Team Geo-Rangers

GeoBeagle works on the HTC Incredible. It can be quite helpful in the field.

It appears to be a sliding window, one day at a time! Now Sonny and Sandy can announce it on the PodCacher podcast weekly show: Date/Launch Time Site: UPDATE - May 23, 6 p.m. EDT: The launch attempt of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV with the Air Force's Global Positioning System IIF SV-1 satellite (GPS IIF SV-1) has been scrubbed for tonight. Mission managers require additional time to validate the modified approach to monitor the Global Positioning System satellite telemetry signal. The Delta IV rocket and GPS IIF SV-1 satellite are safe and secure at this time. The next launch attempt has been set for Monday with a launch window of 11:13-11:31 p.m. EDT. The weather forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather during the launch window.

I sue the NUVI 500 to get me as close as possible on the road, then it is off with my Garmin had-held to get to GZ. But I love the combination of both together. Scubasonic Prefer the nuvi 500 for navigating to the parking spot and for essential cache information. Then opt for the Map 60CSx when caching by foot or mountain bike. Device of last resort is the HTC Incredible using Geo-Beagle (best for FTF sorties).

Right, there was a telemetry issue, resolved it and resumed the count, then had another hold, which resulted in running out of time with respect to the launch window, so tune in again tomorrow! These things happen.

Sorry for the short notice but mission is GO tomorrow. For those interested, ULA is launching the first GPS IIF satellite and you can view it here: http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Multimedia_Webcast.shtml More information on the Delta Launch Vehicle and the payload can be read on the site as well as the launch window time (Friday night, PDT). "Date/Launch Time Site: May 21, with a launch window of 11:25 - 11:43 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla." Enjoy!

Over 7 years of geocaching, have had many reptile encounters including 6 rattlesnakes, four gopher snakes (two this month, see photo gallery), two garter snakes, one king snake, and several horned toad lizards and geckos, that can be recalled ... cache on!

Just to clear things up... The E.T. Highway Invasion! is not being created by the NGA. It is the sole work of myself and Clay4 and in actuality, it will be a total of 1051 hides. There is a bonus Alien Head that will appear in a field consisting of 51 caches. The event coin is also now in production and can be purchased through us. A new record coming soon? I think so! Who is the lucky reviewer? I know really, poor thing!! Where do we donate to his/her coffee fund? Pushing the approve button one thousand consecutive times could lead to a worker's comp claim!

Seems silly, but its OK with me. I have been encouraged to see that after 10 years the GPS manufacturers have finally recognized geocaching as a major use of their products and started developing built-in geocaching applications. I haven't been keeping up lately but there is one hardware feature I always wanted them to build into GPS units. Call it Geo-Proof, a way to securely prove that a certain GPS unit and person with passcode actually went to a certain coordinate location at a recorded time and date. From what I know there could already be something like this out there. This feature would be good for proving that people actually completed geocaching finds and adventures as recorded. Dave... Dave, Our Garmin Map60CSx devices had the active track file turned on and shows this information, proving where we went (time stamped) while trying to set our personal best for a day (626). When you download your GPSr in MapSource, and click on the Track tab, that information is accessible, albeit cumbersome to work with. Thanks for coming up with the idea that evolved into geocaching. Our family has added a negligible amount to the carbon footprint in over 7 years of caching. One good volcano eruption can reset everything, atmospherically speaking, so cache on everyone! Conversely, one good comet strike can end the game too. Suspect our mammal ancestors celebrated the latter incident 65 million years ago, given that they were protesting rising global temperatures, attributed to dinosaur flatulence. Things worked out, afterall. Cache on!

The memories live on ... as long as this cache remains active: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...21-9dc44eb24034

Attended the Grand Opening event and enjoyed chatting with Jeremy beforehand about several topics. The 10 year event backdrop was the famous Sun Dial bridge at Turtle Bay. Weather was perfect and this is the best time to visit if you intend to cache the surrounding area. Redding gets very hot in the summer with over 100 degree F temperatures the norm. The Maze is very well done and educational for kids and adults alike. Passed a billboard advertising it on I-5, so look for that when driving North to Redding. As for the event, was interviewed on local radio Q97.3 FM, to explain the game of geocaching to their audience. Hope that it causes many in the area to take up the sport! As for growing the game, the maze is an excellent way to do so. Cache On Everyone!

Question: Do you enjoy avoiding muggles when caching? Answer: It depends on the situation. No: When a cache is placed in a children's play area and you visit the park when kids are present. That cache will be skipped. You can't get enjoyment for being accused of trespassing or something worse by a hostile mommy. When what you do to retrieve the cache looks highly suspicious and may result in one of those calls to the authorities by multiple muggles. Only exception to that was caching with a TOTT in downtown Wheatland during Geo-Woodstock two years ago, when there was only an audience of geocachers on every street corner that had a cache. That was surreal; there were no muggles! Got razzed by VKs and EMC for not being covert, who had watched the transaction from a restaurant with great amusement. Yes: It's another aspect of the game, especially in urban areas. Sometimes the best counter is to use a misinformation technique that will cause the muggles to voluntarily leave. Have to do it in a way that won't cause alarm or panic, but convince the muggles to move along. While talking on cell phone to fictitious person, "have not found the gas leak, but will keep looking." or "no cockroaches here, but will keep looking for signs of the reported infestation." Moving muggles can be fun; give it a try! The game is only as limited as the imagination of the players. Unusual Situations: Cache placed in a Car Wash waiting area with muggles all around. That's a challenge to retrieve and replace without detection. Can think of two times, one very recently, that elicited a thrill, but only after the mission was accomplished without incident. Can think of two other times when the cache was retrieved, signed, and replaced within a few feet of a snoring homeless muggle. Had a grin all day after that one. So for most situations, enjoy avoiding, moving and evading muggles during the covert geocaching op. Since we sign a physical log sheet, we leave visible evidence that we were there, so it can never be considered a clandestine mission op. It's All Good, especially when there's a challenge involved. (caveat: when done safely and no laws are broken)!

The problem is that getting permission just isn't realistic. Who do you ask? The day manager? Not there at night. The night manager? Not there during the day. You don't really think they are going to talk to each other, do you? Even if they do, the turn over rate is going to mean that the guy you got your blessing from might not be there next week. And which business do you get permission from? Do you also need to get permission from the property management company? How about the REIT that actually owns the property? Also, what makes you think that anyone will ask the management if they know why someone was poking around a light pole? The core problem is that people are just very poor at identifying risk. Starting with the people that reported this to the volunteers then the police that took the report from the volunteers. Then the management layer in the police that creates the policy. Someone lurking in a parking lot and fiddling with a light post might be a reasonable cause to think that vandalism or theft is happening or that drugs are being stashed - these are both reasonably frequent occurrences. It is NOT reasonable to jump to the possibility that someone is planting a bomb. It is not reasonable to think that Russian spys are passing secrets. It is not reasonable to think that aliens are planting egg sacs. It's like the saying goes - if you hear hoof beats, think horses not zebras. Loved this post which makes the point that no matter how many people the hider seeks permission from, it can never be enough until everyone knows about geocaching and feels comfortable to approach the suspicious looking 'geocacher' to ask what they are doing? Hope this quoted cacher posts more!!! Every geocacher gets caught in the act at some point in time, if you cache enough, so size up the person and decide the appropriate response when they ask. If they don't, approach them and explain that what you just did is harmless, so they don't assume or jump to conclusions and make the call that results in this. We need to avoid situations like this since it is our tax dollars being spent on training the local authorities and the game gets bad press too. It's hard to recall that specific MA1 LPC hide, but found it a few years ago in Anaheim. Wonder which local cacher will dare to put another cache in play in that area, with a geo-label of course?! Here's an older bomb squad incident on top of a rural dirt hill with no LPCs in sight. Sun City houses were at least 0.25 miles away and at the bottom of the undeveloped hill. A local resident saw my 4x4 vehicle go up the hill on a dirt road, thought it was suspicious, and called the authorities. The container was an ammo can: GCJ6Q9 Too bad the neighbor didn't try to contact me, otherwise would have explained it, thus avoiding the training that ensued. Enjoy! Education is a better alternative versus not publishing caches in urban and/or rural areas. Given the growth rate of geocaches and geocachers, expect everyone will have heard of geocaching within 3 years. Appreciate that one of the responders to the Anaheim incident posted in our forum. Need to continue to get the word out. Cache on and do so as safely as possible.

We had three people and one vehicle. Planning was key. Talking with others who had made the run gave us many tips. We used aerial views on my Garmin Colorado GPS which helped keep us on the right roads. Once the cache was in hand it only took a few seconds for one guy to pull the log and the other guy there to put the sticker on. Fast driving was also a big key. We rallied pretty fast out on those desert roads. Did NGA add any new caches since our trip? We did all three power trails and a few extra caches around it to get 626. All were active; none were archived. We did not seek any LPCs so avoided those around the casinos. Even if we did them, our number would not be close to 695. In fact, we found one more just past midnight on the Phobia trail and so didn't count it. You guys must have been really moving fast out there, great job!!! Congratulations on the unofficial world record, and more importantly, not having any injuries or vehicle problems?!

Congratulations Rain or Shine, zsteve and legoboyjj - that's a pretty impressive number!

Oh no !!! In that case they certainly must have cheated. I calculated it out, and it's impossible to find that many caches in that short of time. If it's true....then someone needs to go to each of the caches and check the logsheets.....I'm quite certain you will find dozens if not hundreds of them are missing the record setting stickers....lol. Our average time was just a few seconds faster than your times (VKs) with no significant injuries. Tell you what, there is still time to delete all your found logs and go do it again!

Sun Valley Parkway outside of Phoenix, east side, has a good mix of easy and challenging cache hides. Recommend starting on the south end, caching north and finding the east side first. Go to the end and turn around and drive south. The ones on the west side seemed easier when I did it with GRALDRICH. Depending on the time of year, it can be quite challenging if heat is a factor. Many local AZ Cachers get their personal best on that trail. It's a draw for the area and cachers will come from CA, Texas and other states to do it too. Pick the right caching partner and have fun; life is too short.

Once we came down to the power tower where we saw Humboldt and Psychopedics, we were excited to meet another team having fun in the desert on the second of April. Personally, was elated to run into Psychopedics! We talked about another cacher from his area, Big Bear, who had come here before us. Still have family ties to Psychopedics area so it's a small geocaching world. Thanks for the Gilman Rd point out too in this thread. Worked one summer at Lakeview Resort where our family kept our boat, so know that area well.

Adding another piece to the full story puzzle ... Not sure if this incident contributed to the demise of the TOTG, but allegedly a power company worker took at least 4 before being stopped by a co-worker, according to NGA. They were later replaced by another SoCal cacher: See logs for this God: GC24R75 Cache on!

So then let's call this record as "I found 600+ powerline towers"-record and not a record in geocaching for I absolutely don't see the point of geocaching here. idl0r PS: did I miss an update of the guidelines or is 200ft distance from cache 2 cache now possible? Most caches were very easy to spot, but a few took some time. Moose Mob came upon us spending more than the average 2 minutes and 18 seconds searching for a micro that was not on the power tower. We eventually got it. The power towers with caches were all spaced more than 528' apart (most seemed like 0.2 miles apart), and the route to get to them was not always obvious. Have no doubt that all cache hides abided by the guidelines, and hiding them all is a pretty incredible time intensive feat. They deserve much praise for all the time spent doing this for the enjoyment of others. That's the most important point to make. We did this in a vehicle, not in an ultra-light, and where to turn is not easy to spot each time. It's not a straight line on the map as the trail of caches suggests. Keep in mind, for the 24 hour marathon, we spent ~ 9 hours in darkness. Even the tins that are color matched to the towers are not readily easy to spot with a headlamp and flashlight. This was a test against a specific course that we wanted to attempt for the pure challenge of it, and had a fun time doing it. Not all geocachers will embrace this type of experience and respect their opinion. That's what the ignore button is for. The average terrain rating for all we found must be around a two, and we did find some 3Ts on the day and noticed far less logs or stickers on those caches. There were times when we put Peas vehicle to the test going through a wash, up a big hill or a ridgeline on a small dirt path (many times at night). Some places where you try to turn around, the tail gate over hangs a steep cliff. Humboldt-flier saw us come down from just such a "lofty perch." Wish they would have snapped a picture! Almost all the hides are easy as rated, but there were other challenges encountered and documented along the way that add to the experience. This power trail isn't for everyone or every vehicle. However, we loved it! Thank you NGA!!!

It's all good, but those power trails were GREAT! Well stated Cachepal - there is so much variety of experiences to be had in this geocaching game to keep it interesting for anyone, whether casually seeking, hiding or trying something more on the extreme side. Finding a cache in every CA county was something done by the entire family back in '04-'05 and proved to be quite educational for the junior geo-rangers. Anybody can come up with any crazy goal and go for it as Peas notes. It's your time on this earth, so choose how you wish to spend it?! Don't think any pit crews out there will want us. Peas did the heavy lifting on the tire change - I merely assisted on the periphery (to stay out of his way) - about 8 minutes elapsed time. On the flip side, suspect most pit crews don't stay up all night before race day either or pull double duty as driver and nav. Am open to suggestions on the next crazy goal to attempt (the adrenaline has long worn off) ... Is there room for one more on that school bus headed for the Alien Inn in June?

Not counting the 100+ found enroute and back to Phoenix, 626 logs in a day is just way too many to personalize. Try to do that when time permits on other days. Not complaining one bit, for it was really fun being a "Geo-Ranger" on the 2nd with Peas rather than a "Chair-borne Ranger" with the laptop for the several days that followed. Lamented in the Cut and Paste disclaimer for each post that a logging service was used ... if it were only true! Will gladly pay Groundspeak more money to be a Super Premium member if they can provide a feature to expedite logging to save time ... of course, that would allow more time to cache and then it just becomes a vicious circle.

Spoke to Peas yesterday and he mentioned this thread. It is true VKs are very fast and they did pass the local team I joined up with in Santa Maria. The personal goal for that day was to get some FTFs in an area that isn't in the normal geo-ranging "lebensraum." The rest of the Geo-Rangers opted to shop and play in Solvang. As far as numbers go, did manage to find a few more than those that were released because winning the prize at the event wasn't that important (to me). Congrats to VKs who went for it and earned their prize! I insisted we stop before the event at the Firestone Brewery and purchased a pitcher of their excellent IPA, to celebrate the day's work and toast some great new geocaching friends - locals MacGyver & Flo and Geobigdogs from Santa Barbara. Still logged over 100 that day, if numbers matter. As far as that power trail goes, it was an amazing run with the funnest caching partner anyone could hope for! We did spot the VK & company round sticker on the outside of the torpedo cannister that FoToMoM notes but it was during the day when we stopped there. Saw a lot of their stickers inside the logs so believe without a doubt they got 566. The howling winds and cold at night made it difficult, especially to navigate the roads in the hills to spot where to turn. It is important to be experienced driving a 4WD vehicle at night and Peas did an awesome job and he also managed to assist on the "log extractions" for most of them when I got their first. Safety first when attempting something extreme like this. I corresponded with EMC about a month ago and believe that both VKs and Peas are two of the fastest geocachers in the game. Still believe that. Open highways versus off road terrain poses different challenges and so good mission planning is really important for either. Luck matters too - the team that experienced two flat tires had us worried all day, especially after the first puncture wound we took into the sidewall from an angry bush around 6:30AM. Our goal for this trip was to find over 500 in a day. We were aiming for 505 to up the record, then the alert notifying us that the bar had been raised before we left made us take another look at the planning because that is a big number! Getting over 600 was a bonus; are we the first to do that or does it only count as 313 as another forum poster suggested? Recognize another team will go for 627 and that's great. Records are meant to be broken. Who knows, it may have already been broken - saw a lot of names not posted yet in those log sheets! Back to cut and pasting those logs, which doesn't take as long as extracting the log sheet from those @#$% eclipse containers. It was a really fun challenge and look forward to the next one - hmmm, a trip to Geowoodstock or Europe this summer ... it will be interesting to see if power trails like this will catch on so cachers all over the world can take on a course to set their own personal best in their own backyards. Happy Geocaching Everyone and stay safe out there!

It appears the alleged apprehended geo-thief in central New York is Paul L Repak based on the forum thread link posted in the podcacher podcast and this week's show 257. Can anybody fathom why?

Found same along a trail near Dana Point, GCHZPD: Date of the Log was 9/9/2007.

Found same along a trail near Dana Point, GCHZPD: Date of the Log was 9/9/2007.