Annual GeoCaching.com Field Guide

[Cache Canucks]

First, let me say from the start, I fully appreciate the amount of work and capital that would be required to get something like this off the ground ...which could very well make this whole discussion nothing more than 'pie in the sky' postulation. That being said, what do folks think about the idea of publishing an annual GeoCaching.com field guide?

 

Such a guide could take the form of a 'pocket dictionary' sized softcover book and would list essential information for *all* geocaches that appeared on the website as of an established yearly pre-publication date (probably sometime following the peak geocaching season, to take into account the vast majority of new cache placements during a given year). The field guide could also include lead-in sections covering the type of 'How To' and 'FAQ' information currently found on the website.

 

Although all of this same cache information is - and would continue to be - available via the website, there could very well be a place for a book like this. No longer would you be tied to having to access the website in order to obtain cache information 'on the fly' (or limiting your hunts to caches for which you've downloaded information in advance) ...of particular value to those who don't travel with a notebook computer or PDA. You could simply throw the current year's edition of the field guide into your backpack or glovebox and be 'good to go', regardless of what direction (or how far) your travels take you. Sure, there's bound to be caches that are placed subsequent to the publication date that won't get listed until the following year's field guide, but GeoCachers could still get the most up-to-date listings from the website (and should be encouraged to do so). The purpose of an annual field guide wouldn't be to replace obtaining cache information from the website, but to work in concert with it (book or not, cache hunters would still use the website for logging finds). Then of course, there would be the kick out of seeing caches which you've hidden appear in the guide (perhaps in itself worth the price of buying one each year?).

 

As for initial production costs, they might be offset by making limited ad space available in each edition. How much would Garmin or Magellan be willing to pay for a full-page ad that appears in an annual publication carried by hordes of GPS carrying GeoCachers all over the world? Distribution would be simple ...it would be via the existing network used for current GeoCaching.com merchandise (if well received, this project could easily turn a handy profit for our friends at Groundspeak).

 

So what do you think...?

[Northern-Lights]

First of all, the poll numbers are corrupted. I'm the first to respond and yet the vote I cast didn't even show up. I voted I'd buy one every couple of years....and it's put my vote into another catagory all together. That being said, I think it would be a huge exspense, what, one for each state?,,,one for the entire U.S.?..........I don't think it would fly.

 

Earth First!!! We'll cache the other planets later!!

[+vds]

I'm not tied to the website, I joined for the small fee as a paying member and get custom queries delivered to me by e-mail, including PDA versions of the caches my custom queries return as results. I think it's a problem already solved.

 

For what it's worth, I don't think including cache info in a paper book is reasonable, caches come and go too often.

 

A small book of rules, guidelines, etc. is probably a good thing that would make sense though. Maybe capture a snapshot of the docs/faqs from the web site into paper form as you mention.

 

[Cache Canucks]

quote:

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Originally posted by vds:

"...I'm not tied to the website, I joined for the small fee as a paying member and get custom queries delivered to me by e-mail, including PDA versions of the caches my custom queries return as results. I think it's a problem already solved...."

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But you still need access to your email to get that information. This idea would let you roam/hunt completely 'unplugged'.

[Cache Canucks]

quote:

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Originally posted by Northern-Lights:

"...I think it would be a huge exspense, what, one for each state?,,,one for the entire U.S.?...

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One guide would cover *all* geocaches, regardless of location. Published cache information would be significantly less than what appears on the website and limited to the *bare essentials* needed to conduct a hunt (Country/Region/Type/Rating/GC#/Cache Name/Owner/Location/Date Hidden).

[+nittany dave]

I would not buy it - it would be too out of date. Although I could see where someone may compile an interesting annual compilation. Sort of "the best and worst of..." forums, cache notes, events, etc. Pictures and stories added may make humorous reading.

As for being able to "roam free", that just isn't a need of mine. When I travel, I know in advance and plan for it. Pocket queries for the area I'm going will be fine. It just isn't something that I personally would use.

 

coach: what's the story, norm?

norm: thirsty guy walks into a bar. you finish it.

[BassoonPilot]

The AOPA Airport Directory I use is published every two years, and even that is outdated as soon as it is published ... and geocache placements are considerably more "dynamic" than airports. I think you had a nice idea, but in my opinion it's impractical.

 

Consider that there are also twice as many caches in place as there were a year ago, and that many caches have quickly come and gone within that period.

 

An unacceptably high percentage of the information contained in the book would be outdated even before its publication date. That's the reason a website such as this is the ideal place to access such information ... and even here online, there have been instances of caches "gone missing" prior to being approved.

[geoStrider]

I wouldn't be interested. I don't see the need for, or the value of, a "field guide" for something as straight forward as this. Enough info exists online to answer any pertinent questions.

 

I've never been lost, but I was a might bewildered for three days once. Daniel Boone

[Cape Cod Cacher]

As previously stated, I think it's too dynamic a situation to list all the caches. I buy a Eldridge Tide & Pilot book every year, but tides don't quit or get stolen. As far as traveling, when I contract for work, I make sure I have internet access. I stay in 'mom&pop' motels for my own traveling, and they are usually more than happy to let me use a computer for 1/2 hour.

I don't use PDAs or a laptop, and I have to look in my wallet for my cell-phone #...

[FullOn]

Another thing you have to take into account is the lead time for getting these made and distributed. This is what I do for a living - database publishing - taking huge databases and turning them into printed material, i.e. parts directories, medical provider guides, etc...

 

As a best case scenario, you'd have about a month of preproduction, corrections and changes before you had a workable file. Then off to the printer and bindery for another month for prepress, bluelining, plating, printing, binding and boxing. Then at least 2-4 weeks for distribution before you got them into your hot little hands. So there's 3 months from the time you take the most current data and get a book into your hands. Look where we were 3 months ago just with cache placements, not to mention the ones that are no longer there.

 

Good idea, but not too feasable. Same reason you don't see an internet yellow pages book.

[Geckoguy]

I personally like the idea. I know it would be out-dated but maybe you could at least have an option for each cache to be listed by the cache owner as opposed to cataloging every single cache out there. Kind of like a "Whos Who" of Geocaching. That way, the cache owners are more committed to keeping their caches available after print. Sure, more caches will be created but at least you would have a good start on caches that already exist and whose owners are committed to keeping them up and running. I have had more than one occasion where I found myself traveling with some extra time and no access to the Internet and wished I had a "Hitchiker's Guide to Geocaching" in my back pocket! Maybe you could combine your idea with nittany dave's and make it a little of both - include some "Best of" as well as local caches. I'm betting plenty of people will have caches/stories/logs to contribute! One more idea - each contributor can pay a fee to have their cache/story/log published (which can also give them credit towards a discount on the book) - that helps by keeping people from sending in second-rate contributions as well as help fund the book up front.

[+Mopar]

It will never happen

Like others have said, the information is just too dynamic. Stale data isn't just stale, it's potentially dangerous.

A cache gets archived right after publication.

It was archived because it was causing damage in a fragile location. Or it was archived because the location could be dangerous or illegal.

Now, for the next 12 months, you have people trampling that rare plant looking for a cache that isn't there. You have people wandering around dangerous or illegal places. You have people having their car impounded for trespassing in a area that was open to the public when the cache was placed, but no longer is. That last one just happened here last week. Cache was archived ASAP of course. People reading your book would not know this situation existed. Nope, a book of year old cache data will never happen.

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

[+Runaround]

Don't forget to consider all the chiropractic visits we would be creating. With 35K+ plus caches in the USA alone, that would be one hefty field guide. Does it come with wheels?

 

I've heard birders complain about the size of their fild guides and most of them don't cover 750 species. My Newcombs wildflower guide covers 1375 plants and it's big by field guide standards.

 

Now where did I park my car???????

[+Bloencustoms]

In preparation for hunting a cache, I print out the page. Often, if I didn't get to one, I'll use the page that may have been printed as little as two or three weeks prior. The valuable information to be had from the logs of visitors since the printing will not be there. Sometimes, a hint gleaned from the log of another cacher makes the difference between a find and a DNF for me. I would rather know that the information I have is as current as possible. A year seems like a long time for conditions to change at a cache. I think your system might work if there were only a few hundred caches in very remote locations that experience little traffic.

 

""

[Cache Canucks]

quote:

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Originally posted by Runaround:

"...With 35K+ plus caches in the USA alone, that would be one hefty field guide..."

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Although this idea seems to have fallen flatter than a fist full of soft clay dropped from a 10th floor window, you're over estimating the physical size requirements for something like this.

 

Looking at my handy paperback Oxford pocket dictionary, it measures 10cm x 15cm x 4cm and weighs 'maybe' 1/3 of a kilo. Each of its 780 pages contains 54 lines of fine print text. Assuming that one line of text is used to list the essential information for each cache, that's over 42,000 entries.

 

Not exactly a heavy weight.

[+Renegade Knight]

The Guinis book of caching records and other worthless information might be something.

 

The caches themselves are too dynamic, but the first cache. Cool. The list of names...ok. The cache records...sure.

 

Would I buy it? Probably not. Id read my friends copy.

 

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Wherever you go there you are.

[+GeoBlank]

Instead of a field guide. I think a nice little .net application that lets you pick several caches from your pocket query and then prints out an overview map and table of contents with individual maps, driving directions and caches would be nice.

 

Before I go out for a long weekend or trip I could easiy render my weekend cache plans instead of doing it manualy

[+CdirtO]

quote:

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Good idea, but not too feasable. Same reason you don't see an internet yellow pages book.

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FullOn,

 

Just so's yer aware, Harley Hahn has been publishing Internet Yellow Pages for almost 6 years! He has a Kid's Internet Yellow Pages also! They are quite informative! I check them out from the library every so often.

 

On the topic of the thread, No, I do not think that a Geocaching guidebook would be worth the effort. As stated above, caches are way to dynamic and locations change to often. In this type of situation, you will end up with people who use the book as their geocaching bible, and would be very upset that they could not find some of the caches, even if they were there just simply because the owner may have had to move it a few yards or so. That person would not purchase your book a second time.

Because of this, the cost effectiveness of your guide would be prohibitive.

 

That's my nickels worth! (inflation)

 

I can go anywhere!! ... (if my wife lets me)