ACTIVITIES - If you've never been to an AJACS event you may not
be aware of some of the activities that are available for you and your
family to participate in. Of course, except for the QUEST FOR THE
LOG
BOOK, participation is optional and not required. Many people
like
attending the AJACS event just to hang around camp and visit with other
cachers. But, if you'd like to know more about some of the
activities,
read on.
QUEST FOR THE LOG BOOK - This
is the one activity that we
require every team to complete. After all, no cache can be
claimed as
a "find" unless you sign the log book. To sign our log book, we
require that you complete a relatively easy multi-cache. This is
a
tradition that goes back to our very first AJACS event. We do
this to
give everyone an opportunity to get a feel for the area, learn their
way around and to let everyone know about a few rules and recommended
practices. It also affords you an opportunity to meet other
cachers
along the way because you will inevitably cross paths with others as
your make your way from stage to stage. We ask that you take your
entire team with you on this quest and explain things to all members of
the
team, especially the younger ones, as you go along. Of course we
will
exempt very young children and those who are physically unable to
walk. The quest will require some walking but it's not really
that
difficult. It's not much different than a multi-cache in a city
park;
except that everyone is a cacher and there are no muggles to watch
for. There is no time limit to complete the quest- we only ask
that
you complete it, and sign the log book at the end, sometime during the
weekend, beginning Friday morning.
AJACS TEAM SKILLS CHALLENGE - This activity is back by popular
demand. Many of those who have completed this challenge at past AJACS
events have told us it is their favorite activity! To
participate, you
must sign up at the registration table. It is a timed event and
requires at least two people on a team. It is a multi-cache of
sorts
with several stages. Each stage should be easy to spot and you
won't
have to hunt very hard to find them. However, what makes it a
CHALLENGE is that you will be required to solve some sort of mechanical
puzzle at each stage before you can learn the coordinates for the next
stage. What makes it a TEAM event is that many of the puzzles are
physically impossible to solve with only one person. This is a
chance
for you to exercise your problem-solving skills and teamwork. If
you're not good at solving problems, that's okay too. We'll give
you
cheat cards if you can't figure something out. But remember, it is a
TIMED event and each time you use a cheat card you will be
penalized.
Each stage is usually only about a tenth of a mile (or
less) from the
last and the total walking distance of the entire course should be
about a mile of fairly flat terrain. Sturdy shoes or boots are
recommended and we recommend that each team have at least one adult on
it. The team with the shortest time for completion, after all
penalties are assessed, will win a (barely) valuable prize.
POKER RUN - Always a favorite, this is another family oriented
activity that requires you or your team to seek out five different
containers hidden around camp. (We'll give you the coords to each
container up front.) From each container you will take one
envelope
containing an ordinary playing card and return them (unopened) to the
registration table where an AJACS Staff member will tell you what your
poker hand is. The team with the best poker hand by the deadline
(Saturday afternoon) will win a (barely) valuable prize. You
won't
have to walk far and you can complete the Poker Run anytime throughout
the weekend, beginning Friday, as long as you have your cards turned in
before the deadline of 4:30 PM on Saturday.
AJACS FAMILY TRIVIA CHALLENGE - Introducing
the A.J.A.C.S Family Trivia Challenge Cache Hunt, and we
stress FAMILY challenge. You will need the aid of the younger
members
of the
clan, if you don’t have any don’t worry just borrow someone’s
kids for this. Rules for this will be available Saturday morning
and
must be
turned in by 4:30 PM. There may be a prize for the team that
completes
it in
the shortest time.
MOST
CACHES FOUND CONTEST - The AJACS
teams has hidden 20 new caches for the event. They
will not
be published on geocaching.com until the day(s) after the event.
The coordinates for these new caches will be distributed on Saturday
morning. If you want the
descriptions and GC numbers, you will need to go to this link, download and print out the list, and
bring it with you to the event.
Each
team wishing to compete will be given a game card. Each of the
new
caches will contain a packet of specially designed stickers. When
you
find one of the new caches, you will remove one (and only one) of these
stickers and place it on your game card in the appropriate
place.
The team that finds the most of these new caches and returns their game
card to the registration table before the deadline (Saturday at 4:30
PM) will be proclaimed the winner and will be presented with a (barely)
valuable prize. Just a word of warning, though; this year we're
going
to try to make these caches a little harder to find. There will
be
fewer "drive-bys" than previous AJACS events. Of course, if you
don't
wish to compete, you can still hunt for the new caches.