Tucked away in the picturesque Swiss Alps, there’s a T5 geocache which only a few hundred brave souls have uncovered. Perhaps an understatement, finding GC1DDQ5 is a remarkably demanding experience. To claim the smiley, geocachers must ascend nearly 1,000 ft (304 m), shuffle along three suspension cables, and end the journey by crossing a 260 ft (79 m) hanging bridge.
Are you up for the challenge? Our Geocache of the Week is “Klettersteig Mürren – Gimmelwald,” originally featured in 2011.
A Klettersteig, better known by its Italian name via ferrata, is a form of mountain climbing involving sheer cliffs, iron rungs, ladders, and nail-biting passes across precariously thin suspension bridges. Our Geocache of the Week focuses on a via ferrata connecting the Bernese mountain towns of Mürren and Gimmelwald, opened in June 2008. Less than a week after its establishment, cache owner Spaki hid GC1DDQ5 at the end of this arduous journey, offering adventurers an additional memory to take home. Back when the cache was originally featured as Geocache of the Week, there were only 55 explorers who claimed the find. Today, that number is just shy of 300.
It only takes one glance at the cache page to understand the formidability of this incredible Traditional Cache. Take Moody von trapps’ log as evidence:
…It’s a one-direction traverse, and you really do need to have a very good sense of balance and head for heights! The exposure as you move across stemples with over 300 meters of space beneath your feet is just awesome and was the highlight of the whole trip for me… In truth, the whole thing was just an amazing experience, and the fact you can get a cache like this along the way just adds to the value. A definite Favorite point—I can’t wait to do it again! TFTC.”
Moody von trapps isn’t the only cacher to find GC1DDQ5 Favorite point-worthy; 61 of the 298 finders have bestowed a green heart upon the cache, an increase of 51 since July 2011. Finding the cache itself is reportedly easy—you’re looking for a standard Tupperware container—but the journey is unlike any other.
Once the logbook is in hand, it’s time to ink your name among an elite list of geocachers. Take this moment to reflect on how far you’ve come; your journey began with a nerve-wracking climb, brought you across the most acrobatic of bridges, and ended with a smiley, everlasting memories, and the adrenaline rush of a lifetime!
Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.
Source: Geocaching