ballast949

There are all kinds of reasons why people leave "junk" by whatever definition of junk you like. But I can see at least one reason for keeping the "value" of the cache relatively low. Having planted my first cache, it was almost immediately reported as missing/modified - someone had stolen the container (a nicely decorated ammo container), the log book, and anything else that struck their fancy. They did leave the things they didn't want in the plastic bag originally guaranteeing that the log book would remain dry. I think that valuable caches attract geocaching thieves and if the value of the contents goes up in general, it will lead to the creation of geotrashers (when they find nothing worth stealing), and geothieves. Keeping the general value of the cache low, keeps geocaches from becoming a target of "treasure hunters". The experience gained from Magellan's treasure hunt indicates that in any given sub-population a certain small percentage will ignore the rules, custom, courtesy and morality. In Oregon, someone stole the Magellan cache shortly after the 2nd or 3rd find. Considering the cache location and the time FTF happened, it seems probable it was not an accidental find and theft. Ballast & the Booby

Our hats are off to Magellan for the time, effort and money expended on this national treasure hunt. So far it has been a lot of fun. Unfortunately it is apparent that Magellan was not very well prepared or experienced in geocaching matters. In the first 20 caches planted, the following specific problems occurred: 1. "Moroccan Treasure" 7/1/2003 had bad coordinates and had to be corrected more than once. 2. "Treasure of Victoria's Voyage" 7/7/2003 early clues identified cache area (San Jose, CA) as being in the northwest - not a real problem since the early clues were all so vague as to be meaningless anyway. 3. "Tierra del Fuego Treasure" 7/7/2003 was placed in a National Park Area. Geocaching is not allowed in National Parks 4. "Treasure of the Lost Voyage 7/15/2003 - this park is in the Three Rivers Park District which requires that caches be registered and approved 5. "Portugal Plunder" 7/21/2003 - bad coordinates - log from the PortlandRep who planted the cache said Magellan's posted coordinates did not match what he gave them. Also, Magellan never bothered to correct the coordinates (since the cache was stolen). 6. "Brazilian Treasure" 7/28/2003 - the worst fiasco so far! Bad coordinates posted, placing the location on private property - resulting in legal problems, unhappy land owners, unhappy searchers (especially the guy who got $375 TICKET) General problems and suggestions: 1. It took at least 4 caches before Magellan settled on a consistent coordinate system standard and identified it on the cache pages. 2. It took 5 caches before they clarified on the web pages that the title was NOT part of the clues. 3. The cache containers were not waterproof and the contents were not protected from the elements. 4. There was no log included in the cache for finders to sign. 5. For most of the earlier caches, the clues were so vague as to be worthless in actually finding the cache. It was impossible to find the cache until the actual coordinates were posted. This has improved considerably, evidenced by the fact that several of the recent finds were located before the coordinates were posted. 6. The coupons should probably be serial numbered. When a cache is stolen (as several have been), it might be possible to identify the stolen certificates and refuse to honor them. Even the possibility of this might make plunderers think twice. 7. Once coordinates are published, a Magellan rep should be monitoring the logs constantly for problems, at least till a first find occurs. That person should have the resources to get a quick resolution. Maybe a published a 1-800 number should be available and manned to report problems like the "Brazilian Treasure". 8. It doesn't look very good for Magellan to delete logs (except where obscene or flaming). It looks like an attempt to cover up the problem. And finally, unrelated to this treasure hunt.... Magellan's GPS maps are over ten years out of date!!! As much fun as this treasure hunting is, I would have preferred that they devote their time, effort and money to providing current downloadable street maps that are updated on a regular basis. Ballast & the Booby

Our hats are off to Magellan for the time, effort and money expended on this national treasure hunt. So far it has been a lot of fun. Unfortunately it is apparent that Magellan was not very well prepared or experienced in geocaching matters. In the first 20 caches planted, the following specific problems occurred: 1. "Moroccan Treasure" 7/1/2003 had bad coordinates and had to be corrected more than once. 2. "Treasure of Victoria's Voyage" 7/7/2003 early clues identified cache area (San Jose, CA) as being in the northwest - not a real problem since the early clues were all so vague as to be meaningless anyway. 3. "Tierra del Fuego Treasure" 7/7/2003 was placed in a National Park Area. Geocaching is not allowed in National Parks 4. "Treasure of the Lost Voyage 7/15/2003 - this park is in the Three Rivers Park District which requires that caches be registered and approved 5. "Portugal Plunder" 7/21/2003 - bad coordinates - log from the PortlandRep who planted the cache said Magellan's posted coordinates did not match what he gave them. Also, Magellan never bothered to correct the coordinates (since the cache was stolen). 6. "Brazilian Treasure" 7/28/2003 - the worst fiasco so far! Bad coordinates posted, placing the location on private property - resulting in legal problems, unhappy land owners, unhappy searchers (especially the guy who got $375 TICKET) General problems and suggestions: 1. It took at least 4 caches before Magellan settled on a consistent coordinate system standard and identified it on the cache pages. 2. It took 5 caches before they clarified on the web pages that the title was NOT part of the clues. 3. The cache containers were not waterproof and the contents were not protected from the elements. 4. There was no log included in the cache for finders to sign. 5. For most of the earlier caches, the clues were so vague as to be worthless in actually finding the cache. It was impossible to find the cache until the actual coordinates were posted. This has improved considerably, evidenced by the fact that several of the recent finds were located before the coordinates were posted. 6. The coupons should probably be serial numbered. When a cache is stolen (as several have been), it might be possible to identify the stolen certificates and refuse to honor them. Even the possibility of this might make plunderers think twice. 7. Once coordinates are published, a Magellan rep should be monitoring the logs constantly for problems, at least till a first find occurs. That person should have the resources to get a quick resolution. Maybe a published a 1-800 number should be available and manned to report problems like the "Brazilian Treasure". 8. It doesn't look very good for Magellan to delete logs (except where obscene or flaming). It looks like an attempt to cover up the problem. And finally, unrelated to this treasure hunt.... Magellan's GPS maps are over ten years out of date!!! As much fun as this treasure hunting is, I would have preferred that they devote their time, effort and money to providing current downloadable street maps that are updated on a regular basis. Ballast & the Booby

Right... hints 1 & 2 for the july 7th caches are pretty worthless. They just narrow it down to the area. (And why did they wait 2 days to post hint 2?). And since when is Northern California in the "Northwest"? Ballast & the Booby

Not necessarily - I made that mistake with an earlier contest cache. There is now a statement on the contest pages that says something to the effect that the cache name is NOT a clue to the cache location, but was picked because it has some connection with Magellan's explorations. Ballast & the Booby

Team Oreo, great looking chips - can you tell us how many you had made and what the total cost was? Thanks, Ballast & the Booby

My rule of thumb is to stock trade items worth about $1 - that ranges from matchbox cars to $1 coins. What I want to find is something unique to put on my trophy shelf - it doesn't need to be expensive, but stickers, stamps, and coupons don't make good "trophies". If I take something obviously more valuable than normal, I leave several items in its place. The real problem, of course, is that if we stocked a lot $5 items, it would attract cache raiders. Ballast & the Booby

OK - so I have an image - I need to see if it really is resized or is badly cropped Ballast & the Boobie

Tried finding this in a topic, but finally gave up sifting through the messages, so this may be redundant. It would be nice if you could specify the max or min values for difficulty & terraine in addition to the cache type filter.

Hi Julia, since you're not too specific about what is giving you trouble, I'll be kind of generic. Basically you want to set a 'waypoint' that has the latitude & longitude of the geocache you are looking for. Then use the GOTO function and select the waypoint you just created. Then all your navigation screens should tell you which direction to head and how far away it is. I don't have a 315 (I have the Meridian) but I took a look at the 315's manual on-line. If you are having problems creating a manual waypoint, let me know. You can also use the Groundspeak software to load cache locations directly into your 315 if you have a data cable.

I have the Meridian GPS - bought it at Costco as a package that included GPS, map CD, Car Power adaptor, PC Data Cable, and suction cup car window mount. As I recall I paid something like $189 after a $50 rebate from Magellan. I have also seen the 'bare' unit at Fry's (here in the Portland, OR area) for $99. Costco is currently selling the 'sports' version in the same package deal I got. I have been very happy with the unit & its accuracy and features. Only one caution... the maps CD is way out of date. It fails to show some major streets that have been in existance at least 7 years (maybe longer). I have talked to technical support at Magellan and they are apparently negotiating with a new third party vendor to produce updated maps, but they won't talk about time frame. I also own a Garmin (GPS45 I think) which is an older unit with no maps. It doesn't seem to be as accurate as the Magellan, but then it is several years older, so its not a good comparrison.