TAG :: Toronto Area Geocachers » Events
Oct 28 2011
Well, here at TAG Central, we just got an interesting message. It came in a bottle, with a map that would certainly interest one Captain Jack Sparrow:
The Central Ontario Geocachers, an’ the Spring Fling organizers be pleased to announce that COG Spring Fling 8 be published an’ that plannin’ be well underway! On the 16thof the month of June which be a Saturday, bring ye all to the gathering!
We be also thrilled to announce that this year’s event be brought to the beautiful shores o’ Georgian Bay in the quaint, but thrivin’ community o’ Midland, Ontario. If ye be havin’ nerebeen to Midland, ye dasn’t know what ye be missin’! With beautiful parks, waterfront an’ urban areas perfect fer Geocachin’, this year’s venue offers us vast opportunities to be expandin’ on the successes that we be havin’ had with our past events.
Arrr, so ye be wantin’ to go to sea an’ ye don’t be wantin’ to end up in Davy Jones’ Locker? Then ye best be learnin’ to be talkin’ like a buccaneer!
In addition to our venue change, we will also be challengin’ ye to experience the event as a buccaneer. Huntin’ bountiful booty, sailin’ the high seas, swashbucklin’ an’ havin’ yer parrot do the talkin’ be all possibilities this year as we embark on our excitin’ new theme. Can ye answer the call?
The event page is already posted (GC1MGEQ). If you’re going to be anywhere near Central Ontario next June, you really owe it to yourself to attend this marquee event. Last year’s theme was Bond, 007. We’ll be sure they will take this year’s pirate theme to a whole new level. Be sure to post your will-attend on the event listing, and visit cogfling.ca for the full story.
[ Cogfling.ca ] [ GC1MGEQ ] [ Central Ontario Geocachers ]
Sep 12 2011
BFL Boot Camp, our annual night caching tradition, usually starts at a pub, and then we head out into the woods for a night of geocaching. While the main event was announced a few weeks ago, we still needed some time to get the pub together. Today, I’m glad to say we’ve addressed the pub situation. We’re meeting at the Mohawk Inn and Conference Centre for our pub.
In previous years, we’ve had problems accommodating everyone who wanted to come to the pub, as frankly there aren’t a lot of pubs that can handle crowds of 100+ people all at once. We tried to solve the problem one year by splitting the pub up and taking over three venues. This year we’re fortunate that the facility can handle up to 180 people – we’re taking over a banquet hall.
Still, in less than 12 hours we’ve signed up over 80 people for the pub event which is approaching the half full status so, if you’re coming out for BFL and want a seat at the pub, best to get that will attend in now.
Another fantastic opportunity this year is that the pub is, in fact, an Inn. So you can crash there after caching most of the night, or you can leave family members there to relax while you’re out caching if they are only interested in the pub portion of the evening. Rooms start at $75.
More information about the event activities can be found on the BFL Boot Camp website. The events are listed on Geocaching.com.
[ BFL Boot Camp VI – Super Pub Night ] [ BFL Boot Camp VI – Retro Reflect ] [ BFL Boot Camp Website ]
Sep 01 2011
Well, Waterloo Region had their GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit, and Alberta had theirs. Now, it’s Toronto’s turn!
The GPS Maze Exhibit is an interactive display about geocaching put together by Groundspeak, Minotaur Mazes and Trimble Navigation. The travelling exhibit features a 2,500 square foot maze with interactive experiences that teach about GPS technology and, of course, geocaching. The Waterloo Maze exhibit was clearly American oriented but this time (the rumours say) it will be the redesigned Canadian specific version that debuted in Alberta this summer.
The exhibit will run at the Ontario Science Centre from October 2, 2011 through January 8, 2012. There is an admission fee for the Science Centre but it’s a really cool place to explore in addition to the Maze Exhibit.
Also, just like they did in Waterloo, Groundspeak will host a Geocaching Event complete with a Lackey (Eric) on opening day. The event runs from 11AM to 2PM on October 2.
[ GC33AVY – GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit Event ] [ GC32XHM GPS Adventures Exhibit ]
Aug 10 2011
BFL Boot Camp is an annual night caching gathering held in North Halton by the Keepers of the Order of the BFL, or simply “The BFL Crew”. This group of cachers head out every friday night looking for geocaches hidden throughout the Greater Toronto Area. One night each year, the tables are turned – and the BFL Crew hides the caches, and hosts an event. This is the 6th year we have held the event.
Most event caches feature caching followed by a meal at a pub. Not this event – our tradition is to meet at a local pub, then send everyone out to look for the caches over the rest of the night. We set up a “command centre” where you can interact with other cachers, chat with the BFL Crew, or simply warm up with some hot chocolate. The pub portion of the event runs typically from 7pm to 9pm, and the caching runs from 9pm to 4am.
We have two “events” hosted on Geocaching.com:
- GC31VTF – BFL Boot Camp VI – Briefing Pub (Not published yet – still working out which pub to take over)
This is a gathering before the night caching where cachers may get together and share stories, or group up for the upcoming night caching session in the woods. The pub is still being organized, so it has not been activated on Geocaching.com just yet - GC2YVBH – BFL Boot Camp VI – Retro Reflect
Is the main geocaching event. This is the location of the “command centre”.We’ll be out there in the woods from 9:30pm to 4:00am.
The event this year is being held on October 29.
Jun 09 2011
Looking for geocaching plans this weekend? Remember, the Central Ontario Geocachers are holding their annual Spring Fling Mega Event Cache . Once again it’s being held at the Tiffen Centre, less than one hour north of the Toronto Area. Apparently they have been infiltrated by some rogue element so details are scarce. They are calling for all geocachers to assist with their mission – local or otherwise.
This is Ontario’s largest annual event and will most likely see some Groundspeak “lackeys” show up as well. The main event runs on Saturday, but camping and secondary events run from Friday thru to Sunday.
This event is one you don’t want to miss, so be sure to visit the event page to view the vital information. You’ll also want to post a Will-Attend on the Geocaching.com event page.
[ Spring Fling ][ Central Ontario Geogachers ] [ Groundspeak Forum Thread ] [ GC1MGER ]
Mar 27 2011
Here’s an interesting Head’s Up from Greywynd. Parks Canada is planning a Geocaching event along the Trent-Severn waterway on July 16. We don’t have much details at this point, other than a “mark the date”. It’s great to see some Parks Canada love for Central Ontario after the geocaching love seen in the Atlantic Provinces (Fundy NP, Louisbourg NP, Cape Breton Highlands NP) and more recently British Colombia (Gulf Islands NP) has been getting some official Parks Canada geocache support. Oh, and this one could be featuring the Passport idea where you visit caches, get stamps and earn a geocoin for your efforts too.
So, if you can be in the Peterborough area on July 16, make a point to come on out and show Parks Canada that we love caching in Ontario’s National Parks too.
Mar 02 2011
If you’re a geocacher on the east side of the City, you might want to take a look at what’s going on at the large natural park over there. There’s change coming, and it will potentially have an impact on geocaching in the park.
Rouge Park, which is home to many geocaches is creating a draft Trails Plan. Now is the time to see what’s going on and provide any input toward the Park’s Trails Master Plan.
If you’re interested, you should visit the community public meeting this Monday, March 7 at the Markham Museum (in the Transportation Room).
The event starts with an open house from 5:00 to 6:30, followed by a presentation at 6:30 and a workshop at 7:00.
From the Master Plan release (PDF):
The Rouge Park Alliance is in the process of developing a Trails Master Plan (Plan) for Rouge Park. This will be the second public meeting to consult with the public and key stakeholders about the Plan. As a result of the comments received from the First Public Meeting, additional investigation and evaluation were conducted with regards to the Plan. The Rouge Park Study Area is shown below. This meeting will present the visions, principles and the draft Trails Plan for review and input. Rouge Park staff and members of the consulting project team will be on hand to answer questions and receive comments and suggestions.
If you place geocaches on those trails, you are strongly recommended to attend that meeting!
[ Rouge Park ] [ Trails Master Plan ]
Feb 23 2011
Just got this in my weekly Groundspeak newsletter. It’s now official, the Lackeys will be coming to Spring Fling again so there’s one more reason to attend the event. If you’re heading over to Allegany State Park Geobash in New York state, you’ll also have an opportunity to meet them there – and of course they’ll be at Geowoodstock.
That’s three chances to meet a Lackey this year, all within a 3 hour drive of Toronto.
— Below is Groundspeak’s Announcement —
Groundspeak Lackeys to Attend Mega-Events in Eight Countries
Groundspeak Lackeys are traveling thousands of miles from H.Q. this year to share smiles, shake hands and make geocaching memories at more than a dozen Mega-Events worldwide. We’d love to meet you and to hear your geocaching stories! Come find a Lackey at one of these Mega-Events:
Illinois, USA – MOGA (Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure)
Bussum, Netherlands – Geocaching Multi Event 2011
Oeiras, Portugal – 11 Years! Oeiras – Portugal
New York, USA – ASP GeoBash 6
Ontario, Canada – COG Spring Fling
Salzburg, Austria – Pinzgau 2011
Pennsylvania, USA – GeoWoodstock IX
Ohio, USA – Midwest Geobash
Wales, UK – Mega Wales 2011
Wisconsin, USA – West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h
HQ in Washington State, USA – Groundspeak Block Party
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany – Geocoinfest Europa
Catalunya, Spain – Mega Event Catalunya
South Carolina, USA – Geocoinfest
We hope to attend even more Mega-Events next year!
Feb 17 2011
Source: NASA
Thanks to a class X2 solar flare on Tuesday, there’s a big chance we’ll be seeing an aurora in the sky tonight – the northern lights. This is expected to reach as far south as the northern United States, and yes, even the Toronto area may have a (slim) chance, as long as the clouds don’t get in the way. If you’re heading out with a GPS though, you might want to bring a map as this also has a strong likelihood of damaging satellites.
From the CBC News article:
John Manuel, a research scientist with the Canadian Space Agency, said the storm probably won’t cause power outages like the large flare that knocked out Hydro-Québec’s entire network in 1989. But he said it could damage satellites and suggested people who normally rely on a GPS, which uses satellites to navigate might want to bring a map as a backup.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/02/17/science-solar-flare-aurora.html?ref=rss#ixzz1EFw0mhYZ
[ Source: CBC News ] [ Spaceweather.com ] [ Spaceweather Canada ]
Feb 17 2011
It’s been 10 years since GC2B4 – Deer Bait was placed in Short Hills Provincial Park, down Niagara way. It is one of the few geocaches that exist in Ontario’s Provincial Parks system due to the ban on physical caches implemented in 2005 by Ontario Parks. Deer Bait is Ontario’s oldest active geocache, and in the last 10 years 348 geocaching teams have found it. The cache itself is a basic traditional, a pleasant walk along the trail in a natural park. The above photo shows the cache and logbook (opened to a page from 2004).
Tonight, Cachedrone is holding an event cache to mark this milestone – GC2MR0A Deer Bait – 10th Anniversary. If you’ve got the time, pop down to Fonthill and share stories with other cachers. The event itself is being held at The Mouse Trap, which is located at 128 Regional 20 Rd East in Pelham/Fonthill (905-892-7857)
[ GC2B4 Deer Bait ] [ GC2MR0A Deer Bait – 10th Anniversary ]