Allegany State Park Geobash VII, 2012

The Geobash is a special event devoted to geocaching,  A geocache is a box of trinkets, most often an ammo can or a Tupperware container.  It is hidden, with permission of the landowner/manager, and gps coordinates are posted on the internet.  Geocachers locate the hidden box using a gps receiver, trade a trinket, sign the logbook in the cache container, and post a log of their adventure online.  The most popular geocaching website is www.geocaching.com.

The ASP Geobash is an annual Mega event.  The center for event activities is Camp Allegany, in the Red House area of Allegany State Park.  Organizers expect 1,000 or more geocachers on Saturday, May 19, for events at the park, and geocaching throughout the area. The welcome center, event store, and vendor exhibits, at Camp Allegany, open at 8:00 AM.  Sign in, pick up your “will call,” and join the fun.  The weekend will include a Meet & Greet, ASP Geobash VII, two Flash Mob events, and a Cache in/Trash Out event.

The “ASP Geobash Bonfire Meet & Greet” will be held at N 42º 06.060 - W 078º 43.401.  The bonfire, hosted by a caching group called the “Allegheny Rangers,” begins at 7 PM and ends at 10 PM.  The waypoint listing on www.geocaching.com is GC3CXT5.  Early sign-ins for ASP Geobash VII will begin at 6:30 PM Friday, at the Camp Allegany welcome center.  The night caches for Friday will also be posted at the welcome center at 8:00 PM.

Activities at camp will include two GPS games, “Where’s Franklin” and geo-Bingo, the ammo can toss, and the piñata for the kids.  A series of educational seminars are scheduled throughout the day.  Topics will include “whereigo,” night caching for beginners, favorite park animals, and more. Stop by camp at 11:45 AM for the annual group photo.  Lunch will follow. Basket raffles and a 50/50 raffle are planned.  Raffle items will be on display and tickets will be available from 8 AM until 2 PM.  Winners of the games and raffles, and the 2011 travel bug race, will be posted at the Welcome Center and prizes may be picked up between 4 and 6 PM. 

The Geocoin Expo starts at 3 PM.  Take the opportunity to “discover” and trade some beautiful trackable coins.  After dinner, there will be a family movie with popcorn, a drawing for door prizes and the Saturday night caches.  Coordinates will be posted at the welcome center at 8 PM.  The Geobash is listed as ASPGB VII on  geocaching.com.  The waypoint code is GC32GNA.  The cache page includes links to the ASP Geobash Website and their Facebook page.  Detailed information, including a full schedule, is available at www.aspgeobash.com . 

A Flash Mob event, organized by the Stepping Stones, will be held in Bradford, PA on Friday at 5:05 PM at N 41º 58.711, W 078º 36.729.  On Saturday a second Flash Mob will be held in Salamanca, NY at 3:35 PM at N 42º 09.523, W 078º 44.598.  A geocaching flash mob is a very quick event cache, in fact, only 15 minutes long.  The idea is to suddenly gather, conduct a quick meet and sometimes a photo, then disperse as quickly as you gathered.  It is important NOT to arrive at the meeting place early.  Wait until the exact time arrives.  Bring a 3X5 card signed with your geocaching name WITH YOU to the event.  There will be a box at the event to drop them in.  This will be your “found it” log.  Full details for the two events can be found at www.geocaching.com.  The waypoint listings are, GC3ET0F for the Salamanca event, and GC38GNE3 for the Bradford event. 

The final event of the weekend is The ASP CITO on Sunday, organized by the PaRacers.  Enjoy pancakes and hot coffee then help get Camp Allegany shipshape.  If enough people participate, additional crews will be sent to clean up at Thunder Rocks as well.  All volunteers will be required to fill out a volunteer form for the Park before participating in the event.  Meet at N 42º 05.962, W 078º 43.401 to sign up and get garbage bags and area assignments.  Please wear fluorescent orange so you will be easily seen along the road.  The event is listed as GC38EW5 on geocaching.com.

For more information on this event please visit http://www.ASPGeobash.com