacher to marry a Groundspeak founder

MissJenn - First volunteer cache reviewer to be hired on as a Lackey

JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

RobertLipe - Developer of GPS Babel, the engine that drives GSAK (among other things)

ClydeE - Developer of GSAK, the most popular third-party geocaching software

Lil Devil - Early Developer of third party apps and Greasemonkey scripts

Prime Suspect - Keeper of "GeoLex" geocaching glossary; leading developer of Greasemonkey scripts

Markwell and CYBret - Pioneers in non-Groundspeak help site/FAQ site development

ClayJar - Developer of automated terrain/difficulty rating system; founder of longest-running Geocaching Chat Channel

Edited by Keystone
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Some alternatives:

 

erik88l-r - First Volunteer Cache Reviewer

Hydee - First person employed by the Groundspeak Founders; first geocacher to marry a Groundspeak founder

MissJenn - First volunteer cache reviewer to be hired on as a Lackey

JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

RobertLipe - Developer of GPS Babel, the engine that drives GSAK (among other things)

ClydeE - Developer of GSAK, the most popular third-party geocaching software

Lil Devil - Early Developer of third party apps and Greasemonkey scripts

Prime Suspect - Keeper of "GeoLex" geocaching glossary; leading developer of Greasemonkey scripts

Markwell and CYBret - Pioneers in non-Groundspeak help site/FAQ site development

ClayJar - Developer of automated terrain/difficulty rating system; founder of longest-running Geocaching Chat Channel

 

Nice alternatives! Thanks for the info!

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In order:

 


  1.  
  2. The Earth cools
  3. People show up, or evolve from other creatures, depending on your particular set of beliefs
  4. The concept of hiding stuff, then locating and retrieving it later, is invented
  5. The ammunition box is created
  6. Then Tupperware
  7. Rockets and satellites happen
  8. The Internet is developed
  9. Personal computers arrive
  10. British engineer and computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee writes a proposal for what would eventually become the World Wide Web
  11. Jeremy has a Eureka moment

 

Ten already! Dang it - I've got, like, seventeen more to go.

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Some alternatives:

 

erik88l-r - First Volunteer Cache Reviewer

Hydee - First person employed by the Groundspeak Founders; first geocacher to marry a Groundspeak founder

MissJenn - First volunteer cache reviewer to be hired on as a Lackey

JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

RobertLipe - Developer of GPS Babel, the engine that drives GSAK (among other things)

ClydeE - Developer of GSAK, the most popular third-party geocaching software

Lil Devil - Early Developer of third party apps and Greasemonkey scripts

Prime Suspect - Keeper of "GeoLex" geocaching glossary; leading developer of Greasemonkey scripts

Markwell and CYBret - Pioneers in non-Groundspeak help site/FAQ site development

ClayJar - Developer of automated terrain/difficulty rating system; founder of longest-running Geocaching Chat Channel

 

So technical. :laughing:

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:P

Some alternatives:

 

erik88l-r - First Volunteer Cache Reviewer

Hydee - First person employed by the Groundspeak Founders; first geocacher to marry a Groundspeak founder

MissJenn - First volunteer cache reviewer to be hired on as a Lackey

JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

RobertLipe - Developer of GPS Babel, the engine that drives GSAK (among other things)

ClydeE - Developer of GSAK, the most popular third-party geocaching software

Lil Devil - Early Developer of third party apps and Greasemonkey scripts

Prime Suspect - Keeper of "GeoLex" geocaching glossary; leading developer of Greasemonkey scripts

Markwell and CYBret - Pioneers in non-Groundspeak help site/FAQ site development

ClayJar - Developer of automated terrain/difficulty rating system; founder of longest-running Geocaching Chat Channel

 

Nice alternatives! Thanks for the info!

 

I think GeoLobo's 3 founders could be combined into one and then his list combined with KeyStones. Ken Jennings and nano caches has to fit in their somewhere... :P

Edited by FobesMan
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Some alternatives:

 

erik88l-r - First Volunteer Cache Reviewer

Hydee - First person employed by the Groundspeak Founders; first geocacher to marry a Groundspeak founder

MissJenn - First volunteer cache reviewer to be hired on as a Lackey

JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

RobertLipe - Developer of GPS Babel, the engine that drives GSAK (among other things)

ClydeE - Developer of GSAK, the most popular third-party geocaching software

Lil Devil - Early Developer of third party apps and Greasemonkey scripts

Prime Suspect - Keeper of "GeoLex" geocaching glossary; leading developer of Greasemonkey scripts

Markwell and CYBret - Pioneers in non-Groundspeak help site/FAQ site development

ClayJar - Developer of automated terrain/difficulty rating system; founder of longest-running Geocaching Chat Channel

 

Inclusion of dates would be great additions to the timeline

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Some others:

 

the first micro

introduction of virtuals

elimination of virtuals

introduction of challenges

Mitsuko - the most famous sock puppet

 

briansnat is too modest to mention the first year he was vote "cacher of the year" as one of the great milestones in Geocaching.

 

I would have to include the introduction (and elimination) of Locationless caches. too.

 

For me, there was a couple of caches: You Are the GPS and Bill and Gary's Excellent Adventure which presented a geocaching hunt in a why I've never seen before and forever changed my perspective on what can be done in Geocaching.

 

Is there list of the "firsts", such as first puzzle or cipher cache, fist locationless, first virtual and first multi?

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I think "10 Biggest Events" and "10 More Important People" are 2 different lists. My lists at this point:

 

Events:

1) Selective availability turned off; high GPS accuracy and thus geocaching now possible.

2) Original Stash hidden by Dave Ulmer.

3) geocaching.com founded

4) first Trackable item

5) first Event Cache

6) Earthcaches introduced

7) Virtuals and Locationless retired, Waymarking created

8) first MegaEvent

9) first geocaching smartphone app - love it or hate it, it may be the most significant change for geocaching since day 1

10) 1 million geocaches

 

People:

1) Dave Ulmer - started the idea

2) Mike Teague - "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list, first "geocaching listing service"

3) Matt Stum - coins term "geocaching"

4) Jeremy Irish & friends - found Groundspeak

5) Moun10bike - introduces trackables

6) erik88l-r = first volunteer cache reviewer

7) JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

8) RobertLipe - GPS Babel developer

9) ClydeE - GSAK developer

10) Alamogul = first cacher to 50,000 Finds

 

BTW I have assembled a Geocaching Timeline from various sources:

http://joshism.net/geocaching/timeline.html

Edited by Joshism
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The question of oldest LPC has come up a number of times. briansnat recalls finding one in NYC pretty early.

Perhaps he'll post in here.

The oldest active micro in the US, that was originally placed as a micro, belongs to Prime Suspect, GC44E. This is not the first micro, but the longest lived, in the US.

 

The oldest original micro that I know about is in Amsterdam, GC198

 

A log from an early micro in Tennessee:

 

04/07/2001

1845: Urban microcaches like this are the GREATEST!!!!!!!

 

I really think there need to be more of these in major cities, it gives you a cloak-and-dagger kind of feel

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1) Letterboxing - let's us not forget this was around first

2) Turning off selectivity

3) Affordable consumer GPS units

4) Publishing of first "stash" on newsgroups

5) Founding of geocaching.com

6) Magellan's SD card storage system

7) GPS units that can auto-route to caches

7a) GPS units that use USB cables

8) Pocket queries

9) Elimination of extended written logs on geocaches

10) Elimination of virtual caches

11) Garmin becoming the dominant GPS unit for geocaching

12) Paperless geocaching units

13) Geocaching apps for phones

13a) Smart phones for finding and logging geocaches

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CacheMate and GSAK definitely should be on the list.

 

ClayJar's multi-state traveling event should also be on the list. It was an awesome/exhausting adventure for him. We loved having the opportunity to meet up with him 90 miles from home for 5 minutes to log his event and trade TBs.

 

The first Cache Machine by TravisL also needs listed. :)

 

And list whatever movie came out about Geocaching first.. and book published with geocaching in it's plot.

 

Jen

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The question of oldest LPC has come up a number of times. briansnat recalls finding one in NYC pretty early.

Perhaps he'll post in here.

The first LPC I found was in Nevada, in July of 2003, but I remember hearing about them earlier than that. I'm sure there are older LPCs, but the cache I found had been placed in January (2003).

 

Dang, we have to start bookmarking those. One of the many times it has come up, and within the last year, someone pointed out a 2002 (or maybe even late 2001) LPC in California. And it was a CLASSIC LPC, square cover, medical complex parking lot. It was not a micro, however. Held trade items (probably small Tupperware)

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Some others:

 

the first micro

introduction of virtuals

elimination of virtuals

introduction of challenges

Mitsuko - the most famous sock puppet

 

Oh, how i wish the introduction of Challenges never happened! I just do not get how GC.com thinks that Whirigo, and Waymarking deserve their own Groundspeak page, yet the Challenge is somehow more closely related to Geocaching?

 

Geocaching Challenges? LOL! Bring back the virtuals, and locationless, and webcams, etc. Get rid of the challenges. THEY ARE A TERRIBLE IDEA! Concept is great for those who are into it. Groundspeak should create an addiional website for them.

 

Having said that, I have seen a lot of interesting historical points on the Geocaching timeline presented here. I would like to see this displayed on GC.com somewhere. I think it would make for an interesting display graphically.

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I think "10 Biggest Events" and "10 More Important People" are 2 different lists. My lists at this point:

 

Events:

1) Selective availability turned off; high GPS accuracy and thus geocaching now possible.

2) Original Stash hidden by Dave Ulmer.

3) geocaching.com founded

4) first Trackable item

5) first Event Cache

6) Earthcaches introduced

7) Virtuals and Locationless retired, Waymarking created

8) first MegaEvent

9) first geocaching smartphone app - love it or hate it, it may be the most significant change for geocaching since day 1

10) 1 million geocaches

 

People:

1) Dave Ulmer - started the idea

2) Mike Teague - "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list, first "geocaching listing service"

3) Matt Stum - coins term "geocaching"

4) Jeremy Irish & friends - found Groundspeak

5) Moun10bike - introduces trackables

6) erik88l-r = first volunteer cache reviewer

7) JoGPS - Founder of GeoWoodstock

8) RobertLipe - GPS Babel developer

9) ClydeE - GSAK developer

10) Alamogul = first cacher to 50,000 Finds

 

BTW I have assembled a Geocaching Timeline from various sources:

http://joshism.net/geocaching/timeline.html

 

"10) Alamogul = first cacher to 50,000 Finds"

 

I wouldn't agree with this. Geocaching is suppose to be not about the numbers. All geocachers embrace the hobby differently. What about the geocacher who do not play "about the numbers". You could add on to your list

 

11.) First person to get 5 5D/5T geocaches

12.) First person to complete 100 Earth caches

13.) First person to find a cache a day for 365 days consecutively.

14.) .....and so on, and so on

 

you get my point

 

This hold s true for world records.

 

Who hold sthe record for the most 5/5 geocaches, how about earthcaches, or hydrocaches. Who has the worlds record for the most elevation climbed while finding geocaches.

 

again, the list could go on and on

 

<smile>

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BTW I have assembled a Geocaching Timeline from various sources:

http://joshism.net/g...g/timeline.html

 

Quite lengthy, but I think it could benefit from some trimming. For instance:

 

Dec 7, 2010

After weeks of teasers, Garmin debuts Opencaching.com as a new geocaching site. Those dissatisfied with Geocaching.com flock to it. The Opencaching network - which is unoffiliated with the new site - criticizes Garmin for using their name. Many are critical of the new site's lack of reviewers.

 

13 months later, if I do a search for Opencaches near Syracuse, NY... there is one. I'm not sure how big a "flock" is currently using Opencaching.com but I'd say it has yet to achieve success or significance enough to merit a timeline entry.

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Some alternatives:

 

erik88l-r - First Volunteer Cache Reviewer

 

I'm not sure if that's correct. I took a look in the database for the oldest 25 caches that were not published by Jeremy and this is the order I see:

 

ID	Nickname					Date		Reviewer ID	Reviewer	
288	El Sol y Cache de Cancun			12/25/2000	172		Bryan	
372	Original Cranberry Camera Cache			1/1/2001	4937		gpsfun		(account postdates the cache, so must have republished)
496	Percival's Island Geocache			2/3/2001	333045		Dot Plotter	(account postdates the cache, so must have republished)
585	London's First cache: A walk in the park	2/10/2001	5267		Moss Trooper	
1199	White deer					3/17/2001	172		Bryan	
1225	Monkey See, Monkey Do				3/18/2001	4285		erik88l-r	
1251	Coyote Ridge					3/18/2001	1694		QUAD EXPLORER	
1668	Ice Age Vista					4/12/2001	72794		WGA		(account postdates the cache, so must have republished)
1921	Angels View (Tyne & Wear)			4/22/2001	5267		Moss Trooper	
2034	Gila Monster					4/26/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2035	River Walk					4/27/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2037	HIGH ABOVE the BASIN				4/27/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2038	Gibsonville Doublet				4/27/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2039	AMONG the ASPENS 				4/27/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2040	Beavers and Birch				4/27/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2041	Spring Canyon Point/ Moab			4/22/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2042	Wiggly's Micro Forest				4/27/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2043	20 Mule Team					4/22/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2044	CHAT 'N' CHEW					4/24/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2045	LOST CABOOSE					4/26/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2046	Table Mountain					4/28/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2047	Magellan Challenge				4/28/2001	24		Moun10Bike	
2048	Rockin' Robin					4/28/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2049	Down by the old Mill Creek			4/28/2001	695		cache_ninja	
2050	Petersburg Purple				4/28/2001	695		cache_ninja	

This leads me to say that Bryan could be considered the first reviewer, or Moss Trooper if looking at non-Groundspeak personnel.

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Yikes... one event missing from the listings (it comes to my mind from time to time sadly), it had a huge impact - will just say it had something to do with "spite." Huge impact it had though. Perhaps without it we would not be here today. Hey we all have ghosts in the closets, some of us learned much from them.

 

I think I know what you are talking about, but since it's kind of hard to know what is ok to say about tptb these days, I'll just PM you and see if we're thinking of the same thing.

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BTW I have assembled a Geocaching Timeline from various sources:

http://joshism.net/geocaching/timeline.html

 

A guy I know who got into Waymarking within days of it being introduced posted his first Waymark on 8/18/2005. I think it would safe to list Waymarking.com's debut as "August 2005"

 

And ironically enough, Opencaching.us went live 8/18/2010. You don't have to just believe me on that one, it's listed in the 2nd paragraph on the top of their main page.

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The question of oldest LPC has come up a number of times. briansnat recalls finding one in NYC pretty early.

Perhaps he'll post in here.

The first LPC I found was in Nevada, in July of 2003, but I remember hearing about them earlier than that. I'm sure there are older LPCs, but the cache I found had been placed in January (2003).

In Alaska, "It's a Jungle Out There" - July 27, 2001
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BTW I have assembled a Geocaching Timeline from various sources:

http://joshism.net/geocaching/timeline.html

 

A guy I know who got into Waymarking within days of it being introduced posted his first Waymark on 8/18/2005. I think it would safe to list Waymarking.com's debut as "August 2005"

 

And ironically enough, Opencaching.us went live 8/18/2010. You don't have to just believe me on that one, it's listed in the 2nd paragraph on the top of their main page.

 

The first waymark that I posted was dated 8/15/2005: Link. I've heard that it's the oldest waymark without a visit. :rolleyes: I figured that out because I couldn't understand why a waymark in the middle of the mountains of Washington State was one of the most viewed waymarks. I asked in the Waymarking forums and was told why. I know that people who waymark have visited it, but have just not got around to saying so online. At this point, I don't mind. It's kind of an interesting distinction.

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Thanks everyone for your input on the timeline. I still think GC.com should create a visual display somewhere on their website showing this.

 

Regardless, I am thinking of creating a series of trading cards based on significant events in geocaching history. I have done many personal trading cards as signature items

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/tradingcards/

 

I will be creating a set of cards to be referred as the Geocaching Timeline Series. They will not be photos as seen in my trading cards, but instead, caricature or cartoon style fronts with historical information on the back.

 

A set of 10 cards in a pack (Aluminum foil), just like in the ole Topps Baseball card packs.

 

I will use these as FTF & event prizes in the future!

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For those of you who may be interested, i am working on the 10 cards for the first release

 

Example

 

Dave Ulmer

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/tradingcards/timeline_series/Dave_Ulmer.jpg'>http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/tradingcards/timeline_series/Dave_Ulmer.jpg

 

here are a few more

 

http://www.bluelinegeocachers.org/images/tradingcards/timeline_series

 

Each card is gonna have the same frame on front and same frame on back. A geocaching theme frame related to a timeline.

 

The back will consist of historical info/data related to the person/event and geocaching.

Edited by GeoLobo
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What, no "First LPC" on the list?

 

Does anybody know what cache was the first LPC?

 

Wasn't the first LPC literally in in the base of a lamp post in some place like Bryant Park in NYC. It was prior to 9/11 too IIRC. It was archived after The City locked down security and replaced all of the missing plates.

 

Anyone else recall this?

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The question of oldest LPC has come up a number of times. briansnat recalls finding one in NYC pretty early.

Perhaps he'll post in here.

The first LPC I found was in Nevada, in July of 2003, but I remember hearing about them earlier than that. I'm sure there are older LPCs, but the cache I found had been placed in January (2003).

In Alaska, "It's a Jungle Out There" - July 27, 2001

 

I didn't find the one in NYC, but I recall hearing about it. IIRC it was archived when the NYC welded the access doors in the of many lamp post bases, including the one containing this early micro, shortly after 9/11. It may well still be in there.

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