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Anyone Else Enjoy Paperfull Caching?


jacobsen1

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Ummm, Reveritt, even misspelled, there are some words that should not be used in a family-friendly forum.

Sorry to have offended you. I edited my post. I guess if the automatic text filter changes the spelling, that's OK, but if I do it myself, that's not OK. If that's the rule, I can live with it, I suppose.

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For my two cents worth, I have found it useful to have cache waypoints loaded in my GPSr and caches on my PDA for areas, not necessarily near my home area. Then if I find myself in a part of different part of town with some time to kill, I can look for the nearest on my GPSr and if one is close, I can refer to the PDA to get some details. I like the paper when close to home or where I know I’ll be ahead of time, but with paperless you can have hundreds of sites stored if needed.

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I'm not organized enough to keep all the print outs in line. I lost my pda and ended up buying a replacement 2 days later. I couldn't stand the thought of going with a fist full of cache pages.

 

Lesson learned: Be sure expensive electronic gadgets are in a secure place when you hit the bar following a day of caching. I also had the answer to many virtuals in the pda. I was lucky the cache owners were understanding by my descriptions of the area(s) when I mailed them explaining what happened.

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I was introduced to my first Waypoint cache hunt this last weekend. I still prefer to print out the cache page. I also don't pre-enter the coordinates in my GPS. I almost always end up parking near enough to the location that the coordinates indicate I am close. Then I walk in the direction that my GPS' coordinates line up with the sheets' coordinates. I think its more fun and more challenging! And, sadly, I like holding onto the sheet of paper so that if people look at me funny while I am hunting in an urban area, I just hunker down over my cache sheet and try to look studious!

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It is of big advantage to work at an office and to be able to print out caches right then and there...

...before I had this "Luxury" I jotted down all the keyinformations:

- cache-name

- coordinates

- Hint/Way-description/Puzzle

 

I was also able to fit maybe 20 caches in such a form on one single paper

(back and front) and would even make little rough maps next to each, to know

the rough area I'd have to travel to.

 

I really don't think I'd need a PDA... only if I could upgrade my GPSr to be able

to load all the waypoints directly into it... *sigh*

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:lol: Another vote for caching with paper. Yeas, I'm a premium member, and a GSAK user (though not very proficient). When I get frustrated looking for a cache I like to pull out the paper and reread it for inspiration and clues. And if that doesn't help, I have something to ball uo and squeeze in my hands. I would have smashed many a PDA if I tried caching paperless. So for me and mine it is both cheaper to go with paper and more usefull.

If you are a GSAK user and you simply must have a paper copy, check out the File=>Print option. This option allows you to print the full HTML of the cache(s) but in a condensed format (try the preview option if you just want to see what it will look like). There is also a grid summary option which might just be enough at a pinch for some users.

Edited by ClydeE
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I still carry paper on occasion, especially for benchmarks, puzzles, and some multis. Some cache descriptions are too long for CacheMate, which means I make a printed copy.

 

I almost always print on both sides of the paper.

 

Paperful caching is very inconvenient during windy weather.

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I'll bet I'm in the minority here -- I hand write the pertinent cache info in a small pocket sized notebook before I go out. Of course, there's not a lot of caching to be done in a 100 mile radius of home base...

I do about the same... I have a small bound green book that's supposed to be used for record keeping that I write all my cache info. I can't see printing off an entire page for just one cache- isn't that wasteful? I would think that we should all try to do our part as geocachers to conserve (recycle, CITO) and if every geocacher printed out a single sheet for every single smiley that was listed on the site imagine how much wasted paper that is. I like my green book cause I can write notes to myself, it doesn't take batteries, it can get dirty... and I don't kill 100 trees trying to participate in an enviromentally friendly sport.

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I am most certanly a paperfull cacher. I really enjoy having the peice of paper with me, I use it to give me clues (especially when I need to decrip the clue) record notes (like animals encountered) and to remember what I traded. But mostly why I will always be a paperful cacher is I save all those sheets, and a print out of my log at the sight, to keep them in my geocaching scrap book. I love being able to look back at it and reliving the whole experience. I've got 114 finds right now and they are all loged in 6 binders with the photos that Iv'e taken while caching. Keeping the paper is just another way to enjoy our fine sport, at least for me!

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Just got back from an event where a couple laptops were set up for people who wanted to upload coordinates of 26 newly placed caches, and there was a pile of printouts for those who didn't want to or couldn't upload. I left with 3 cachers who weren't interested in uploading coordinates. They wanted to get out and cache as soon as possible. I realized that by skipping the potential line (didn't stick around to see if there was one) at the computer, and grabbing the printouts, we had the best chance at an FTF. And what do you know, we got the FTF on 2 of the 3 nearest caches. Sometimes going with paper and punching in coordinates between caches is faster.

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Get this.....

I am paperless. Garmin Etrex Venture, Palm 125 w/ Cachemate, and EasyGPS to load the Palm. Also an Yellow Etrex and OLD Palm 3 for my wife.....BUT

 

I am paperless......my wife is paperful. :lol:

 

I can't get her to do w/ out them blamed ol' papers. Even tho' I have demonsrated the usefullness and capability....I just don't have the maps.

 

Oh well....it's all good ... just go caching!

 

 

Matt

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A group of us decided to do a cache run through Huntsville AL yesterday - 18 cachers in 5 cars. Before the run one of the hosts picked 90 caches, mostly urban micros, that were along a winding route around town and created a list in the order that we'd approach them.

 

We had four very experienced cachers (more than 2000 finds), two total newbies, and the rest had between 30 and 500 finds.

 

Two of us, the lead car and the tail, had GPS-enabled laptops, Street Atlas, GSAK with all the area caches, wi-fi or Bluetooth-enabled PDAs, the works.

 

The other cars varied from a host-provided printed list of the 90 target caches (cache name and GC# only) to PDAs with CacheMate.

 

All of us had GMRS radios so we could stay somewhat together in traffic.

 

Starting with a group breakfast at 10 a.m. we cached hard until 10 p.m. and found 56 of the caches. Traffic and construction on some roads killed our time, and sometimes caused us to re-route our path; had we done this run at night I think we would have gotten all 90.

 

After we broke up 10 of us in 4 cars found 6 rural traditionals on the 100-mile drive back to Birmingham. These were not on the target list, but having them in our PQ allowed us to grab the ones along the interstate that interested us. 10 men and women and 2 children flailing about in the woods at midnight was the perfect end to the day!

 

Now, before the flames begin, if this isn't your style of geocaching, don't do it!

No need to post how much you despise this manner of caching, that's not the topic here!

 

But for those who love to be with people, meet new friends and be with old ones, who like to have a bit of friendly competition (when we all pull up to a cache site, everybody jumps out and runs to find the cache...of course being FTF is fun!), who enjoy the laughter and excitement and just plain fun of this type of caching, it simply can't be beat!

 

This wasn't an event, so there are no logs to read, but the comments being posted on our website this morning are exuberant!

 

But, here's the tie-in...there's no way to do this on paper.

 

If we came to a cache that was in a hard-to-reach spot, say we had to cross busy traffic lanes or there wasn't room for everyone to park, we'd skip it and move on. If we happened to be near one that wasn't on our target list, we'd grab it...so even if you had printed all 90 pages you wouldn't have this kind of flexibility.

 

Anyhoo, I am not here to preach or promote any particular style of geocaching, I do it all, I just want to suggest to readers some reasons why paperless caching might be worth the investment!

 

Flexibility while out geocaching (heh, since I started this game 'out' and 'geocaching' have become synonymous! :D ) and currency of data are, to my mind, worth the cost of a PDA no matter what style of caching you prefer.

 

Ed

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There is a very proficient cacher, and cache hider, in this area who has found more than 1700 caches and hidden 93. :D

 

He enters all his coordinates by hand and only caches with paper. :D :D

 

I can't imagine caching that way myself, but that is the way he does it. And, he places some of the best, and often humorous, caches over a wide very area.

 

Edit for spelling . . .

Edited by Miragee
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There is a very proficient cacher, and cache hider, in this area who has found more than 1700 caches and hidden 93. :P

 

He enters all his coordinates by hand and only caches with paper. :lol::ph34r:

 

I can't imagine caching that way myself, but that is the way he does it. And, he places some of the best, and often humorous, caches over a wide very area.

 

Edit for spelling . . .

I hate to admit it, but like I said above.....All 543 caches that I have found and the 21 caches that I have hidden is done by hand!

 

So you said that their was an easier way?

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The kiddo and I have an old spiral notebook, and we write down the clues and coords in the notebook. Then we enter the coords in the eTrex Yellow by hand, drag out the Gazetteer or city map, and figure out where to go. Sometimes i make a mistake. Oh well. Just recently I printed out a couple cache sheets and felt very guilty about it because each cache used up 3 pieces of paper (and the library only lets you print out 10 sheets a day anyway).

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There is a method to our madness:

 

First Cliff find all the caches listed near our house and logs them into his GPS, then he prints out the papers and I add them to our Geo Binder. As we venture further from home we add to it.

 

When we are planning a trip to anywhere Cliff looks up all the caches along the way and he logs them in and prints them out and those are added to the binder too.

 

We take the binder everywhere. Then when we reach a cache we can write down any information we want for when we log the find.

 

Sometimes it is a note that there is a problem with the cache, something cool we saw on the way, what we left and took.

 

Then we don't have to rely on my pitiful memory. :ph34r:

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We take the binder everywhere. Then when we reach a cache we can write down any information we want for when we log the find.

 

Sometimes it is a note that there is a problem with the cache, something cool we saw on the way, what we left and took.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but since some folks don't know this, all of these things and much more - entering cache logs with TB#s, what you took/left, travel notes, everything you need to do, can be done on the PDA AND when you get home you can upload the cache notes to gc.com without having to do all that typing!

 

What if that entire binder would fit in a shirt pocket and still allow you to write what you wanted? With a PDA, it will!

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Paper is ok for me, but when your trying to go on a cache binge and up your stats with a bunch of parkinglot caches then you need a palm, but isent caching something that should be enjoyed and take a little time? that is for everyone to decide for themselves, but i like to look around and find a cache that i want to find first and plan a trip and print out the maps and everything, that makes it a treasure hunt not a scavanger hunt for me. and i guess that is why i only have 27 finds in 3 years of caching :rolleyes::DB)

Edited by Hunt
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OK, started paperful,,,, have gone paperless and for the most part LOVE IT! However I have run into one snag,, so those paperless people out there,,, HELP. I sold my IPAQ,, and bought a new cell with window CE on it. It is called a "smartphone". I found mobile ebooks for smart phone and have put it one and it does work..... Problem is this,,, I used to be able to use a "find" feature with the ebook on my palm,,, now with this one I have to scroll all the way through the caches. It has become a real pain on PQ's of large size. Anyone have this and can give me an idea of what to try? I'm also willing to try a different program on the phone if you think it might work.

 

Thanks

 

PS,, This phone has no stylus like the treo,, just FYI

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I for the most part Cache paperless BUT I do like to have a map of the area I am cahcing in to just see how many caches are around and where they are so I can decided which ones to go on and which order. BUT when im with my family, my 4 year old daughter likes to help out so she wears the caching backpack and hold the small GEKO 201 GPSr and she gets a print out of the cache cause even though she cant read yet, I tell her what it says and she remebers and pretends to read it when I need help.

 

J

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I still use paper. I keep the printouts of the caches I have done in a notebook... it has become a scrapbook of my caching experiences. Most are crumpled from being folded and stuck in my pocket or spending some time scrunched up in my backpack. Some of the printouts have coffee stains, some have mustard stains, some are torn, some got wet and dried out...each has a story to it and I can recall them all. And the notes about what I took, what I left, etc., all add to that story. I'll continue to use paper, we like keeping the scrapbook.

 

I do use PQ's to download coords into the GPS, however....entering all those by hand is too tedious.

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