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Well, I'm happy to say that the new mapping experience finally works for me. Whatever the problem was, it was fixed with a Chrome update. I'm just going to add my 2¢, much of which has probably been discussed as long as this thread has become. 1. Let me start by saying Thank You (again) for making a more interactive map and search experience. I know back in the days of Opencaching, this was more of the format they had and it was quite efficient. This new map is getting there, but still needs some work. For those of us with older computers, the new map is quite resource heavy. I suspect with newer hardware, it'll run a bit smoother. But still something to consider. 2. Let's talk about aesthetics. There's a lot of unnecessary and wasted space in that side bar. Can we eliminate some of that padding, and maybe only display the cache name along with its small type symbol to display more caches in the list on a single page, letting the rest of the details become visible when clicking on a cache or its name. We don't all have large screens to work with. So let's minimize the amount of wasted space. 3. Auto-refreshing. I think this was initially part of the new map? At any rate, it's kind of a pain to have to click the refresh button on the map after zooming or moving the map. Maybe some users like it. Can we add automatic refreshing and make it an option that can be turned on or off by the user? 4. Raise the 500 cache limit. At least to the 1000 caches limit to make the search compatible with pocket queries and lists. 5. Pocket Queries and Lists. Next to the filters button, perhaps we need another button to let us select lists and PQs to view/preview on the map. Also, the old map had the option to use the map view as a start for a PQ. I think with the new map and the filters, we have the opportunity to make that feature even better. But first it needs to be brought to the new map. 6. Selectability. It's nice that we can bulk add the results to a list. But sometimes we just want to select specific caches and bulk add them to a list, as we did in the old search results page. Please bring this option back. 7. Old search results page. As great as the new map is, the old table format for search results had its benefits too. I think both formats complement each other, and both should be available for users to have at their disposal. 8. Direct download of search results. This is one of the features that made Opencaching great (of course, the rest of the site/service was terrible and unable to compete with geocaching.com). The results on the map/list could be downloaded in bulk as a single GPX file on the fly. I feel this should be one of the goals to accomplish here. Adding to a list is great, but directly exporting the search results to a file on the GPS would streamline the process.

Hi all, FYI, Emoji talk tread is also here, which I probably will post from now on, but not here. Forum link "Emojis in Cache Names" Thanks!

I've been happy with my old Etrex H, had to go shopping for drivers and cables when I moved up to Windows 8.1 but all good. Just had to move to Windows 10 and latest (7.whatever) version of EasyGPS, same issues, won't talk to my vintage GPS for upload/download. Anybody know if there are drivers and cables out there that will bring it back to life, as it is still working fine for my needs? Spare me the lectures, by the way, about "join the 21st century." I'm asking a simple question, as I'd like to stay with my current stuff until it dies, not for $$$ reasons, just because it gives me the enjoyment and challenge I want from our hobby. Does anybody know for a certainty that the Etrex H/EasyGPS 7.???/Windows 10 configuration can be made to work? If not I'm fine with spending a few bucks to upgrade, but I enjoy doing things the legacy way as long as I can.

Well Waymarkers, Christmas is nigh, so it's time that we told you a little Christmas Waymarking story that may or may not have happened to us many years ago, back in the days when we were first on the road, hunting for new places to Waymark, new sights, new categories, a time when everything was shiny and new to us. So gather round the fire (here it's on channel 165) and we'll tell you the story of how we may or may not have met Kris Kringle himself: 'Twas the night before Christmas and here in the town All had been Waymarked so we bedded down, We'd Waymarked so long that our fingers were numb Now each had our own dreams of Waymarks to come. Now where should we head when the day dawned anew And we could put footprints in next morning's dew? Our options were many, but which would be best As we could head anywhere, north, south, east, west. While weighing our options I drifted to sleep With hopes that the day produced Waymarks to reap, Historic old churches would dance in my head As slowly I sank deep into the old bed. We knew the motels here would not be the best But darkness and hunger slowed us on our quest, And forced us in here to this seedy motel So here for the night is the place we would dwell. As sleep overtook me and lessened my pain Outside in the darkness it started to rain, Oblivious to it, remaining in dreams I slept the whole night, or so that's what it seems. When morning awoke me, outside in the dawn Through the mist covered window and shade that I'd drawn, I saw a strange figure outside on the walk And he beckoned to me as if wanting to talk. With a portly fat belly and all dressed in red He was soggy and sodden from toe to his head, He must have been out in the rain through the night So I hastened to find just what might be his plight. I invited him in through the creaking front door Then he started to speak as he dripped on the floor, "My name is Kris Kringle, I've come here to you To tell you a story I know to be true." He said "There's an old town way up in them hills Waymarkers who visit will find many thrills, It's wholly untouched by the Waymarking crew So Waymarks in that town will always be new." He gave us directions to this Xanadu "For Christmas this present is what I give you." Is what he then said as he turned to depart Then sloshed to the street where he'd parked his old cart. With reindeer for power, the cart was a truck That was straight from a dream that had just run amok, All covered in garlands and whistles and bells The kind of a truck a used car salesman sells. He whistled, then yelled and then screamed at the team But to no avail so he needed a scheme, He promised them goodies, the ploy seemed to work For newly alert they took off with a jerk. And when they'd gained speed they then started to fly Ascending up high in the cloud covered sky, Then up through the clouds they were soon out of sight I must now admit that it gave me a fright. We've searched for that town to which Santa alludes But to this day it for us still eludes, It's not to be found in the spot he described With maps or with sightings it never has gibed. Had Santa been here, or was it just a dream? For often things aren't always just as they seem, But still to this day do our hopes remain bright MANY WAYMARKS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!

I'm not being severe, I'm just advocating common courtesy. Common courtesy is a moving target. Sign the log. Make sure your written log is long enough. But make sure it doesn't take up too much space. Make sure it has a date. Better still, add a time, in case there's some sort of dispute about who got there 156th or 157th. Use a stamp to save space, but don't use a stamp for more than one person in a team. Make sure your log is in the correct place on the paper. Make sure you fold the paper up just right. Make sure the cache isn't open very long in the rain or snow while you're making sure your log has all the required information and is in the correct place and is the correct size. Make sure your swag is good. It should simultaneously be a toy, not a toy, plastic, not plastic, new in the package, and recycled. Log your find online quickly, but don't do it from the field with an app. Make sure your online log is long, but doesn't have anything boring in it. Talk about your adventure but don't talk about it too much. Everyone hates short logs and nobody wants to scroll through long logs. Be sure to thank the cache owner profusely, but don't use any acronyms to do so. Anything less, and you are a lazy, discourteous, disrespectful cheater. And anthing more, and you are a selfish, discourteous, disrespectful cheater. As has been said, any way you cache is wrong.

I'm not being severe, I'm just advocating common courtesy. Common courtesy is a moving target. Sign the log. Make sure your written log is long enough. But make sure it doesn't take up too much space. Make sure it has a date. Better still, add a time, in case there's some sort of dispute about who got there 156th or 157th. Use a stamp to save space, but don't use a stamp for more than one person in a team. Make sure your log is in the correct place on the paper. Make sure you fold the paper up just right. Make sure the cache isn't open very long in the rain or snow while you're making sure your log has all the required information and is in the correct place and is the correct size. Make sure your swag is good. It should simultaneously be a toy, not a toy, plastic, not plastic, new in the package, and recycled. Log your find online quickly, but don't do it from the field with an app. Make sure your online log is long, but doesn't have anything boring in it. Talk about your adventure but don't talk about it too much. Everyone hates short logs and nobody wants to scroll through long logs. Be sure to thank the cache owner profusely, but don't use any acronyms to do so. Anything less, and you are a lazy, discourteous, disrespectful cheater.

Definitely. Many holidays are related to religions, and we all know how divisive religion can become. There'd also need to be some decisions made regarding which holidays or themes are "good enough" to be included in this feature. Some of the big ones like Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, sure, I think we can agree those get in pretty easily. What about International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Probably not. In between, there are countless other "special" days of varying degree, and a line would need to be drawn through them somewhere. Cue the arguments about why this holiday made the cut and that one didn't... I don't think the idea is necessarily a bad one, but I'm not sure it could be made to work very easily.

One honest cacher out of a group of six. “F” Premium Member Caches Found 94426 Found it 05/29/2015 Out with our team “ABCDEF” (from “5 states”) on our “State” run. Thanks for the caches and the fun! “E” Premium Member Caches Found 16525 Found it 05/29/2015 Found this while caching with Team “ABCDEF” -- thanks for adding to our fun & TFTC ! “D” Premium Member Caches Found 87925 Found it 05/29/2015 w/”A”, “B”, “C”, “E”, “F” as “ABCDEF” I was invited over for my first experience with “State”. I got the east of the “Mountains” tour, meaning fairly flat land so I could see several rain storms miles and miles distant. Can't see something like that where I'm from. I guess, though, that's close to what I remember from “Other state”. This time, though, my distance sense was a little messed up because the area out here is just so vast--and the caches were farther apart than I realized (still wonder why). Despite the storms moving around us, the weather was wonderful and so was the company. I switched between cars as much as I could so I could get to talk to everyone. I even did one of my fun things, standing on the car's running board as we zoomed down dirt roads to the next cache. Fun times. Thank you for contributing to the caches I found during this trip! “C” Member Caches Found 44649 Found it 05/29/2015 Wrapping up a two week caching trip. This was one of many we found. Enjoyed the craxy weather, rain, thunder and lightening and the long hours of caching. Road trips are always worth it! As always, thanks to the CO's for the for the hides, the fun, and another smiley on the map ! See you on the trail and keep on caching ! Everything logged as “ABCDEF” “B” Premium Member Caches Found 78517 Found it 05/29/2015 Thanks for all the CO's who made this caching journey a nexessity. “A” Premium Member Caches Found 54666 Didn't find it 05/29/2015 Out with a great group of friends to cache the plains - thanks to everyone for placing caches and making this a great trip. We signed our logs as “ABCDEF” We hunted for this one but didn't have the correct TOTT to make the find.

I don't mean to be rude, but when I place caches, I don't ever think about the comfort of ftf cachers. It's not a game that I play, and it's not official, so I submit caches on my own time, not other's. I don't mean to be rude either, but only one-third of my reasoning was related to the FTF crowd! Here's why staggered publication benefits the CO and cachers in general, not *just* FTF seekers. When a group of new caches is published, it's an exciting time for COs and for the local cachers. If the whole group gets published at one time, all of the initial excitement is gone in two days (in cities and suburbs, less so in rural areas where caches are not found for weeks or months - like right now, within 30 miles of me, there is exactly -1- unfound cache, and it is disabled for bad coords). I am a CO. If I were putting out four new caches, there is no way I would publish (submit) them all at once. (Obviously, FTF is a non-issue if I am the CO.) Why would I not do it? Because at least in this area there is much more seeking-and-finding-excitement the first few days, maybe up to two weeks. Then things quiet down and level off. Why would I want to be buried in emails for a week, versus enjoying a steady stream of emails for a month?? And the community is equally excited by new caches. Why bunch them? Better to hunt new caches all month than just one weekend. I realize that an unfound cache is an unfound cache. But people - not just the FTF crowd - love to see what's new out there and talk about what they and their friends are finding right now. At least in the caching environment here, it's a no-brainer that staggered submission/publication is the way to go! In my area FTF activity is IMO at exactly the right level. It exists, but it is not cutthroat. It adds fun and excitement in the community. People talk about it. It's good for the game. Yes, I play it too. Even if I didn't, I consider that some people that I know are doing it and enjoying it, and I'd slightly modify my submission/publication schedule to give them their enjoyment. Slight modification of submission/publication schedules is veeeery little extra effort for a CO, and greatly adds to the enjoyment of many. (Placing caches is the difficult, time-consuming work - do that on your own schedule, I suggest, but submit according to a good schedule for the community.) So yes, IMO a CO *should* consider the FTF crowd, and even if not, they should still stagger the submission/publication of nearby caches. Not just areas within our State, but in other States we've cached in, it seems the norm that after the FTF, caches tend to sit for a while. They're then hit by the locals within a few weeks, and sit again for some time before folks "just passing through" grab it once in a while. Staggering caches seems (to me) to only be an attempt to mix things up (or mess with) the FTF crowd.

I don't mean to be rude, but when I place caches, I don't ever think about the comfort of ftf cachers. It's not a game that I play, and it's not official, so I submit caches on my own time, not other's. I don't mean to be rude either, but only one-third of my reasoning was related to the FTF crowd! Here's why staggered publication benefits the CO and cachers in general, not *just* FTF seekers. When a group of new caches is published, it's an exciting time for COs and for the local cachers. If the whole group gets published at one time, all of the initial excitement is gone in two days (in cities and suburbs, less so in rural areas where caches are not found for weeks or months - like right now, within 30 miles of me, there is exactly -1- unfound cache, and it is disabled for bad coords). I am a CO. If I were putting out four new caches, there is no way I would publish (submit) them all at once. (Obviously, FTF is a non-issue if I am the CO.) Why would I not do it? Because at least in this area there is much more seeking-and-finding-excitement the first few days, maybe up to two weeks. Then things quiet down and level off. Why would I want to be buried in emails for a week, versus enjoying a steady stream of emails for a month?? And the community is equally excited by new caches. Why bunch them? Better to hunt new caches all month than just one weekend. I realize that an unfound cache is an unfound cache. But people - not just the FTF crowd - love to see what's new out there and talk about what they and their friends are finding right now. At least in the caching environment here, it's a no-brainer that staggered submission/publication is the way to go! In my area FTF activity is IMO at exactly the right level. It exists, but it is not cutthroat. It adds fun and excitement in the community. People talk about it. It's good for the game. Yes, I play it too. Even if I didn't, I consider that some people that I know are doing it and enjoying it, and I'd slightly modify my submission/publication schedule to give them their enjoyment. Slight modification of submission/publication schedules is veeeery little extra effort for a CO, and greatly adds to the enjoyment of many. (Placing caches is the difficult, time-consuming work - do that on your own schedule, I suggest, but submit according to a good schedule for the community.) So yes, IMO a CO *should* consider the FTF crowd, and even if not, they should still stagger the submission/publication of nearby caches.

Ignoring the Earth, just thinking in 3D space. Distances from three points provides 2 intersections. Now, being on the surface of the Earth, ... here I realize the confusion. Being a smartphone user, the phone can deduce which of the 2 locations is more likely based on other data, like service provider, cell towers, recent location, etc. Where a smartphone can 'talk' to another non-satellite source, a handheld GPSr may require the 4th satellite to make that distinction if it has no recent data from which to deduce. However, once either device has its single location, to whatever accuracy (in 3D space), altitude and/or elevation can be determined. One way is by cross-referencing the elevation at the lat/lon calculated and citing the difference to the device's location in 3d space. Or having the algorithms for the curvature of the earth calculate the height over sea level for the calculated lat/lon. Point being, with a single location determined from the intersections, the 'location' (+/- accuracy) is already in 3D space, thus elevation can be calculated relative to sea level (whether you're on the ground or flying in an airplane). 4 or more satellites (depending on device) strengthen the accuracy of the gps location. The more spheres intersect in the general vicinity (within meters or less), the closer the average will be to the actual location. (barring signal loss and bounce and other uncertainty factors) ETA: As for time error, that's a matter of accuracy, really. It's a +/- give or take from the calculated location (one of 2 intersection points in 3-space having 3 spheres). The 4th (sphere) isn't required to determine a single intersection of the two unless no other reference data indicates which of the two points is most likely. But the 4th (sphere) will absolutely confirm and reduce intersection points from 2 to 1 if any device receives the 4th satellite signal (and helps to improve calculation accuracy) Dislaimer: IANAM(athematician) - but I understand geometry ;P

I understand you think there's some kind of logic, but since I don't see it, I'm trying to understand your thinking. If a cache needs maintenance, logic says you should file a needs maintenance log. When I can tell from the logs that a cache is missing, visiting GZ will provide me with zero information: I already know I won't find it. Do you consider yourself some kind of supercacher that will always find a tricky cache that others have missed? As long as they have reasonable experience, I trust the people that filed DNFs before me. When you talk about morals and ethics, you imply that there's something wrong with filing an NM. That's exactly what the problem is. There's nothing wrong with filing a competent NM even when it turns out to be wrong. Sure, don't go off half cocked, but when you can read enough DNFs to know that plenty of expertise has looked for the cache and not found it, your one additional DNF will be meaningless. The only impact is that an NM which you could have filed right away while you're looking at the cache description will be delayed until whenever you get around to getting to GZ. And, worse, if you decide not to go to GZ -- and why would you? -- the NM will never be filed. By all means, feel uncomfortable if you don't know enough to file the NM. Gather more information if you need to, including visiting GZ if you think that will tell you anything. But visiting GZ without finding the cache is just one data point. It's as illogical to require that one specific data point as it is to file an NM based on only that one data point. Naturally I'm not demanding you file an NM even if it makes you uncomfortable. But I hope you will consider that there's really no downside to filing the NM -- worst case, you're wrong, big deal -- but there is a downside to not filing the NM when it's justified.

How much time do you have? When I've attended or taught one-hour classes, they've split the time in half. The first half hour or so is the "chalk talk", explaining what geocaching is, how GPS works, what geocache containers look like (with examples to pass around), what to do with trackables (with examples to pass around), the difference between trackables and trade items, the basic information in a cache description (size, difficulty, terrain, type), etc. Then, for the rest of the time, we go to an area where a bunch of geocache containers were hidden before class (ideally, at least one container per person), and the students take turns pointing out containers. (Some are easy, others are harder.) For longer classes, you can start with the same half-hour "chalk talk", then go find some nearby caches. One of the longer classes that I've helped with uses an old-school power trail, where students can find 8-10 varied caches and be back at the trailhead for lunch. There's actually a "hidden in plain sight" cache at the trailhead, that is used as the first example, with everyone raising their hand when they spot it. Then the class breaks into small groups of 3-4 students, with an experienced geocacher assigned to each. Each group gets a preloaded loaner GPSr, and they set off down the trail to find caches with their experienced guide. I haven't had good luck trying to get newbies to enter coordinates. I'd rather hand them a preloaded GPSr, or take them to a location where I've hidden containers, without having them find the location with a GPSr.

I'm operating under the assumption that, in Bittsen's satirical example, proof of said maggotry existed. If that were the case, none of the suggestions Bittsen made were even remotely illegal. Telling an employer what their employee is doing is not a crime. Telling a clergyman what their constituent is doing is not a crime. Telling a wife what their spouse is doing is not a crime. Whether it's irresponsible and/or ill-advised is a matter for debate. Fair enough. I appreciate you speaking from your professional prospective. My opinion is this- if he has proof then follow the proper channels. Report it. I working with the assumption, based on his described plan, that he doesn't have proof and that any "proof" he obtains may point him towards the wrong person. I'm also of the opinion that it's not his place to jump in the Mystery Machine and gather proof. I do know this, if some fellow cacher started visiting my employer, clergyman, and wife this would set off a red flag on my creep meter. A private individual hunting down information about me- where I work, where I go to church, even approaching my wife to talk to talk about me? I'd be filing a complaint and a restraining order first thing the next morning. Maybe he gets his proof and it points him to the right person... Great. Tell all the other cachers in the area. Share the video on Utube. Talk about the maggot behind his/her back. Talk to the parents if it's a minor. See if somebody else in the community knows the person or has contact them on a regular basis. Sure. Fine. Starting leaving sticky notes on their private property. Maybe once. Said maggot is a gun owner that "not afraid to use it"? Not so much. Good luck with your maggot, Bittsen. I've got nothing more to say on this.

I just happen to have a basically unused Oregon 600 with free OSM New Mexico road maps installed. With some effort (learning curve) in Demo Mode I managed to move the focus point across state lines to a street in downtown Santa Fe. From there it was possible to route to the searchable Harry's Roadhouse POI !! Direct interpolated street address number routing is not (may not be) possible with this Oregon 600 or with the Garmin 64s and OSM maps, although there may be intermediate reference street numbers available. There are several aargh moments in starting over in the same city. The newish Garmin Drive 51 or better automotive devices with full USA maps are a pleasure to use in comparison, and they are cheap and talk to you. But then I'm not much into geocaching, except for the toys.

Link for reference: https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=38&pgid=427 Sounds like you have some strong feelings about older caches. You might want to express those in the following survey and some possible solutions to keeping them alive: https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2018/12/lets-talk-some-more-about-geocache-quality/

A few questions here- how can we help you without giving you instructions? Are you placing a cache of finding one? You talk about placing a cache, and downloading a "geocash placer" (whatever that is) but talk about putting GPX files on your phone. A few contradicting things here.

Why do you think so? I'd call myself experienced cache owner and I feel the opposite. Year by year, game & players are more and more driven by quantity. 10-12 years ago I could read pages of stories in my physical logbooks & online. Now - kudos to exceptions - I'm happy if I find at least a nickname in the logbook and high % of online logs are just copy-paste summaries of cacher's day, hardly relevant to my cache. I'm not complaining, I'm not hiding for logs and it does not say much about quality. Just pointing out - this trend means depersonalized geocaching to me & deteriorating importance of CO. I welcome this broad discussion & survey about quality. Finally! Finally here's serious talk about caching for adventures, instead of caching for numbers. No, these proposals are not depersonalizing geocaching. We are talking here mostly about maintenance, because many COs of hundreds of caches are worried that maintenance & ownership expectations are still important for players and HQ. They are feared of restrictive changes, personally I hope changes will be more about new, healthy motivation factors, lesser so about new restrictions. Presented ideas are much broader, targeted to praise responsible owners. Let me remind us with some of them: For me as a cache owner, these proposals sound rewarding and highlighting my importance. If implemented properly, they can motivate owners to create maybe lower amount, but better caches, for all of us.

Many people are convinced that "cache quality" is a problem, but when they talk about how to fix it, it's obvious that everone's talking about different problems, and none of them strike me as problems. Just my opinion, but the problem with "cache quality" isn't about the container, or how often it's maintained. It's a growing mentality that quality is not as important as quantity. When quantity is the primary consideration, cache owners aren't going to invest in a good container, and there is a problem with it, or it goes missing, just archive it and put out more quantity. Poor cache containers, unmaintained caches, and even choosing a location for the hide are all just symptoms of the "quality is not as important as quantity" mentality. Sorry, but don't know how to change that mentality (perhaps souvenirs are the answer ).

I took the survey because I dreamed there might be questions about whether I think there's a problem and what it is, and I hoped there was a way to answer at least some of the questions in a way that didn't support the notion that there was a problem. Unfortunately, what I found was the worst of both: questions that couldn't be answered without assuming "cache quality" was a problem despite nothing at all trying to work out what problem was being solved. Many people are convinced that "cache quality" is a problem, but when they talk about how to fix it, it's obvious that everone's talking about different problems, and none of them strike me as problems. What's worse, all of the solutions seem intent on depersonalizing geocaching and minimizing the importance of cache owners.

Two issues strike me with regard to the plan to pick up remains of archived caches as a CITO: 1) it's locationless - ie go somewhere and pick up trash. CITO events may spread out, but they are defined by coords, and target a specific "cache friendly" place. CITO as locationless - ie, pick up some trash somewhere and meet and talk about it, is submitted from time to time. It doesn't work. ? 2) pick up geocache containers belonging to others isn't going to be advertised on the site. Geocaching.com operates from the premise that the physical container and the cache page belong to the cache owner.

Time Limit: Yes I believe there should be a time limit between a cache that has been archived and when someone is allowed to remove it providing that it is indeed geotrash and not crosslisted anywhere's else. Sorry if you disagree but that is indeed the way I feel and I think that should be part of the agreement of placing a cache. There seems to be a bit of a mix up in communication here. Archived for a year, Not found for a year and then archived is not what I am talking about. Before removal is made there must be an honest attempt to contact the owner on any cache site. Is that a little better? Not trying to sound arrogant, just asking. I'm wondering why you find this information to be so important that you want to inconvenience him and risk making him grumpy. If you find a great place for a cache, do some of your own research. Determine whether explicit permission is needed at that location. Scout out the location. Do you see a bunch of muggles that are eyeing you suspiciously? Are you in plain view of any structures who's residents might cause problems? Are there good hide locations? I gave a list of reasons why an archive can be so important and gave my own example of my archived Swizzle Creek cache. I do my own research, look over maps for hours, talk to DEC officals, State officals that have authority over the lake I'll be placing caches on, visit museums and talk to the museum currators, talk to local historians and historical societies, search cemeteries for important figures, use the internet to scan town, city and village history pages, talk to locals, other cachers and do my own foot work hiking to spots that are seemingly in the middle of no where's. Add helpful links to my pages when I feel its neccesary. I've sought after and gain permission several times, gained a special permit for 3 of my caches and I don't run up to the first tree hole I see and throw a cache in it. Most of my caches are specilty caches made for a certain situation. I even painted a picture of the old covered bride on my old covered bridge cache. Archives are just one of the many tools that I use to find locations and to get information from. All of the questions that you are hoping to have answered by reviewing dead cache pages could be answered by YOU and, as some have already pointed out, would not necessarily be answered by an archived cache page. I would not inconvenience a reviewer by asking for information that I can get on my own and that he might not even have access to. That would be rude, in my opinion. I don't believe its true in every case that I can answer all of these questions myself by doing the research without using every tool available. I will contact geocaching directly to answer any more of my archive questions. I hope that's a little more organized and easier to understand now. Any there any more questions that I forgot to answer for you? These are all just my opinion so please keep that in mind. Some people can fix a car with a hammer. I prefer to have my whole tool box set and ready to go. Swizzle

Well, you did start off the OP with fact that you were trying to publish challenges...so naturally the inclination is for folks to talk about that aspect since they likely would not be publishable. As for caches found while cycling, we could get all nitpicky here and talk about actually finding a cache while on a bike vs. using a bike to get from one GZ to another. The former might be considered a T5 if accessing the cache requires use of a bicycle...though I'm hard-pressed to think of a scenario where one would actually need to be on a bicycle to grab a cache. As for the latter, just two weeks ago I rode the Atlanta to Stone Mountain trail on my bike and picked up about 14 caches while on the way there and back. At one point I chained my bike up and walked maybe a third of a mile up the mountain to grab a very old cache. Would this count as a 'biking cache'? If not, what would the radius be from where one parks their bike to GZ? On two others - both multicaches - I parked and walked several blocks to pick up each stage. Do those count? Just seems like there's a lot of gray area, so while I clearly wouldn't qualify for any of those caches, it would be difficult to answer for certain even if all I ever did was ride my bike for geocaching.

As each case similar comes up for a hider, aren't we asked to talk to our Reviewer ? When we're talking about varying regional policies within every country in the world here , I guess I don't understand what kinda set, catch-all "guidance" you'd expect from HQ. Even if we could make some sort of "list" similar to the Regional Policies Wiki, it'd take some time to create.

We literally just started this after listening to a few in our network talk about it over the years. Havent set out on a day of just hunting but were taking one a day that are close and begining to enjoy the "bonus" fun it offers us when we are already out enjoying the outdoors. Being an Army guy I've already ordred a geocache kit that will offer up some Army themed swag as well as set in motion a trackable. It will be more camoflaged than even I was back in the day! Eventually we will register it and get it going. Until then...cheers folks. Easy fun that gets you some quirky looks from unknowing bystanders when you are literally on top of it with the GPS but still can't see the dang thing!