+NYPaddleCacher Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 About a half and hour ago I went to look up something on the main geocaching.com site and it was down. I read a few forum topics and went back and it looks like there have been a few updates. The site has a slightly different look and at least one new feature: Driving Directions. I am going to be in Maine at the end of August and got a recommendation for a cache that is located on an island (Vinalhaven) so I thought I'd check to see how it would tell me to drive to it. It was actually smart enough to tell me to use the Ferry that runs to the island. When I tried looking up driving directions for a cache I found in Zimbabwe it told me that it couldn't calculate them. It looks like the map view has changed as well as it now defaults to a terrain view when clicking on the map on the listing. Overall, the changes look pretty nice. Quote Link to comment
+va griz Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 You want to drive to Zimbabwe from NY? Be careful, I think they drive on the other side of the road once you get halfway across the Atlantic bridge. Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I just looked at some of the 'driving directions'. Same one my Gupy gives me. Yes, when we went to Vinalhaven it gave us good directions! But, no one would ever consider some of the driving directions that I get! Look at: Don't Get Stumped! , for instance. Park on the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike! Okay. Perhaps a silly example. I drive from northwest Jersey to north Hudson County, NJ often. It tells me to take I-280 to the Turnpike. Ain't no way! How to get from northwest Jersey to Vinalhaven, Maine? Take I-80 to I-95, across the George Washington Bridge. Are they serious???? NYDOT suggests north on I-87 to I-84. So. Take 'driving directions' with a grain of salt. Quote Link to comment
+BiT Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 It also looks like some of the general layout and spacing as well as the font changed. Also check out the new "Shop For Gear" link at the left of the page and the layout with pictures. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Take 'driving directions' with a grain of salt. The directions will be no better than those you'll get from your GPS. Mapquest or Google Maps. They will likely take you to the road nearest the cache which might not be an appropriate jumping off point. So yes, use a few grains of salt. Quote Link to comment
WashoeZephyr Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 (edited) I just ran the directions to a local cache to see what it would do, just like Garmin, it's sends you the less practical way but it does get you there! I like the new look, its nice to see a little change every now and then. The topo maps on "view maps" are cool! Edited July 24, 2008 by LostinReno Quote Link to comment
+Pengana Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 About a half and hour ago I went to look up something on the main geocaching.com site and it was down. I read a few forum topics and went back and it looks like there have been a few updates. The site has a slightly different look and at least one new feature: Driving Directions. ...... I just went looking for that link after reading your post. Hmmmmm - I know I'm going to end up using the feature... but isn't this cheating? I mean.... you should be able to get to the cache by the co-ordinates alone. Sure it can be helpful at times - but it defeats the point of geocaching where you get coordinates and see if you can find the cache. Quote Link to comment
+emmett Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 . The new "driving directions" feature would be nice except it does not take you to the trailhead or proper parking spot - in some cases very misleading and not even close. I think there should be a requirement (except for mystery caches) that owners publish parking coordinates and this new feature should lead you there. I believe this is done by many (most?) owners voluntarily on their cache pages, but the new feature does not use those coordinates. . Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 You want to drive to Zimbabwe from NY? Be careful, I think they drive on the other side of the road once you get halfway across the Atlantic bridge. Yes, they do drive on the left hand side of the road in Zimbabwe (and Zambia as well). I was there last November and if I go back again I'm taking the tunnel. Various mapping sites have always been notorious for providing directions that are sub-optimal. That's why I really like the google maps interface that allow you to drag a route. I asked to display directions from Ithaca, NY to Rockland, ME then the reverse direction for the trip home. I wanted to take different routes each way so I was able to grab a spot on the route and drag it to another road and it recreated the route with my preferences. It's a good way to see how much longer it make take if you take a spur road off the main route to grab a few caches. I wish that Google Earth had the same feature. That way I could pick a scenic route from point A to point B and then download the route to create a "caches along a route" pocket query. Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 The new "driving directions" feature would be nice except it does not take you to the trailhead or proper parking spot - in some cases very misleading and not even close. The feature works exactly as advertised. It takes you to a point on a road that's nearest to the cache, since Google doesn't expect you to be driving off-road. You're expected to use a little common sense from there. I think there should be a requirement (except for mystery caches) that owners publish parking coordinates and this new feature should lead you there. Oh, good. More rules. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.