Tripper

It all depends on whether or not you want a quick drop or a nice hike. For a hike/climb, both of these mlord stashes can be hit in one day and will take you to a spectacular view.: Up Over by mlord (GCF8EB) and la chaise de Liz by mlord (GCF8EA) For some GAT history check out: The Acid Tower by Tripper & fam. (GCF9ED) Or any of the "Favourite Bench" series for more awesome views: My Favorite Bench by grizzlyG (GCK3TG) My Favourite Bench Mark II by Kenmore (GCKV33) In the end, read the logs and check the photos to get a good idea of what you're getting into and feel free to email anyone who has found it for some help on finding trailheads. Tripper PS: Note that I didn't point out any "quick drops"... I figure if you're going to the GAT you're there for the hiking.

Hmmm. Virtual caches only in Provincial Parks... for a trial period... once reviewed... and approved by the Park Superintendent... and after the "Ontario Parks Virtual Geocache Contract" is signed... by all parties involved... then submit it to geocaching.com... with proof of OPP approval... then wait for the FTF... and wait. Yeah, this should work out just fine. Not. Blind-sided! Man, I didn't see this one coming at all! <grin> Read between the lines folks... No geocache, virtual or otherwise, will be planted from this day forth in Ontario Parks. At least not one worth the time and effort to have approved and definitely not one worth the time and effort to find. Thank you OPP. Sound too negative? Hey, time will tell. Tripper

I just loaded the topos last Wednesday for Algonquin in time for our weekend camping/hiking/caching (I have the Garmin 60C). With the 60C you have to go to the map setup menu and then "hide" the MetroGuide Canada v4 and "show" the MetroGuide Topos Canada. Worked like a charm. And yes, the "show all" and increasing the level of detail still would not display the topos and the metroguide at the same time (metroguide only). Maybe the same will work for you and your Vista. Good luck. Tripper

quote:Originally posted by Bullzie:The Two Navigators = 2/3 of 49th Field (my brothers) freewilly = 1/3 of 49th Field (my dad) Bullzie Cool... maybe you guys can get a 'group rate' on that counseling thing. (grin) Myself, on the other hand, I could use some training from The Two Navigators on how the hell they spot some of these tags and find some of these caches in the Ottawa area... 'WGC' (they found this multi BEFORE it was even posted to the site) and The Missing Link (this one proved to be near impossible for everyone BUT the Two Navigators) Tripper

quote:Originally posted by TrimblesTrek:If I ever got the inclination to hide a cache in a Provincial Park (unlikely, since I don't live near any and couldn't therefore maintain the cache adequately), I would most likely make it the final destination of a multi-cache (as Bullzie first suggested). The initial stage would likely be outside the park boundary. The only problem I could foresee with this type of cache would be the fact that the final destination would probably require an entrance fee. And, again, I would likely opt out of this type of cache anyway, since there are still a ton of places to hide a cache that don't require an entry fee. Another solution could be to use the parks for the *first* stages of a multi, and hide the final outside the park boundary, but nearby. This way, you could collect info from inside the park (lots of trail signs and stuff to get info from), use the info you gather at the first stages to get the coords for the final, which is outside the park. TrimblesTrek But but but... INSIDE the park: A multi-waypoint cache starting outside the park and finally landing inside the park would not work. In order to enforce their (yet undeveloped) policy on geocaching, Parks Ontario staff will have to purchase a GPSr. Once they have a GPSr they will eventually tackle all geocaches in their area (and why not? it would be fun). Then what would the (yet undeveloped) policy say in terms of punishment and/or fines to the cache owner? OUTSIDE the park: A multi-waypoint cache starting inside the park and finally landing outside the park would not work either (or at least not as often as we would like). Most of the time, if the cache were to land outside the park it would then be on private property (not all provincial parks border on crown land). And as we all know, that would be breaking the rules (unless you had permission of course). (grin) On the other hand, if the park does borders on land that is NOT private property it would inevitably put us back into Conservation Areas, Wildlife Perservation Areas, Crown Land, National Parks, Municipal Parks,... Which would work for now. BUT should a policy on geocaching be developed by Parks Ontario, which one of these remaining groups do you think will take the time to develop their OWN unique policy on geocaching. Hmmm... I vote that they all take the easy road and follow suit. The question remains, will this suit 'suit' the geocaching community? Right now I have few answers and many questions. And yes, I wish 'hiding' and 'keeping quiet' offered more than a temporary solution (and hell, it may still work in the enormous northern parks that just can not be patrolled like so many of the smaller southern Ontario parks). Shhh, Tripper & fam. (PS: Hi again, Parks Ontario staff guy reading this discussion.)

quote:Originally posted by Jayloki:The can or worms is opened. Ahh, and therein lies the problem. You can bet your bottom dollar that soon (if not now) Park Ontario staff will be checking this FREE site each and every day for new geocaches in their parks. Not to mention reading these discussion group posts for the inside scoop (hello there Parks Ontario summer student dude). I have long been a supporter of the 'what they don't know won't hurt them' rule. But unfortunately that will not work for much longer. ARG! And what's the solution? Dunno. I have yet to hear something that would work for both parties. But in the meantime, jumping the gun and pulling all the geocaches from the Ontario Parks seems a little bit hasty now doesn't it? And once a 'solution' has been 'decided' upon you can bet another dollar that it will be adopted by other parks besides just Ontario Parks (i.e. national parks, municipal parks, conservation areas, ....). Welcome to the snowball effect. Tripper & fam.

quote:Originally posted by DirtRunner:Don't let it be about the nunbers, becuase -- afterall -- all your virtuals don't really count. Just enjoy yourself and stick to the real caches and 200 will be upon you before you know it! How about you and I hooking up in the near future for that Peterborough Run we talked about? Should get 6 or 7 on that day alone! Your not first...But you could be next. Congrats Decodoppler!! We hit the 1 year mark back in May with 219 finds (total). We agree with dirtrunner that locationless do not count... in fact we've practically dropped them from our hit list (unless we're practically stepping over them to get to another cache of course). A Peterborough tour? Go for it guys! I hear there are some really great caches up there <grin>. Seriously the 'Tripper & fam.' caches are a lot of fun but pick them carefully if you're trying to save time. Regardless an adventure is guaranteed!! PS: If I recall correctly, I know Decodoppler loved our 'Ghost Town Trail' cache for one. Happy caching, Tripper & fam. Better move quick too... some of the caches in the Peterborough parks are being pulled by Parks Ontario staff (our 'Up the Ash' being one of them). More on that visit: Ontario Parks Cache removed

quote:Originally posted by Bullzie:Maybe I am missing something, but isn't a really simple solution making the cache a multi-cache? One where the starting point is nowhere near the final destination. That way, someone would have to complete the cache in the first place to determine that it is in their park Bullzie A solution? I don't know about that BUT it would be a great job for a Parks Ontario summer student. <grin> I am sure the 'geocache within 500m' rule would just get expanded OR one of the park superintendents themselves would just take up geocaching. Tripper PS: We are still a little put off by this particular park superintendent's decision to remove our cache. Our kids planted it themselves and loved visiting it on a regular basis to check out the 'treasures' inside for possible trades. Sad. It is hard enough to pump the kids up for some exercise in the great outdoors during peak bug season. Arg!!

quote:Originally posted by ZingerHead:Virtuals pose no problem of "geocaching ethics" for me: you have to actually GO somewhere, the cache is always in the same spot, and you need a GPS to find your way. The fact that I don't have to root around looking for a physically hidden object once I'm there doesn't detract from the experience IMHO. The opportunity to check out a new spot or learn something is on par, entertainment-wise, with finally locating that elusive 35mm film can or tupperware. Therein lies my problem with locationless caches - all too often you don't need a GPS and you don't HAVE to travel somewhere. On average, I would guess that the effort to rack up 100 locationless finds is significantly less than is required for 100 traditional/virtual finds, yet they are all considered equal as "finds". So spin them off - great idea. Ditto. I couldn't have said it better myself (thanks ZingerHead). I've done both virtuals and locationless caches - THEY ARE NOT the same. Spin off the locationless caches from the regulars and virtuals (historically too - no need to grandfather them out) BUT don't get rid of them entirely. They're still fun caches to do, they're just different. If need be, you could have 2 running counts of caches found - one WITHOUT locationless caches included in the total and one WITH locationless caches included in the total. Ciao, Tripper

quote:Originally posted by PDOP's: The Beta demo is disabled so that it'll only work with a NEMA input which won't allow upload/download of waypoints, ect. About the only thing you can do is show your present position or use the demo function of your GPSr to move around on the map. Hmmm. Too bad. Thanks for the info PDOP. Tripper

I also picked up this software recently and quickly realized that the GPS option was not included. After some searching, I stumbled on this post and realized that hey, I'm not the only one. PDOP'S or GM100guy: Could one of you please email me the GPS option so that I might give it a shot with my Garmin Etrex Legend? I would appreciate it. Tripper

I voted for regular caches. Geocaching for us involves the whole family (for the main part) and multi's demand too much on my family's patience (3 and 4 year olds). Puzzles are good if we can solve it at home prior to leaving the house but solving in the field again puts a strain on the little one's patience. THIS is why I originally took up night-caching. A chance to tackle some of the more time consuming caches with out worrying about anything other than whether or not my headlamp's batteries will last until morning. Tripper & fam.

We (the family) love the outdoors and I love exploring new places. I can't tell you how many times I've said to myself or the family, "Just a little further - I wanna see what's over this hill." With geocaching, (most) caches are hidden in very interesting areas with some site or feature worth checking out (although sometimes the cache itself is the main event as with Zartimus' stashes). The finding of the cache and signing of the log is just our way of saying "thanks for the intro to the area" (although the little ones love the trinkets). Our family loves it. PS: If you're looking for solitude try night-caching. Careful though, it's addictive! Tripper & fam.

quote:Originally posted by Olar:...The current, and first, project is Tim Horton locations which is progressing well but could probably use more cachers participating. Cheers, Olar Mmmm, Ed Norton's (aka Tim Horton's) waypoints... I was wondering if this existed. Thanks for the info. We have some marked in our GPS that we'll pass on to mrcpu. We'll start doing the same for the beer/liquor stores now too. Tripper

Sounds great. I'll have to work some magic here at home as the event lands on my daughter's birthday (and her first ever birthday party with her school friends). I know what you're all thinking, "Hey, why not a geocaching birthday party?" but unfortunately I doubt I could get all the parents to sign the necessary waivers. Anyhow, I'm sure I can swing something... Tripper

Couldn't agree more (hic!%!%) Seriously this would be more useful than some of the existing 'points of interest'. Ciao, Tripper

In the end my vote will be "YES", but only because it outweighs the "no" for the poll in question. PS: I too like Jamie Z's compromise to have a static count showing what number the particular cache was in your list of finds (but I guess this is not up for discussion). Anyhow, if it was, then static counts would get my vote hands down. Tripper