ByronForestPreserve

Hiya. I have a Garmin etrex SummitHC. I finally figured out how to do PQs, and sent 1,000 .gpx files to my GPSr. I got a "waypoint memory full" message. So I deleted all waypoints on the unit, created another PQ, this time with only 500 in .loc format. Nope! Still full. What's the deal? The file size when I look at the list created by GSAK is only 4 KB. If it matters, I have two maps on the unit also--IL topos and My Trails. But...that should be in a separate memory allocation, yes?

I don't like wearing sunglasses in the woods--micros tucked into dark spaces disappear--so I always have a baseball cap with me. It also keeps branches and thorns from getting caught in my hair, and makes me less paranoid about ticks. Otherwise, I'm wearing whatever I was wearing at work (which, being at a forest preserve, generally means sneakers or hiking shoes and woods-appropriate clothing).

I've started painting stones with native wildlife. It fits (forest preserve!) and is cheap, and I hope cool enough that people will enjoy finding them. I've done a couple of tiny ones with just designs, which is easy enough to do with a bit of acrylic paint.

I've run across a couple of caches that were set up as "coin banks," basically a cache to trade coins. Looking over their history, things don't seem to go missing that often, despite them being basically a container full of coins and bugs. You might be able to find one of these banks near you, and it would be a good spot for the coin to start its travels. Do check logs if you're thinking about leaving it somewhere--some have a long history of muggles and thieves. I like to drop coins in caches I really like--sort of like an unofficial favorite point. I have the same fear for my coins...but what am I going to do with one if I keep it? I know some folks have big collections, but I'd rather watch their travels.

From the Geocacher University site, I printed one of the hang tags for my car. It's bright green and says, "Geocacher" on it; I laminated it and wrote my name and phone number on it. I figure someone would notice my car eventually if I didn't make it back, you know? I also keep several of the official business-size geocaching cards with me, in case I encounter anyone suspicious of what I'm doing poking around. Other than that, I take most of the standard stuff listed here (and always have my first aid kit in my pack--it does no good back in the car!).

I think I'm starting to get down to the nitty gritty, thank you all for your responses. So, I'm left wondering a couple of things. One is that I don't want to just hand out a paper with a list of coords at the start--it seems like it would be a huge pain for every team to enter them manually on their GPS units. Seems like I should maybe make a list of waypoints at the event cache listing, maybe waiting until the day before to edit the listing and add them so no one can get a head start? Second, I'm picturing everyone leaving at once for the first coords and being able to see each other poking around at/near GZ. Should I start each team at a different waypoint/cache? How does that work out if they're all looking for the same things? Aaaand...if I put FTF prizes in each cache (free passes for the park and golf, travelbugs, coins) and give away decent prizes for winners, should I leave this as a free event, or charge for teams to register? I'm not sure if that's an acceptable practice. Thanks again!

Thank you--those were my top two concerns.

Getting there! Has some useful info, thanks.

I'm probably calling it the wrong thing, then. Someone suggested "Amazing Race" but I am thinking of more of a Rally maybe or...some other term. I'd like to have teams compete for points by finding caches/wayoints, by speed, number of finds, and so on. The question of putting out new caches and handing teams the list on paper rather than listing online referred more to that. I don't know the particulars of how to run it--but I suppose I can run it however seems most logical. Just hoped folks had pointers for me. Thanks, and I'll keep in mind that everything will probably take longer than I think it will.

I'd love to run an Amazing Race type event, and have some specific questions I can't figure out by reading descriptions of similar events. Additionally, I'd love any suggestions I might not have thought to ask about. I am assuming that if I want to set up temporary Geocaches along part of a trail I don't have to officially list them and make them public (more like a scavenger hunt along a mile or so of trail), BUT I'd like to add Geocoins or travel bugs for participants to find. So, first part: should I activate coins/bugs before putting them in Geocaches? If I do, should the Geocache itself be listed so that the coin or bug has a home? Second: should I set up ALL caches sought for this type of event, or could I use some belonging to others? How about throwing in waypoints? How many would you recommend for a 2-3 hour event (which would include a mile hike/hunt and driving to various locations within 15 miles)? How common is it to charge money per team entry, and what kinds of prizes are expected? I want to keep it fairly simple, but interesting. Not having been to this kind of event before, I do want to make sure it's not too different from what participants would be expecting. If I had to guess, I'd figure maybe 3-7 teams would get involved. Of course, with the number of people who've logged our Geocache, it's possible we'd have much larger numbers. (I work at a forest preserve with about 2,000 acres at six different sites--we are Geocache-friendly and would like to participate more with the local Geocachers. Next step is to convince admin we should design and produce our own Geocoin.) Wow, that was a lot of questions...thanks for any advice you can give me!