Andronicus
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Posts posted by Andronicus
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I hate micros because 95% of them are in boring places, and 80% of them are in spruce trees (aka MIST). I refuse to search for micros. I'm sure I will miss a few good caches, but mostly I will save myself boredom and frustration.
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As long as cachers keep posting their geocaches on geocaching.com and paying their $30 each year for a PM, Groundspeak (the so called 'Geocaching Headquarters') will never listen to their users. They have never before and they won't this time.
I for one will be taking tangible action. I hope others Alberta cachers who have been affected by the archival and locking of The Brass Cap Cache will too.
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Pretty much the same here; unless I actually find the cache first, I don't count it as an "FTF." However, I don't waste any energy projecting this requirement on others who play the FTF game differently.
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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Me too.
Ps, how many threads have there been with this exact question?
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I'd like to toss another reason for leaving Geocaching into the mix: Overzealous and/or inconsistent rule enforcement. I've heard both neophyte and veteran cachers make this complaint, and cite this as a reason for their losing interest in Caching.
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I would tend to agree with this point. However, I suspect that these events just speed up the loss of interest. That is my experience. While I have been finding/hiding fewer and fewer caches each year, a dispute I had with a visiting Australian reviewer put a big time damper on my find count, and I have completely stopped hiding caches.
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...we value the Ape Cache container at $351.00. This ensures that if someone does steal it and we have their identity, we can get him on not only a State level crime, but also on a felony. MUCH, MUCH more severe than a simple tupperware theft.
What do you think?
I think you have misread Washington state law, since stealing an object valued at $351 is not a felony and is arguably the same as tupperware theft.
(1) A person is guilty of theft in the third degree if he or she commits theft of property or services which {a} does not exceed seven hundred fifty dollars in value, or {b} includes ten or more merchandise pallets, or ten or more beverage crates, or a combination of ten or more merchandise pallets and beverage crates.
(2) Theft in the third degree is a gross misdemeanor.
(edited to remove those pesky
sunglasses)I am fairly sure that the Ape cache is worth >$1000. If it was put up for auction on e-bay the winning bid would be huge. That is its true monetary value. Not the original cost of materials + labour. If so, any art would be almost valueless.
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Don't state in your log "found it but did not sign it". That opens up that can of worms.
This ^
Only 0.01% of COs actually check signatures anyway.
But, with Thanksgiving coming up, you may want to act like a puritan. In that case, just log a note saying you forgot your pen. Come back later with a pen and then you can sign the logbook, and log it as a find. (I'm from Canada, and our thanksgiving is already over, so I don't have to worry about the whole puritan thing till next year...)
hey, now that thanksgiving is over, we don't need to worry about acting like a puritan. Just do what seems right to you. Just know that there is a chance that if your name is not in the log book, the CO could delete your online log.
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Why would you explain geocaching that way?I've tried contacting hikers, nature lovers and other similar groups. Ever tried explaining to a group of 40+ year old Greeks how to use a combination of apps, web pages and other trickery in order to circumvent Groundspeak's restrictions, on top of explaining the whole Geocaching concept? It simply doesn't work.I live in Silicon Valley, and when I introduce new people to geocaching, I still completely ignore the apps, the web pages, the GPS devices, and so on. I briefly explain the basics of latitude and longitude, and that GPS systems use satellites to determine latitude and longitude, but then I move on to the scavenger hunt for hidden containers. And I spend most of my time explaining the scavenger hunt for hidden containers.
And I take them somewhere where they can find some hidden containers without worrying about the apps, the web pages, the GPS devices, and so on.
Interesting point of view. For me it started with GPS first, since my first contact with geocaching was while developing for Windows Mobile 2003 PocketPCs a decade ago. It was a nice way to test the GPS on uses other than driving, which was an issue back then with more primitive chipsets.
To be honest the "treasure hunt" aspect never was really interesting to me, I always did it in order to see new and beautiful places, and to have motivation to go outside. Scavenging for tupperware is secondary, although the logging and seeing what others have to say about caches and places interest me.
I don't know how much that will work here. Most of the caches here are related to nature, beautiful view, landmarks etc. Those groups already know and visit those places. And if they don't get really excited about the "treasure hunt" aspect why should they care? I will definitely try the treasure hunt approach next time.
Try to avoid the words "treasure hunt"; people associate it with digging. Try using scavenger hunt.
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Sure, I'll take the bait
As to making geocaching a for-pay only hobby, most of my geocaching time, I have been a basic member. I do just fine. Like I mentioned above,
The 3 cache limit is not a hard limit. You can still get the coordinates, title, size, difficulty/terrain, then link to the web page. It is somewhat more awkward, but not inordinately so when using apps that help with the web page link (e.g. CacheSense for Android).The fact that you still are calling geocaching a for-pay hobby, your are simply refusing to open your eyes.
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newcomers have to resort on using unofficial, more tech savvy apps
Actually, most all of the non-Groundspeak caching apps are official, or let's say "officially approved", as they use the API in agreement with Groundspeak. (The only notable exception being the one app you did mention.) And none of those apps, as far as I know, has the extra limitations Groundspeak imposed on their own app in a not-so-subtle attempt to shove newcomers into an immediate Premium purchase.
So the trick is, how do you let people know there are other apps besides the upsell-focused default one? I doubt Groundspeak will point them out...
The API is limited to 3 caches a day. No terrain/difficulty restrictions, but still, 3 caches a days seems useless to me.
The 3 cache limit is not a hard limit. You can still get the coordinates, title, size, difficulty/terrain, then link to the web page. It is somewhat more awkward, but not inordinately so when using apps that help with the web page link (e.g. CacheSense for Android).
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OK, so back on topic, my stance is that it is fine to not allow new virtual caches, but GS should be make it easier to keep existing ones alive. And they definitely should unlock the virtual cache in question.
Tough one. I've done two of the First Post caches. The one in question was removed. That's why it was archived. The replacement First Post is a replacement, not the original. Obviously, the question for the Virtal would have changed, but that's minor. It was archived for being missing. The replacement is a new benchmark, and not at the original location. Though, I will agree that it is a shame that a new Virtal could not be placed. These are very interesting.
Harry, have you been to the replacement. It is the original plaque, and it is the original brass cap. The surrounding stuff is indeed new, but like I said, the heart of the monument is still original.
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OK, so back on topic, my stance is that it is fine to not allow new virtual caches, but GS should be make it easier to keep existing ones alive. And they definitely should unlock the virtual cache in question.
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Well, there are other geocache listing websites that do allow virtual caches (I don't think we are allowed to discuss them here, so I won't mention the URL). So, because geocaching.com won't allow me to, I have logged my legitamit find of https://coord.info/GC6C0C over there.
I have to ask, how were you able to log your own listing there on the other site? I can't seem to find the option to log my own listings as found.
I know people...
Sure. Even the site admins are stumped on how you pulled that one off.
Which admins? Maybe they should talk to each other a little more. I just logged a note, and my 'colleague' 'fixed' it.
Anyway, their 'no logging your own cache' isn't so much their rule or guidline, as it is an artifact of cloning the opencaching.pl code. It is 'hardwired' into the code (although by definition, code is not hardwired (unless it is on a EPROM or something similar)).
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Well, there are other geocache listing websites that do allow virtual caches (I don't think we are allowed to discuss them here, so I won't mention the URL). So, because geocaching.com won't allow me to, I have logged my legitamit find of https://coord.info/GC6C0C over there.
I have to ask, how were you able to log your own listing there on the other site? I can't seem to find the option to log my own listings as found.
I know people...
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Geocaching during the day appears to be a suspicious activity.....at night it appears evil.
Of the VERY few times we have cached at night probably 50% of the time we have encountered police...no more for us.
My reviewer and I agree all caches should have a " Not AT Night " attribute and that's what I do.
That is not my experience at all. I have done many cache searches at night. While I have been questioned by the police 3 times (well one of the times was by MPs), each time after an explanation, they police were happy.
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I tend to avoid caching at night as I can barely find them in the daylight. I remember once scouring an area with flashlights to the point of hopelessness. We came back in the morning and BAM! It was in plain sight. Lesson learned.
It all depends on the cache. Caches camoed with camo duct tape become easy at night. That duct tape reflects the light from the flashlight, and is easily visible.
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I am kind of in the same situation. I purchased a trackable online, and when it came in, I made up a page/description for it, and placed it in the next cache that I found.
The next cacher that found it, logged it on 07/16/2016. I have yet to hear anything about it since. I have contacted the user, with a polite message on the site, and an email. (Same thing written on both), and have yet to hear back from them, so I logged it as missing, and have decided to just order a replacement trackable, and restart.
As strange as it sounds, July isn't that long ago. You should hold tight a bit longer than that. Now that you have logged it missing, it will no longer appear in the holders inventory, and s/he will likely forget about it.
You don't have to buy a new trackable. You can re-use the code. There are several companies that make replacement tags you can use, or make your own.
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4 days isn't a lot... You will have to do a lot of driving each day... Did you say you are renting a jeep (or similar 4x4)? That is good if you are planning to do that much driving that fast. Even highway 1 has a stretch of unpaved road
There is a shortcut on the east side of the island that you should consider (highway 939), it cuts that big lobe off and has some great views.
I did the drive cutting across the bottom of the Western Fjords and onto the Snæfellsnes peninsula. There was construction and bad roads along highway 59 (but your 4x4 should be fine). Also highway 54 along the NE edge of the Snæfellsnes peninsula has quite poor roads between highway 56 and highway 60. These roads were tough in a motorhome.
PS, if you want to find a cache North of 66°, based on your route, I would suggest Mulaey, or there are a bunch near Siglufjörður.
Other random tips:
If you want some rum or other spirits, buy it at the airport duty free. You can't get it anywhere else. Infact beer and wine, while available, are kind of difficult to buy.
Use your credit card whenever you can (almost anywhere). And if they give you an option, choose to pay in ISK. They will charge a fee in addition to the exchange if you pick to pay in Canadian $. Your Credit Card is likely to give you the best exchange rate anyway.
Take some ISK money (I would suggest 6,000kr) there are a few things that it is easier to use cache.
Use public toilets whenever you see them. You don't know how long it will be before you see another. You don't want to be the poor sap dropping a deuce on the side of the road.
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Another thought. I would also recomend finding Rauðfeldsgjár: Something of a Washout! while exploring the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is a very cool hike up the canyon. We managed to hike quite far up without getting wet. I don't know what it would be like in the winter. Probably with some crampons you could hike much higher than we did.
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Something I didn't mention.... MAPS!!!
1st, they have very good cell phone coverage around the ring road and the golden circle. While there are desolate spots with no coverage, I was quite surprised at how good it was.
2nd, because we rented our motor home in the off season, we had free wifi. There was a little box that got internet from the cell network, and so we always had wifi date for our phones when near the motor home. I actually had my phone in airplane mode the entire time I was in Iceland. This saved be about $120
3rd, I got an app on my phone called wikiloc . This app is great for finding hiking/biking routes. But also, it will download maps. I was able to download a map of the entire island. Then, my geocaching apps were able to use that map. (cachesence, neongeo, c:geo etc). So when I was away from the motorhome's wifi, I was able to still have good maps.
On a different topic, I see you are planning to go to Jökulsárlón. That is a great stop. We spent quite a bit of time watching the icebergs and the currents in the ocean channel. It is an amazing place... I found the geocache Die Another Day - IFL GeoTrail #3. I would recomend, if you want to get up closer to the glaciaer, to also find Batman Begins - IFL GeoTrail #2. We camped at the parking area near this cache. Super great spot.
Also, hot springs. I was planning to try to go to a hot spring every evening. They are everywhere. Check out this website
Unfortunatly, the guys I was with were a little squeamish of the non-commercial locations, so we only went to one, Seljavellir.
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I didn't mean biking around the island overal - I meant renting one to use for stints from parking to cache where there is a decent defined trail. The one I found that rents bikes, not just providing tours, is http://icelandbike.com/bicyclerental_reykjavik.html and recommends the 4300 for non-asphalt. The question was more like what weather may be like generally speaking; if it's a feasible option for someone who does enjoy offroad biking
It's just an idea at this point as 4 day rental would be another ~$240ish. Unlikely to happen, but a good curiosity!
It depends... Some trails would be fine. Some are very rugged, and your bike will take an absolute pounding.
We brought our bikes with us on the plane. (less than $300 CND) We didn't use them as much as we hoped. Turns our we were able to drive the motor home almost everywhere we wanted to go. On some of the bad roads, it was slow going, but still faster than biking.
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Awesome, thanks!
Once my itinerary is finalized, I'll post it - perhaps it'll be of use to anyone considering a short geocaching trip
I've been collecting recommendations, and trying to narrow down high desirable sites, and considering driving routes. Definitely will be renting a 4WD. I'm hoping to make the trip inland to the oldest cache GC7AD7 at some point too. There are so many highly recommended locations, I think the toughest part of the trip will be narrowing selections down to a reasonable set, with buffer to just relax and enjoy it all
. The list is currently at 76, reduced initially down to 49. Definitely another filtering will be needed! hehHere's another question - in looking up camper vans and accomodation options that aren't in hotels/hostels and whatnot, there was a site saying that you can 'camp' at any public location, as long as you're safely out the way and it's not private property. Is that possible? For example, hypothetically any night if without a building to sleep in would it be feasible to find a parking location and crash for the night there, or are there laws or bylaws to watch out for?
I guess I missed this when it was first here. Indeed, you can park for the night almost anywhere. There are locations that specifically say "No Camping", but there are a lot of great spots you can pull over.
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In Iceland, there are vast expanses of nothing, and there are no public toilets. Every convenient pull out is covered in crap from tourists who 'had to go'. Some pit toilets would do them wonders.
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I've turned into type IV with the caveat that I won't search for micro caches.
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Well, there are other geocache listing websites that do allow virtual caches (I don't think we are allowed to discuss them here, so I won't mention the URL). So, because geocaching.com won't allow me to, I have logged my legitamit find of https://coord.info/GC6C0C over there.
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collecting countries
in General geocaching topics
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This year I added Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Bahamas, and Turks and Cacaos. Over doubled my countries list.