Satch47

To All who took the time to help me on this topic...... I Thank You. Since I am not a big numbers Geocacher I guess I'll just have to remember to make sure all the caches that I intend to look for on my outings are actually in my GPS before I leave home. Thanks Again..... Satch

When you plug your GPS into your computer, it mounts like an external hard drive or a USB thumb drive would. It creates a new disk volume that you can open in Finder (the icon might even appear on your desktop) and browse the files and folders on your GPS. Geocache files are of the GPX file type and get stored in the folder /<volume name>/Garmin/GPX where <volume name> is the name given to the device's drive. By default, it's named Garmin. Open it up and there's a folder called Garmin, and inside that, there are a bunch of files and folders, one of which will be named GPX. The issue is that your browser is currently set-up to automatically download files to your download folder. If you go to your browser preferences (whether you're using Chrome, Firefox, or Safari), you can change the default download location and set it to ask you every time. You can then choose to download the GPX files directly to the GPX folder on your gps. iCaching is not a bad way to load caches onto your GPS, though. You can use the API searches to bulk download and install up to thousands of caches for an area at once, which is what a Pocket Query does. But maybe you'll have an easier time using iCaching instead of direct Pocket Query downloads? I found, in Google Chrome, advanced settings. There is a box to check if you want to be asked where downloads go. It was already checked to the 'Ask Where Option" but it never asks me. I unchecked and rechecked but it still doesn't ask.

When you plug your Garmin GPSr into a USB port, Mac's "Finder" will show a new drive. Whatever the new drive is called, that's the "[Drive]". I have no idea, but as an example, suppose it's "Dakota". The Finder will then show the directories in the "Dakota" drive. One directory is "Garmin". In the Garmin directory is the "GPX" directory. That's the where iCaching or other helper programs place GPX cache files. In the above example, it's the "Dakota:/Garmin/GPX" directory. I don't know why iCaching would mess anything up. But if you place the files yourself (without iCaching) and it works that way, that's one piece of the puzzle. When you click a GPX file, iCaching starts up because it recognizes certain files it can use. As a convenience. OK... The reason I was lost is because on my Mac it calls it "Devices" and not drive. I am familiar with all of that but when I hit GPX File or Waypoint File it goes directly to my Download(s) folder. from there when I click on the file that I just downloaded it goes right to iCaching and I can't figure out hot how to make it go to the Garmin / GPX folder without using iCaching. Mineral2 suggested I change my browser preferences to ask where I want to put downloads. I may try to figure that way out.

Hi Cerberus1, Yes I did update iCaching, However, the caches that didn't appear this morning on the GPS screen were loaded on the GPS before I did the update. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Well Thanks for the info Kunarion but you lost me. Where is [Drive]: Garmin / GPX ?? I can see the button for 'GPX File' and I even tried it with a 'Test' Cache. When I hit 'GPX File' it just sent the info to my download folder and then when I clicked on it it sent it to iCaching, even though I had iCaching closed. NOTE: I'm not as computer literate as I wish I were. My excuse is I'm an old guy (70)....

I have a Garmin Dakota 20. I load Geocaches into the Garmin through the program “iCaching". I can not load them directly anymore from the Geocaching site. The Plug-in has been disabled I think. When I get into the field, many of the caches that I loaded do not show-up on the GPS Screen. Very frustrating. When I go back home and look for them through Finder on the computer they show as being in the GPS. They just don’t appear on the GPS Screen. When I go to reload them I get a message that says they are already in the GPS. I click on load anyway. After I load them for the second time, then they show on the GPS screen. This is quite a pain because now I have to either check to make sure that they are there or just re-load all of them all the time. This same problem happened even before I started using iCaching, only it seems to be getting worse. Does anyone have any ideas as to the problem? I'm almost to the point of buying a new GPS because of this issue. Any suggestions? If you had to buy a GPS today which one would you buy?

I may have found the problem. I use the app "iCaching" which is great, I love it. However, it creates a Caches Found folder. This is where the nuvi could be finding and reloading the deleted caches from. So to test; I deleted two of the caches from the "Found" folder emptied the trash can and then uploaded a new cache. So far the two old ones that I deleted from iCaching and the nuvi have not reappeared....

MACs store the trash on the device itself. When the GPS boots, it is able to find the GPX files that are in the trash folder and it loads them to internal memory. Manually deleting the caches on the device does not remove them. You must ALSO delete all GPX files related to those caches with the Nuvi connected to a computer. If you are on a MAC, you must then empty the trash. Make sure that you look on an installed microSD card as well for GPX files if it exists. You need to search all directories for GPX files, not only the obvious ones. Thanks Red90. I'll see what I can do but my computer skills are limited. BTW, When I plug in my nuvi to my computer (MAC) and look through "Finder" at what is on the nuvi in the GPX folder it only shows about twenty of the most recent caches loaded. So I guess the old ones are hiding on my computer somewhere. UPDATE: I opened "Finder" and while my nuvi was connected, I searched, using the Search Box, for a number of caches the I knew were deleted and even for some the I am currently looking for (are loaded) and the search results found none. However, when I did a 'Test' searched for ones that were in the nuvi GPX folder it found them.

I did empty the trash but that should have nothing to do with the deleted caches reloading since I manually deleted them thru the nuvi itself and not my computer.

I think I'll just leave things alone (for now). I don't know how much memory space the old caches are using but it's no problem to use the search bar to find a particular cache and navigate to it.

alandb is right. I just tried to do a factory reset and all of the caches are still there. The only thing it managed to do was set my home location from Odenton, Maryland to Chicago, Illinois.... UGH! After I reset my home location I still see all the old geocaches.

Browsing the Interwebs, I've found references to other places the caches may hide, including a "temp.gpx" file. The POIs would be rebuilt once the device finds the data again. Are you OK with doing a factory reset? That would wipe them out: There are threads online for backing up a Nuvi, which would be good to do before deleting many files. If you can find a POI manager for your OS, maybe that can remove individually selected POIs for you. Thank You to all who have replied. I think the easiest option for me is to do a Factory Reset as mentioned by kunarion. I don't have any locations stored in my nuvi that I can't drive to without using it and I mainly use the nuvi for Geocaching. I'm a slow, relaxed Geocacher so I can easily load the few that I'm seeking for the next few days. I don't need a bunch in there at one time. Also, I use iCaching and it's easy to load caches using that app. A special thanks to kunarion. Satch

Here's what's happening: I MANUALLY (NOT through the computer) delete caches from my nuvi and they appear to be gone; however, when I load another new cache, all the old ones that I previously deleted come back. NOTE: If I look at the GPX file thru the computer I do not see the caches that I deleted. I only see them on the nuvi screen itself. Any ideas???? PS: The reason I manually delete the old ones is because they do not appear in the GPX file on the computer. Whenever caches are loaded by Pocket Query ALL of those caches appear as one entry. Satch

Thanks Hans, I'll try it.

I spent a lot of time deleting old caches from my nuvi 2595 LMT, (and it's not an easy task). Then, I loaded four new caches into the nuvi and to my horror, discovered that ALL of the old caches that I spent so much time deleting, showed up in the nuvi again. I can't begin to tell you how angry and frustrated I am right now. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong and tell me how to delete old stuff for good? Thanks, Satch

After some experimenting I believe the only difference between the two icons is that the Tupperware icon indicates the cache was downloaded using a "Pocket Query " and the "Treasure Chest" was downloaded directly from the Geocaching WEB Site individually. No big deal except the ones downloaded by PQ show a bit more information. This is not an official answer, just what I have observed.

Thanks for the reply hzoi but the ratio of Tupperware to Treasure Chest is about equal. Which tells me this is not the answer. Also, I checked and No, it's not. Good guess though ...

Hi SeattleWayne, Thanks for the reply but they are all the same kind of caches. Here lately I've only been going after Traditional caches. I did however, notice that there is more information associated with the caches with the Tupperware icon. I'm not sure but I may have loaded the ones with Tupperware by using a Pocket Query and the Treasure Chest ones individually. I'll run a test.

I use iCaching on my Mac and like it pretty much. One thing though that I can not figure out is: Why the different icons for the caches? Sometimes I see a Tupperware container and other times I see a Treasure Chest. What is the difference? I'm sure that the answer is so obvious that I'm looking right past it.

It always baffles me why people always try to fix things that aren't broken.

I know this is not timely but I'll post it anyway. I have been using iCaching for about two months now and I like it. I can set up folders to segregate caches for areas that I plan on caching in. I can easily load caches into my Dakota 20 and into my Nuvi2595 LMT. you can easily switch from a "Note" section to the actual Geocaching WEB page if you need to. All in all, it works for me.

I just started reading the posts today even though I started caching some time ago. I'm normally a lurker unless I feel I have something positive to contribute.

When in doubt, leave it out. I cache with my daughter, and even though she is 26 years old I would feel a little (just a little) uneasy. What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

While looking for "Corridor II: The path of Least Resistance", waypoint GCA4AC, I found a romantic greeting card with a love note in the card. The card was in a baggie and placed in the hollow of an old tree. THIS WAS NOT THE CACHE, IT WAS JUST IN THE SAME GENERAL LOCATION. The card and baggie appeared to be quite old. I got the feeling that it was a drop spot for two lovers who probably had other commitments and could not always meet face to face. Perhaps it was the last love letter before a sorrowful but necessary breakup. What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

All of you are exactly right. I've only been doing this for one month and already I have run out of space to store water tight containers in my house. I eat altiods like they're going out of style just for the tin can. I put off buying a new truck to replace my 6 year old GEO just because I am now using more gas and need the smaller vehicle to get in to tighter places to park so I can get closer to caches. I wake up an hour earlier than necessary just to read the forums. When my wife wants to take a day trip I ask her what's the zipp code of where we're going. She thinks I'm a lunatic. But I love it. What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?