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bjohio

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Posts posted by bjohio

  1. I have been give the opportunity to reuse a "soon to be archived" geotrail and turn it into two adventure labs (with an additional virtual cache). Each stop on the existing trail has extensive historical research tied to it, with QR code web pages already created. The pieces are there to make two great adventure labs and a virtual cache. The problem is the first adventure lab would be roughly 15 miles to complete, and the second adventure lab would also be roughly 15 miles to complete. Any helpful input would greatly be appreciated.

    THANKS!

  2. I leave custom printed guitar picks that have my caching name and "geocaching.com" printed on them. They aren't quite as personalized as something handmade, but they are easy to carry, can be put into almost any cache, and useful. They are also handy to pass out to muggles when explaining the game.

  3. Finding the cache before it's published? Mind. Blown.

     

    It happen to me.... TWICE! :ph34r::antenna::ph34r:

     

    -33 days on GC4PJRX

    I was out looking for places to hide a cache one day and stumbled across this one.

     

    -60 days and still counting (still unpublished)!

    After a day of caching, I past a cemetery close to my home. I found it a bit unusual that this one didn't have a cache in it as practically EVERY cemetery in my area has a cache in it. I parked the car, did a quick search, and BAMMM!!!, there is was. It was another cache in an ongoing puzzle series. I chatted with the CO at our monthly cacher's meeting and he confirmed the find. He told me that he didn't even have a puzzle made for that one yet!

  4. Did you happen to included a travel bug description page when you sent out your TB?

    Maybe the page was left behind in a cache. The newby reads the page and thinks it is the TB.

     

    You know, I never thought about that. I do try to make a small "info" sheet that goes in the baggie with my TB. I don't remember if I made one for this bug or not. The hitch on that theory is the the cacher who contacted me was not a newbie.

     

    I did sent an email out a few days ago to the cacher as suggested - NO REPLY... (yet)... <_<

  5.  

    For example, lets looks at these partial coordinates. To average the North, just do (0.920+0.914+0.916+0.924)/4=0.919.

    So you get N 48 27.919. I've ignored the 27.950 because it was so far off from the others.

     

    N 48° 27.920

    N 48° 27.914

    N 48° 27.916

    N 48° 27.924

    N 48° 27.950

     

    I use this method above and also verify it on Google Maps. Pull up your location on Google Maps. Move your mouse to the location on the map you want the coords for. Right click (control click on a Mac) and select from the menu "What's Here". You get the exact coords from the location. I use this method all the time and have had no complaints about the accuracy (sometimes even a compliment).

  6. So..... I need some advice on how to proceed with an email that I received regarding one of my TB's.

     

    The email said,

     

    "I just picked up your "paper" TB, XXXXXXXXXX, from GCXXXXX today. I'm trying to log that I retrieved it, but it won't let me. It says that I have to post the number that is on the back of the actual TB. Would you please send it so I can log it? Thanks."

     

    :blink:

     

    The original bug was a key chain with a dog tag type TB attached. No sure what a "paper" TB is...

     

    If I didn't know better, it almost sounds like someone is trying to scam me out of my TB number. Even weirder, is that the cacher has over 1000 finds, over 100 trackables logged, and been a member since 2010. Not the kind of thing an experienced cacher would do.

     

    Suggestions?

  7. 228 within a 10 mile radius of my home.

     

    37 of the caches are mine (16%).

     

    I haven't found 10 yet (4%) (4 puzzles, 3 killer-tough multi's, and 3 traditional).

     

    I was just complaining to my wife yesterday how just getting to a new cache location in my area is starting to take up quite a bit of time. Now I know why... :yikes:

  8. I found 100 in one day on an Ohio Rails to Trails last January when the temperatures got into the 60's one Saturday. I road my bicycle over 30 miles that day. When I got back to my car, I literally thought I was going to die... ;) Glad to say that I did it, but I will probably NEVER do that again....maybe..... :ph34r:

     

    Ashtabula, perhaps? I was just there in late August solo on a bike. But I threw in the towel after about 15, because I was there early morning, and totally unprepared for the amount of mosquitos that I encountered. In other words, I was in shorts, and brought no bug spray. :lol:

     

    Are we talking the same trail? And did you stop at exactly 100, or was that a ballpark figure?

     

    It was the Richland County B&O Bike Trail GC3N61Q - a beautiful trail. It was exactly 100, but I didn't plan it that way. Because I was alone on bicycle, I went as far as I could until I couldn't see anymore. When I finally stopped, it was about 5:45 PM or so, getting dark, out of food, getting cold, plus I had to ride my bike all the way back to my car. :o After I getting home late that night is when I discovered that I found 100 that day. I was literally logging the finds on my iPhone while riding my bike to the next cache. Almost every cache was a small bison tube hanging from a tree. :( I'm proud to say that I opened and signed each and every log (that wasn't totally soaked from the January snow).

  9. If you are going to leave the cache, you need to visit the neighbors and explain geocaching to them. If they still don't want strangers milling about the area, it is time to find a new spot.

     

    Very good advice. I have also found that if the surrounding neighbors understand our hobby, this goes a long way in keeping things on the positive. I placed a cache near a cemetery adjacent to a homeowner. I had talked to the homeowner before placing the cache and things seems OK for placement. However, my FTF cacher contacted me that he had a run-in with the homeowner. I archived it immediately. There are plenty of places to hide. Bad vibes with the locals is just not worth it.

  10. Forced training wizards on the free app could help:

     

    - first time you search with it, make the user walk through a training wizard explaining a few basics about the game. A page about trading, another page about travel bugs, another page about rehiding the cache properly, that sort of thing. Probably 5-6 pages of short paragraphs with a graphic per page would help educate people about the basics.

     

    - when the user gets within 30 feet of the cache for the first couple times, open another wizard helping them to search. Explain "stop looking at the GPS, look with your eyes". Maybe customized based on the cache size.

     

    - when the user is near a cache with trackables, or logs a cache with trackables, take them to another wizard explaining trackables. Again, another couple pages of text dealing with travel bugs, coins, etc ...

     

    - first time they log a cache with the free app, another wizard explains how you should log. "Cache owners are exciting to see you find their cache. A write up of your experience, favorite parts about the cache are appreciated ... your experiences help the cache owners and other cachers enjoy the game to it's fullest."

     

    Of course all these wizards would only be shown the first time or few times, but forcing a walk through can help.

     

    I've always thought the gc app should have an easy way of hiding a cache too (yes, there will be comments about accuracy of coordinates obtained with a smart phone.) Place a "Hide a cache" option prominently on the app, that would again walk them through a wizard on hiding. If they haven't found any caches yet, don't prevent them from hiding but "strongly encourage" them to find at least a few caches.

     

    As I was reading the first page of replies, I was thinking to myself that the free app needs to be more of an "Introduction To Geocaching" rather than a limited version of the full feature app. I think ChileHead nailed it beautifully. You are allowing people to find caches in the real world, but you are also breaking things down into important, quick, and easy steps as you move through the process of finding a cache. If I were a newbie, I would MUCH rather do that than to sit through several "How To" movies, or take a short quiz. First impressions are very important. Users are still "reading the rules" but they are reading them as they need to know the information. The wizards should be active on every cache in the free app.

     

    I'm certainly no expert in geocaching, but I think that you have two things going on at the same time and they may or may not be related to each other: 1.) there is no doubt that the hobby of geocaching has gained substantial popularity in recent years, and 2.) smartphone use for geocaching will increase as the coverage and technology continues to get better.

     

    As a smartphone cacher, I went to my first bash a few months ago and I was blown away at how few smartphone users there were. "You're using THAT to find caches?" (On the other hand, you probably won't find a lot of newbies at a bash either.) Completely removing the free app will alienate a growing segment of geocachers. A simple survey conducted by GS could reveal if there is a correlation between smartphone usage and the amount of time they have been active as a cacher. The data could give you a glimpse at how smartphone users are affecting the game.

     

    Other good ideas/points in this thread:

    - email verification

    - limiting the free "Introduction to Geocaching" to 5 caches

    - putting more "How To" movies on the main web site (especially true for trackables). Side note: the whole process of logging trackables is not very intuitive for the newbie)

    - Tip of the day

    - community liaisons

    - the idea that, as users, we are all stewards of the game and emphasize to newbies that it is OK to reach out to other cachers for advice

    - a huge number of users (newbies and the experienced) NEVER read the forums, blogs, FB posts, etc.

     

    By the way Chilehead, I love the "Hide a Cache" idea in the full feature app, but not in the free one.

     

    Looking forward to reading more posts in this thread.

  11. The issue would go away if Challenge Caches were replaced with some sort of badge/achievement system. In this case, when someone has completed the challenge requirements multiple times, it makes more sense to award multiple levels of a badge/achievement than for them to log multiple finds on a cache. IMHO, of course.

     

    Not sure that would work since souvenir, badges, etc. appear to only appeal to a very small number of cachers.

     

    Come to think of it, those tend to be the same as the number hounds, so maybe.

     

    I'm not sure what might have led you to that conclusion but for me that's certainly not true. I have a rather large collection of souvenirs primarily from the US States and countries in which I've found a cache. I actually avoided the 31 days in August souvenirs as much as I could (but since I found caches in 3 new states in August I couldn't avoid them completely). In the past four years I've logged fewer than 100 finds each year. I'm hoping to add three new countries, all that have souvenirs, next month but I suspect I still won't find more than a dozen caches all month.

     

    Frankly, I wish GS would implement something that prevented more than one found it (or attended) log per GC number. The fact that the system allows it just leads abuse of the feature and I can't think of a single compelling reason why we should be able to post more than 1 found it or attended log on a cache.

     

    I never understood why GS allows multiple finds on a single cache. I do understand some of the logic in logging a multiple find on a cache that has changed locations or container type. But, if the location or container has changed so dramatically that it requires an additional 'found' log, shouldn't the cache have been archived and a new GC number created anyways? :blink:

     

    Personally, I get a bit irritated when my cell phone occasionally logs a multiple find. Then I have to go back and fuss around finding and deleting the log. If would be great if that was a preference in my account settings, "Do not allow multiple found logs on a single cache."

  12. I would agree with Dogmeat101, I also had some burnout after my 31 day streak in August. By the end of the month, it felt more like work than fun. Coupled with the fact that I had to "save" my few remaining local caches for days that I knew I would be short on time. This meant that I wold have to allocate a solid hour each day to find just one cache (20-30 drive out, 15 minutes to find, 20-30 minutes drive back home). :wacko:

     

    I proud to say that I accomplished it, but streaks don't really fit my caching style. I'm more of a weekend warrior type of guy. B)

  13. I think you're doing it backwards. Go on whatever date you want, but incorporate geocaching into it. Say...go to a great restaurant, but on the walk out afterwards (or before, on the way TO the restaurant), maybe find a nearby cache. I don't know if you're in an urban area or suburban or some place you have to drive everywhere...but I'd make geocaching secondary or incidental to the "real" date. It's a good way to showcase, in my mind, the "hidden" world around the everyday world. Maybe it'll cause her to look at places she sees every day in a new light.

     

    Seems like a geocaching-centric date ought to be planned after a successful first date...you can plan a trip out to a nice state park or in an urban area where there are lots of different types of hides (traditional, virtual, multi, etc....and nanos up to small or regular in size).

     

    I agree with this one. Also, if you know of really clever hides, go find those ones too even if you've already found them. People tend to appreciate geocaching more if the hides aren't just a guard rail cache. My uncle is now hooked after two days of knowing it exists because I took him to clever ones, and then took him to easier ones.

     

    +1

     

    The date is about getting to know her, not getting to know about geocaching. :D

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