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An easy way to find Challenge Caches


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Since The Frog changed the gc.com Cache Name Search feature from 'any word in the name' to 'the first word in the name' it's got much harder to locate Challenge caches (which must have the word Challenge somewhere in their name) and AAND cache listings, for example.

 

Apart from running a "1000 nearest Puzzle caches" PQ, and then using GSAK to pick out the ones with Challenge somewhere in their name, is there another way of finding them? I hope to set up a comprehensive Bookmark list for them.

 

Thanks.

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Since The Frog changed the gc.com Cache Name Search feature from 'any word in the name' to 'the first word in the name' it's got much harder to locate Challenge caches (which must have the word Challenge somewhere in their name) and AAND cache listings, for example.

 

Apart from running a "1000 nearest Puzzle caches" PQ, and then using GSAK to pick out the ones with Challenge somewhere in their name, is there another way of finding them? I hope to set up a comprehensive Bookmark list for them.

 

Thanks.

There are two cachers who have ostensibly already done the same thing (both with a few errors) so your best bet is to start with either or both of their lists, weed out thos e you don't want which aren't actual challenge caches) and go from there. Following that, you'd just have to run a PQ once a week of unknown caches in your radius and look for the challenge caches among them, It can be as few as one in a week or up to a dozen!

 

These are the existing lists:

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=d70078a7-2419-4cd6-a4ce-abb1406ff05d UK and Ireland

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=c557a0f0-fe2e-4d96-bb6b-639c8dcde454 UK only

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Thanks Mellers, I'd seen both those bookmarks and spotted some issues with them. The 'New this week' puzzle cache PQ - plus filtering - update method was about as good as I came up with too. Perhaps the abandoned 'Challenge' feature of gs.com would have been better used for 'challenge caches', rather than putting them all in with every other puzzle/other/mystery type. Ho hum :rolleyes:

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Since The Frog changed the gc.com Cache Name Search feature from 'any word in the name' to 'the first word in the name' it's got much harder to locate Challenge caches (which must have the word Challenge somewhere in their name) and AAND cache listings, for example.

 

Apart from running a "1000 nearest Puzzle caches" PQ, and then using GSAK to pick out the ones with Challenge somewhere in their name, is there another way of finding them? I hope to set up a comprehensive Bookmark list for them.

 

Thanks.

I keep an offline database of all UK / Ireland / IOM caches, reasonably up to date except it takes about 5 weeks to cycle round them all. I can send you a GPX of all caches with challenge in the name. I understand this wouldn't be a long term solution for you.

 

Rgds, Andy

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... I can send you a GPX of all caches with challenge in the name. I understand this wouldn't be a long term solution for you.

Unfortunately the requirement that challenges have the word challenge in them is a relatively recent innovation. For some years this did not need to be the case so such a GPX file would omit all such earlier challenges which still exist. And there are LOTS of them! ;)

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Perhaps someone should request a new attribute for these. There are so many that are less useful. I'm surprised (well, not really) that Groundspeak didn't create one the day they decided that Challenge Caches were a valid game.
You're totally right HH. I'd not thought of Attributes but now you say it, it is pretty obvious. Powers that Be, are you listening?

 

Thanks for the offer Andy, but if I become a non-PM again (which is possible in my current mood when it comes to things Frog related) that would no longer be allowed and I wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble. On an unconnected note, could I suggest you add the CIs as well, if you're aiming for a British Isles (inc Ireland historicly) database?

 

I'll check your idea out BST; thank you. Interesting possibility.

 

Cheers guys.

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On an unconnected note, could I suggest you add the CIs as well, if you're aiming for a British Isles (inc Ireland historicly) database?

It's not intended to be a British Isles database, it's closer to a UK one than British Isles. The list of "countries" I include is a bit arbitrary, influenced in part by the bizarre way that Groundspeak defines a "country". The only reason it includes Ireland is because I want the Northern Ireland caches, and according to Groundspeak they are in the country of Ireland, complete with the Irish Tricolour - I can't get the NI ones without the Irish ones! Nothing against Irish caches, it's just not my priority to have them in my permanent database.

 

The inclusion of the IoM was because I had a particular interest at the time I set up the queries. I have no real reason to include Channel Island caches at present, and including them in my date sequence would likely be disruptive if they caused one to overflow the 1000 limit.

 

The database also includes other selected areas such as chunks of the Alps in France, Switzerland, Austria etc., but these aren't kept up to date so regularly.

 

Rgds, Andy

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Having this frustration with colours (Team Hippo's T2D5 rainbow challenge) I've simply googled something like geocaching violet [or orange or indigo, the hardest ones] england. It gives a few - there's an interesting one called beyond violet I want to try near Beaconsfield.

Yes, searching in gc.com is shockingly rudimentary IMHO. Why can't notifications have a tick list for cache types for example, instead of having to run on for each?

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