The History of Florida Finders Fest
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Florida Finders Fest
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October 22, 2011 will mark the 7th Annual Florida Finders Fest (FFF7), and expectations are that it will be the first “Mega”
event in Florida, as well as many nearby states.
The “philosophy” of Florida Finders Fest is “Food, Finds, and Fellowship”. The intent is that there is something for all
cachers. If you're a numbers ho, there are lots of caches. If you are looking for quality, you'll be in a national forest with lots
of great new caches and lots of long established caches. Hiking, kayaking, drive ups, off road, and everything in between, it
is all there. And if you just want to cool out with some fellow cachers, there is plenty of opportunity for that as well.
One of the key activities of Finders Fest is “The Gauntlet”, a hike of five to six miles that includes ten to twelve caches as
well as number of physical and photo scavenger hunt items. A little known fact of Finders Fest history is that the first
Gauntlet was not at the first Finders Fest. Rather the first Gauntlet was known as “Saint Patty’s Green Gauntlet” and was
held it Osceola National Forest during NEFGA’s “Hurricanes Blow” event. It was a joint effort of IceCreamMan and
UFBuilder. The event was at The Landing on Ocean Pond and was a rescheduling of an event that was cancelled several
times due to the hurricanes of 2004 (thus the name). The winning team was “Twisted Sisters and Company” comprised of
Cache and Keri, Marine Biologist, and McLeod1.
The 1st Annual Florida Finders Fest (FFF1) was held at Potts Preserve, a SWFWBD (Swift Mud) property in Citrus County.
It was a joint effort of IceCreamMan and parents, 2Hillbillies. Of course, The Gauntlet was an integral part of the event, and
the Best Team T-shirt competition was introduced. The Gauntlet victor was a crew of young cachers from South Florida,
the “Cacheapalooza Crew”. They mentioned their plans for an event in South Florida and, though that event has a
character all its own, we would like to think some of the principles of “Food, Finds, and Fellowship” have been
incorporated into their annual “Cacheapalooza” event.
Attendees of FFF1, all thirty five of them, may recall the appearance of “pocket caches” -- caches that were signed at the
event and logged via a cache hidden after the fact. Since those wild and wooly “number ho” days, pocket caches have
been outlawed by geocaching.com, but vestiges of the practice remain in the form of “Sunday Morning Smiley”, which is
still an active cache in Potts Preserve and a piece of geo-history.
FFF2 was the first iteration of Finders Fest to be held in the Ocala National Forest and was attended by over a hundred
geocachers. Some fun innovations were introduced, including the Jeep ride to the beginning of The Gauntlet. We also
enjoyed a full or nearly full moon, which would bring a nice backdrop to at least one future Finders Fest. There was a
nearby night cache placed for the event. Attendees may recall the less than cordial relations with dog hunters swarming
the forest to claim their camping spots for the season. Then there were the chain saw kids…
The winner of The Gauntlet at FFF2 was the storied Team Gold Bond, comprised of many future members of the Florida
Ape Geocaching Squad, which would eventually be “Banned in Brevardia”.
FFF3 returned to Ocala National Forest, to picturesque Mill Dam. While event planners primarily remember, with a
shudder, the overly exuberant forest service “host”, it was a beautiful event site. Several innovations were introduced,
including a full-fledged Friday Night event, hosted by the fetching Mrs IceCreamMan, during which the Aluminum Foil
Deflection Beanie contest got its start as somewhat of an afterthought. The Poker Run was also established as activity.
Attendance approached two hundred.
FFF3 saw the minting of the first Finders Fest Geocoin, and the first event t-shirt. It was also the first Finders Fest to
include a Sunday Ice Cream Social, and was the start of a multi-year tradition of ice cream not being available at the
chosen venue. Their ice cream machine was broken down. Ouch!
Cacheapalooza Crew was the winner of The Gauntlet, reprising their earlier win at FFF1. And this was the ONLY year the
fastest team has won The Gauntlet.
FFF4 moved back to the roots of The Gauntlet in Osceola National Forest, with attendance exceeding two hundred
cachers. The event saw the advent of numerous additional events, including several “flash mobs” and a full-fledged
Aluminum Foil Deflection Beanie contest event. It was the first Finders Fest with a Thursday night event, again hosted by
the fetching Mrs ICM, and it included the first Friday night Chili Cook-off, hosted by Jester ! The Sunday Ice Cream Social
continued the tradition established the previous year. The ice cream shop at which the event was scheduled began
closing Sundays that week so it was not open the day we showed up. An event Geocoin was again minted. The winner of
The Gauntlet was Jeepers Creepers, who felt right at home on the Osceola.
FFF5 was the first year for the event at the Fish and Wildlife Service Outdoor Adventure Camp in the Ocala National Forest.
The nearly two hundred and fifty attendees welcomed the amenities, including flush toilets and hot showers, not to
mention cabins and bunkhouses available to those so inclined. The additional events began to hit their stride and would
be wonderful standalone events in their own right just about anywhere; however, the no ice cream tradition at the Ice
Cream Social was extended when we arrived at the location to find their ice cream machine broken down. IceCreamMan
swore it would never happen again. While there was no Geocoin for FFF5, it was the first year a Finders Fest Pathtag was
made. The winners of the Gauntlet were Team Geo Heroes.
FFF6, with nearly three hundred attending, returned to the Outdoor Adventure Camp to again enjoy the beautiful site on
Lake Eaton (as well as the hot showers). There was an event Geocoin, as well as an event Pathtag. The now well
established traditions of the Thursday night hot dog event, the Friday night Chili Cook-off, the AFDB contest and the Sunday
Ice Cream Social were continued, strengthened and expanded, and a new tradition of a Friday morning event was begun.
The Ice Cream Social was held in a park in Salt Springs, with ice cream transported in personally by IceCreamMan. No
more relying on third parties for ice cream, and the tradition of ice cream free ice cream socials was broken. Team Geo
Heroes managed a back to back first place finish in The Gauntlet.
On to FFF7…
Mega! Mega! Mega!
event in Florida, as well as many nearby states.
The “philosophy” of Florida Finders Fest is “Food, Finds, and Fellowship”. The intent is that there is something for all
cachers. If you're a numbers ho, there are lots of caches. If you are looking for quality, you'll be in a national forest with lots
of great new caches and lots of long established caches. Hiking, kayaking, drive ups, off road, and everything in between, it
is all there. And if you just want to cool out with some fellow cachers, there is plenty of opportunity for that as well.
One of the key activities of Finders Fest is “The Gauntlet”, a hike of five to six miles that includes ten to twelve caches as
well as number of physical and photo scavenger hunt items. A little known fact of Finders Fest history is that the first
Gauntlet was not at the first Finders Fest. Rather the first Gauntlet was known as “Saint Patty’s Green Gauntlet” and was
held it Osceola National Forest during NEFGA’s “Hurricanes Blow” event. It was a joint effort of IceCreamMan and
UFBuilder. The event was at The Landing on Ocean Pond and was a rescheduling of an event that was cancelled several
times due to the hurricanes of 2004 (thus the name). The winning team was “Twisted Sisters and Company” comprised of
Cache and Keri, Marine Biologist, and McLeod1.
The 1st Annual Florida Finders Fest (FFF1) was held at Potts Preserve, a SWFWBD (Swift Mud) property in Citrus County.
It was a joint effort of IceCreamMan and parents, 2Hillbillies. Of course, The Gauntlet was an integral part of the event, and
the Best Team T-shirt competition was introduced. The Gauntlet victor was a crew of young cachers from South Florida,
the “Cacheapalooza Crew”. They mentioned their plans for an event in South Florida and, though that event has a
character all its own, we would like to think some of the principles of “Food, Finds, and Fellowship” have been
incorporated into their annual “Cacheapalooza” event.
Attendees of FFF1, all thirty five of them, may recall the appearance of “pocket caches” -- caches that were signed at the
event and logged via a cache hidden after the fact. Since those wild and wooly “number ho” days, pocket caches have
been outlawed by geocaching.com, but vestiges of the practice remain in the form of “Sunday Morning Smiley”, which is
still an active cache in Potts Preserve and a piece of geo-history.
FFF2 was the first iteration of Finders Fest to be held in the Ocala National Forest and was attended by over a hundred
geocachers. Some fun innovations were introduced, including the Jeep ride to the beginning of The Gauntlet. We also
enjoyed a full or nearly full moon, which would bring a nice backdrop to at least one future Finders Fest. There was a
nearby night cache placed for the event. Attendees may recall the less than cordial relations with dog hunters swarming
the forest to claim their camping spots for the season. Then there were the chain saw kids…
The winner of The Gauntlet at FFF2 was the storied Team Gold Bond, comprised of many future members of the Florida
Ape Geocaching Squad, which would eventually be “Banned in Brevardia”.
FFF3 returned to Ocala National Forest, to picturesque Mill Dam. While event planners primarily remember, with a
shudder, the overly exuberant forest service “host”, it was a beautiful event site. Several innovations were introduced,
including a full-fledged Friday Night event, hosted by the fetching Mrs IceCreamMan, during which the Aluminum Foil
Deflection Beanie contest got its start as somewhat of an afterthought. The Poker Run was also established as activity.
Attendance approached two hundred.
FFF3 saw the minting of the first Finders Fest Geocoin, and the first event t-shirt. It was also the first Finders Fest to
include a Sunday Ice Cream Social, and was the start of a multi-year tradition of ice cream not being available at the
chosen venue. Their ice cream machine was broken down. Ouch!
Cacheapalooza Crew was the winner of The Gauntlet, reprising their earlier win at FFF1. And this was the ONLY year the
fastest team has won The Gauntlet.
FFF4 moved back to the roots of The Gauntlet in Osceola National Forest, with attendance exceeding two hundred
cachers. The event saw the advent of numerous additional events, including several “flash mobs” and a full-fledged
Aluminum Foil Deflection Beanie contest event. It was the first Finders Fest with a Thursday night event, again hosted by
the fetching Mrs ICM, and it included the first Friday night Chili Cook-off, hosted by Jester ! The Sunday Ice Cream Social
continued the tradition established the previous year. The ice cream shop at which the event was scheduled began
closing Sundays that week so it was not open the day we showed up. An event Geocoin was again minted. The winner of
The Gauntlet was Jeepers Creepers, who felt right at home on the Osceola.
FFF5 was the first year for the event at the Fish and Wildlife Service Outdoor Adventure Camp in the Ocala National Forest.
The nearly two hundred and fifty attendees welcomed the amenities, including flush toilets and hot showers, not to
mention cabins and bunkhouses available to those so inclined. The additional events began to hit their stride and would
be wonderful standalone events in their own right just about anywhere; however, the no ice cream tradition at the Ice
Cream Social was extended when we arrived at the location to find their ice cream machine broken down. IceCreamMan
swore it would never happen again. While there was no Geocoin for FFF5, it was the first year a Finders Fest Pathtag was
made. The winners of the Gauntlet were Team Geo Heroes.
FFF6, with nearly three hundred attending, returned to the Outdoor Adventure Camp to again enjoy the beautiful site on
Lake Eaton (as well as the hot showers). There was an event Geocoin, as well as an event Pathtag. The now well
established traditions of the Thursday night hot dog event, the Friday night Chili Cook-off, the AFDB contest and the Sunday
Ice Cream Social were continued, strengthened and expanded, and a new tradition of a Friday morning event was begun.
The Ice Cream Social was held in a park in Salt Springs, with ice cream transported in personally by IceCreamMan. No
more relying on third parties for ice cream, and the tradition of ice cream free ice cream socials was broken. Team Geo
Heroes managed a back to back first place finish in The Gauntlet.
On to FFF7…
Mega! Mega! Mega!