Keeping Records.......

[James1113]

Hello everyone.....

Forgive me if this has been addressed already, but I did a search and I couldn't find any info, so I'll go ahead and ask....

I just started cache hunting and I have found my first few caches. I see that the website will keep track of my finds as I log them, BUT should I also keep local paper records of my finds? What do you veteran cache hunters do? Do you keep a paper log book with your finds in it? If so, is there some sort of format that works well for this? I considered making some sort of form on Excel to log in my finds, but figured I'd ask here on the forums first for some guidance before I went ahead and did anything. Simple diary? Standard form? Print outs from the website? Just curious what you all might recommend, if anything.

Cool stuff, this geocaching.

Thanks in advance for any insights you might provide on this topic......

Peace,

Jim

[+9Key]

Some people keep little logbooks, some keep printouts. Maybe the most popular way to keep track of your finds is using the GSAK program (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife). Check it out at www.gsak.net.

[+Prime Suspect]

Never saw any need for it. Once in a blue moon I'll update the "My Finds" Plucker document in my PDA. Otherwise, the site does a good job of keeping track of what I've found and what I haven't. A system bookmark tracks those DNFs I want to come back to, and the Ignore list tracks the ones I don't. Don't really need anything else.

[+StarBrand]

I let the website keep trak of my finds for me. I too, download a my finds PQ once in a while for stats - and as a sort of backup - but it all comes from the website.

[PrincessL]

I'm VERY new too. I keep a little journal and record some interesting sites or other things at the cache location.

[+jhssearcher]

Gsak is good to use, can put notes about each cache on finds database if you run it every week or so.

[+apereira]

I was going to keep a local track file, but I think the website is good at that. You can run query for those.

[namiboy]

i don't do anything extra.

[+Chrysalides]

Mainly the website, by making sure I enter notes / DNFs / finds in the order that they occur. I also keep a copy in GSAK, with notes on how I solved a puzzle, final coordinates of puzzles, and whatever finals of multistages that I remember to enter.

[+briansnat]

My cache logs are all the journal I need. I don't see any point in duplicating the effort.

[+Team Veverca]

I use GSAK to log the items I put into and take out of the cache.

My girlfriend adds some notes and stuff that happened while searching for the cache.

[+solo63137]

I print out each caches page and I like to read them while searching for the cache...

 

I write notes on each one, such as Found on xx.xx.xx with (name of Geo-Pal) and any notes about where it was or things we saw... I then use them when I get home, to update the site and I file them in my File cabinet under Geocaches - Found or Geocaches - Not Found Yet

[+Harry Dolphin]

I have an Excel spreadsheet. Became an annoyance when GC started listing my finds newest on top. My spreadsheet has oldest on top. Oh, well.

[+Arrow42]

I take some notes in the field, but usually toss them after I've logged my visit. I do keep some notes in my blackberry on puzzle caches I've worked on but haven't solved/found yet.

[+raslas]

GSAK works great for this. I used to keep a log in Excel so they would be in the order I found them, then I found out (thanks to the forums) you could do it in GSAK. I have a column for who was with on the search, have them numbered according to what find number it is, and I keep notes of interesting things that happen while searching.

[James1113]

Very nice responses, all! I will check out the "GSAK" thing, thanks for the link. Be well and happy hunting to all of you.

Regards,

Jim

[+flask]

i take a lot of pictures, so i have those, and i keep signatures or other interesting objects i find. in my post-brain-damage life, i have a little notebook with the names of caches i hunt in the order i hunt them, which enables me to reconstruct enough of my day to write logs when matched with the cache pages and my photos.

 

i do not duplicate the documentation elsewhere. the online logs are enough for me.

 

in practice, the online logs serve as my memory for my life in general more often than i'd like to admit.

 

what i couldn't remember today:

 

what day of the week it was

how long it takes to drive from my house into the nearest city

what causes the procession of the seasons.

 

what i could remember today:

 

who i was thinking of a year ago today

what was in the first cache i found

some rocks i saw on the ground in northampton, MA in 2004

[+Travelinmatt76]

I've been thinking about keeping extra logs of my finds. Currently I just use the website, but I also take lots of pictures. I take a picture of the cache location exactly how I find it, I lay out all the stuff in the cache and snap a photo of that, then I take a pic of the logbook after I sign it. I just keep these in my geocache folder on my computer.

[+Zolgar]

This entity requires nothing other than the automated recording device in its cranium.

 

... >.>

[+Chrysalides]

This entity requires nothing other than the automated recording device in its cranium.

But biological media is impossible to back up and highly susceptible to deterioration and decay.

[+speakers-corner]

Hi all,

I do the same as Harry Dolphin. I have a separate Speadsheet that I keep up-to-date with not only my finds but also TB's and Coins, and then another with all those who have found my Caches as well. I also use GSAK as well.

[+Zolgar]

This entity requires nothing other than the automated recording device in its cranium.

But biological media is impossible to back up and highly susceptible to deterioration and decay.

 

this one made no mention of biological media.

[+JU5TU5]

Each week, like some others, I get a "My Finds" PQ that I upload into CacheStats from www.logicweave.com

 

Easy, and works like a charm.

[+edscott]

I have an Excel spreadsheet. Became an annoyance when GC started listing my finds newest on top. My spreadsheet has oldest on top. Oh, well.

 

Me too.. now I copy a day, paste them in excel, number them correctly, and sort..

Edited June 17, 2009 by edscott

[+anakerose]

only time I keep records is when we're on a long caching trip. We take the laptop with us usually so I just do it on a notepad. If we don't have the laptop I have a notebook that write in. I keep track of F/DNF, Trackables (picked up/dropped off), and a small one liner about the cache so I remember later when I go to log them online.

[+popokiiti]

We still have the printouts and little log book from our "early days" of geocaching...neat to look at, but the paper printouts take up a lot of room in the filing cabinet, and I am going to turn them into scratch pads. The log book we'll keep for old time's sake :-)

Popoki Nui now has the Oregon, so we go paperless..and feel good about that.

[James1113]

Again, thank you all very much for your replies. I appreciate it!

Peace,

Jim

[gojkgo]

We keep a spreadsheet, but only because my husband and I geocache together under this name. We use the spreadsheet to keep track of our personal find stats, not that we're counting. (I'm getting schooled by J, thank you very much.)

K

[+MM32]

I find it a lot of fun to go back and look in my hard copy diary of hides I have done in the past. It's also a great way to stay organized if you are going to attempt several hides in the same day. I log coins and TB's and make notes to remind me of something I need to add to my log.

[+Sky King 36]

I have tried to keep a spreadsheet but my find pace is too hard to keep up with so I let it drop.

 

I dearly, dearly wish that geocaching.com had a public AND private text box on the log page so I could put my own notes right in with the log entry and keep them together.

[+fizzymagic]

I keep my own database with the actual times of the finds (so they stay in order) and the actual coordinates of the finds (for multis and puzzles). It lets me keep track of my FTFs without having to be obnoxious in the logs, which is also nice. I use it to track my total geocaching distance as well as a bunch of other things. For myself.

 

Keeping track of the actual order in which you found the caches can ber very helpful; I wish the site would let us do it.

[+Chrysalides]

Keeping track of the actual order in which you found the caches can ber very helpful; I wish the site would let us do it.

I log them in the order they are found. The log ID is unique and monotonically increasing, as far as I can tell. Sometimes if really necessary I log a note and edit it into a found later. That way, if I sort by log ID, they're in the order I found / DNF.

 

Alternatively, precede your log with a find count #.

 

Or am I missing something?

[crazyseany]

we are really new to this too. we found our first cache on 6-26. sor far we have found 7. my wife has gotten a hardbound journal that sh is writting down some information about each cach and what we traded for and who found it.... we have our 6 & 7 year olds with us too. she's also leaving room for pictures we have taken and maybe items we have collected. kinda like a geoscrapbook I guess.

 

we are also going to try to pick up a large map of the US so we can track any TB's or Geocoins we find or let loose...thinking of using different colored thread and pins to mark each spot.

 

sean

[+RayandLynn]

We are new too!! We have 2 binders, one is our "found" binder, and the other is our "need to find" binder. We print out the cache's, and, we like to read them as we look. Never know what hint it will hold, and we write notes about it when we find it. I guess it's what you want to do. Whatever method makes you happy.

Edited July 1, 2009 by RayandLynn

[+fizzymagic]

Keeping track of the actual order in which you found the caches can ber very helpful; I wish the site would let us do it.

I log them in the order they are found. The log ID is unique and monotonically increasing, as far as I can tell. Sometimes if really necessary I log a note and edit it into a found later. That way, if I sort by log ID, they're in the order I found / DNF.

 

Or am I missing something?

Yes, you are missing something.

 

What if one of your logs is deleted?

 

What if you forget a cache that you found and don't log it until after the others for that date?

 

What if you make a mistake in the order you log caches?

 

None of those is recoverable.

[+Original A1]

I have an Excel spreadsheet. Became an annoyance when GC started listing my finds newest on top. My spreadsheet has oldest on top. Oh, well.

If you have headers on the spreadsheet, it is possible to sort these so that it shows oldest on top (assuming you've put the dates in): highlight the whole spreadsheet (Ctrl + A) and go to Data on the toolbar at the top. Then Sort. It'll give you as many options as you have columns. If you have one with "Date Found", sort using that and the whole spreadsheet will do just that. If you have one with "Cache Name", it will sort by name, etc. Be sure to highlight the whole sheet though, and certainly the complete line of an entry, otherwise you may mix up the data! It's always good to save before you start making changes...

 

As to my own usage, I don't use a database. However, when I started, I printed out lots of pages and put them in polypockets in a large lever arch file which is still in the back of my car. As and when I did them, I'd put a wee tick at the top, the time found and date found, and put that sheet in the back of the folder, so they're stored in chronological order. When I became a member, I resorted purely to using my GPS apart from those awkward ones like puzzle caches or multicaches where it's easier to look at the printed page and put in scribbles where necessary. That said, I still have quite a number of print-outs which are awaiting attention.

 

The GPS is excellent (Garmin Oregon 400t) as it allows me to mark when I've found a cache (presumably they all do this?) and I can also write a short note. Although I usually put a little aide memoire which helps me recall what it was like at the time, I find it useful to log coin/TB codes, particularly if I'm going to be dropping them off again before I get home.

 

When I log the finds, the synch with the computer allows me to cut and paste the code straight onto the site, but I also copy and paste the newest text into text document so I have a spare copy. I also then add the name of the cache at the end, just for my computer, so I can remember which it was as these GC codes are double dutch to me of course! Finally, I remove the codes of those I've found from my GPS so's I can add more!!

 

Sounds like a fankle, but it isn't really. Other than that, I just look at my record on the site.

 

[+Chrysalides]

Yes, you are missing something.

 

What if one of your logs is deleted?

 

What if you forget a cache that you found and don't log it until after the others for that date?

 

What if you make a mistake in the order you log caches?

 

None of those is recoverable.

Good points, I didn't consider those.

 

Insert a numeric timestamp into every log entry? If you use the Unix time format it should be good till 2038 (and you can always extend it past 32 bit).

 

I notice that some people have semi-cryptic entries in their logs (e.g. Kablooey's notations).

 

You made me think of another point - sometimes a cache is changed after you've found it. Not only difficulty / terrain rating, but also the hide and / or the location. I guess I should rethink my record keeping. A quick fix is to lock the found caches in GSAK. It might even solve the deleted log issue...

 

Out of curiosity, what database do you use?

Edited July 2, 2009 by Chrysalides

[+CRiS95]

I find OneNote to be an excellent tool for logging information. You can print cache info to OneNote and then journal your finds. Of course, I also have the mobile version on my phone so that makes it easier.

 

Lots of other great suggestions here that I will be checking out.

[+CRiS95]

I find OneNote to be an excellent tool for logging information. You can print cache info to OneNote and then journal your finds. Of course, I also have the mobile version on my phone so that makes it easier.

 

Lots of other great suggestions here that I will be checking out.

[+Teacosies]

I asked the same here in the UK http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=217301&hl=