Gps connect directly to Geocaching.com

[+lostatgo]

Hello I am relitivily new to geocaching but my wife and I are enjoying it very much. The hardest part of the whole thing for me is making sure that all of the caches that I might be looking for on any given day are all loaded into my Garmin. I have to make sure that my lists are up to date and include all caches for an area, then make sure those lists load to my Garnin properly. Once I have found my days worth of caches I then need to mark them as found on my computer because information doesn't seem to go both ways. Am I  doing it wrong? is there a better way? Is there a Gps that works more directly with Geocahing.com? I seem to be once again Lostatgo. Thanks

[+kunarion]

24 minutes ago, lostatgo said:

Hello I am relitivily new to geocaching but my wife and I are enjoying it very much. The hardest part of the whole thing for me is making sure that all of the caches that I might be looking for on any given day are all loaded into my Garmin. I have to make sure that my lists are up to date and include all caches for an area, then make sure those lists load to my Garnin properly. Once I have found my days worth of caches I then need to mark them as found on my computer because information doesn't seem to go both ways. Am I  doing it wrong? is there a better way? Is there a Gps that works more directly with Geocahing.com? I seem to be once again Lostatgo. Thanks

 

Connect the Garmin GPS by USB to the computer, look for a file in the Garmin folder called "geocache_visits.txt".  Upload it to the web site:

https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=138&pgid=548

[+cerberus1]

44 minutes ago, lostatgo said:

Hello I am relitivily new to geocaching but my wife and I are enjoying it very much. The hardest part of the whole thing for me is making sure that all of the caches that I might be looking for on any given day are all loaded into my Garmin. I have to make sure that my lists are up to date and include all caches for an area, then make sure those lists load to my Garnin properly. Once I have found my days worth of caches I then need to mark them as found on my computer because information doesn't seem to go both ways. Am I  doing it wrong? is there a better way? Is there a Gps that works more directly with Geocahing.com? I seem to be once again Lostatgo. Thanks

 

Which GPSr  model ?    Most we know use kunarion's link, or use GSAK.

Four or five caches a day, a couple days a week, I wouldn't bother with the computer, and simply load caches manually. 

I've loaded caches manually to a GPSr since starting this odd hobby, and never felt I had or needed to do anything like everyone else.  

It would be helpful to add a small notepad for hints and stuff...

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by cerberus1
;)

[+colleda]

2 hours ago, lostatgo said:

Hello I am relitivily new to geocaching but my wife and I are enjoying it very much. The hardest part of the whole thing for me is making sure that all of the caches that I might be looking for on any given day are all loaded into my Garmin. I have to make sure that my lists are up to date and include all caches for an area, then make sure those lists load to my Garnin properly. Once I have found my days worth of caches I then need to mark them as found on my computer because information doesn't seem to go both ways. Am I  doing it wrong? is there a better way? Is there a Gps that works more directly with Geocahing.com? I seem to be once again Lostatgo. Thanks

Not wrong at all but there is an alternative such as Cerberus1 suggested. I've been doing it your way for 9 years.

[+mustakorppi]

21 hours ago, lostatgo said:

Am I  doing it wrong? is there a better way? Is there a Gps that works more directly with Geocahing.com? I seem to be once again Lostatgo. Thanks

Is the Geocaching app on a smart phone not an option for you?

[+kunarion]

2 hours ago, mustakorppi said:

Is the Geocaching app on a smart phone not an option for you?

That’s something I occasionally do, but didn’t recommend it, because not only did the OP not mention phone Apps, it makes the cache hunt twice as complicated.

 

I hunt caches with the Garmin GPS. Access the corresponding cache page from the App, live or downloaded, then type some info as a Draft, which then automatically appears in the web site “Drafts” for editing as logs.  Save the (very abbreviated) log on the GPS, in case the phone App goes completely nuts (I’ve learned not to trust An App for actual caching).  Twice the work, plus data and battery, in addition to all other phone issues.  But it’s an option.

 

If it’s a newer connected Garmin, it’s a little different, and can be easier than that, if everything works well.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by kunarion

[+fuzziebear3]

Yes, I am old school, and you are doing it right.

I load my caches (and even some extras!) to my GPS -- I use GSAK.

I enjoy my cache outing.  Good idea to take notes along the way.

I log them all when I get home, using thewebsite on a computer with a keyboard so I can write nice logs and tell about my adventure.

 

 

[+mustakorppi]

10 hours ago, kunarion said:

because not only did the OP not mention phone Apps, it makes the cache hunt twice as complicated.

The OP said they're new so I thought it fair to ask if they were aware of the alternatives. I'm not trying to convert people who've cached a certain way for years, and I'm not going to push it to the op either. It's just that the op found it hard to load caches to their unit and to sync finds online, and the app takes care of both without any effort if you have reception, and a little effort if you don't.

[+kunarion]

On 4/11/2021 at 4:45 PM, cerberus1 said:

 

Which GPSr  model ?    Most we know use kunarion's link, or use GSAK.

Four or five caches a day, a couple days a week, I wouldn't bother with the computer, and simply load caches manually. 

I've loaded caches manually to a GPSr since starting this odd hobby, and never felt I had or needed to do anything like everyone else.  

It would be helpful to add a small notepad for hints and stuff...

 

 

 

+1

I carry an Indiana-Jones-style diary, and write/draw notes into it (including puzzles I'm working).  For a day on a nature trail, I've sometimes written my hand-picked caches in the order I will find them, making notes that will become logs later.  I'll return, relax, type my logs, done!  And the Forum will be full of "App is broken all weekend!", "Drafts aren't being submitted!", "Can't send/receive data" server bugs over a holiday weekend.  I didn't even notice.  

[+kunarion]

7 hours ago, mustakorppi said:

The OP said they're new so I thought it fair to ask if they were aware of the alternatives. I'm not trying to convert people who've cached a certain way for years, and I'm not going to push it to the op either. It's just that the op found it hard to load caches to their unit and to sync finds online, and the app takes care of both without any effort if you have reception, and a little effort if you don't.

 

Yes, it's good to present options!  

[+K13]

I hope by "Mark them as found on my computer" the OP means "write a bit about my adventures while finding the cache placed by someone else".