Caches along a route?

[Moonraker Team]

I can do simple Pocket Queries no problem BUT caches along a route are a problem, if I want to run a query on the route that Google Earth chooses no problem but I can't change the route. I can create a Google Map route but how do I save it so that I can upload to run a Pocket Query along a route. Did I miss a set of instructions somewhere?

Ps Greetings to all cachers from Moonraker country in the UK Cheers

[+Chuy!]

I don't think you can use Google Maps to create a route [for caches-along-a-route purposes]. Use Google Earth and save the route as a .kml file, not the defaulting .kmz .

[+Team Cotati]

I can do simple Pocket Queries no problem BUT caches along a route are a problem, if I want to run a query on the route that Google Earth chooses no problem but I can't change the route. I can create a Google Map route but how do I save it so that I can upload to run a Pocket Query along a route. Did I miss a set of instructions somewhere?

Ps Greetings to all cachers from Moonraker country in the UK Cheers

 

You don't run the PQ first. You create the GE directions file from point A to B. Upload it and then Save it and under 'Your Created Routes', run the PQ against this file, selecting all the normal PQ options plus the one that specifies how far on each side of the route that you want to include.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Team Cotati

[+hydnsek]

Yah, Google Earth is the solution. Instructions from the Caches Along a Route page:

 

Using Google Earth to create a route:

The Google Earth desktop application makes it easy to export and save a .KML file of your route. Below you'll find some steps to creating your own.

 

Download , install, and run Google Earth

Click on the Directions tab in the upper left-hand corner of the page

Enter your start and end locations and click the button to generate your directions

Scroll to the top of the directions list until you see the start/end location

Right click and choose "Save As..."

Save to your harddrive as type *.kml (not *.kmz, which is the default). Be sure to give the file a descriptive name like "Seattle To Portland", so you can easily find it later

That's it! Now upload your route to Geocaching.com:

 

Revisit this page and choose the tab "Upload GPX / KML"

Click Browse and find the file you saved from Google Earth, then click Upload

Click Preview to double-check your saved route in the map to the right

If you are satisfied with the results, check the box next to the name of your route and click the "Save Selected Routes" button.

Here you can click on the Route Name to add more information and keywords, make it publicly available (recommended), and create a Pocket Query from your route

[+gouldjs]

I just got my premium membership and I have been playing with geo buddy and trying to do pocket queery and cache a long a route and I am all messed up. I am good at computer programs and I am just frustrated to death. I have my route name saved. I go to the PQ page and I can't find a spot to add the saved route. I was able to open the route in geobuddy, but only as waypoints and not as cache. I feel like I am following directions step by step and I am so darn frustrated. Please someone help me before I pull all my hair out.

[+Team Cotati]

I just got my premium membership and I have been playing with geo buddy and trying to do pocket queery and cache a long a route and I am all messed up. I am good at computer programs and I am just frustrated to death. I have my route name saved. I go to the PQ page and I can't find a spot to add the saved route. I was able to open the route in geobuddy, but only as waypoints and not as cache. I feel like I am following directions step by step and I am so darn frustrated. Please someone help me before I pull all my hair out.

 

How does this thing named geobuddy fit into the puzzle?

Edited April 26, 2008 by Team Cotati

[+gouldjs]

I just got my premium membership and I have been playing with geo buddy and trying to do pocket queery and cache a long a route and I am all messed up. I am good at computer programs and I am just frustrated to death. I have my route name saved. I go to the PQ page and I can't find a spot to add the saved route. I was able to open the route in geobuddy, but only as waypoints and not as cache. I feel like I am following directions step by step and I am so darn frustrated. Please someone help me before I pull all my hair out.

 

How does this thing named geobuddy fit into the puzzle?

geobuddy is software on my laptop that keeps track of vital geocaching data that I connect to my GPS through USB

[+Team Cotati]

I just got my premium membership and I have been playing with geo buddy and trying to do pocket queery and cache a long a route and I am all messed up. I am good at computer programs and I am just frustrated to death. I have my route name saved. I go to the PQ page and I can't find a spot to add the saved route. I was able to open the route in geobuddy, but only as waypoints and not as cache. I feel like I am following directions step by step and I am so darn frustrated. Please someone help me before I pull all my hair out.

 

How does this thing named geobuddy fit into the puzzle?

geobuddy is software on my laptop that keeps track of vital geocaching data that I connect to my GPS through USB

 

I'm not familiar with that application. Perhaps someone will drop in soon who can help you. Sorry.

[+Pat in Louisiana]

It took me several tries before I got it right.

First you need to download & install Google Earth not Google Maps.

In Google earth select the Directions tab and create a route from a to b.

At the bottom of the direction will be an item called “Route”

Right click “Route” and “Save as” Choose KLM not KMZ as the file type and give it the name you want and save it to your hard drive. You are done with Google Earth.

 

Go to the Pocket Query page.

Select “find caches along a route”

At the top of that page there are choices

Use the last one “upload GPX / KLM

Browse to your file and upload it

Now it should show up in the “Route Name” Column.

Check the box and hit the “Save selected routes” button.

On the next page you select the tab “Your Created Routes”

On the next page, go to far right and “Create Pocket Query” from your route.

That is about it

 

I hope this helps

Edited April 26, 2008 by Pat in Louisiana

[+thedeadpirate]

You CAN use Google Maps to do the routes. A member of our local caching group was kind enough to post the following instructions:

 

There is a trick you can use to automate this, but it's a little clumsy.

 

The interesting part is that Google MAPS (not Google Earth) will let you modify the route interactively. If you generate directions in maps.google.com , you can then left-click anywhere on the route and drag that point somewhere else to modify the route. For example, just drag your Torreya route off of I-10 and onto Blountstown highway!

 

The clumsy part is exporting the modified route as a KML file from Google MAPS. If you look at the top right of the map, you'll see a link called [Link to this Page]. The trick is

• Left-click on [Link to this Page]
  
• copy the text with the URL in the first field (called "Paste link in email or IM) with "Cntl-C"
  
• paste that text somewhere (probably in a new browser window)
  
• add the following to the end of the text: &output=kml
  
• open a link to that new URL (with the &output=kml at the end of the address) and you should get options about either opening it with Google Earth, or saving it on your computer. From there, proceed to use the KML file of the modified route in the usual way to make a "Caches on a Route" query.
  

Here's an example of a modified URL ending in &output=kml See what it does in your browser.

 

The last bulleted step will be a little different on every computer, depending on the browser, the way you handle KML files, etc. But the point is that you can (1) modify the route in Google Maps and then (2) use the &output=kml trick to export the modified directions.

 

I hope this makes sense...

[Moonraker Team]

You CAN use Google Maps to do the routes. A member of our local caching group was kind enough to post the following instructions:

 

There is a trick you can use to automate this, but it's a little clumsy.

 

The interesting part is that Google MAPS (not Google Earth) will let you modify the route interactively. If you generate directions in maps.google.com , you can then left-click anywhere on the route and drag that point somewhere else to modify the route. For example, just drag your Torreya route off of I-10 and onto Blountstown highway!

 

The clumsy part is exporting the modified route as a KML file from Google MAPS. If you look at the top right of the map, you'll see a link called [Link to this Page]. The trick is

• Left-click on [Link to this Page]
  
• copy the text with the URL in the first field (called "Paste link in email or IM) with "Cntl-C"
  
• paste that text somewhere (probably in a new browser window)
  
• add the following to the end of the text: &output=kml
  
• open a link to that new URL (with the &output=kml at the end of the address) and you should get options about either opening it with Google Earth, or saving it on your computer. From there, proceed to use the KML file of the modified route in the usual way to make a "Caches on a Route" query.
  

Here's an example of a modified URL ending in &output=kml See what it does in your browser.

 

The last bulleted step will be a little different on every computer, depending on the browser, the way you handle KML files, etc. But the point is that you can (1) modify the route in Google Maps and then (2) use the &output=kml trick to export the modified directions.

 

I hope this makes sense...

 

Thanks, I have tried this however all that gets saved is a small link file, I did try your hyperlink but again nothing shows, the only way I can do this at present is to do it in short stages where the start and end points go the route I want, hardly worth the effort really, but thanks anyway

[+WeatherednBoston]

You CAN use Google Maps to do the routes. A member of our local caching group was kind enough to post the following instructions:

 

There is a trick you can use to automate this, but it's a little clumsy.

 

The interesting part is that Google MAPS (not Google Earth) will let you modify the route interactively. If you generate directions in maps.google.com , you can then left-click anywhere on the route and drag that point somewhere else to modify the route. For example, just drag your Torreya route off of I-10 and onto Blountstown highway!

 

The clumsy part is exporting the modified route as a KML file from Google MAPS. If you look at the top right of the map, you'll see a link called [Link to this Page]. The trick is

• Left-click on [Link to this Page]
  
• copy the text with the URL in the first field (called "Paste link in email or IM) with "Cntl-C"
  
• paste that text somewhere (probably in a new browser window)
  
• add the following to the end of the text: &output=kml
  
• open a link to that new URL (with the &output=kml at the end of the address) and you should get options about either opening it with Google Earth, or saving it on your computer. From there, proceed to use the KML file of the modified route in the usual way to make a "Caches on a Route" query.
  

Here's an example of a modified URL ending in &output=kml See what it does in your browser.

 

The last bulleted step will be a little different on every computer, depending on the browser, the way you handle KML files, etc. But the point is that you can (1) modify the route in Google Maps and then (2) use the &output=kml trick to export the modified directions.

 

I hope this makes sense...

 

Thanks, I have tried this however all that gets saved is a small link file, I did try your hyperlink but again nothing shows, the only way I can do this at present is to do it in short stages where the start and end points go the route I want, hardly worth the effort really, but thanks anyway

 

Thank you! I tried that and it worked.

 

I had tried to save the link with the added "&output=kml" and then uploaded that to "Caches along a route" but the route was blank..

 

So I instead chose to upload the link with the added "&output=kml" in Google Earth....then I saved it as a KML file again...at that point I could upload the kml file, save it in "caches along a route" and it worked!

[+jackrock]

You CAN use Google Maps to do the routes. A member of our local caching group was kind enough to post the following instructions:

 

There is a trick you can use to automate this, but it's a little clumsy.

 

The interesting part is that Google MAPS (not Google Earth) will let you modify the route interactively. If you generate directions in maps.google.com , you can then left-click anywhere on the route and drag that point somewhere else to modify the route. For example, just drag your Torreya route off of I-10 and onto Blountstown highway!

 

The clumsy part is exporting the modified route as a KML file from Google MAPS. If you look at the top right of the map, you'll see a link called [Link to this Page]. The trick is

• Left-click on [Link to this Page]
  
• copy the text with the URL in the first field (called "Paste link in email or IM) with "Cntl-C"
  
• paste that text somewhere (probably in a new browser window)
  
• add the following to the end of the text: &output=kml
  
• open a link to that new URL (with the &output=kml at the end of the address) and you should get options about either opening it with Google Earth, or saving it on your computer. From there, proceed to use the KML file of the modified route in the usual way to make a "Caches on a Route" query.
  

Here's an example of a modified URL ending in &output=kml See what it does in your browser.

 

The last bulleted step will be a little different on every computer, depending on the browser, the way you handle KML files, etc. But the point is that you can (1) modify the route in Google Maps and then (2) use the &output=kml trick to export the modified directions.

 

I hope this makes sense...

 

Cool!! I followed the instructions and it worked perfectly. When I opened my saved kml file, it was the route I had made in Google Maps.

[the3gmen]

It sort of worked for me. I had to open the kml file with Google Earth and save it from there to get it to work.

 

Sweet.

[Moonraker Team]

Just to let everybody know I have now got this to work, maybe I had something in my computer or I was doing something wrong but I tried it again yesterday and it works fine.

Now I can continue to plan my Geocaching whilst travelling around Scotland later in the year.

Thanks to everyone for their help and greetings from the UK

Cheers

[+dew cache]

I aproach it from a different way I go to my account details and click on "find caches along a route" then search for one of the towns and look for one someone has done going the way I want to go. I just did that for a trip to Las Vegas I am taking and found 2 legs going the same road I am taking from Texas to vegas. The clicked "creat a pocket query" and you can change the parameters to what ever you want, I have mine setup for 1 mile on either side that is active and a traditional or earth cache I might choose all containers except micros before I leave at this time I have them included. I might not want to spend time looking for a micro when I am on a 1200 mile trip I still have to think about it.

[+shell1fish]

There's a third-party java script that will allow you to create a .gpx file directly from Google Maps to upload to Caching Along a Route.

 

goto the following page and about half way down is a box/link for gmaptogpx. right click and bookmark this link.

 

http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/

 

once you have your route created in google maps, click the link. it creates a text file that you then copy and paste into a notepad file. save it as "routename".gpx and then you can upload it as a gpx file into geocaching.com for caches along a route.

Original post

 

It worked great for me.