I loved reading his spotlight! It would be great to see Ari get an internship with Groundspeak. Better yet, move on to be a Lackey after college! I think he would do an excellent job!
Say hello to Ari!
First Name: Ari
School grade: 10th
1. What is your geo-name or do you share a geo-name with your family?
I go by the name ari54321 (my own account).
2. What is your favorite thing about geocaching?
The places it takes you and the people you meet.
3. Do you tell your friends about geocaching?
Yes, some of them.
4. If so, what do they think?
None of them are extremely interested, and I even have one friend that has a strong dislike to it – probably because of my endless obsession with it…
5. Have you ever taken your friends geocaching with you?
I have gone geocaching with geo-friends, but not with other friends, other than boy scouts on occasion. I usually cache with my dad, but I also enjoy biking around and caching solo.
6. What types of caches do you like to find?
I really love all caches (yes, I even like LPCs and P&Gs, just not in excess). I like manageable puzzles, but my dad is great at puzzles, so he solves the much more complex ones.
7. Of all the caches you have found, do you have a favorite?
This is a toss up between WARNING--Not For The Couch Potato!!!!! (GC3K89R), OC - Vacation Challenge (GC4191P), and Konami Multi Cache (GC44Z41). The coach potato one was my 200th Cache, and it involved a nice hike down in the Shenandoah (on Potomac Appalachian Trail Property), followed by a unique and creative container in a cool spot. OC Vacation Challenge I loved because it gave us a reason to find most of the caches in Ocean City while there for CAM, which was so indescribably fun. It is also hidden by our geo-friends, so that was cool. Finally, the Konami multi was definitely the most fun multi I’ve done. It consists of five “levels” (stages) in a video game, which progressively get harder (in terrain and difficulty). All the stages were a ton of fun and there were a bunch of unique and creative containers as well. I definitely recommend all three of these caches if you have an opportunity to find them.
8. Have you hidden or helped hide a geocache?
Of course! I have hidden 5 caches – 2 traditionals, 1 multi, and 2 puzzles (including GC43T75 (Sleepless in Bethesda), which won the best hide of the year in Central MD this year!).
9. Do you like going for long hikes or adventurous types of caches?
Yes!
10. What has been your most adventurous or fun cache find?
Most fun caches I have found are listed above. Most adventurous would be the caches on VanDeventer Island, where the 2012 Pirate of the Potomac event (GC3XBX1) was held. The event happened to be my first event, my first T5 cache, and my 100th cache! After, we found 7 or 8 caches around the island by canoe. While I don’t consider this to be extremely adventurous, it is the most adventurous series of caches that I have found. I actually happen to have caved twice all through the Whiting’s Neck Cave, in which WVTim’s Cave cache (GC2MD1H – 5D, 4.5T) is hidden, but I didn’t know about the geocache…
11. What is your favorite type of swag to find in a cache?
Pathtags!
12. What type of GPS do you use?
Until now I have used a Magellan eXplorist GC, but I just bought a new Garmin Oregon 450, which I have yet to take caching.
13. If you could add a new feature or technology to geocaching, what would it be?
These are more features of the website, but I have a few things –
A. Virtual Caches! A good way to limit the creation of these is to have one per premium account (so that there wouldn’t be too many).
B. A map view of the geocaching map as somebody else - so that one could see another cacher’s finds on a map.
C. A map view of disabled AND archived caches, so that I can see where caches used to be, easily (without having the link from somewhere else).
14. Do you like going to geocaching events?
I LOVE to!
15. If so, what was your favorite geo-event and what made it so much fun?
CAM 2013! CAM was a great experience and the event was TONS of fun at the event too! The 2013 summer picnic was also really fun.
16. What type of games do you like at geo-events?
Geocaching, of course! (It is a game, right?) I also love raffles and door prizes at MGS events.
17. Do you participate in other activities or sports?
I participate in the Boy Scouts (I am almost Eagle), but other than that I’m not really into sports. I’m on the robotics team at my high school. We won the state competition last year.
18. Outside of school, what other types of hobbies do you enjoy?
I also enjoy coin collecting, papermaking, and LEGO building (yeah, call me a kid all you want but there are actually some pretty fun and complicated sets for adults and teens alike).
19. What suggestions do you have for cache hides, hiders, events, or event games?
This advice is starting to seem cliché, as it is said a lot, but my advice to cache hiders is simply to keep it unique. Rather than hiding an LPC, hide something unique.
20. Is there anything else you would like to share?
Yes. I just wanted to thank you all for voting my cache GC43T75 (Sleepless in Bethesda), for the best hide of the year in Central MD!
21. What is your favorite subject in school?
Math is my favorite subject.
22. Do you have any college or trade school plans?
Well, speaking of college, I know that Groundspeak (owner/operator of Geocaching.com) has summer internships for undergrad college students…
Other than that, I’m not really sure what my plans are.23. What would you like to be when you grow up?
Why, a Groundspeak Lackey of course! But other than that, I think I would like a job that includes a lot of travelling. I love travelling, plus this is great for caching. Furthermore, I am generally good with languages; so International travel wouldn’t be bad.
