need caches ;)

[+novw.nl]

Lets start: I am NOT asking for a file containing PQ's in California/Nevada. That would be illegal

 

My wife and I are visiting your area at the end of the month. Now I am used to taking along all geocaches that are available in the area where we are vacationing.. The US is a whole different ballgame from Europe. I am trying to create PQ's for California, but I am stuck at 98 created PQ's. Last one dating january 2011. This is just to much to download. So I need some help. 98 PQ's at a rate of 5 per day... Thats a no unfortunately.

 

We have only a little notion of where we are going. So how do I approach this downloading task? Caches along a route is pointless. 1: we have no route and 2: the route plans we have, contain 10000+ caches within a .1 mile radius along the route. Online is not an option. Roaming is way out of my budget. (1Mb = $15.00...). I am stuck. I do want to have "a lot" of caches in my database and in my navigation, so that when teh sun shines in townA we can move to townA and start caching there.

 

Any ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance.

[+t4e]

you don't mention if you have a laptop that you'll be taking with you, in which case you can just run PQ's every day before setting off

 

other than that i can't really think of anything other than running your PQ's after you eliminated any sizes, container types and any other attributes that do not appeal to you

 

but are you really going to be all over the state?

 

based on the cache density in California i am guessing you may have to run 500 PQ's to get everything

[+EdrickV]

If you have a laptop with wifi, then choose hotels to stay at that have free wifi, and download pocket queries on a day to day basis while on vacation, depending on where you want to go that day. If you don't have one, look for hotels that have an internet connected computer for guests to use (which is probably most of them) and then do PQs on that computer. In that case you'd want a way to get caches onto your GPS that does not require any extra drivers. (For example a USB card reader or a GPS that can be put into USB Storage mode.)

 

Don't forget US maps if your unit uses maps.

[+novw.nl]

We have no idea where we'll end up. We have a rough plan, but we are very very flexible. When rain hits, we'll move. Anywhere.

 

As for the WiFi: jup. Have that. Will do that. But this means spending an hour on the computer every night to get "nearby" caches. And since GS still uses those circles to grab caches... Added bonus: looking at the amount of caches in the state, I think I Will not even be able to grab "all" caches thru 5 PQ's per day while there!

 

So we try to prepare

[+SD Rowdies]

We have no idea where we'll end up. We have a rough plan, but we are very very flexible. When rain hits, we'll move. Anywhere.

 

As for the WiFi: jup. Have that. Will do that. But this means spending an hour on the computer every night to get "nearby" caches. And since GS still uses those circles to grab caches... Added bonus: looking at the amount of caches in the state, I think I Will not even be able to grab "all" caches thru 5 PQ's per day while there!

 

So we try to prepare

Go hiking ... far fewer and more rewarding

hides in remote areas. That way you can flip

the selection criteria ... terrain rating of

three or more instead of 2 or less. More

manageable for PQs that way.

 

Another angle is to inquire for bookmarked

lists of favorites for areas you will visit.

 

On the other hand if you play the numbers game

then you're screwed. Urban micros by the

thousands in major cities of Califoria and it

will be like wanting PQs for locust swarms.

 

As already mentioned, laptop and WIFI lodging

is your only hope ... skip meals by bringing

in fast-food or Chinese and sit up evenings to

update your PQs.

[+novw.nl]

My main problem is that it is bloody hard to copy data from my netbook to my Tomtom. And driving any distance on a garmin etrex is not really a plan. Coordinates on a paper map is also "quite difficult".

 

But I have figured out a thing or two in GSAK (v8+) that is helping me. I can do a "caches along the route", but with filters, and in a way I understand. So... We'll get there. Somewhere

[+EdrickV]

Not exactly sure how you get data onto a TomTom, but GSAK/GPSBabel may be able to make it easier if it uses .ovl files and you can just copy them into a folder on the device. (I do that to get Geocaches/Benchmarks into the CoPilot v8 GPS software on my smartphone.)

 

If you have any interest in Benchmark hunting, I know how you could load benchmarks onto the GPS. And unlike Geocaches, it's possible to download all the benchmark data for a single state at once.

[+novw.nl]

1: I download many many many many caches

2: I import all those caches in GSAK

3: I run a makro called "tomtom.gsk"

4: I connect tomtom to computer

5: I move the .OV2 files

 

et voila as they say in Germany

 

Benchmark hunting is not our thing, thanks.

[+WeeWillie]

NOVW

 

CA is too big, travel distances to long and cache density to high for you to just wander about. Surely, you have some ideas about where you want to visit?

 

Try caching along a route. For CA coastal routes pick two towns about 10-15 miles apart with a search radius of .5 miles. You will get more caches than enough caches to keep you occupied. Here are two examples: San Diego to La Jolla and La Jolla to Carlsbad.

 

Also check out San Diego/

[+novw.nl]

with the use of GSAK8 and a splitscreen makro called "map nearest" and the API acces gsak has, I have done what I set out to do

 

Now to set up a meeting We will be in the area as of sep-27. Well actually we'll be in LA by sep 24. Jetlagged and tired... So. Who wants to meet up and possibly do some geocaching in the southern California region around sep 26/27? We, two people, 1 male @ age 45 1 female @ (age a little less ), from the Netherlands. Have cached in Florida (and around), Texas (and around) and in a heap of other places:

 

 

currently standing at 2100 caches, we are trying to go for 3000 this vacation. But we are also in for a "one cache a day" day . We teamed up with a couple of geocachers in Texas last year, and it was so much fun, we are trying to make meetings like this a regular thing.

 

Meet us, and greet us Please PM, mail or reply when interested.