Mishka

Thanks, I'll stick with 1.0 for now...and thanks for the add on the premium...nice to know...will do that as well. As far as putting in your GPSer info, I know it didn't do anything, just thought I would update the info in my profile if I could find it but it seems to be gone these days, so no biggie! Thanks again for all the help.

Thanks, already a premium member...have been for ages. So just to make sure I am understanding correctly, you can't see the hint until you actually hit "Go"? Thanks so much!! Two other things, 1) does it matter if you select GPX 1.0 or GPX 1.0.1 from the list in the profile settings area? 2) with the new interface, did Geocaching.com do away with the ability to list the different devices a person geocaches with? I can't seem to find it anymore but I do remember it wasn't super easy to find the first time either. Thanks again for all your help!

I have been caching since 2003 with my awesome Garmin Etrex Vista, but I just purchased the Oregon 600 as an upgrade during the REI sale, and I have never had a GPSer that I could download "paperless" caches to before. I downloaded all the ones I wanted near my favorites spots via the Garmin Communicator plugin in Chrome with no problem and they all show up just fine on the Oregon 600, however I don't see hints or how to get to them. Is there something I am missing or does the GPX file just not include them by default? And if that is the case, is there a place on Geocaching.com that I need to adjust the settings for my GPX files? Thanks in advance from this GPX newbie.

I am still getting the server error trying to connect to geocaching.com from geocache navigator on my E71. I am just starting out with this application and still am trying to get my pin set up for logging from my phone but right now it won't even load the geocaches because of the server error. I am hoping after sleeping tonight, it will be fixed tomorrow...fingers crossed.

Thanks...actually, I figured it out almost immediately after starting this thread...I am currently back logging a personal mileage travelbug and I don't know why I didn't think of that before....duh!!!

I just finished doing a "green jeep" search in the travel bug section to see how many have actually been activated and placed (and it is not many, but that is another subject). On some, I would click on the cache to see where it was so I would know if any were close to me that I could check out...and I came across this. This cache, is a micro (not big enough for any kind of bugs) and is archived, permanently but somehow is still being used to virtually log bugs and coins...(one of the green jeeps is here, that is why I noticed it). http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...cd-3e7e34accc88 I have noticed a few people using virtuals or micros as a way to "virtually" drop bugs and such. I was just curious as to why the system allows logs to be done on caches that are no longer active? Is there a reason I just don't know about that benefits this option?

Well with the modified feature I just posted, the dropdown list would be limited to only the editions that the person had authored. How many people do you know (besides crake) that have made more than 2 coin designs... or more than 5? It wouldn't be _that_ much work to associate name with coins.. it could be as simple as a small web-form for the admins to populate a database's table. The form on the user end would query that table to see if they have coin editions linked to them, and create a dropdown based off it. Not entirely... because people can change the name of a coin when they activate it. Take my coin for example. When the coin is created it'll come up with "Snow Wolf Geocoin" as the default name... but when someone renames it, it makes it harder to find, like this one: http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?tracker=TB14F2F I spent about 20-30 minutes just looking for that coin. But if could've searched by type instead of name, it would've been less than one minute. Forgive my ignorance on this one, but if you know the tracking number, couldn't you just look it up to see where it is and its mileage? Don't coins (I have never authored one) work the same as travel bugs as far as having tracking numbers so they can be logged? Just a thought.

I have seen people that photograph their own coins and send the laminated coin photo out instead of the real thing so that people won't "collect" their coin up and stop it from moving. I figure if that is what they want to do with their own coin, which I guess are expensive to have made, then good for them. I will log the laminated one, even though I would have loved to have seen the real deal. I think "collecting" other people's travelers, be it TBs or coins, is stealing and I would never do it or condone it.

Yep, the heat changes things up...I tend to stay away from "bushwacking" caches and some trail caches since the deer flies are horrible this year. I wear shorts if the weather is hot and just avoid bushwacking...

System repeated post...please ignore this one....

Actually I thought Google Earth's coords were accurate. It's the caches pulled up via the geocaching kml that is intentionally "off". The way to fix that is to run a PQ of the area and then import the resulting GPX file. You will then have an accurate view of the caches in the area. Clarifying that I was referring to cache coordinates...not Google Earth's overall coordinates. I saw a disclaimer they put out saying that cache coordinates were not accurate by just placing your mouse over the little balloon and writing down the coordinates....it is better to show the cache details and get the coordinates from Geocaching.com.

I don't know if this subject has been discussed before, but I did a search with several keywords and didn't find an answer so I thought I would try a post and see what comes up. I have been thinking of putting out a puzzle cache in my area with the result being an actual trading cache (a rarity where I live). So I am wondering, 1. Do puzzle cache hiders find that people don't actually solve the puzzle but just get the coordinates from friends? 2. What is there to do about it, or is it even worth worrying about? I would like to hide a medium difficulty puzzle cache but it will kind of lose its point if only one person solves it and the rest of the finders just get coordinates from them. I thought I would ask and see if this is something common or not.

Quick note, that Google Earth doesn't claim to have completely accurate coordinates. I don't know that I would use them to find a cache unless I pulled up the cache page first.

I agree that you shouldn't have to leave a trackable item just to take one but I do recommend logging it as soon as you can so that someone else that might be coming for that item knows it is gone. I have a few caches that are within a few miles of my house located on a walking trail. On occasion, if I see an item that I know I can help out (or I want to see a cool coin I haven't seen before), I will visit the cache to log the coin or retrieve the bug, but I try to log it right away.

Where I currently live, the woods around us are repeatedly burned through each year to keep the pine trees living and the decidous trees under control. These are all controlled burns, but they happen frequently (and not necessarily on a schedule) and for any of us, that have actually hidden caches in the woods, it is a worry. Many caches are lost each year, but fortunately most of them are replaced by the owners each time. I feel bad for people that lose travel bugs in them though, since it is just bad luck that it was there during that time.

I had to respond to this one. I have already sent a letter off to their editor in rebuttal....see text below. ________________________________________ To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this letter in response to a letter titled "Just Another Recreational Way to Justify Sophisticated Littering" in your Spring 2006 magazine. It is obvious in reading this letter that Ms. Hanna Strauss doesn't know anything about geocaching. She states in one paragraph that it "gives people carte blanche to leave objects in pristine habitats that don’t belong there". This couldn't be further from the truth. Geocaching locations are regulated by the website, and in many times the cache hiders have gone to a lot of effort to obtain permission to place their caches, sometimes even paying a permit fee. The items allowed in a cache are also regulated, and in no way do any responsible cachers condone anti-environmental activities. In fact I would venture to guess that 90% of the geocachers out there are more environmentally minded than the average person. We geocache (I have been doing it for over 3 years now) because we enjoy the outdoors, like to see new and beautiful sites, and want to promote responsible recreational use of our public lands. We sponsor Cache In, Trash Out events all the time ( we just had a national one over the Earth Day weekend). Geocachers pick up more trash in their travels than all our collective caches would ever add up to, and we do it because we care about the health of our environment. For a reader of yours to flame geocaching when she knows nothing about it and apparently didn't take time to visit even one of the sites to learn anything is just wrong. Finally, her statement, "What we don’t need to do is to encourage the public to participate in activities that are of no benefit to the earth’s current situation" is so ridiculous it is laughable, since this is a car magazine and one of the worst things we are doing to the planet at this time is using fossil fuels. Geocaching does not require the burning of any type of fossil fuels so I guess it would rate as better for the environment than driving her Suburu (no offense). Thanks for your time and attention.

Great idea, I might have to do that as well...sort of a passive agressive way to deal with it. Will make me feel better without really being bitchy about it....thanks.

Wow, it is nice to know I am not alone...and like many mentioned, I too like it when the hint is not the exact location. Even a play on words, like "don't get burned up if you can't find it" and it ends up being in a burnt out log works for me. That is actually creative and still helpful. Since I am still in the dark ages and input all my caches by hand and decode my hints by hand, I have started looking at the hints before I even print the paper. If it is a stupid one, I just put it on my ignore list and don't even bother. Caching is supposed to be fun, a way to get some fresh air, and exercise. I don't need for it to be frustrating, that is what work and school are for...haha.

It has become increasingly popular in my current area to find cache pages that have encrypted words in the hint area that are not hints. Usually they say something like, "log a dnf, and I'll email you a hint" or "too easy, you don't need one." or "call me and I'll let you know where it is." I find this to be very irritating for several reasons. First, I don't really associate with the geocaching community around here (just moved here) so I don't have everyone's cell phone number at my disposal when I am out caching to call them up for a hint to find their micro in the woods (not that I would call anyway since the point of caching is to find it yourself, not with help from the owner). Second, when I leave the house with a cache page that has a hint, I am under the impression that if I get stumped, I have an option. There is nothing more frustrating than looking forever for a cache, and resolving to use the hint, decrypting it, to find that it is just the cache owner laughing at you because you didn't find it. Does anyone else run across this on cache pages in their area? Does it irritate them or do they think it is funny? I have only noticed it since moving to this place so I am not sure if it is happening everywhere. I just think that if you are going to put a hint in the hint area of the cache page, it should be a hint. Just encrypting snide remarks because there is a field you can fill in on the cache set up is just mean and a waste of a cache finder's time.

So there is no way to see when an owner updated a page unless it is one of the newer caches that has the maintenance needed and done options? Thanks for your help!

Is the "last updated" date at the bottom of the cache page, the last time it was updated by an owner, any cacher, or the database? The reason I ask is because on occasion the logs indicate that the coordinates are off and if an owner doesn't mention somewhere on the cache page that they updated the coordinates, it is hard to tell if it actually happened or not, therefore leaving a seeker wondering if they should accomodate the search of a larger area. I know that with the new maintenance log an owner can log that they did maintenance, but I thought I would ask about the date at the bottom anyhow in case an owner doesn't use that log option. Thanks...

Strange...everyone else gets these icons: Micro: Small: Regular: Large: Thanks, I didn't realize that those were size indicators...they are under the difficulty ratings and I just thought they were visuals for that. I appreciate your help.

Wow, you guys are brutal....when I do a search from my home coordinates, I do not have a size indicator on my search page...I don't know what you are talking about. As far as pocket queries are concerned, I don't use them, thought they were mostly for downloading to GPSrs, which I don't do (I put my coordinates and cache numbers in by hand). Thanks for the tip on the pcs though, I will check them out if they will help me avoid some of the dangerous and/or boring micros. Secondly by "require", I meant that it should be listed in the recommendations page for placing a cache (which it is not). I realize that the reviewer would not know if there was a fee required. Lastly, I understand that micro is a type of traditional cache, my suggestion was to make it its own type so that you would see it like you would see multi, or virtual.

I sent an email to suggest these two items earlier today and it was suggested that I suggest here instead...so here goes. Only one of them is a feature suggestion, the other is a policy suggestion. 1. It is possible to make micro caches their own catagory outside of the traditional cache catagory so that all users (not just premiums) can avoid them if they want instead of having to load each cache page to find out it is a micro. 2. Could you make it a requirement that if a cache owner is going to place a cache inside an area that requires a fee to enter, they should have to put it on the cache instruction page so that users will know before they head out. Thanks

It seems to me that the micro cache has become the answer to the lack of ability to place virtual caches with Geocaching.com these days. Geocaching.com's policy is that you should not do a virtual cache to just see a park or some other interesting thing....it has to be mindblowing to qualify so now when a fellow cacher wants to share a cool spot that might be too public or urban, they use a micro instead. I think this is hilarious because Geocaching.com's intention on limiting the placement of virtuals was to "keep to the cache in geocaching", which by the way does not have to be in an interesting spot, just has to be a traditional cache. Well, I don't think that micros really fit the bill of a traditional cache in the sense that they meant it, but if they are in an interesting spot or are imaginative, then I appreciate them. I would love to see some more micros that are results of multicaches or puzzle caches. That would be fun. In fact some of the regular micros in my area are so close together, making them part of a multi cache would be really easy and then they might even meet the 1/2 mile requirement between caches that Geocaching.com claims to have.