Enchanted Shadow

Oh, I do realize that. There's no doubt about it that this is a specialty category - but not everyone is always able to dive into bad weather each and every time. And it would be nice to know which ones can be done under these circumstances. Not everyone cares - but I think if the information was made available, those caches would get significantly more traffic on bad weather days.

Some Multi-Stage or Mystery caches have sections where the GPS coordinates lead you to the entrance only. After that, you have to follow whatever clues or guidelines are given in the cache instructions. Those are still viable. The example I gave in my initial post - "What a Girl Wants" is such a cache. The problem is, you would never have known it even from the cache description until you tried it. And therein lies the problem.

I realize that, but this isn't about ease to find - this was about avoiding bad weather. You could have a D/T rating of 5/5 - and have the cache hidden in an underground cavern system. But you would be shielded from the weather, and that's what I'm looking for. I'm not talking about easy ones, specifically - but sometimes circumstances are such that you don't want to be exposed to the elements. This might be because you have family or friends along, or it might be because you have an injury that prevents you from dealing with slippery ground and/or the injured area getting wet. So, this has nothing to do with difficulty. I'm just asking for recommendations on caches that are at least partially shielded from bad weather.

That's not a half bad idea. But as there are some caches that are particularly well suited for bad weather, I think it would be a good idea to have caches searchable for that quality. I can't be the only one who would find that useful...

That's fine. Now for everyone else - or for everyone else when you have a reason to avoid bad weather (i.e. family, injury, etc.) ...

Perhaps those should get a different category, then. Even if you can park 30 feet away, that doesn't account for how long you're going to be out of your car searching for the cache. No, what I'm talking about are caches that you can do while staying completely safe from the weather. The closest exception to that should be rolling down the window of your car. One way that we can compromise on this is to simply have some sort of numeric Bad Weather Shield rating. Something along the lines of: Bad Weather Shield Rating: 1 - Park and Grab. Cache is within quick dashing distance from parking. You might have to brave the weather for a couple of minutes, depending on how long it takes you to find the cache. 2 - Drive Up Cache. No need to leave your vehicle. You will only be exposed to weather for as long as your car window is open. 3 - Partial Indoor. Multi-Stage caches where at least one stage is located indoors or completely shielded from weather. The only exposure to weather will be from your car to the shielded area. 4 - Complete Indoor. All stages (if there are more than one) are located completely indoors or completely shielded from weather. The only exposure to weather will be from your car to the shielded area.

Although you wouldn't really need to search for anything special under those circumstances would you? Since 90% of caches are outdoors.... But people who are trying to avoid rain, snow, mud, hail, etc... are up Geocaching Creek when it comes to finding such a cache - it's *really* difficult to do any decent search along those lines.

Still doable. For example, there are no small number of caches that are practically Drive-Thru caches. If you can do a cache without ever needing to leave your car, I think that would definitely qualify.

I made a post in the Northeast Sub asking for local versions of this - but on a grander scale... Something that is very difficult to search for - either on Geocaching.com or through GSAK - are caches that are good choices to look for during times of bad weather, if you're not in a mood to get completely drenched/muddy (and sometimes you are, let's admit it!). Most caches don't fall into this category - but there are a few that do. If nothing else, Multi-stage caches where the first part is in an indoor location (such as "What a Girl Wants") can at least be started - with the last stages to be completed once the weather clears up. Plus there are no small number of Drive-Thru caches, where you don't even have to leave your car in order to do them. I think would be a great idea if there were a category where Cache Owners could specify if either all or part of their cache could be comfortably searched for during bad weather. I think it will help people to enjoy Geocaching during ALL times of the year. What do you guys think? [Edited to add the possibility of Drive-Thru caches]

Something that is very difficult to search for - either on Geocaching.com or through GSAK - are caches that are good choices to look for during times of bad weather, if you're not in a mood to get completely drenched and muddy (and sometimes you are, let's admit it!). Most caches don't fall into this category - but there are a few that do. If nothing else, Multi-stage caches where the first part is in an indoor location (such as "What a Girl Wants") can at least be started - with the last stages to be completed once the weather clears up. There are also no small number of Drive-Thru caches, where you never even have to leave your car in order to do the cache. I'll make a post on the Geocaching Web Site subboard to recommend that it might be nice to address this - but in the meantime, does anyone have any recommendations for good bad-weather caches, say, within a hundred miles of NYC? I'm not looking for Virtual Caches - I'd prefer Traditional or Multi's - but I don't mind of the indoor portion is a virtual (as it is in "What a Girl Wants"). Until and unless changes are made to Geocaching.com to address this, it might be nice to have a thread or two that are repositories of bad-weather caches. I think it will help people to enjoy this activity during all times of the year. [Edited to add the possibility of Drive-Thru caches]

I have a nice package set up for you to be able to duplicate everything. I sent you an email through the Geocaching.com form, and as soon as I have an email address - I'll send you those files.

I just did a completely fresh install of GSAK 5.5.1, and I seem to have found a few bugs/problems. Problem # 1 If I export my database using the "Microsoft Streets & Trips CSV File", two of the caches end up with completely incorrect data in the resulting CSV file ("Snake Hater's Cache II" and "Sampson's Pebble"). Here is what it's *supposed* to be (I'm just showing the first of the two problem caches): Snake Haters Cache II 40.617717 -75.364583 Description goes here http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9068734b-c307-4f75-9f97-c0119839b64d Traditional cache Unknown 1.0 2.0 Here's what I actually get Snake Haters Cache II 0.000000 40.617717 Geocache 1 / 2 - Placed by Fren-Z Unknown Unknown 0.0 1.0 I checked the GSAK/temp/babel.gpx file, and it seems to be correct. The entry in question shows the following: <wpt lat="40.617717" lon="-75.364583"> <time>2004-11-15T00:00:00.0000000-08:00</time> <name>Snake Haters Cache II </name> <desc>1 / 2 - Placed by Fren-Z</desc> <url>http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9068734b-c307-4f75-9f97-c0119839b64d</url> <urlname>Snake Haters Cache II by Fren-Z</urlname> <sym>Geocache</sym> <type>Geocache|Traditional Cache</type> <gsak:wptExtension xmlns:gsak="http://www.gsak.net/xmlv1"> <gsak:UserFlag>false</gsak:UserFlag> <gsak:Lock>false</gsak:Lock> <gsak:DNF>false</gsak:DNF> <gsak:Watch>false</gsak:Watch> <gsak:UserData> </gsak:UserData> </gsak:wptExtension> <Groundspeak:cache id="187492" available="True" archived="False" xmlns:Groundspeak="http://www.Groundspeak.com/cache/1/0"> <Groundspeak:name>Snake Haters Cache II </Groundspeak:name> <Groundspeak:placed_by>Fren-Z</Groundspeak:placed_by> <Groundspeak:owner id="29632">Fren-Z</Groundspeak:owner> <Groundspeak:type>Traditional Cache</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:container>Other</Groundspeak:container> <Groundspeak:difficulty>1</Groundspeak:difficulty> <Groundspeak:terrain>2</Groundspeak:terrain> <Groundspeak:country>United States</Groundspeak:country> <Groundspeak:state>PA</Groundspeak:state> <Groundspeak:short_description html="False"></Groundspeak:short_description> <Groundspeak:long_description html="False">This is the second in a series of caches. All caches are located in or very close to snake habitat. The cache container is approximable 20' tall. Please bring a permanent marker or paint stick to sign the log with name and date only. Parking is available at 40° 37.350N 075° 21.631W. Access to area is at 40° 37.178N 075° 21.574W. Some areas are a bit wet and muddy so plan accordingly</Groundspeak:long_description> <Groundspeak:encoded_hints></Groundspeak:encoded_hints> <Groundspeak:logs> <Groundspeak:log id="7806402"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-05-05T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Found it</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="208184">natureboy51</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">Sceond time here,and still did'nt see anything to sign,so I signed that 20'tall container in side with a sharpe pen,lets see that disappear."Wow" did I get attacked by the purple martins birds in this area.I had to wave a stick at them to get by,they kept swooping me.They were still pretty to see.Thanks Fren-Z,Natureboy51,</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7748791"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-05-02T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Enable Lis</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="29632">Fren-Z</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">Cache log replaced.<br><br>Fren-Z</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7496600"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-17T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Temporaril</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="29632">Fren-Z</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">For obvious reasons</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7540463"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-16T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Found it</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="23244">RealDeal</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">Found with YipRip and Natureboy51<br>Just no where to sign it,thanks cache thief</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7535757"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-16T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Found it</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="29698">yiprip</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">we found your 20ft cache.just no where to sign it,thanks to your log in cache thief</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> </Groundspeak:logs> <Groundspeak:travelbugs> </Groundspeak:travelbugs> </Groundspeak:cache> </wpt> To me, that would indicate that the problem seems to occur when the GPX file is being processed into the S&T CSV file. But again, this isn't happening to all caches - just those two. Problem #2 When I try to do a Custom Export, I'm using the GPSBabel v1.5 "s_and_t.style" file. However, when using even this unmodified style file, the "Waypoint Description" field is being exported into the CSV file as simply the cache name. In other words, here are my settings for the Custom Export: Waypoint Name: %name Maximun Characters: 100 Waypoint Description Format: %dif / %ter - Placed by %by Statement to Run: "C:\Apps\GSAK\GPSBabel.exe" -i gpx -f "C:\Apps\GSAK\temp\babel.gpx" -o xcsv,style="C:\Data Files\GSAK Data\Styles\Modified S&T Style for 1.5.txt" -F "C:\Test\S&T Geocache Export.csv" When I run this, what I'm *supposed* to get in the resulting CSV file is the following (truncated): Trout Brook Cache 42.392183 -71.842433 2 / 3 - Placed by MOBDIC http.... What I *actually* get is the following (truncated): Trout Brook Cache 42.392183 -71.842433 Trout Brook Cache http.... I get these results using the default Style file, even if I don't modify it at all. The babel.gpx file shows the following data for that sample cache: <wpt lat="42.392183" lon="-71.842433"> <time>2002-11-23T00:00:00.0000000-08:00</time> <name> Trout Brook Cache</name> <desc>2 / 3 - Placed by MOBDIC</desc> <url>http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=e4c139a0-2543-4dd1-bdb4-076d45a32767</url> <urlname> Trout Brook Cache by MOBDIC</urlname> <sym>Geocache</sym> <type>Geocache|Traditional Cache</type> <gsak:wptExtension xmlns:gsak="http://www.gsak.net/xmlv1"> <gsak:UserFlag>false</gsak:UserFlag> <gsak:Lock>false</gsak:Lock> <gsak:DNF>false</gsak:DNF> <gsak:Watch>false</gsak:Watch> <gsak:UserData> </gsak:UserData> </gsak:wptExtension> <Groundspeak:cache id="44011" available="True" archived="False" xmlns:Groundspeak="http://www.Groundspeak.com/cache/1/0"> <Groundspeak:name> Trout Brook Cache</Groundspeak:name> <Groundspeak:placed_by>MOBDIC</Groundspeak:placed_by> <Groundspeak:owner id="38454">MOBDIC</Groundspeak:owner> <Groundspeak:type>Traditional Cache</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:container>Regular</Groundspeak:container> <Groundspeak:difficulty>2</Groundspeak:difficulty> <Groundspeak:terrain>3</Groundspeak:terrain> <Groundspeak:country>United States</Groundspeak:country> <Groundspeak:state>MA</Groundspeak:state> <Groundspeak:short_description html="False"> This is an easy walk and fairly level . There are a couple of streams with bridges to cross.</Groundspeak:short_description> <Groundspeak:long_description html="False"> This cache is in the town of Holden Ma. The parking area which is N42-23.100 W071-50.200 is on Manning st. which runs between Rt. 31 and Rt.140 . There is a large parking area next to the street.There are many walking trails in this reservation.The cache is about 50 ft. from the trail. This area is also dog friendly In the cache there will be Lock and key Blinking light Coat Hook New CD Rewritable Name Tags Also the Travel Bug "KING BUD" will start his travels from here. He is hoping to go to California</Groundspeak:long_description> <Groundspeak:encoded_hints>There will be a small pond to go around the trail head starts at the further end of the pond. Follow on the white trail.The cache is under a FIR tree with low branches. ENJOY ô¿ô</Groundspeak:encoded_hints> <Groundspeak:logs> <Groundspeak:log id="7871998"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-05-08T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Found it</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="339547">EaglesEyes</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">Fun Cache. Nice Mother's Day walk. Used to camp here as a Boy Scout 29+ years ago. Scout Troop 178. Took Pencil grabber. Left Air freshener. SL</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7631539"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-24T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Write note</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="38454">mobdic</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False"> Picker up "Australia Bound" travel bug. Will take it to Ireland in June. MOBDIC</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7631409"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-24T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Write note</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="38454">mobdic</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">Dropped off travel bug "Australia Bound" MOBDIC</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7592618"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-22T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Found it</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="295822">jode</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">This was our second cache of the day on this beautiful Earth Day. We bushwacked from the wrong parkinglot, but had a great time. There are some very well kept trails out here. We picked up some golf tees, and dropped off a Wild Women of the Wilderness whistle. The muggles and dogs were out in full force this afternoon! TFTH, great clues and coords!</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> <Groundspeak:log id="7524557"> <Groundspeak:date>2005-04-17T08:00:00</Groundspeak:date> <Groundspeak:type>Found it</Groundspeak:type> <Groundspeak:finder id="118763">GeoMutt and the Dibbles</Groundspeak:finder> <Groundspeak:text encoded="False">What a beautiful day. Went for a nice long bike ride and decided to "rest" by finding a couple of caches along the trail. This was the first of two for the day. Sadly, GeoMutt and the wife were at work . . . Great trails to ride on though, met lots of nice people along the way. <br><br>TNLNSL</Groundspeak:text> </Groundspeak:log> </Groundspeak:logs> <Groundspeak:travelbugs> </Groundspeak:travelbugs> </Groundspeak:cache> </wpt> And as you can see, the requisite line: <desc>2 / 3 - Placed by MOBDIC</desc> ...does have the Description field correct. The only thing I can think of is that the v1.5 S&T Style Sheet is incorrect - perhaps in the field declerations section. So, these are the two problems that I've come across so far. Can Clyde or Robert help enlighten me as to what's going on here, and what I need to do in order to fix it?

Personally, I would love Travel Bugs made out of steel. I understand the disadvantage of rusting - but genuine military dog tags are made from stainless steel and are able to avoid that problem. I figure that if they can survive what might happen to a soldier's body, you should be able to make a steel Travel Bug that can survive the oxidation process. I wouldn't mind a TB that has a little more... heft, with a smoother finish (the current ones are a bit rough on the edges). I'm not saying that the aluminum TBs should be replaced, because I'm sure that there are those who prefer aluminum. But if they were offered in a nicely finished steel as well, I would certainly pick them up in a heartbeat.

Is there a different thread that is being used for this purpose?

Here's one that I feel is pretty useful: *Indoor* ...which would qualify if *any* part of the cache took place indoors (useful for multi-caches). The reason why this is especially useful, is because it allows people to search for caches that they can complete (or at least partially complete) during bad weather days. Now wouldn't that make things nice?

The fact is that the logs are useful, regardless of whether the owner has properly updated his main info or not. We've all had times where the main info didn't tell us enough, and the hints were either non-existant or just plain didn't cut it. We've also had times where the logs were the ONLY source of information that listed certain hazards in the area. Under those circumstances, it's *very* helpful to read through the logs of those who have searched before. There's nothing wrong with having only the first 5 logs show up by default when viewing the cache pages online. And there's nothing wrong with having only the first 5 logs set as default for GPX downloads. But I agree that there should be the option to set the number of logs to include for GPX files, up to and and including all logs. When you're travelling, you don't always have the option to get on the Internet and take a second look.

Wow - it does sound like a convoluted way to get those results. But I guess if that's the only way to do it for the moment, I'll have to look further into it and see if I can get it to work for me without putting in more effort than the results are worth... Thanks for the suggestion!

Well, for what it's worth - I'll put in my two cents to request this for some future version.

If I may as a somewhat related question - since I only saw an issue after I added a polygon to the filter - is GSAK capable of processing multiple polygons/arcs/etc..? It would be particularly useful to not be limited to only one contiguous area to include/exclude - but I couldn't find any information on how I could specify more than one polygon/arc/etc...

True. I forgot to mention that. Thanks, Robert. I'm glad I could contribute. Incidentally, when I looked at the GPSBabel Style documentation, I found Fields for Geocache Type, Container, Difficulty, and Terrain. But I didn't find any fields listed for "Placed by" and "Date Placed". Was I blind and/or are those fields defined elsewhere? Or does GSPBabel not support them?

I sent you the database, and a PM with instructions on how to reproduce the problem.

I just ran into a situation that causes GSAK to crash 9 out of 10 times. I have a database that currently contains 4440 records. I ran a Filter that only did two things: 1. General/Distance was set to "Less than or equal to" 33 miles 2. A Polygon was set, with the Exclude box checked. There were 8 sets of coordinates listed - and the first and last was the same. When I clicked the Go button on the Filter Dialog Box, GSAK correctly ran the filter - but the dialog box did not go away. I couldn't change tabs, although I could still click some of the items. None of them made the dialog box dissappear, however - not even the Cancel button. If I clicked to another application, and went back to GSAK - the dialog box would be "behind" the main app screen, so I could still use GSAK to a limited degree. But that box would still be there. In addition, I would not be able to quit GSAK normally. The strange part about this is that once in a blue moon, the filter executes properly, and the box dissappears as it should. But most of the time, that doesn't happen. Has anyone else run across a similar issue?

Thank you, both of you, for your help. As it turns out, I actually managed to figure this out. Once Clyde pointed out that I could do this via the Custom Import, I researched and experimented - and I just managed to get it to work pretty well. Here is my new Streets & Trips CSV Style File: # gpsbabel XCSV style file # # Format: MS S&T 2002/2003 # # Modified by Enchanted Shadow # DESCRIPTION Microsoft Streets and Trips 2002/2003 # # FILE LAYOUT DEFINITIIONS: # FIELD_DELIMITER COMMA RECORD_DELIMITER NEWLINE BADCHARS ," PROLOGUE Name, Latitude, Longitude, Info, URL, Type, Container # # INDIVIDUAL DATA FIELDS, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: # IFIELD SHORTNAME, "", "%s" # Name IFIELD LAT_DECIMAL, "", "%f" # Latitude IFIELD LON_DECIMAL, "", "%f" # Longitude IFIELD DESCRIPTION, "", "%s" # Name 2 (Big Description) IFIELD URL, "", "%s" # URL IFIELD GEOCACHE_TYPE,"", "%s" # Geocache Type IFIELD GEOCACHE_CONTAINER,"","%s" # Container Type/Size Now, what I did to modify the original Style file into this current one was the following: 1. I modified the Prologue line to reflect the full set of fields that I have added. I also changed the name of the field "Name 2" to "Info", as I think it's more appropriate, given how I'm exporting this. 2. I modified the original placeholder line for the Geocache Type, which was "IFIELD IGNORE, "", """, and I replaced it with a functional version - "IFIELD GEOCACHE_TYPE,"", "%s"". 3. I added an additional field to show the Container Type/Size. When I do a Custom Export from GSAK, these are my settings: 1. Statement Line: "C:\Apps\GSAK\GPSBabel.exe" -i gpx -f "C:\Apps\GSAK\temp\babel.gpx" -o xcsv,style="C:\Work\Custom GSAK Styles\Modified S&T Style.txt" -F "C:\Test\S&T Geocache Export.csv" 2. Waypoint Name: "%name", Maximum Characters = 100 3. Waypoint Description: "%dif / %ter - Placed by %by" When I'm done, and I import this newly created file into Mappoint/S&T, a typical waypoint balloon will look like this: Old Stone School 42.12242, -74.67557 Info: 1.5 / 2 - Placed by JBzHOW and the Gasman Type: Traditional cache Container: Regular I think that turns out pretty well, don't you think?

Hi! I have a small problem and a related question, I was hoping someone could help me with. Working with the latest version of GSAK, I'm trying to export to Microsoft Streets & Trips. Mostly it goes okay - however, one of the fields that gets exported is the "Type" field. However, there is no information for that field for the entire file. It's effectively an empty column. Although I can get the %typ variable to work in the Description, it's not as useful as having it's own field - and since GSAK is exporting that field anyway, you would think that it should be populated. Can anyone shed some light on what is causing this problem, and how to fix it? Seperately, as a question - is there any way to customize the fields that GSAK exports in the first place? For example, I might want the Difficulty/Terrain, Placed By, Cache Type, etc... to be in their own fields, rather than being forced to shove them all into a single Description field. Is this possible? TIA! Note: I deliberately did not post this in the main GSAK Thread. Honestly, I don't know how people can keep track of everything in there - it's a mess! It would be like putting the entire Northeast Forum into one thread.

Thank you as well for your support and understanding, Hynr. As with GrizzlyJohn and a few others, I will take your words to heart.