Upcoming Events

June 30 – GCB8C6K Parking Lot Party  (Sitka)

June 30 – GCB8HHW Meet, Greet, and Check out the GCAK! Mobile Store  (Anchorage)

July 4 – GCB8F3P Happy Birthday USA (Anchorage)

July 4 – GCB8JX7 Independence Day Coffee Cheers from Arizona! (Sitka)

July 6 – GCB91TJ How About An Event In Skagway Alaska? (Skagway)

July 7 – GCB6NXN Teamwork Required: Montague Island (CITO Event) (Montague Island)

July 8 – GCATMC3 2025 Community Celebration Event  (Anchorage)

July 14 – GCB7CG9 Cornhusker’s visit Alaska (Ketchikan)

July 16 – GCB8HK4 Coffee, Donuts, Meet, and Greet (Hoonah)

July 30 – GCB8GCE Mr. Smith goes to Alaska (Denali) 

 

Upcoming Souvenirs:

Celebrating 25 Years: no time limit

     (Find all 5 treasures in “Celebrating 25 Years” Treasures collection to qualify)

International Geocaching Day – August 16

Cache In Trash Out® (CITO) 2025 – Season  September 1 – November 30 

September Equinox: September 19-22

For a full list of upcoming souvenirs, visit: 2025 Confirmed Souvenirs on the Geocaching Blog

 

By Emily Accipiter Stewart  (eaccipi)

Cheerio from the beautiful Welsh countryside! Rstewar and I are on a 10 day holiday along the Mon & Brec canals in southern Wales. We’re spending a week on a 45’ long narrowboat moving around 2 mph through 30 miles of canals. It is incredibly slow paced, and lends a lot of time for chatting, reading, checking out all of the pubs, and geocaching.

Amazingly, there are over 100 geocaches hidden along the tow path (trail) beside the canal. Several beautiful series, hidden by CanalCruisers, line the area, which was a pleasant surprise when were getting into the planning stages of this adventure. Overall, I found about 50 caches over our week on the water – some of them clever, some of them convenient, and all of them well maintained. 

One of the funniest parts, and that shows me what a small world we live in – is that I saw fellow Alaskan geocacher AlaskaTim had found several of the caches in the area where we were going!

I love traveling, and getting to geocache in a new place often adds a layer of exploration for me. Since caches have to be hidden by locals, I’m often taken to places off the beaten path, or through parks I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I’ve been fortunate to cache in 17 countries and each time, my family has agreed that we’ve found cooler spots because of where geocaching takes us.

Something incredibly special about Alaska and Alaskan Geocachers is I think we do the same thing. We’ve got one of the highest concentrations of caches in our cities, and offer a variety of terrain, difficulty, and urban/wild opportunities to find. Caching in other places always reminds me of what we’ve got and how special it is.

Tourist season is in full swing here in Alaska, and, with everything going on, it looks like there will be fewer visitors to our state – both national and international. Let’s use this as a chance to discover new things in our own backyard. Place geocaches in interesting spots that you want to share. Highlight a trail or viewpoint you love. Include a story of why you hid the cache there in the description. Include parking waypoints for those who aren’t familiar with the area. Write logs on caches you find that tell about the day, the adventure, the find. 

Enjoy the journey this month!

 

Yours,

Emily Accipiter Stewart | eaccipi

GeocacheAlaska! President

 

Upcoming Events

May 29 – GCB73XH Stammtisch Klizich (Anchorage)

May 31 –GCB6JA5 Celebrate and Discover Potter Marsh! 2025 (Anchorage)

June 1 – GCB4KGT KMTA GeoTrail 2025 Season Kickoff  (Seward)

June 1 – GCB6GQZ  The Far Country (Skagway)

June 5 – GCB69A9  Visiting from Pennsylvania on Cruise Ship (Juneau)

June 7 – GCB70XR Discover Reflections Lake- but first, CITO  (Reflections Lake)

June 15 – GCB6WA9 Meet the Cachers from Netherlands (Anchorage)

June 20 – GCB6VC5  Visiting from Virginia (Sitka)

July 7 – GCB6NXN Teamwork Required: Montague Island (CITO Event) (Montague Island)

 

Upcoming Souvenirs:

Celebrating 25 Years: no time limit

     (Find all 5 treasures in “Celebrating 25 Years” Treasures collection to qualify)

June Solstice – June 20-22
     (Find and log any geocache, Event, or Adventure Lab location to qualify)

International Geocaching Day – August 16

For a full list of upcoming souvenirs, visit: 2025 Confirmed Souvenirs on the Geocaching Blog

 

Kickoff the 2025 summer caching season on the official KMTA GeoTrail!

 

Join GeocacheAlaska! and KMTA at the Branson Pavilion at the Seward end of the KMTA GeoTrail for a fun social event to celebrate the third year of Alaska’s first GeoTrail. GeocacheAlaska! is providing food to all attendees, with pulled pork being the centerpiece. Please post a “Will Attend” log and include the number of people in your party so we can bring enough for everyone! There is no charge for this event or the food. Attendees are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert to share with the group. Please bring your own beverages!

Anyone who has completed the Passport requirements of the KMTA GeoTrail before the event may pick up their KMTA GeoTrail pathtags and geocoin at the event. You’ll need to have submitted your online passport form or bring your completed passport with you to the event.

The KMTA GeoTrail has 23 cache locations including 16 traditional caches, 4 multi-caches, 2 field puzzles, and an Earthcache. One of the puzzles is the bonus cache at the end of a 5-stage Adventure Lab in Seward. The cache locations approximate the locations from the official KMTA Field Guide, which follows the history of the KMTA region from Girdwood to Hope to Cooper Landing to Seward.

 

To RSVP, submit your “Will Attend” here:  GCB4KGT – KMTA GeoTrail 2025 Season Kickoff

 

 

About the KMTA GeoTrail:

Welcome to a geocaching trail exploring Alaska’s only National Heritage Area. In 2009, Congress designated the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm (KMTA) region of Southcentral Alaska as a National Heritage Area (NHA). This designation formally recognizes the history of an area that has deeply shaped the legacy of Alaska and the nation. It is the history of the Alutiiq, Sugpiaq, and Dena’ina people—the original stewards and inhabitants of the Kenai Peninsula. It’s that of the Iditarod National Historic Trail, Alaska Railroad, Gold Rush, Seward Highway, and local industries that give KMTA its character. KMTA’s geographic footprint bridges Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound via mountains, glacial valleys, and productive rivers. Throughout this landscape are communities and stories that connect us to our past and future. It includes the small and vibrant communities of Bird, Indian, Girdwood, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, and Seward, and all the wilderness between them. As Alaska’s only National Heritage Area, KMTA aims to enhance, preserve, and share the region’s natural and cultural resources— in essence its heritage. Above all else, KMTA strives to foster pride of place and an enduring stewardship ethic for this special place. As you travel through the Heritage Area to complete this GeoTrail, we encourage to keep that stewardship ethic front of mind as you learn about and enjoy the richness of the region.

As you search for the geocaches making up this GeoTrail, you’ll be asked to complete a passport that qualifies you to purchase the KMTA GeoTrail Geocoin. For more information on the Passport and GeoTrail, please visit KMTA-GeoTrail.GCAK.org

KMTA field guide link: https://kmtacorridor.org/field-trip-guide/

 

 

Looking for GeocacheAlaska! merch? Check out our storefront on Printify! Tees, hoodies, hats, and other goodies can be printed-to-order with our logo and shipped straight to you.  Shirts are available in several styles and colors, and in a full range of sizes.

And check back later in the summer, as we’ll be adding new product offerings!

 

 

By Emily Accipiter Stewart (eaccipi)

 

Happy May! The sun is beginning to shine, the tourists are beginning to come, and the GeoTrail we have on the Kenai Peninsula is gearing up for it’s third summer!

 

I personally am inviting you to join us in Seward on June 1 st for our Third Annual picnic kick-off for the GeoTrail – a series of 23 geocaches located in the historic Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm region, highlighting history, geography, and cultural sites from Girdwood to Seward to Cooper Landing. If you haven’t worked on finding the caches in this series, I highly recommend it! Each cache is an ammo can, so it’s perfect for a family friendly adventure.

 

I also recommend checking out the  “Cache Odyssey – Alaska” cache, located inside the Kenai Chamber Visitor Center during business hours. It’s part of the official Northwest Cache Odyssey GeoTour series, and an incredibly creative gadget cache! If you’re more in southcentral, a trip to Wasilla will bring you near the “Cache Across America- Alaska” cache – one of 50 as part of a tour across America.

 

We’ll also start seeing more events! We love whenever visitors come to Alaska, either as a cruiser or independent. Since we’ve got such a bounty of caches that are incredibly accessible, I recommend going to the events hosted by visitors to share your favorite cache spots with them!

 

Overall, I hope you get to play tourist in your own state. Go to a festival, visit a new city, or find a new cache on a trail you haven’t seen before. Let’s enjoy our gameboard!

 

Yours,
eaccipi
Emily Accipiter Stewart, GeocacheAlaska! President

On April 16, few brave souls sported pajamas on a chilly afternoon at Kaladi Brothers Coffee in Anchorage to celebrate Geocache in Your Pajamas day. Here’s hoping that it becomes a fun annual tradition! Pictured are the WOCM family team, hyfolks26, and freeweez.

 

Upcoming Events

May 2 – GCB39FR  A Toast to Davidaknz! (Juneau)

May 17 – GCB5CZ7  Seward Alaska Mermaid Festival  (Seward)

June 1 – GCB4KGT KMTA GeoTrail 2025 Season Kickoff  (Seward)

June 5 – GCB69A9  Visiting from Pennsylvania on Cruise Ship (Juneau)

 

Upcoming Souvenirs:

Cache In Trash Out, Season 1: through May 31
       (Log a CITO event to qualify)

Blue Switch Day: May 2
      (“Finder” Souvenir: Log any geocache, event, or adventure lab stop to qualify)

      (“Hider” Souvenir: Hide any non-event geocache, having it published between May 1 and May 31 to qualify)

GeoGuessr Partnership Challenge: through May 9

     (Complete 25 GeoGueser puzzles, and log the trackable code that you’re given to qualify)

Celebrating 25 Years: no time limit

     (Find all 5 treasures in “Celebrating 25 Years” Treasures collection to qualify)

By: Sarah Pace (RSPace)

 

 

The GeoGuessr challenge, in a limited-time partnership with Geocaching, is back! Until May 9, get a free preview of the GeoGuessr game, discoverer some unique and beautiful places around the world (each near a real-life geocache location), and earn a souvenir.

GeoGuessr drops you on a completely random Google Streetview-style map, and your job is to navigate around a bit and try to figure out roughly where in the world you are (within about 1,000 miles), before the 3 minute timer runs out. You might find yourself in the middle of a busy city, a quiet town, or on a completely deserted rural road… but look around for clues!

• Can you spot any known landmarks?
• What is the scenery and geography like? Are there plants or trees? A coastline? Mountains?
• What side of the road are you driving on? Are your fellow vehicles specific to a certain region?
• What language are any signs and advertisements in?
• Do any of the local businesses, buildings, or directional signs have words or names that you can Google? (we won’t judge!)

Once you have a guess, click on the world map to drop a pin and see how close you came! Complete a few puzzles, then look for a trackable code that you can use to claim your Geocaching souvenir.

Check it out at the Geocaching Blog!

President

Emily Accipiter Stewart, eaccipi 

Emily first joined the GeocacheAlaska! Board as a member-at-large, later serving as Vice-President. She chairs the Membership and KMTA Geotrail committees. You can reach her at eaccipi.

 

Vice President

Wes Skinner, NorthWes

Previously serving 10 years as President, Wes is now Vice-President, with a focus on leading the advocacy, education, and nominations committees. You can reach him at NorthWes.

 

Treasurer

Lisa Williams, wocm

Lisa is a new Board member this year, and we are so excited to have her! Lisa is also the Fundraising committee Chair. You can reach her at wocm.

 

Secretary

Sarah Pace, RSPace

Sarah continues to keep us organized and is responsible for the GeocacheAlaska! Newsletter. She also chairs the recently revived CACHE committee, which recognizes our members and their accomplishments. You can reach her at RSPace .

 

Webmaster

Scott Aleckson, SSO.JOAT

Scott continues to serve as webmaster, working on new projects for updating our website, membership management,  and newsletter process. He is also chair of the Communications committee. You can reach him at SSO JOAT

 

Member At Large

Bill VanCouwenberghe, AlaskaVans

Bill is serving his second term as a Member At Large. You can reach him at  AlaskaVans.

 

Member At Large

Blake Stewart, JackCat14

Blake is serving his second term as a Member At Large. You can reach him at  JackCat14.

 

Member At Large

Trish Fredieu, AKLoisAndClark

Trish is returning to our board as a Member At Large. She chairs the events committee. You can reach her at AKLoisAndClark.

 

Member At Large

Susan Bartel, getatm

Newly elected, Susan is joining our board as a Member At Large. You can reach her at getatm.

 

Committees

Got ideas, but no time to join the board? We would love to invite our members to join the committees of GeocacheAlaska! And make your voices heard! Below are the committees for GeocacheAlaska! And their general purpose. Please reach out to the committee chairs to get involved.

• Advocacy Committee – handles blanket permits and works to improve outdoor access
• Education Committee – supporting geocaching and outdoor education with the youth
• Events Committee – Plans engaging and educational events for the geocaching community
• Fundraising Committee – Finds creative ways to fund our organization
• Communications Committee – Monthly Newsletter and Social Media
• KMTA GeoTrail Committee – supports our GeoTrail on the Kenai Peninsula
• Membership Committee – grow our membership and find what adds value
• Nominations Committee – prepares for the annual election
• CACHE Committee – recognizing our members and their accomplishments