How are Waypoint Names Generated and What Do They Mean?
Each cache is assigned a number based on the order in which it is posted – e.g. Beverly, one of the oldest caches, is number 40. Originally, the Geocaching.com database translated this number into a hexadecimal code (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F,10) with a “GC” tagged onto the front (GC28 for Beverly). Somewhere around April of 2003, the database reached ID=65535 or GCFFFF – the maximum of four digit hexadecimal. The programmer’s used the solution of changing to a base 31 code (0-9, A-Z with some characters left out). The waypoints were originally limited to six characters because most GPSRs only allow six characters per waypoint. In December of 2006, the database hit 512401 cache records, which meant that they had already had GCZZZZ, the maximum cache under the base 31 method. The programmer’s solution was that next cache would be GC10000 (seven digits). That cache is a “memorial” to the rollover. All that is pretty much fluff, as all you really need to know is that the GC***** waypo
