Ladybug Kids

2015/2016 GAGB Chairman Nominations are now closed. Sharon Reid/Sharant was the only candidate to be nominated for GAGB Chairman and she accepted the nomination. Because Sharon is standing unopposed, the election for Chairman will not go to ballot. Stay tuned for news in this thread regarding the nominations for the 2015/2016 GAGB Committee, which will open on Friday, 6 November.

Alaska's Geofest is up to version 11 this year: GCRE1B (2005), GCYW7Y (2006), GC177XF (2007), GC1J4DM (2008), GC216QW (2009), GC2CJ1P (2010), GC32WBK (2011), GC3XVVK (2012), GC4R64Q (2013), GC5ECEW (2014), and GC643RZ (2015).

I don't know why Kougarok not being found would keep cachers from chasing other similar older unfound caches. Your car analogy assumes there is something wrong with the cache. Right now, the only legitimate on-site log is a DNF log. I can only imagine the cries of outrage if the Volunteer Reviewers or an automated Groundspeak algorithm started archiving caches after a single DNF log, active cache owner or not.

If you are referring to the now deleted log I think you are, that cacher's log spoke nothing but the truth about the perp.

I wouldn't worry about it. Think of kids are Christmastime when they find the stash of wrapped presents. Some can't stand the suspense and will use all sorts of means to determine what they are going to receive on the big day. Others won't even bother looking for the stash that just has to be somewhere in the house. Cachers who really enjoy a surprise won't go looking for the spoilers.

At a high level, here is what I do to plan long road trips: 1. Use Google Earth or Google Maps to lay out the route(s) and create the kmz or kml file of the route. Each file must be less than 500 miles long. 2. Create a Pocket Query for each of the route segments using the Cache Along a Route feature on gc.com. Optimize the distance around either side of the route to get the desired number of caches. 3. Load the PQs into GSAK and run Update Cache Data (light) to load the Favorite Points for each cache. 4. Set up and run filters to delete all waypoints with two or more DNFs, Needs Maintenance, or Needs Archived in the last four logs. Detele all disabled caches (assuming they weren't filtered out during the initial PQ run). Ruthlessly deleting cache with problems or that may have problems saves a lot of wasted time while on the road. 5. Set the first cache on the route at the Centerpoint. Using the User Defined fields in GSAK, Start numbering the desired order of hunting using the distance from the first cache and the number of favorite points. You may need to reset the centerpoint to a midpoint when the route takes a turn or when you double back on yourself. For a county or state run, I use the first User field for order I will be visiting the county or state, the second user field for the cache order in the county or state, and the third and fourth field for other information such as whether the cache helps meet another Challenge requirement. 6. Sort the final list (not the full PQ...this list should have only the top five or ten caches in each region/area/park you want to hit with everything else being gravy) and print a hard copy as a ready reference hunting plan while on the road. 7. Export the GSAK database as a Garmin POI file for use with the Nuvi to allow for head's up driving. 8. Export the GSAK database as a gpx file with no more than 5000 caches per file for use with the Garmin Oregon. Save the other gpx files to your laptop or other GPS compatible device for easy swap out as you move from region to region.

I'm looking forward to the photos and additional trip documentation, too. I've done the research to pull off the cache hunt which isn't nearly as tough as "Walleye." Fly to Nome with a mountain bike or rent a snowmachine, ATV, or SUV depending on the season, and ride/drive old mining roads to within a few hundred yards of the cache. Given that the Iditarod sleddog race finished on snow in Nome not too long ago, an ATV trip lasting a minimum of 8-12 hours to the location on a day when the temperature range was -8°/+9° F must have been interesting to say the least, especially for a couple without a record of going for high terrain caches. The full story should be fascinating.

I simply shrug when spoilers get posted on my cache pages. I place my caches so they can be found (providing a generous hint most of the timme), not so they waste a lot of cachers' time with needle in the haystack type hunts. Cachers who don't want spoiler help won't read the logs and the hint. Cachers who want spoiler help will. Everyone plays the game differently and I'm not about to cause angst for a cache finder or myself by deleting a log and subsequently responding to or reporting the corresponding angry e-mail that will come at me. Some cachers are obsessive about no spoilers. I recently posted a wide-angle photo of ground zero of a cache my daughter and I found in Hawaii. Six weeks after I posted the "found it" log and photo, it was deleted without explaination, goobering up my stats. I e-mailed asked why and was told it was because it was my photo. Fortunately, I'd already captured my log in a "My Finds" PQ, so I simply copied and pasted it back to the cache page sans photo. I would have been happy to delete the photo from my original log had the Cache Owner simply e-mailed me. But, that would mean politely communicating with a fellow cacher and some cachers aren't interested in doing that.

A cacher's profile doesn't necessarily tell the full story. For example, my player account shows I've hosted 12 events and 2 CITOs. However, I have also co-hosted or presented at or provided technical support for most of GeocacheAlaska!'s 139 events and 11 CITOs and I have been on the GeocacheAlaska! Board of Directors since founding in 2009, community involvement that does not appear on my profile page. That said, narcissa nailed another important point because there are those uber cachers who micro spew just about everywhere they go, leaving behind gifts caches that ultimately get archived because they weren't special enough for the local community to "adopt."

You are correct. Neither Groundspeak or the Community Volunteer Reviewers are "safety police." Groundspeak is only a cache listing service. Liability lies with the Cacher, the Cache Owner and the Land Manager that gave permission for the cache.

I think what is overlooked under these circumstances is that pesky little box EVERYONE has to check when they submit a geocache for review that affirms they have read and understand the guidelines. Either they didn't read the guidelines, they didn't understand the guidelines, are they a flat out lied about the cache placement (usually by omission). Presumably, the Cache Owners obtained permission from the utility company. If not, these should be a no-go because the pole belongs to the utility company. Cache Owners are supposed to provide details about their hides and permission in the "Reviewer Note" box. Most cachers don't. So, the Reviewer is left to trust that the Cache Owner actually did read and understand the Guidelines and has complied with them. Cache Owners need to keep in mind that Reviewers are avid cachers themselves and may find non-guideline compliant caches. While most Reviewers leave their Reviewer Hat at home when they play the game, what they find in the field can color their impression of a Cache Owner and prompt futher questions about future cache submissions.

Yes, up to 10,000 caches per day. One can use the User Data fields populated with "1," "2," etc. to easily sort the database into 10,000 cache chunks and run the refresh on them one batch at a time. Another way you can significantly reduce the number of caches you have to refresh is to focus on only those with X or more favorite points and eliminate cache types you really aren't interested in doing.

Not exactly certain what you are asking for, but perhaps CYBret's http://geocacher-u.com/ has what you need.

This worked for my DNF: <div class='stat' style='position:relative; top:-244px; left:460px; height:0px;'> Not the whole html coding, I just played with the number, so you should be able to put these into the old scripting and get similar results. Your "top" worked for me. Here's the full snippet of code for those interested in adding their DNF count to their profile. The "left" value will have to be adjusted individually based on one's number of finds and logged trackables.

Click on your profile name in the upper right-hand corner. "Lists" is the second link from the left of the list of links to your stuff.

I currently have six ammo cans of more than ten years of age with their original log books in the field with more poised to finish their first decade during 2015. Quality containers placed with the intent of lasting "forever" can last indefinitely without maintenance.

It is easy to single the new cachers who have trouble "getting it right" the first time or times they hide a cache because the bad examples stick out like sore thumbs. What is more difficult is to give credit to the new cachers who "get it right" from the beginning and never look back because many folks don't take notice of them. During my first six months of geocaching, I hid eleven caches, eight of which are still active, are now more than a decade old, and have accrued more than fifty favorite points. The other three were archived because one went under the bulldozer, one was a night cache I couldn't maintain after moving 350 miles away and I couldn't get local maintenance help, and the third because I hid a cache near my in-laws 3000 miles away and my local maintainer eventually lost interest in helping with the cache (first-hand lesson learned...vacation caches are a bad idea even when the Guidelines are followed). My first cache was published before the container was in place and I met the FTF attempters when I went out to place the container (another lesson learned!). During that same time, I found only about 100 caches in two states. Looking back on my first six months, I made some rookie mistakes and was overly optimistic about some things. However, I learned from my mistakes through coaching from my local Reviewer and more experienced cachers in the community and I became a better cacher as a result. Why can't we cut the newer cachers some slack, help show them the ropes, and give them a second or third chance (or more) before writing them off?

Wrong game. There is one out there where you can buy the ability to autolog everything within a certain radius of your phone.

+1! AND, many cache pages provide local history, so they provide a "guided" tour of the city. Hamburg, Germany, is also very nice and has several caches that deservingly have thousands of favorite points.

A lot more information on this topic has been posted over here.

I agree. I don't expect GeocacheAlaska!'s Adopt-A-Highway CITO Events (reference http://coord.info/GC5DVF2) to change, either.

No, but the minimum CITO Event time is now 1 hour.

I'd say it's the creep towards increasingly ridiculously short events... first there were the 15 minutes flash mob, than 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 1 second... I don't know what is the shortest one that got published, but, yes, listings for events lasting one second have been submitted. An event is suppose to be an occasion for geocachers to socialize together. Not much socialization happens in a group in one second. A line was needed somewhere. Discussion led to 30 minutes being considered reasonable. Note that people can still stay at the event for a much shorter time. But the event has to last at least 30 minutes. So you should not miss the entire event because it took you a few extra minutes to find parking... As for the one hour minimum for CITO, I guess it was considered that you need a bit more time to socialize and pick a reasonable amount of trash. I guess I have been fortunate in not seeing this firsthand. Many/most of us have not experienced "event abuse for the smilie and/or the icon" in its many forms firsthand. Unfortunately, just like so many other things in life, the actions of a few cachers or communities in certain regions changed things for everyone. On the other hand, I have never been to an event where cachers have gathered for less than thirty minutes, even when the event was posted as a flash mob (cachers are generally lousy flash mobbers), so locally for me, the Guideline change won't alter the behavior of event hosts or attendees. The guideline change has nothing to do with Event Stacking.

Unfortunately, this has proven not to be viable based on the experience with Lab Caches. Some cachers compile Lab Cache code lists and exchange them with other cachers to log, even though the other cachers may not even be on the same continent. There is another game that uses a smart phone to log the location and even allows one to purchase a "bomb" to log many other locations without actually visiting them.

I think the best way to get a representative sample of "what the majority is into" is to look at which caches in an area receive the most favorite points. If you look at several different areas, you will see that it's not about the type of cache, but more about bringing cachers to a really cool location (which is why some Virtuals and EarthCaches garner so many favorite points) and/or placing a creative cache (why some traditional, multi-, LBH, Wherigo, and mystery caches garner so many favorite points).