Mike in FN20hc

My sentiments exactly.

I have an instant notification set up, but since it is only good to a 50 mile radius, I also go to project-gc.com> tools> coming events. Set any center point and radius you like. Some other filters are available too. It gives a map and sortable list. Be aware as this is for coming events they disappear from the map/list the day after the event.

I just got back from an event and when I logged it I was "awarded" the Pennsylvania souvenir. I've had that since I logged my first cache, since that's where I live. Something has changed since the 13th.

To be clear, a Giga event does not require 5000 Will Attends or 5000 Attendeds; it requires 5000 attendees. That's individual people, not caching accounts. A family of four caching under a single account would count as four attendees toward the 5000. Likewise with Mega events that require 500 attendees. You can find many examples of events that were promoted to Mega status with less than 500 Will Attends or Attendeds. For past event how has Groundspeak decided to allow GIGA status? With no history and without enough WAs I can't see them granting that until perhaps after the event, which sort of defeats the idea.

Really fast rail travel will help. That won't arrive next year, though. I don't expect a GIGA in the US any time soon either, for the reasons wimseyguy stated. I hadn't thought about other things to do when I suggested the area, just looked for a middle-ish spot with decent cache density, but you make another good point.

Megas I've been to all had day before events to pick up registration,with either a separate or combined traveler/'tag get together and even a CITO after a few times. GW13 had a bug party the evening after the main event and several events in the days/evenings before. All seemed to pass reviewer muster, even after the tighter stacking rules. I didn't want to push the Northeast too soon, but looking at the map something in the Albany/Poughkeepsie, NY area might have a chance. Of course it would be a HUGE undertaking, getting enough people to organize all the stuff would likely require several local groups to band together. The ones held in Europe have been at sports stadiums to hold the crowd. Don't know how that might work here.

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds. Where in the US are there enough cachers to attract that large a group for a few hours? GW hasn't been able to get half that many, even when it's near major metropolises. Last year Boonsboro MD was close to BOTH Baltimore and DC and had 2163 Will Attends and 2399 Attended. Denver had 2004/1665 (so far) and was not nearly as easy to get to. A US GIGA will have to be within a 3 hour drive of multiple (more than 2) MAJOR metropolitan areas to find enough cachers who will travel for an event. That pretty much limits it to a few areas in the northeast or southern CA.

I recently stopped attending a monthly event which has both raffle tickets and 50/50 tickets. The raffle was free to all attendees but you had to buy the 50/50, which was very popular. Now that I think of it another (annual) event I will soon attend has a 50/50 too.

This.

So that's the only reason given for placing a cache there? So basically there was zero thought put into it...couldn't even go to the effort of coming up with an original location... Saying that there was a previous cache at a given location where a new cache is being put out isn't the same as saying that's the *only* reason the new cache is being put out. Presumably the CO of the recently archived cache had a reason for putting one there to begin with. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt, anyway, if I haven't taken the time to at least glance at the cache descriptions myself. It really wouldn't be right to assume anything either way without digging a little deeper - that is, reading the cache descriptions fully, visiting those caches myself to actually see the location, and/or asking the COs directly. I didn't say that's all he wrote for a description, and it rarely is. This guy is very active and diligently maintains his hides. He is well respected in the area.

Headhardhat (Andy Smith)'s Geocaching Podcast: http://geocachingpodcast.com/ Wednesdays @9:30 pm Eastern and his & his wife's Geosnippitts Reboot Podcast: http://geosnippits.c...reboot-podcast/ Thursdays @ 8:30 (or 8:00 for the preshow) Eastern Live video.

As many have already told you, subscribe to the newsletter, read the blog at least weekly and if you do Facebook, check there. Those are the only places Groundspeak announces souvenirs. No cachers or reviewers or bloggers or other non-lackeys get advance information about upcoming activities/features outside those places.

A prolific hider in my area has notifications set for when caches get archived. He often has a replacement out within a couple of days. Most of his recent hides say "There used to be a cache here but it's been archived so I'm recycling the location."

I was just reviewing my recent "Attended" logs and noticed some which were "automatically"archived today by user "Geocaching HQ Admin" for occurring more than 30 days ago. I know this is something some have wanted for a while.

Is archiving really necessary? Couldn't the CO fix the requirements to be compliant before enabling? I'm sure I've seen that done on other ECs (for that matter some of my first ECs from 2 years ago still show photo requirements).

Corrected coordinates are only for YOUR OWN use. They show when you display the cache page, but no one else sees them. Many people will add a Note Log with updated coordinates. If you plug those in where possible, your PQs will show the update. Don't know how it works in Apps.

Yeah, I should have checked your profile BEFORE hitting "Post" instead of after. Anyway, I've heard of similar gaps occurring but never any reasons. Can you just run the route with all types selected and then filter out the stuff you don't want on your GPS/App? Or does that overload the query? Perhaps break the route up into multiple shorter sections? Good luck.

If you are limiting the query to "virts, EC's, LB's, Events, webcams" It isn't surprising the number is low. Virtuals & webcams are no longer allowed and the few that remain are still around because they are grandfathered. ECs, LBs and Events are all few and far between at the best of times.

Curiosity. They didn't behave this way in the past. I've been using PQs for about two years and this is something recent, perhaps unintended. Especially if they're still there tomorrow.

I ran a series of queries in the waning hours of Sunday, May 1. Here it is Monday May 9 and they are still available, on their "last day". I'm pretty sure the last series I ran (also on a Sunday) was still available on Tuesday. What's going on? Shouldn't queries run on Sunday expire no later than Sunday?

What you put inside your cache or how you construct it is pretty much up to you, except for hazardous material, food or non-family friendly stuff. What you put ON YOUR CACHE PAGE must pass Groundspeak's muster. No advertising, no agendas regardless of how nice they may be. I've even heard of a few reviewers cracking down on mentioning the name & address of the venue for events, although I haven't actually seen it myself. As always, if you have a question ask your reviewer. They are there to help get your cache published, not keep you out.

The Philly area is rich with events, many groups having monthly dinner (or other meal) gatherings with no organized caching. For the recent Leap Day souvenir there were at least a dozen events at various times that day. Check out a few of the recurring events, most folks are very welcoming. There have been annual picnics featuring a "poker run" of caches published the morning of the event. Others are held close to or inside cache dense parks. Lots of ways to draw attendees without an organized hunt. The important issue is the event should be primarily for a non-caching social activity. Lots of folks gather before or after many of these events for a cache run but you would never know until you read their logs or heard them at the event. Our local reviewer, OReviewer, is very helpful to new folks, reach out to him via his profile.

You might get a better response from a Facebook group local to the cache. These forums generally don't attract as wide an audience.

Murder on Wheels (A Tourist Trap Mystery) by Lynn Cahoon The protagonist's BF drags her along to a caching event and she connects with a local group, Body of a member turns up.

If it actually says "Yours to keep" on the back and is about the size of a quarter, it's likely a Pathtag. Google is your friend here, since Groundspeak doesn't like us to discuss them here.