BethKatzPA

I’m a longtime premium user. For the past few years, I’ve cached exclusively using my iPhone (now 6, but I used a 3GS and a 5) and the paid app. I often create offline lists because I’m often in areas where I don’t have data access. I hear you that this capability will be added by the end of March. I hope that means you are in final testing rather than in development. A feature I’ve been intending to request is the ability to refresh an entire list’s data on demand. I’d use this by asking to refresh a longtime list’s data when I am connected at home rather than out in the field. On the current paid app, I have to refresh each one. I just ran a pocket query and it missed one cache I wanted included. I see that the new app downloaded the pocket query. But there seems to be no way to add a cache to a list from the new app. I can’t map the list to see it. There’s no indication that I can save it for offline use (again, you say that feature will appear soon). When I’m off in the woods where data access is spotty, will I be able to look for for those caches? (Yes, I will because I downloaded the pocket query on the old app and saved it to an offline list.) I like the notifications with the message center. It’s already been handy. However, the badge icon has a 1 just sitting there even though I have read all the messages. I had to quit the app and restart to make it go away. I liked that I could copy some coordinates from a log and paste them into a new waypoint. The dials in the old app were cute but clunky. Being able to see and edit all the info in one place seems to be useful. We will see how it works in the field. I just tried saving a new waypoint, and the app crashed (it saved three copies of my test waypoint). I’d like to be able to see the adjusted waypoints on a map. I’m looking through the forums (which I generally haven’t read much over the years), and see that you have some threads about offline use. I gather than means you’re listening to us about offline needs. Thank you. We will get used to the new app, but some functionality is vital.

In the iPhone app, if I want to enter the coordinates for some private, temporary activity, it’s awkward. I have to follow the steps above to be searching for some other cache, try to navigate to it, choose the map view, tap the …, Add Waypoint. tap the Waypoint flag, and set it as target. There seems to be no way to just add a waypoint (or a series of named waypoints you can come back to) in the app. And when I’ve been out in the field doing puzzle caches, entering the answers for the new target (using the steps above) is not intuitive. The capability is hidden well.

I was out caching with the previous version areas without cel phone signal. Now when I'm where I have signal, I can't set the correct date for the logs using the new app. I thought I might use Safari and the normal site to do the logs, but on the normal site, I can't add images when I'm using my iPhone. Many Earthcaches require pictures. Argh! Please add the capability to set the date of the log in the iPhone app. Until now, I hadn't noticed that this was a major failing. Also, Earthcache icons aren't showing up. I see empty space. One I just logged has a check on a black-and-white round icon. Some caches I've found and have in my saved Favorites are not showing as found. Hint to people upgrading ... When I saw that it was taking a long time to update my database, I switched away from the app. I've been able to use it since then. I supposedly had 32 MB of unreferenced data that I just deleted.

I'm a little wary of picking up TBs now. I seem to curse them. The people who have picked them up after me seem to hold onto them for a long time. At least they log them, but then the TB doesn't get placed for weeks. I guess if the owner isn't complaining, it isn't any of my business. I'm too thin-skinned to place on own TB. I wanted to chime in here on the "adding info to TB" debate. I found a TB's info in a cache even though the previous cacher had taken the TB. So I sent the owner a note mentioning that the TB and info had been separated. If I ever release a TB (and this thread is very discouraging), I think I'll include a tag describing the TB's purpose and hope that if it's missing, someone replaces the info. But contacting the owner would be a friendly thing to do.

I just returned to Pennsylvania from Colorado where I had done several caches of varying terrain difficulties. I logged a Pennsylvania cache that is a 2.5 terrain and noted that it would be a 1 or 1.5 in Colorado. But the owner noted that it would be harder if it had rained recently. Yes, but a 2.5? Area expectations have to come into play. A flat walk at 8000 feet will be harder for someone not acclimated to the altitude. But the folks in Colorado won't rate all the flat walks as 3 terrain because of that. One flat 1/2 mile in and out hike at 7000 feet was a 2. A cache on Mt. Evans at 14,000 feet but flat and climbing over some rocks was a 2. But a cache 1 mile in and out at 8000 feet with a 700 foot ascent was a 2.5. Huge difference there, and that last one was probably under-rated. There seems to be a lot of variability in these terrain ratings, but I think a 3 near a northeast city is probably easier than a 3 in a western mountainous area. There does seem to be some terrain inflation.