Caching with Craig

GeoSta2Key: The Road Warrior of Geocaching

Back in 2018, the idea for a blog post was scribbled down — a tribute to a little stuffed animal who had quietly been racking up miles, joining cache hunts, and carving out its place in geocaching lore. But GeoSta2Key’s story started long before that. Its first cache find? 2015.

GeoSta2Key isn’t just another trackable. It’s the first of our stuffed animal cache companions — the original plush pathfinder. The one who turned a quirky idea into a tradition. The road warrior who’s always ready, whether stuffed under the truck seat or leading the charge to the next find.

From Fast Food Toy to FC Barcelona Legend

GeoSta2Key started life as a Chick-fil-A cow, a funny little plush with the familiar “Eat Mor Chikin” message. At the time, it got tossed in with our hiking gear, more of a sidekick than a star — a soft, silly mascot for the trail.

Then everything changed with one thoughtful gift.

After a trip to Spain, my daughter brought back a tiny FC Barcelona jersey, and it happened to fit the cow perfectly. That was the moment. The Chick-fil-A cow became a fútbol-loving, travel-hardened geocaching legend — and GeoSta2Key was officially born.

The First of the Plush Trackables

Before there was a squad of stuffed mascots riding along for cache runs, there was just GeoSta2Key — always along for the ride, even when no one noticed. It might be hidden in the glovebox or stashed in a backpack, but when the adventure called for the full crew, GeoSta2Key made its surprise appearance — ready to log another find.

It didn’t ask for attention. It just kept showing up. Quiet, dependable, and slowly earning its place as the original. It wasn’t long before it inspired others — more trackables, more plush companions, more personality-packed mascots joining the caching team.

Track the Journey

GeoSta2Key has seen miles. It’s crossed state lines, bushwhacked through overgrowth, braved bad weather, and waited patiently between outings. And its logbook is still growing.

Follow its journey here:
📍 GeoSta2Key’s Travel Map

Every stop on the map is a story. A cache, a memory, a step in a journey that started with a stuffed cow and a jersey.

Why It Matters

GeoSta2Key is more than a toy. It’s a symbol of how the smallest, simplest things — a forgotten plush, a gift from your kid, a whim tossed into a backpack — can evolve into something meaningful. Something that tags along on real adventures. Something that starts a whole new tradition.

So if you’re out geocaching and happen to find a signature from GeoSta2Key, you’ve met the trailblazer. The quiet legend. The one that started it all.

🧭🐄⚽️

My Sta2Key Geocoin: 180,000+ Miles of Adventure

If there’s one thing I never leave home without, it’s my Sta2Key Geocoin. Officially activated on June 23, 2012, in Nevada, United States, this gold ROT13 Decoder Key Chain geocoin has been riding shotgun on my geocaching journey—and every other journey, really—for over 13 years. As of today (July 14, 2025), it’s clocked a staggering 180,255.7 miles.

More Than Just a Coin

This isn’t just any geocoin. The Sta2Key was the very first trackable my family bought for me when I began geocaching. At the time, I’d already found over 300 caches (oops—should’ve started logging those miles sooner!). From that day forward, it’s been attached to my GPS device like a loyal sidekick, helping me decode cache hints on the fly and adding an extra layer of geeky fun to the hunt.

A Little History—and Mystery—Behind the Coin

Designed as a functional ROT13 decoder, this geocoin celebrates one of the quirkiest parts of geocaching: secret hints written in cipher. ROT13, short for “rotate by 13 places,” was used way back in the 1st century BC, allegedly by Julius Caesar himself (and hey, rumor has it he loved geocaching, too). The cipher simply swaps each letter for the one 13 places down the alphabet—making it perfect for keeping geocache hints secret unless you’re in the know.

Whenever I spot a cryptic hint like “Guvf vf n fznyy pbyhza,” my Sta2Key is ready to reveal the answer (“This is a small column,” in case you’re wondering).

Ride-or-Die Trackable

Unlike most trackables that travel from cache to cache, my Sta2Key is a true personal traveler. It’s permanently attached to my keychain—meaning it goes wherever I go, whether I’m hiking up mountain trails, navigating city streets for urban caches, or simply making a late-night grocery run. It’s less “trackable in the wild” and more “can’t-leave-home-without-it.”

Want to Follow Along?

Curious where my Sta2Key has been? You can check out its travel bug map and see its globetrotting adventures here: Sta2Key Geocoin Map.

It’s incredible how a little gold decoder has become such a huge part of my caching story. Here’s to many more miles—and many more secrets decoded.

Coming Soon: Meet the Trackables

Each of the following trackables has its own personality and purpose—kind of like the Avengers, but with less saving the world and more falling behind rocks. You’ll meet:

Geo-Sta2Key – The reliable road warrior. Always riding shotgun (or somewhere under the seat) in the truck, Geo-Sta2Key is ready for action whenever geocaching calls. While it usually hangs back, it’s been known to make surprise appearances alongside the other trackables when the adventure demands a full crew.
Sta2Key Geocoin – The ride-or-die of my caching crew. Permanently attached to my keychain, this geocoin goes everywhere I go—whether I’m geocaching, grocery shopping, or just wondering where I left my keys. It’s less “trackable” and more “can’t-leave-home-without-it.”
PSG Bear – My frequent flyer companion. This plush globetrotter has more airline miles than some pilots and always travels with me when I fly. Whether we’re hunting urban caches in big cities or just trying to survive airport security together, PSG Bear is the ultimate travel-sized caching sidekick.
London Bear – Our resident road trip expert. This bear rolls with us on RV adventures, navigating the highways, backroads, and questionable campground Wi-Fi with ease. If there’s a cache near a scenic overlook or roadside oddity, London Bear is already reaching for the GPS.
Hedwig – My trusty trail companion for local hikes. Whether we’re climbing dusty switchbacks or wandering through pine-scented paths, Hedwig is always along for the ride—perched quietly in my pack like a wise little sentinel. No magic spells, just solid caching instincts and a keen eye for sneaky hides.
Icelandic Puffin – The feathered fuel for my mountain and gravel biking quests. Tucked securely in my hydropack, this puffin joins me for the long hauls—up steep climbs, down rocky descents, and through the kind of terrain that makes you question your life choices. Lightweight, durable, and always down for the ride.
Moun10 Bike – The pocket-sized pedal pal. Whether it’s a quick neighborhood loop or a full-day ride, this little trackable comes along for every spin. Small enough to fit in a jersey pocket or tuck neatly into a frame bag, Mount10 Bike is always geared up for the next two-wheeled adventure.

Each of these has a role to play in my caching adventures, and through them, I’ll share stories of near misses, surprise finds, and the occasional cactus encounter.

So stay tuned, follow the journey, and remember—geocaching may be about the destination, but with the right trackable, the ride gets way more entertaining.

Going Streaking for 366 Days

June 17, 2023 – I am not sure if this was the day that I decided to go on a Geocaching streak, but it is the day that it started. I knew that I was going to have to put a small streak together to get the Wheel of Challenges: Out and About souvenirs. The following month’s Wheel of Challenge was about streaks, and at that point, the challenge was on to reach 366 days. It did help that Kapfam4, who also lives in the area, was on a streak as well, and that served as some motivation at times.

My previous longest streak was 31 days during the 31 Days of Geocaching in August 2013. After that 31-day streak, I was pretty sure that I was not going to pursue a long streak again. At the time, I lived in Las Vegas, and caches were everywhere, but maintaining a streak seemed to take some of the fun out of geocaching.

I am now living in a more rural area of Nevada and have spent the last couple of years geocaching in the area, so my choices for finding a cache for 366 days were going to be limited. One of the secrets that I discovered in this process was that Adventure Labs are a difference maker in keeping a streak alive. Unlike 2013, I didn’t have to find a physical or virtual geocache every day because I could find one stage of an Adventure Lab, and that would count towards the streak. I cannot properly explain how beneficial this was for me to maintain the streak.

What did I Learn

Lesson 1: Your spouse will frequently say, “You don’t need to go geocaching.” Yes, going on a streak is a choice and a choice that I made. Once you get going and have a goal, can you really stop?

Lesson 2: It takes discipline. Throughout the 366-day streak, I passed up numerous opportunities to find multiple caches in a single day. During the entire streak, I found only 405 geocaches plus 310 Adventure Lab stages. The exceptions that I made were when I was out of town because I did not have to worry about cleaning out an area of caches and then driving an hour to get the next closest one. The second exception was when I participated in my first GeoPoker Run Event. I will say that I was on the fence about the GeoPoker event because I knew that I could extend my streak by about 19 more days, but I couldn’t pass up my first chance to do that type of event.

Lesson 3: You learn to develop a schedule. During the beginning of the streak, my employer instituted a policy in which I was required to take a one-hour unpaid lunch. I was annoyed about the increased lunch time and decided that I was not going to sit in the office for 60 minutes unpaid, so I started going geocaching on my lunch. When my start time changed from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM, I realized that I now had an extra hour before work to get a cache and started doing that every day. If I was a DNF in the morning, I would go during lunch. If I still hadn’t found one, I had all evening to get one.

Lesson 4: Adventure Labs are your friend in more ways than one. I always liked seeing a new Adventure Lab in the area because I knew that was five more days where I was not going to have to drive long distances to get a find. The second benefit of Adventure Labs, especially when you are traveling by plane, is Adventure Labs inside of airports. These are usually quick finds during layovers; they are mostly informative and fun to do. I won’t admit whether or not I selected airports with Adventure Labs for my layovers, but it was a bonus. The best Adventure Lab in an airport is the one created by CacheSleuth in the Oklahoma City Airport.

Lesson 5: Having great geocaching friends is very helpful. In the couple of years since my move to Carson City, I have had the opportunity to meet great geocachers in the area. They were very supportive during my streak, including hiding more caches in the area to cut down on drive time, providing hints on caches that I couldn’t find, and hosting events. Kapfam4, Spacemanpurpscooter, and CrunchyFrogs were always hiding caches and helping, and I don’t know if I would have finished the streak without their encouragement. Kapfam4 also provided me with the pictured geocoin to celebrate my accomplishment. For those of you who have read this far, you can log it with this code: CHMW0T.

My streak did end at 366. I probably could have kept going, but there are other Geocaching challenges I want to pursue and other hobbies I want to dedicate some time to this summer. When I retire and can geocache more frequently, I am sure that I will start another streak.

Streak Statistics:

Average Difficulty*: 1.76
Average Terrain*: 1.65

Oldest Cache Found: Alvin’s Phone Line (GC9FF)
Milestone Cache: Find #5000 – Devil’s Tower National Monument II (GC22DD)
Souvenirs Earned: 26 including Hider Souvenirs
Adventure Lab Postcards: 42

Cache Type	Number of Finds
Adventure Lab	310
Traditional	268
Virtual Cache	42
Earthcache	37
Unknown Cache	21
Event	13
Letterbox	10
Multi	7
Wherigo Cache	4
CITO	2
Webcam	1

Cache Container Size	Number of Finds*
Micro	117
Small	103
Other	88
Regular	47
Virtual	41
Not chosen	5
Large	3

States	Number of Finds*
Nevada	286
California	25
Hawaii	16
Minnesota	11
New York	10
Wyoming	10
Colorado	8
North Dakota	7
Arizona	6
District of Columbia	5
Virginia	4
Georgia	3
South Dakota	3
Utah	3
Kansas	2
Nebraska	2
Maryland	1
Missouri	1
New Jersey	1

indicates does not include Adventure Lab stages

Caching with Craig – An Introduction

Welcome to Caching with Craig! The goal of this blog is to entertain the masses and provide information regarding the world of geocaching.

I am in no way an expert in geocaching, but it is a hobby that I enjoy and , on occasion, obsess over. My start in geocaching occurred in 2010. I got an eTrex GPS for Christmas and after reading an article on geocaching, I started my pursuit of finding random containers in the desert. I found two caches near my house and then took over 450 days off before my next find.

My second attempt at geocaching was a result of a camping trip with my wife’s cousins and their kids. A weekend of finding caches with them put me back on track to finding caches more regularly and started my enjoyment of geocaching.

Since that camping trip, I have found almost 4000 more caches, learned about different cache types, attended events and CITOs, hidden almost 100 caches, and planned family trips around geocaching. Geocaching has become a hobby that provides me with a purpose when I go bike riding, hiking, or even taking the dog for a walk. If I am taking the dog for a “long” walk, I can guarantee that I am either finding a cache, hiding a container, or plotting a future cache hide location.

I want to share my experiences (good and bad) and be an additional source for geocachers to learn more about a hobby that I enjoy. In my mind, I know what journey I want to take with this blog and I am looking forward to taking my readers on an adventure through the world of geocaching.