IceColdUK

Just to add, I’m not saying it’s wrong, and I’m not saying Groundspeak didn’t consider the possibility, I just don’t believe it was their intention. Not looking for a fight. ?

If you think that Groundspeak were trying to encourage us to drop/retrieve TBs in caches (instead of using the more appropriate ‘visit’ functionality), then fair enough. I think they wanted us to get out caching more ... and to move TBs along while we were doing it.

I guess the questions I’d ask are: Did you handle your TBs differently for the purpose of the promotion, i.e. dropping and retrieving, when you’d usually just log a visit? And if so, is this the behaviour that you think Groundspeak were intending to reward? If Yes/No, no problem to me, you’ve earned the points for the souvenir, but I’d say, that was ‘gaming the system’.

Haha! :-)

Looks a little suspicious. They’ve logged a meet and greet event which, according to the organiser, nobody else attended! https://coord.info/GC7Y6MA I'd definitely send a message...

I’d say, don’t sweat it. When so many trackables go missing, most TOs will just be happy to see their trackables are still in the game. If you’ve picked up a TB but can’t help with its mission, just drop it off as soon as you can. If you’ve actually moved it away from its goal, drop the owner a message to explain. (The last time I was in US, I picked up two trackables; both, I discovered when logging later, had missions to travel within US. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to drop them before flying back to UK. It happens. I messaged the owners and offered my apologies. What else can you do?)

I was wondering the same thing.

+ =

@arisoft You’ll never get complete agreement on what constitutes a power trail, so I guess the question is what are YOU trying to identify with your checker? I like the definition in the Geocaching glossary (https://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx) but it’s still pretty subjective: Power Trail A path with a large number of caches placed within close proximity to each other. Promotes players' ability to easily increase their find count. For what it’s worth, a PT suggests to me a large number of identical, easy to find caches placed near enough every 10th of a mile along a wide road. I imagine Hell to be quite similar. ?

I’d prefer to be able to filter by FP% to be able to find better caches, rather than popular ones.

I think it’s for these very reasons Groundspeak has decided it wants nothing to with the ownership of the physical cache - no liability. And you forget, there are caches (maybe not many) that are listed on competitors’ sites too. The Groundspeak listing may be archived, but the cache lives on, and is still very much the property of the CO.

There’s certainly nothing unethical about asking for help. And I’m sure that most COs will be happy to help if you explain your situation. For whatever reason, some COs may not be responsive. In that case, previous finders may be willing to give you a nudge. As you find more, I’m sure you will find it easier, particularly if you stick to those lower difficulty caches. Good luck.

Reading previous logs is a good place to start. You’re unlikely to find real spoilers (look out for puns though), but they will often give you an idea of complexity. If someone says “Easy - cracked this in 3 minutes”, it’s unlikely to require a computer program to analyse a binary image file. Conversely, if they “Struggled a bit on stage 3”, you know you’re in for a bit of a journey. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a cache owner for help, but don’t expect them to give you the answer straight out. In my experience (in UK), most are very approachable and, contrary to the belief of some, really do want their puzzles solved and caches found. For those that enjoy puzzles (and I imagine most puzzle COs fall into that category), the pleasure is in making the breakthrough - perhaps that “d’oh!” moment. So, be prepared to give and take, so that you can be nudged towards a solution. If you ‘do’ Facebook there’s a ‘Geocaching Puzzle Help’ group. Generally, the ethos is the same - to nudge people towards a solution. Local events are also a good place to swap ideas. If you can find someone (or more than one) like-minded then collaboration can be a winner. ? I haven’t read it myself but I have seen a lot of recommendations for a book, ‘How To Puzzle Cache’ by Cully Long. As @SaRothe says, start with the simpler ones (lower D-ratings) to build up your puzzle-solving skills. If you tackle a few by the same CO, you might start to get into their way of thinking. Keep notes on your progress and solutions, and bookmark those useful sites you find for cracking ciphers, etc. Good luck!

Thanks arisoft - quick work! :-)

Raised this back in February - no response ?

I was intrigued... I qualified with some Geoart (a series of puzzles forming the Olympic Rings, e.g. https://coord.info/gc3bek2). The final locations of these were anything but a power trail!

Given Max’s stance on bogus logs on their own caches (above), I’m really hoping that this request for advice was tongue in cheek...

The ‘View in Google Earth’ option is good - the website map is a little too small.

It’s nice to be able to see your Geocaching travels mapped out. I have a few trackables that I use in this way, for example this one is dipped into the Earthcaches I visit:

Actually, no. The macro simply adds a log to the trackable, not the cache.

I last used it a year ago. I’m guessing that’s something to do with changes to the Groundspeak API. I’d ask for help on the GSAK forums. If you’re on Facebook there’s a ‘GSAK Geocaching Help’ group; worth trying there too. Good luck!

That’s certainly my understanding of a “power trail” - something you can power your way through.

You shouldn't rely on satellite imagery for setting coordinates, but its always worth using them for a 'sense check'. This is the location currently shown for your cache. Does it look right?

Yes. On the website, select 'Log a new visit' and select 'Update coordinates' from the dropdown list of log types.

Another vote for GSAK. The macro you need is perhaps unsurprisingly call DipTB! https://gsak.net/board/index.php?showtopic=20310