A ‘muggle’, in Geocaching terms, is a non-Geocacher, a person not playing the game, and usually not aware of Geocaching. The term is based on ‘muggle’ from the Harry Potter book series by A. K. Rowling which refers to a non-magical person.

The concern with muggles is that they may discover a Geocache, either accidently or by seeing a Geocacher accessing it, and then possibly destroying it. This is referred to as the Geocache being ‘muggled’.

Often times, especially in urban areas, Geocaches are placed in high-traffic areas where there are a lot of muggles around. While this may add to the thrill in finding a cache it also adds to the risk of it being found. This risk is increased when a Geocacher is accessing and logging the find. Geocachers must take great care to ensure that Geocaches are not muggled.

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We recently reached over 300 Geocaching resource websites listed in our Geocaching directory!

These resources are shared over twenty-eight different categories with some of the fastest growing categories being Software, Blogs and Associations and Clubs. The Associations and Clubs category, which lists Geocaching associations and clubs around the world, now has almost half of the total directory listings and this includes the 120 clubs listed for North America! You can see the full category list on the right-hand menu on this page.

We began the Geocaching Resource Directory several months ago with the intent of ‘linking the Geocaching community’ and we believe we are well on our way. Thanks to all those that have submitted a listing! If you have a website related to Geocaching, or a favorite Geocaching site that you feel should be added here please let us know!

Keep on cachin’!

Well, we did something today that we have wanted to do for some time - we walked the Salt Marsh Trail. We have been on the trail dozens of times but we have never walked it end to end. It was not that it is that long; it was more the fact that it’s a one way trail, meaning that when we reached the end we would have to walk back. Because the Salt Marsh is an EarthCache we thought that it was fitting that we walk its full length today. All in all, with cache runs we logged 15kms (9 miles).

A Salt-Marsh is a coastal wetland that is one of the most biologically productive habitats on Earth. They are rich in marine and wildlife and sometimes called tidal marshes, because they occur in the zone between low and high tides.

One of the predominant features of a Salt-Marsh is the Smooth cordgrass that grows. Smooth cordgrass, like most Salt-Marsh plants, is called a halophyte because it can tolerate salt water, a feat that most plants can not achieve. In fact, Smooth cordgrass has salt glands that excrete salt onto the leaf surface. The habitat formed by this plant provides vital nursery and feeding grounds for young fish and crabs. It also supplies food and cover to a variety of marsh birds and other animals.

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The official website for GeoWoodstock VI went live a few days ago, after much anticipation on our part. We had the dates marked on our calendar for months. We missed it last year and don’t want to miss this one. We have already registered and now making our flight and hotel plans. It will be held in Wheatland which is just outside of Sacramento, California on May 24, 2008.

GeoWoodstock is a yearly get-together for Geocachers from all over the world. It began in June of 2003 in Louisville, Kentucky. This was followed in 2004 in Nashville, Tennessee, 2005 in Jacksonville, Florida, 2006 in Dallas, Texas and earlier this year in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has grown to become the world’s largest Geocaching related event and GeoWoodstock VI is expected to draw 3000 Geocachers!

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We got a chance to get out today for a great walk in the fall sunshine. It was surprisingly warm for the middle of October and we were not complaining!

We had a bit of trouble finding the Geocache we were seeking today. Since it was a clear day and we were tracking within 3 meters but we could not find it. There really was nothing in the area that would offer a hiding place. After fifteen minutes of searching we gave up and proceeded to bring another cache up on the GPSr. The strange thing is that the nearest one had the same name as the one we were just looking for except it had a space and ‘1′ after it. Punching in this one told us that we were about 90 meters from it. We continued on our way and made a quick find and dropped off a Travel Bug that we picked up on the weekend.

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As a whole, Geocachers are quite environmentally active. When we are out Geocaching, we collect litter along the trails and paths and then dispose of it properly. We ‘take out what we take in’ and strive to leave a place better that it was. On certain days, we also participate in international clean-up events that involve and benefit the larger community. CITO (Cache In, Trash Out) is one of several great programs that help us with this initiative.

CITO is an opportunity for Geocachers to help clean up the parks, trails and other cache-friendly places throughout the world. Through our volunteer efforts, we help preserve the natural beauty of our outdoor resources.

CITO began in 2003, when Geocachers from around the world organized 67 cleanup events in 5 countries. There were almost 1200 unique logs posted showing participation in these events, and hundreds more acted locally in recognition of this important day. The events were such a huge success that Groundspeak, parent of Geocaching.com, committed to carry on the tradition.

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