Click here to register for the Great Maple Grove Geocache Adventure!

Click here to download the event passport.
Cache locations are released in groups of 10 over the event period. See the first grouping at the end of the article. 

It’s not a race but there is something vigorously competitive about geocaching. It’s a way to exercise your navigation skills, use technology to your advantage and practice stealth as you attempt to move unseen toward a location yet unknown, all while enjoying the great outdoors.

And now, Maple Grovians have an even bigger reason to be outside and experience the change in seasons during the Great Maple Grove Geocache Adventure, commencing at the end of April.

Full of family-friendly fun, the Maple Grove Geocache Adventure will expose an entirely new side of the city in which we live. You’ll learn things about your surroundings that you never imagined and visit places you didn’t know existed. You may even meet a fellow adventurer who has come to town to join in on the fun (just be careful not to give away your most recent secret find).

What is this geocaching thing?

Geocaching is an outdoor adventure during which you use a global positioning system (GPS) device, to search for hidden containers. The word geocaching refers to “geo” for geography, and “caching” as in a hiding place to conceal provisions. You can think of it as the search for the big “X” on a weathered treasure map.

While there may be few pirate stashes left on sandy beaches, there are more than 2 million geocaches around the world, planted by other geocaching participants. The website geocaching.com serves as one place to find hidden treasure locations; opencaching.com is another.

A visit to geocaching.com (where you can register for free) shows fascinating maps of the locations of caches around the world. You can find them in places as remote as Siberia, as “off limits” as South Korea, and as familiar as Disneyland. You’ll be surprised by how many geocaches you walk or drive by each day in your own neighborhood. There are an estimated 150 caches in the Maple Grove area alone.

Geocaching websites allow you to directly download location coordinates of hidden gems, instead of manually entering them into your GPS or smartphone. It also provides details and clues as to a treasures location along with comments from other geocachers who have adventured there ahead of you. Those who log their finds on geocaching.com receive a smiley face. Many cachers collect smiley faces along with the satisfaction of success in the hunt and of experiencing so many new and interesting places they may never have thought to visit.

Geocaches: The Outside

The first step to finding a cache is to visit its website page which shows the cache size and characteristics about its location. Sizes range from micro, which might be a tiny magnetic storage tube, to large, like a 20-liter bucket.

Geocaches: The Inside

What will you find inside a geocache? A cache always contains a logbook or logsheet. A larger cache may contain trinkets for trade. Sometimes a cache will hold interesting information about the surroundings or other fun facts— you never know what the cache owner has left for you to discover. If you want to take something from the cache, be sure to have something to leave behind of equal or greater value for the next person to find.

You may even find a “trackable” which means you can become a part of a much bigger adventure. Each trackable item is etched with a unique code used to log its path on a geocaching site as it moves to another cache. The movement maps are a fascinating insight to people’s travel ambitions as trackables sometimes stay within a specific region and then suddenly jump across the ocean to a foreign cache.

The Great Maple Grove Geo-Adventure

Whether you’re a geocaching pro or newbie, you can jump in to the hunt at the Maple Grove Geocache Adventure. From April 26 to May 11, geocaches will be hidden across the city. Each cache holds a treasure of things you never knew about Maple Grove. Visit familiar sites and discover little-known facts. It’s an adventure for individuals, teams and families of all ages. Pick up your event passport at one of our partner locations listed on the next page, or download one from the event website page at maplegrovemag.com. Register, download and discover coordinates beginning the morning of April 26. The event will also be posted on geocaching.com, so you can get a boat-load of smiley faces. Basic membership on the site is free.

Those who find some of the most difficult caches will be rewarded by discovering gift cards and certificates to local businesses inside. These will be replenished throughout the three-week event period, so no need to rush. The first 50 geocachers who discover every cache, collect a stamp for their passport from inside, and submit a completed passport will receive a commemorative event medallion (one medallion per person/passport). They will also be part of a drawing for prizes from REI.

AFTER THE ADVENTURE

1- Log your finds on geocaching.com.

2- No matter how many caches you found, share details with other searchers on the site, collect smiley faces on your account and upload pictures of your journey.

3- Share your geocaching pictures! Post them at geocaching.com or email them to maplegrovemag@tigeroak.com. Identify individuals in the shot and the number of the cache you are pursuing, have found (or can’t find!) and you may see them in future issues of the magazine.

What to do with your passport:

If you have obtained the appropriate cache stamp in each space on your passport you may be eligible for a number of prizes and a rare commemorative event medallion.

You can mail your passport to:

Maple Grove Magazine Geocache Adventure Passport c/o Cyd Haynes
Tiger Oak Publications Inc.
900 S. Third Street Minneapolis, MN 55415 

or turn it in at any of our three partner businesses. Catch you on the hunt! //

CACHES COME IN MANY FORMS, BUT THERE ARE
THREE KINDS YOU ARE MOST LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER:
 

Traditional:
At minimum, a traditional cache is a box or container that holds
a log book where you can leave your name and find some trinkets meant for trade.

Multi:
These caches are meant to be found in multiple stages. When you get to
the posted coordinates you will find a container. However, there won’t be a log
book inside. Instead, there will be another set of coordinates which lead to
another box which might contain the log book or another set of coordinates, and
the search goes on. Finding a multi cache is its own ingenious adventure.

Mystery or Puzzle:
This cache requires a bit of gumshoeing. The cache description explains how
to figure out the actual coordinates. Sometimes it is a math problem or a logic
puzzle. Mystery caches occasionally use the history of a location or the
physical characteristics of the area to provide clues.

No matter the type of cache, as long as it keeps the elements out, it’s in.
There are also tiny containers, called “micro-caches,” that are so small they
hold only a miniature log book. Creative geocachers have devised fantastical
caches that look like bird houses and pinecones. These hides are often rated at
a higher difficulty level so you may want to start with easier
caches and pray that you avoid the curse-producing search for the cache that
looks exactly like a stick!

HOW TO PLAY

READY 

-Saturday, April 26, as early as 12:01 a.m.
-Visit MapleGroveMag.com and register as a participant, discover the coordinates for each group of geocaches and download an event passport. If you would like more clues as well as the ability to move trackables within Maple Grove Geocache Adventure caches, please visit geocaching.com and register to see individual pages for each cache (registration is free). Please do not move trackables unless you log their movement on geocaching.com.
-Load cache coordinates into your GPS or smartphone device.

SET

-Gather fun trinkets that you can leave in the caches you find.
-Event geocaches contain a stamp to mark your passport, proving that you found the cache. (Please leave stamp and pad in the geocache for others.)
-Geocaches are never buried, so please leave your shovels at home!
-Practice “cache in and trash out.” Help us take care of our real treasure—our city. Bring a bag with you to pick up trash along the way.

GO 

-Hit the road and find a cache.
-Log your name on the logbook inside the cache. You may even recognize a friend’s name in the logbook!
-Take and leave a trinket if you wish, and grab any trackable you find in preparation for logging its movement and placing it in another event cache.
-Whether you search by yourself, with a friend, or with family, you are about to glimpse your own city like never before.

The Great Maple Grove Geo-Adventure

What: A GPS coordinate-based geocache hunt: 36 caches in 36 square miles. Cache locations are released in groups of 10 over the event period.

When: Saturday, April 26, 12:01 a.m.–June 1

Where: City of Maple Grove, Mn.

Who: This event is open to the public! Anyone and everyone—invite your
friends!

Host: Maple Grove Magazine

Prizes: Commemorative medallions, gift cards, gift certificates, FUN!

Questions: email maplegrovemag@tigeroak.com

3 PARTER BUSINESSES WHERE YOU CAN PICK UP AND DROP OFF EVENT PASSPORTS:

Maple Grove Arts Center
7916 Main St. N. // 763.250.1016
maplegroveartscenter.org
(GPS: 45.09872, -93.4415853 N45° 5.9232’, W093°
26.4951’)

Whirlyball
13644 80th Cir. N. // 763.657.1555
whirlyballtwincities.com
(GPS: 45.101368, -93.4546967 N45° 6.0821’, W093°
27.2818’)

Daily Dose Cafe and Espresso
15517 Grove Cir. N. // 763.657.0919
dailydosemn.com
(GPS: 45.1348957, -93.4775122 N45° 8.0937’, W093° 28.6507’)

Check business hours prior to dropping in!

How hard is it to find a cache?

“Muggles” (nonparticipants) sometimes stumble upon a cache while playing in a
park or taking a leisurely walk. Hopefully they leave it where they found it so
you can find it. Owners of geocaches rate them on a 5-point scale for difficulty
and terrain.

Easy

-in plain sight
-found in a few minutes
-along a paved area
-relatively flat terrain
-less than a half mile hike
-handicap accessible

Average

-less than 30 minutes of hunting
-along a marked trail
-less than 2 mile hike
-suitable for small children

Challenging

-may take up a good portion of an afternoon
-some overgrowth
-steep elevation changes
-more than a 2 mile hike
-not suitable for small children

Difficult

-a challenge for the experienced geocacher
-may require special preparation to find
-may require multiple days or trips to complete
-off trail with more than 10 mile hike
-steep elevation
-heavy overgrowth
-experienced outdoor enthusiasts only

Extreme

-a serious mental or physical challenge
-may require specialized knowledge to open
-may require special equipment like boat, 4WD, rock climbing or SCUBA
-extremely challenging terrain

Newbies, Listen Up
Teri Anderson, Maple Grove resident and past president of the Minnesota Geocaching Association, along with her husband Brian Wiedeke share some of their geocaching adventures and offer useful tips.

Why geocache?
Teri: There are amazing places that we would have never visited, or probably even known about, except that there was a geocache there. We have been in the shadow of the Matterhorn, to a national park in the heart of Siberian Russia, and to an active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's also taken us across the borders of Canada, Switzerland, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, The Netherlands and Austria (although we never did find one in Austria).

Brian: Geocaching is a great activity if you are 3 or 83. We know several couples who are retired and very active in geocaching.

Teri: The mental challenges in finding caches as well as the exercise to get to them keeps people young.

Brian: If you like gadgets, have a sense of adventure and like finding treasure this activity combines all of that into one fun sport.

On involving their 6-year-old son in the hunt…
Brian: He is just as big a part of the hunt as we are (and has found a few of them before we did). He started finding them with us at about age 3 and a half. He has always thought of it as finding treasure, and loves it. There probably aren't many 6 year olds that have been to every state park in Minnesota, but he has, and the [multi] caches the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) puts out are some of the best ones for families, because the last stage is almost always a nice large ammo can that he loves to find new trinkets in.
           
Kids are only limited by their stamina. There are a lot of times you'll see the container first, but if you "guide" a younger kid and let them make the find they'll get hooked on it a lot faster.

Most surprising geocache?
Brian: One that was hidden on a bridge over the Moscow River. I think I was surprised we found it, even with police officers coming over to us, language barrier and all. It was a fun sense of accomplishment finding something no bigger than the tip of your pinkie right in the heart of Mother Russia.

Teri: We've followed an actual pirate map to the "treasure," rescued a container from a three-foot mousetrap, solved an entire game of Clue through geocaches, and even pulled a sword from a stone Excalibur style. (And we almost poked a badger once that wasn't a cache.)

On being new to geocaching…
Brian: On the MN Geocaching Association forums there are always people setting up group outings. Those are a great way to get a feel for how to find geocaches with more experienced cachers.

-------------------------------------------------

Event passports due by June 15

Please report cache irregularities to editor@maplegrovemag.com.

Cache #1 - The Corner
N 45° 09.168  W 93° 31.303
A nice, easy park-and-grab.
Difficulty: Easy / Terrain: Flat / Size: Small

Cache #2 - Time 4 School 
N 45° 08.850  W 93° 28.619
TOTT needed
D: Average / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #3 - which Way To Go
N 45° 06.435  W 93° 28.958
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #4 - Catch a Ride
N 45° 07.935  W 93° 28.485
For the music lovers out there.
D: Average / T: Steep / S: Small

Cache #5 - Beavers on Rush Creek
N 45° 09.135  W 93° 27.074
Beavers have been working as hard here as you 
will work to find this cache!

Be prepared to feed the mosquitos if you are not prepared with bug spray.
D: Challenging / T: Overgrowth / S: Small

Cache #6 - On The way OUT
N 45° 08.036  W 93° 27.051
Hint: Descend to depths where no one goes. 
Cathedral ceilings, water flows.
D: Difficult / T: Steep, Overgrowth/S: Small, may need TOTT

Cache #7 - Shhh…
N 45° 08.208 W 93° 25.836
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #8 - I was in the Neighborhood
N 45° 08.208  W 93° 25.836
Parking at: 45° 08.957 93° 24.576
This one is a thorny proposition.
D: Average / T: Flat/Overgrown / S: Small

Cache #9 - Feeling Dizzy
N 45° 09.108  W 93° 24.099
High muggle alert here (off hours work best).
D: Average-multi / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #10 - No More Snow!
N 45° 07.082  W  93° 25.755
Hint: 7 o’clock
D: Average / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #11 – Woof Woof
N 45° 04.662  W 93° 27.848
D: Average / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #12 - The Future
N 45° 05.946  W 93° 26.059
Difficulty: Easy / Terrain: Flat / Size: Small

Cache #13 - Feel the Energy
N 45°05.703  W 93° 26.128
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #14 – For The BirdS
N 45° 06.826  W 93° 27.605
The birds can see this one and you can too, if you reflect a bit.
NOTE: Please do not disturb the bird.
This site could use some TLC from someone with a trash bag. 
D: Difficult / T: Flat / S: Medium

Cache #15 - The Old Man
N 45° 06.508  W 93° 27.287
Beware passing dogs.
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small Multi-cache

Cache #16 - Ascend to Learning
N 45° 06.079  W 93° 26.389
Hint: No need to get your feet wet.
D: Easy multi / T: Slight grade / S: Small

Cache #17 - Mm, mmm…
N 45° 05.625  W 93° 25.600
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #18 - Such Nice Green grass here 
N 45° 06.113 W  93° 27.256
D: Difficult / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #19 - Consecrated Grounds
N 45° 06.513  W 93° 28.155
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #20 - X Marks the Spot
Visit: dot.state.mn.us/tmc/trafficinfo/metrocams/mapindex.html
Location-There are only 3 choices on Hwy. 610. 
Which one will it be?

ERIRER  P218

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M 
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9
-----------------
8|6|4|3|5|1|9|7|2

(letter/numbers above equals below, and vice versa)

Event cachers: Grab a cell phone so you can communicate with a friend who is at a computer. Have that friend capture a screen shot of you at this location (waving and smiling at the camera). The camera refreshes every 10 seconds. Print the shot, trim and paste it into passport space #20.
(Please check the camera shot BEFORE you go, to locate the overpass or understand where to pull on to the 610 median crossover in order to get this shot safely).
D: Difficult / T: Flat / S: Electronic

Cache #21 – The Meadow
45° 45.04.331  W 93° 29.125
(Parking- 45° 04.363  W 93° 29.021)
If you search for this one at night, your flashlight will catch reflective markers that lead to the cache. 
Keep the markers on your right! 
You are on your own getting out.
D: Difficult / T: Uneven / S: Medium

Cache #22 – Quench Your Thirst
N 45° 04.677  W 93° 26.631
D: Easy / T:Flat / S: Small

Cache #23 – Triple PINES
N 45° 04.124  W 93° 24.204

TODAY 
8 am       drop off Spot
8:15        order short stack w/ links at Henry’s
                (hint: stop and smell the flowers)
9 am       spinal adjustment appt.
9:20        add new car to insurance
10 am     look for lvg rm carpet
10:30      get tattoo
noon       pick up bottle of rum for tonight’s 
                 announcement of tattoo

D: Easy Multi / T: Flat / S: Small    

Cache #24 - To Life
N 45° 05.437  W 93° 30.859
D: Average / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #25 – Dead end
N 45°05.030  W 93 29.475
This one will rock you!
Difficulty: Average / Terrain: Flat / Size: Small

Cache #26 - B-Ball
N 45° 04.973  W 93° 25.603
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache # 27 - Weaver Lake School
N 45° 06.977  W 93° 29.388
Difficulty: Easy / Terrain: Flat / Size: Small

Cache #28 – Your Favorite Place
N __° __.___  W __° __.___
Event Cachers: List the GPS coordinates or YOUR favorite 
place in Maple Grove and write down where it is 
(a restaurant? a lake? your bedroom pillow?).

Cache #29 - Our Leaders
N 45° 05.991 W 93° 26.620
D: Average multi / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #30 – The Other Corner(S)
N 45° 03.940  W 93° 31.315
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #31 – Fore on the Scottish 9
N 45° 05.909  W 93° 30.758
FPBHE GUR OEBJA(F)
NIBVQ GUR TERRA(F)

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H |I | J | K|L|M 
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

D: Average / T: Uneven / S: Medium

Cache #32 – The Sleigh
N 45°07.303  W 93°30.189
Difficulty: Easy / Terrain: Flat / Size: Small

Cache #33  - King of the Hill
N 45° 06.708  W 93° 26.438
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #34 – It Takes A Village
N 45° 07.608  W 93° 27.649
Pass between the skyrocket juniper and swamp white oak, 
and swirling vines rise up from the treasure.
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #35 – The Eagle Has Landed
N 45° 04.188  W 93° 25.315
Hint: Hidden high among honeysuckle.
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Cache #36 - It’s a Picnic
N 45° 08.566  W 93° 25.504
D: Easy / T: Flat / S: Small

Please report cache irregularities to editor@maplegrovemag.com.