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Sol seaker

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Everything posted by Sol seaker

  1. I'm going to be getting a new phone and it's important to me to have good adventure lab experience. My current Android map displays the adventure lab icon where there are adventure labs (when looking just at the geocaching map) , but I've got an old iphone that does not. In other words, when I'm looking at the regular geocaching.com map on my very old iphone I can't see the icons for the adventure labs. I think this is just because my iphone is so old, but wanted to make sure before I got a new phone. This will help me decide which to get. Please also let me know any other reasons the adventure labs work on one vs the other. Thank you!
  2. Love my encounters with geocachers in the field. Early in my geocaching, I was still really clueless, and was searching for one near a fence with a friend. A car drove by and yelled "in the fence cap!" LOL. We were so glad. A few years later I wanted to look at a picnic bench, but there was someone sitting at it. I wandered around a while, but it was far from home and I wouldn't be back this way. I finally walked up and asked if he had heard of geocaching. and if I could look for one at their table. Turns out, Yes, they were a geocacher! He was excited that there was one there and he didn't even know it. We both searched and logged it. I ran into a family caching in the woods. We were searching for a tree-climb cache. They were looking too, but didn't know it was in a tree. Their kids were pretty young to climb high, so I was glad we were there to climb up for all of us. All of the really tough caches I've searched for, and really wished a cacher would come along right at that minute and help. Every great now and then it really does happen.
  3. These are really great. The biggest thing holding me back from hiding is the fact I don't know if I'm going to spend days creating an awesome cache., submit it and have the reviewer come back saying, "Sorry, you're 5 feet too close to a puzzle cache". I don't work many puzzle caches, and even when I do, I can't tell where they are later. Case in point, a huge series of 25 (or so) "X" caches near me. They fill up a huge area. I've found a huge percentage of them, but now have no idea where the final coords were. I won't hide anything in that entire area (many miles) because I'd likely be near one. Having the capability of taking coords in the app is brilliant. It would be great if it had capability of multiple readings within a setting, so we could take coords at, say, 3 new cache sites, and take 4 sets of coords at each one (for accuracy) and be able to get home and have them in neat packets: Cache #1, Cache #2, Cache #3
  4. Beautifully thought out and well-written. I appreciate the time that went into this reply, thank you Michael. I haven't been a heavy user of these myself because I simply don't know how to search for these. I would happily pay an additional small additional amount per year to be able to keep these. Let's keep them and have a clear place on Geocaching.com to explain how to search and log them. I do like the new type caches, but I'd hate to see the old thrown out for the new. Let's not do something we'd regret in the future.
  5. I'm only showing 1000 previous finds. Is there another place I should be looking to see all my past finds? It used to show them all. I'm looking under "profile" and then going to "all geocache finds" . That used to come up with all of them and now I'm only getting 1000
  6. It's really scary about Mt Shasta. I heard that Mt Shasta was the first mountain in the US that glaciers were discovered on. Last year they totally melted for the first time. The mountain was totally bare last year. It was really scary. I drove by it and it was just shocking. I know someone who does not believe the scientists about climate change. I told her to go on a road trip with me. That's all you need to do to see the evidence yourself. Mt Shasta is a scary example of that.
  7. Congratulations on the new trailer!! Sounds like a really fun trip. I'm jealous. I hope you have a really great time!! Do you have certain goals this trip?
  8. It may not always be perfectly up-to-date, but this is a really good one I use a lot https://www.geocaching.com/plan/lists/BM19JFJ?sort=name&sortOrder=asc&skip=0&take=10 by: lamoracke It puts them into categories. It can be found in the bookmark section of almost any WA State challenge cache
  9. I'm very sorry to hear this Craig. My heart goes out to you and Cathy. Take extra good care of yourself through this tough time.
  10. Wondering if I've missed any announcement about allowing virtual event caches at this point. It's been a year now that we've been unable to have events. I've moved to a new area, and would really like to meet cachers in my area. Geocaching outdoors can be done at safe distances, especially with masks on. I don't have a way to meet local geocachers. I'd also like to keep up with geocachers in the area where I used to live and continue those friendships. I'd love to see these events, even if you can't log them. It would be really community building. If logging the "smiley" is an issue, then perhaps we can just attend online and not log the event online. I know a lot of people (including me) who are feeling really isolated right now. Outdoor activities are more and more being deemed as the safest thing we can do, especially if we keep social distancing and masks on. I'd love to meet people locally to geocache with. Clarification: I am NOT advocating for real, in person events yet. I hope in a few months we'll begin to be able to have events outdoors with a limited number of people that are social distanced with masks, but this is still not the right time for that. I'd love to attend some local events virtually. I think having them be something you cannot log would keep people from attending from all over and making it a real mess. Anything I've missed about the possibility of virtual events?
  11. My own "rules" vary dramatically. I love the idea of caching for exercise. Hiking for caches and kayak caches are always my favorite. I don't mind spending all day on a small handful of caches, or just one or two, if it is a great experience (and some good exercise). However, my caching can vary. Today we switched to just "drive-ups" when it started to rain and started to get dark. There were a whole lot on my list for today I didn't hit, so we had to "go for it". (still didn't get many) There have been a few times when I've been injured (twice injured my back) where I've been so thankful for the drive-ups so I could still go caching. But yes, I do also prefer getting the exercise and getting outside and exploring.
  12. I am very sorry for the loss of your husband. I am glad you are still getting out geocaching. I'm not interested in the proxy exchange at this time, but in the future will be doing a lot of caching in the Bellingham area if you want to drop by. That border won't stay closed forever. Likewise I plan on caching and exploring Canada more. Let me know. For me, one of the best parts of caching is exploring. I did a lot of exploring before I cached, and I love seeing new places, new areas, and learning and seeing new things. I can't wait to get up in Canada again.
  13. I just did some searching for a friend who is looking for a GPS. It looks like there are three good candidates for handheld GPS's right now. I've had older versions of all of these. There is the Garmin 700 which has a touch screen and "live" geocaching. https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-gear/gps-devices/garmin-oregonr-700-with-geocaching-live.html That looks like a really good GPS and is a steal for that price compared to what I've paid in the past for much lesser units. The prices have really come down. https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-gear/gps-devices/garmin-etrexr-22x-handheld-gps.html The etrex is a good base model that is good for those on a budget. It's not a touch screen, and won't do Wherigo's, but besides that it's a good GPS. It is "paperless" which means it holds the cache pages in the GPS. I had an old etrex as my first GPS (different model) . It was one where it was not paperless, which meant the only thing the GPS held was the coordinates, that was it. I used it for years and it was highly accurate but the fact it only held the coordinates got to me and I finally upgraded. The new models now are paperless. My old fav (mine was an old model) was this one: GPSMap 64CX https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/669286 It is a great GPS and very tough and rugged. It is Not a touch screen and does not do Wherigo's. It is Paperless. I've heard many times of people accidentally running over this one with their car and it was fine. (old version of this, your results may vary) It is also highly accurate, (note the external antennae which actually really helps). The Oregon was supposed to have improved accuracy, but I haven't tried the really new ones. I found this one easier to use, than my Oregon, even though it's not a touch screen. I think it's set up easier to use. I bought a new Oregon and kept going back to using this one. If you absolutely can't adjust to not having a touch screen, then go with an oregon. I think those are the three top models. considerations: whether you want something that can do Wherigo (Oregon) Pricing - Etrex is cheapest although it has the least features. If you won't use a GPS often (phone most of the time) it's a great option touch screen - Oregon touch durability, accuracy and ease of use (except no touch screen): GPSMAP series. Geocaching "Live" - a new feature where you don't have to download caches. I haven't used it but it sounds great. NOT on the GPSMap series, but IS on the new Oregons. I can't speak to this feature because I haven't used it, but it does sound worth looking into it more. Also NOT on the etrex. All of these are set up for paperless caching, which is absolutely what you want. I think they're all good choices.
  14. we were told it was fine to go outside. We were told activities with social distancing were fine. We were told we were supposed to get exercise. This has been a problem, for different messages to be getting out to different people, and the messages have changed a lot. I suspect that as this thing continues this problem of information changing and getting out to everyone will continue to change too. I hope the problem of them closing all the parks does not continue. they say it's okay to get outdoors and exercise, yet they don't allow us into our parks to do so. Doesn't make sense. Being outdoors with just your family unit is one of the safest activities you can do (as long as you're not in a crowded area). To keep crowds from happening, we need to provide more area for activities, rather than less. We need to keep people spread out, not compact them together. What ended up happening is people were compacted together around their homes. They thought this sounded like a bright idea, but turned out to be really bad if you lived in any city area. I couldn't walk 3 blocks without running across 20-30 people on the sidewalks. The streets are too busy here to walk in. I was having to drive away from my home to go for a walk and get a little exercise. Parks and trails were closed, so I would have to drive to other areas of the city, which made other people's neighborhoods more crowded. When we were not supposed to leave our house, this was not a problem. Then there was a point when they told people to go out and exercise. I hope they learn from this, but I suspect it will be the same again as winter comes.
  15. Actually, depending on how you get there, kayaking can be one of the safest activities you can do. If you run a shuttle only with someone in your household and keep your kayaks distanced, then it's a great way to get outside. It's important to be able to get outside. Solo hiking, or hiking with someone within your immediate family is also one of the safer activities available. The guidelines have stated that it's fine to go out and get exercise as long as you keep moving and keep within guidelines (such as hiking only with your family group, and not joining with others for a picnic, etc.). I have been very unhappy that they closed the trails while saying you should get out and exercise. This shifted all activity locally. This may have been fine for some, but if you live in a big city it did not work out well. They also closed the parks in big cities and then you only had your neighborhood. I tried walking in my neighborhood but the streets were packed with people. It was very unsafe. I could have gone to a rarely used trail on Cougar Mtn and ran across maybe 4 people in 6 miles, where instead I walked 3 blocks and ran across 30 people. Very disappointed in their shutting down parks. It seems like most parks have been opened at this point. I hear Cougar Mtn has been opened. Carkeek park has not opened to car traffic, although you can walk in. I'm not minding this as much now that we have options like Cougar and Tiger Mtns. Does anyone have a report on what is open around North Bend at this point? Are there any parks still closed? (yes, I know, subject to change)
  16. I like the souvenirs. I like the challenge caches for a similar reason. They give extra dimensions to the game; something more to do, than just running up the numbers. I like the additional goals. I would love it if GS could add some extra souvenirs on for the more active cachers, especially because the time has been extended. It would be great to have some larger goals. I finished getting these souvenirs before I had much of a chance to enjoy shooting for them. It would be fun to watch my progress toward more. It would be nice to have some geared toward newer cachers, and some toward some avid cachers.
  17. One of the reasons I leave favorite points on caches is because a lot of challenges are created with caches with the highest number of favorite points. If you log these "high pointers" you can use it for the challenge, even later when the cache is archived. A high pointer can lose some points and be fine, but if everyone takes away their favorite point, it's going to change the availability of the challenge. Some will care about this, some won't. (most likely those who like challenges vs those who don't). It's not an issue for me, as I have plenty of fav points available.
  18. The chances of getting any venereal diseases off of caches, is pretty dang impossible. I assume by your post you either have no idea of how diseases are passed between people or this is tongue in cheek. I prefer to assume the latter. Yes, my area is long out of hand sanitizer. I've got a little and use it when I'm out. To clear up your understanding, although perhaps by the time I respond you'll have learned more about this, it's true this thing is passing around the world like a wave, which not only includes the virus itself, but the information about the virus itself. This is super highly contagious. This kills people. People who don't die often get permanent lung damage and or pass it to someone who dies. If you get it in the severe form you may be in the hospital on a ventilator for 17 - 28 days. with no contact with your family or anyone but doctors, who will also be avoiding you as much as possible. All those diseases you mention are not super contagious. You can't get VD from a cache. You can't get AIDs, etc. from a cache, I mean really, where do you put those things when you find them? No, don't tell me. I won't get sick off of mold. It's gross, but it's not going to kill me. Once this thing hits your area harder you will understand better. That understanding is also going like a wave around the planet. Here in Washington we were pretty glib about it a while ago. None of us were afraid. We went about life as usual. Then people started dropping. Then we started seeing for ourselves how contagious is really is. We started seeing hospitals set up tents outside to care for the sick. I've never seen that before. We started hearing stories from nurses on the front lines. This is not your standard flu. If you get it bad, it's really bad. Most of us will get it at some time, the thing is getting it when there are enough hospital beds available, so we're "flattening the curve". You'll hear about it more in your area when it hits, if you haven't already. So really I did get it already, more than likely. I was really sick with all the symptoms. I made it. Now really need to exercise. The local authority say it's okay to go for a walk and I desperately need that. I'd like to cache at the same time. No I don't have to, but that's fun for me. With everything else in my life temporarily gone, it's important to get some fun when and where I can. So I've been concerned not only with getting this if I didn't have it, but also giving it to others if I do. I called the health department and they think I'm not contagious anymore if I did have it. I've waited a lot longer to be sure. But to be extra protection, I don't want to touch caches. I managed to find one the other day with a stick, so I don't have to touch it to find it always. Sometimes yes, but not always. Anyway, I'm trying to protect myself and everyone else. I think this is an important discussion to have. Keep an eye on the news and what your local authorities are saying in your area and you'll get a better idea of why I'm concerned. You should be glad I'm concerned for you too. Here in WA we were hit first, so we're ahead of the curve nation wide. We all started out not caring. Then getting a little cautious, then a little more concerned, and worked our way up from there. I'm seeing this being a wave too. So maybe this is a better discussion for when the wave has traveled a little farther here in the US. Anyway, I think the main thing is to keep caring about each other and how our own actions impact others. that's what's most important and the main take-away here. What that means to each person differs, but one thing I learned early in this illness is I have to respect others level of concern and protection. At first we all wanted to laugh at people wearing masks in the streets. Then we talked about respecting people doing what they needed to be comfortable. I got used to not only not judging those who were wearing masks, but also not judging for their crazy colored hair or bad taste in awful clothes or whatever. It taught me that. Now we're all looking for masks to wear in the streets. Things change. That's another good reason not to put someone down for what they're doing. It may be what you're doing next.
  19. With the restrictions in place (because of Covid-19), I'm still allowed to go out walking, which to me says I can grab a cache or two as I get some exercise. I have been concerned with the safety of touching something that everyone else is touching. The caches around here are still being found at a high enough rate so any virus likely does not have time to die. I really need caching for my mental health though. It is a huge help for me in stressful times. I've been considering the possibility of "touchless caching". That is where I take a picture of the cache and send it to the cache owner privately (so others can't see it). I know the rules say I have to sign it, but it is a time when so many rules need to be adjusted for the unexpected current conditions we're all living under. Would you accept this at this time?
  20. Thank you!!! I didn't know there was a different option. I just looked and found the "Browse" option. That's much better. Wow that other one was really driving me nuts. I'm really glad you've got the other option. Now I can actually see what's going on around me.
  21. I had not seen the release notes thread. Glad to know that they are listening there. I will go there. The difference is that this is the only one I could find just talking about the maps. The other thread talking about maps is the thread on "an open letter to GS" and the thread owner just reported in that that's not what his thread is about. Please read my opening statement for the quote on that. The only other thread I saw on maps was really about power trails. This is just in the main forums though. There may be maps threads hidden in other parts of the forums. I just looked in the main forums where i go for geocaching topics, and one would expect a map thread, and indeeed where it's important to have a map thread, since it seems people keep coming here to discuss the maps.
  22. I was inspired once again to come here to the forums to discuss maps after attempting to plan a hike for this weekend. To find new caches I need to hike in unknown areas. If I were doing a small area city cache adventure then the current maps might suffice. To find new caching trails in many miles of mountains, I need a big view of the available caches. I find trails by looking for cache trails. It is very frustrating to keep having to reload the caches. My internet connection can get bogged down and what is supposed to be a few fun moments of searching for new cache trails turns into a long frustrating exercise in testing my internet speed. I end up thinking about quitting caching and stop my search early. I suspect new cachers who use their phones may not care about the new map differences. But it's the old cachers who find a lot of caches who are the ones who pay to keep the electricity on at Groundspeak Headquarters, so I would hope that they will pay attention to how many people are reporting in on this. Pay attention to what exactly people are complaining about, and who is not happy. I am considering writing an old fashion letter, this issue is so important to me, since it doesn't seem to draw any attention to talk about it on the forums. Anyone else who wants to join me on this: Groundspeak Headquarters 837 N 34th St #300, Seattle, WA 98103
  23. I was inspired to start this topic when it turns out that the thread we've been discussing the maps on, is not for the maps after all. Since I know it's important to keep on topic in these forums, I didn't want to keep adding to a thread that was off-topic. so now this thread is about maps. Keep it friendly and constructive. A little frustration venting is to be expected but try to be constructive. This from the thread we have been discussing the maps on (the "Open Letter to Geocaching.com" thread) 18 hours ago, The A-Team said: Just as a gentle reminder, this discussion isn't about the new search map (I'm regretting highlighting that in my OP, because people seem to be target-fixated on that now). Discussions of the new search map's design or ways to improve it should be in the relevant discussion threads. This discussion is about the general methodologies used by HQ and how we can help them improve their processes for the betterment of everyone. (the only other thread I could find with maps as a topic was really about powertrails, not maps)
  24. I opened the map to find caches in a new area today (that I'll be geocaching in for the first time). The search went right to the correct area and showed me the immediate area. I then widened my search to find hiking trails in the area. I can no longer get an overview of all the hiking trails in the area. So I focused in on one area and hit "show caches in this area" (or whatever) ... and waited. Okay. Caches loaded. Moved to another area hit "show caches in this area" and waited. Waiting. Loading still. Okay. Now look at another nearby area... wait. Forget it. Frustrating. Takes too long. I just had a few moments to have a break with some fun. I can't turn this into a 20 minute exercise of checking how long it takes my internet connection to load, again and again and again. Frustrated enough that this does hamper my caching. The maps aren't great, but that is the worst part. Everything else I can adjust to, deal with. That I can't. I geocache for fun and to get away from the frustrations and trials of life. If it adds to them I won't do it.
  25. I SO hate the new maps. That's why I came to the forums today. I Just REALLY SO hate the new maps. This is not just a matter of me not liking change and something I'll get used to. These simply are NOT functional for me when searching for caches. The point of the geocaching website is to be able to search for caches. The new map greatly restricts that. I love searching out new hiking trails especially ones that have rows of caches down them. It's just not possible to do that well on this new map. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Thanks for listening.
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