Rich Wendling “web-ling” held an orienteering event that featured Geocaching at Lake Bridgeport, just north-west of Fort Worth Texas on March 29th, 2003. 2003 Texas State Geocaching Extravaganza (GCC025). Mike Griffin (Brawny Bear), along with his friend Bruce (BruceS) attended the event from the St. Louis area. Excited and inspired by what he has seen, Mike returned home and started to plan a similar event that would take place in the spring of 2004.

On March 19th, 2004 at Hawn State Park in Missouri, MOGA was birthed! Originally named “MIGA” / “Midwest Invitational Geocaching Competition”, the event featured an orienteering course, designed for Geocachers using handheld GPS units.