Geocaching Journal

Cachevolution

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:50:00 +0000

While 8.5 years is a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things, I've noticed some distinct and evolving patterns in the way I geocache, between when I started in 2003, and today. Like a lot of people, I started caching with my kids, who were "tweens" at the time, as geocaching was a great way to get them, and me, off the couch and exploring the outdoors. Plus, my kids loved it, and I loved spending time with them.

As they got older, they became, as most teenagers do, less interested in doing stuff with their dad. As my oldest daughter likes to say, "No thanks, dad. Geocaching is for nerds." For those of you lucky enough to be caching with your young children, all I can say is enjoy it while it lasts.

This mini-evolution didn't cause me to stop geocaching, however. In fact, I found I was able to go caching in more remote areas requiring longer hikes or bike rides than would have been feasible with my kids. This has allowed me to see and explore areas within my home region that I'd never been to before in my life. Another of my favorite aspects of this hobby of ours.

In the more recent past, I've become friends (again, through geocaching) with a couple of local cachers. The three of us have taken several road trips over the past couple of years in an effort to satisfy the requirements of different challenge caches, including various California DeLorme challenges, County challenges, and Quad challenges.

Having lived in California my entire life, I am amazed at how much of this beautiful state I have never seen before, until now; all thanks to geocaching.

While everyone's reasons and motivations for geocaching are different, if you are just starting out caching with your kids now, don't be surprised if your "cachevolution" follows a similar pattern as that described here.

Cache On!

Video Gaming Meets Geocaching

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:37:00 +0000

Much discussion, but little details, this week on the interwebz with regard to the teaming up of Tomb Raider and Geocaching. The press releases from both sources are similarly vague:

Geocaching.com's Explanation

The Tomb Raider's Blog Take

And then there's this humorous take on the whole concept from NotAboutTheNumbers.

The only glint of detailed information can be found in this one sentence from the press releases: "To develop these adventures, Crystal Dynamics will be tapping into both the traditional Geocaching.com treasure hunting format and Geocaching.com’s latest photo-based adventure project Geocaching Challenges."

I'm guessing this is another attempt to attract new geocachers to the hobby/sport/activity. As for me, I'm happy just geocaching for the sake of geocaching. I've never really bought in to the promotional events that come along every so often (Jeep challenges, Geico TB's, etc.). Nor have I veered away from geocaching to try Waymarking, or the new Geocaching Challenges. And not being much of a video gamer, I'm not waiting with bated breath for more details about these two entities hooking up.

While I suspect most long-time cachers may feel the same way, I can't fault Groundspeak for continually trying attract new members. So I'll just keep on cachin' the way I always do, and if I happen to run across Lara Croft out on the trails, then that's just value added (as long as she doesn't destroy me over an FTF).

Cache On!

One Thousand Waypoints in About a Minute

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Still not sure you're ready to upgrade to version 8.0 of GSAK? Maybe this will convince you:

No more going to geocaching.com, downloading pocket queries, then uploading them into GSAK. Now you can do it all in one step, right from GSAK.

Note that the process is much quicker than what is shown here. I'm using a 10-year old PC, and the screen capture program slowed things down significantly. My computer does not know the meaning of the phrase, "multi-tasking".

Cache On!

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a great twenty-eleven. Here's a quick recap from Groundspeak:

Wishing you all many wonderful caching adventures in 2012!

Cache On!

The New Google Map Maker

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Who better to update hiking and biking trails in Google Maps than geocachers?!

Cache On!

Jeremy Irish at TEDx

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:56:00 +0000

Jeremy Irish, President and CEO of Groundspeak, explains how geocaching.com got started, and why he loves it, at this TEDx talk. Find out why it's called a "R.A.S.H."

Cache On!

Done and Done... Almost

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:06:00 +0000

On Friday, I found a cache on a day I had not previously found a cache before; December 9th. This marked the 365th calendar day of finding at least one cache, and means I have filled in my "days with a find" calendar, sort of:

The only day I'm missing now is February 29th, leap day. Luckily, the next leap day is only 81 days away. But if I don't find a cache on 02/29/2012, then it's a long, 1,461 days until my next opportunity to completely fill in the calendar.

Cache On!

Geoaching On An Android Device

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

If you've read this blog long enough, you know I use a combination of a Garmin GPSmap60CSx, and an iPodTouch, for geocaching. You also may recall that I used to use the Groundspeak iOS geocaching app, but recently migrated to Geosphere, as I think it has much better features, is significantly faster at loading pocket queries, and is better at searching lists of downloaded caches.

Having no experience caching with an Android device, I purposefully avoided discussing that topic in this blog. However, I've recently found myself in the market for my first smartphone (yeah, I know, welcome to the real world, Mr. GeoJoe). I'm pretty set on getting an Android device, so naturally, I am curious about what my caching options would be on such a unit. I know that Groundspeak also makes an Android version of it's geocaching app., but I was hoping there might be other options.

Apparently, there are, as during a casual search, I ran across this great blog site, called Android Caching, that discusses nothing but, you guessed it, Android Caching. So if you find yourself with a new Android phone and need to figure out the perfect geocaching app, this site has your back.

Cache On!

Shopping or Caching? - It's A No-Brainer

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:30:00 +0000

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, my daughter and I joined many of my college buddies and their friends and family for our annual Post-Thanksgiving-Day hike in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in the hills west of Danville, California. Being somewhat of a shop-a-phobe, there really is no where I'd rather be on Black Friday than surrounded by nature and a few friends. While the weather was a little on the cool side by California standards (65 degrees F), it was still a perfect day for hiking and picking up a few new geocaches along the way. Here are the details of the hike from EveryTrail.com:

Las Trampas Post Turkey Hike at EveryTrail

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Cache On!

Fall Caching

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:17:00 +0000

While anytime of year is great for geocaching, there's something extra nice about caching during the fall. The temperature is perfect as it is never so hot or so cold that you're miserable. And the disappearing foliage makes it much easier to find that cache that's eluded you all summer. Here are a few shots from my outing yesterday to get you in the mood:

So get out there, and Cache On!

GSAK Version 8 Released

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:19:00 +0000

A major upgrade of GSAK was released this past week, and includes many new features as it now takes advantage of the geocaching.com API. This allows the user to load cache data into their GSAK databases directly from geocaching.com. No more dowloading pocket queries to you hard-drive and then loading them into GSAK. Other new features in the version 8 release include support for custom data (virtually unlimited number of fields) and a newer, more modern look and feel. The full list of new features can be found here.

Since this is a significant upgrade, it does come with a cost:

Brand new users (those that have never owned a previous version of GSAK) - $30
If purchased V7 after 10/01/11 - Free
If purchased V7 between July 1st and September 30th - $5 for the upgrade
If purchased V7 between February 1st and June 30th - $10 for the upgrade
If purchased V7 between 10/01/09 and 01/31/11 - $15 for the upgrade
If purchased V7 before 10/01/09 - $20 for the upgrade
Version 6 users can get a token discount of $5, so $25 for the upgrade to V8

On a completely unrelated note, I hope everyone had an enjoyable 11/11/11 and was able to attend a cache event somewhere honoring our veterans. I attended a flash mob event in the tiny town of American Canyon (appropriately named), where a good, but brief, time was had by all.

Cache On!

Cloudy Skies Ahead?

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:24:00 +0000

A year ago, I was somehow lucky enough to convince Google that I was a good candidate to test their prototype Chromebook, an all-web laptop:

Since then, the device has become my primary computing tool. In fact, I rarely use my old, slow, virus-prone, Windows XP desktop PC anymore. Since almost everything I do is on the web, from Google Docs for word processing and spreadsheets to mint.com for monitoring finances to Picasa for photo storing and sharing to listening to music on internet radio stations like Pandora. In addition to a heavy reliance on web-based applications, most of my files (documents, spreadsheets, images, mp3's) are stored in the cloud as well; meaning I have access to them at anytime from anywhere.

There is barely an application I use now that requires a Windows PC. The only reason I even still have it: geocaching. In fact, that's all I use it for. Since my Chromebook does not recognize my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx device, I cannot load waypoints on to it, nor extract GPS tracks from it. And until some genius creates an HTML 5 version of GSAK, I'll continue to be wedded to my XP behemoth. As I cannot live without my GSAK.

Cache On!

Geosphere Is The One

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:26:00 +0000

I've been using the Groundspeak geocaching app on my iTouch since its inception, but over time as newer versions have been released, it has become more and more frustrating to use. I'm not sure if it's become more bloated and therefore less stable on my 4th generation iPodTouch, or if it is really just geared for use on an iPhone and not so much for off-line use.

Whatever the reason, it has gotten to the point where the app crashes every-time I wake my iTouch from sleep mode, requiring me to relaunch the app each time (which, incidentally, seems to take forever). My other complaint about this app is that it takes too long to scroll through a list of 1,000 caches to pull up a specific cache listing; especially if the cache name happens to begin with a letter near the end of the alphabet.

These ongoing frustrations finally prompted me to look for another solution. And I think I have found it in Geosphere. This app. overcomes all the problems with the gc.com app listed above as it starts up instantly, it never crashes, and it has a great search and scroll function so I can pull up any cache that I want, instantly.

Not only that, but it is incredibly feature-rich, sporting much more functionality than the gc.com iOS app. For example, you can load caches onto your device from a variety of sources including your own pocket queries as well as from email messages containing gpx files and from your dropbox account, to name a few. It also has an impressive search, filter and sort tool that allows you to pull up any cache or caches that you could want.

This powerful little app. has so many features and so much functionality, it's impossible to list them all here. So instead, here's the Geosphere quick start video that'll give you a taste of the power of this $7.99 app:

I've been using it for a few days now, and am completely sold. Unless something completely unexpected happens, I don't see myself ever going back to the gc.com app.

Cache On!

Time To Plan Your Free 2012 Park Visits

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:28:00 +0000

Get out your calendars, because the National Parks Service has just announced their 17 "fee-free" days for 2012. And yes, I know most National Parks do not allow any geocaches, other than virtual caches, within the park boundaries. But that's no reason not to visit these wonderful places; especially when they are free. Besides, who doesn't love picking up a virtual cache now and then?

Cache On!

Park District Announces Geocaching Guidelines

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:18:00 +0000

My favorite park district, the East Bay Regional Park District, developed their own set of geocaching guidelines and posted them on their website this week. The Park District spans Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco with 108,000+ acres in 65 parks including over 1,200 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and nature study.

The Park District has always been friendly to the geocaching community, and it's no coincidence that a good chunk of my overall cache finds have been on EBRPD land. It was nice to see them come out with their own set of geocaching guidelines, to not only acknowledge that they support caching on EBRPD land, but to ensure that geocaching is conducted in a responsible and sustainable manner within their jurisdiction.

For the most part, the EBRPD guidelines are based on the standard Groundspeak guidelines, but they've also included a few of their own, such as:

Caches shall be clearly labeled with “Geocache” on the exterior;
Cache containers shall be of a “neutral” nature so as not to cause alarm or concern;
Caches that have been abandoned or not maintained will be considered as litter and removed by the District;
Caches shall not be placed in a way that causes the development of new “unofficial” trails;
Caches are not allowed within 100’ of streams, lakes, marshes, or wetlands.

Kudos to the Park District for developing these guidelines, which could serve as a model for other park agencies. Are you listening National Park Service?

Cache On!

That's What I'm Talkin' About

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Tid Bits

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Some geocaching and semi-geocaching-related items from this past week:

1. Google Earth Version 6.1 Released
Includes improved line labeling functionality and a better Street View experience in Tours.

2. Google Maps Adds 3D Driving Directions
Let Google Maps take you on a virtual tour from point A to point B. Just click on the new, 3D button:

3. Geocachers NYC
A nicely done website and YouTube Channel that chronicles the caching adventures of our hosts and their special guests through relatively unknown sections of New York City.

4. Geocaching iPhone App. Update
Version 4.5.6 adds features that allow premium users to add/remove Favorite points, and fixes bugs related to travel bug dropping and favorites lists.

Until next time,
Cache On!

My Geocaching Profile Continues To Expand

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:58:00 +0000

If you haven't checked out mygeocachingprofile.com lately, you owe it to yourself to do so. As you may recall, this caching statistics website was acquired by groundspeak last year, which geocaching.com uses to display your cache finds statistics on their site. But mygeocachingprofile continues to add new statistic reporting features on their site, before they are transferred to geocaching.com, including things like GeoAchievement badges, and a US county map showing counties where you've found caches:

My favorite part of this site is that it reports your progress on various challenge caches like the Jasmer Challenge, the AlphaNumeric Challenge, and most DeLorme Challenges.

The latest additions to the site include the following:

A find rate per day geocaching that calculates your find rate over the days you were actively geocaching. This find rate is now part of the Caching Chronology section.
A DeLorme GeoAchievement badge that rewards cachers for completing DeLorme challenge caches.
A Fizzy Well-Rounded GeoAchievement badge that rewards cachers for completing Fizzy challenge caches.
And finally, a Jasmer GeoAchievement badge that rewards cachers for completing Jasmer challenge caches.

As with all new profile sections, you'll need to (1) upload your "My Finds" pocket query to generate the profile images and (2) re-export your HTML code and re-paste it into your geocaching.com profile if you'd like to show off your stats.

Cache On!

Historical Topographic Maps

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:08:00 +0000

Many of us old-timey cachers, who have been caching since the pre-smartphone era, latched on to this hobby as a result of a pre-existing love of the outdoors. Most of us already had recreational GPS receiver devices that we used for navigating through remote hiking, biking and/or 4x4 trails. When geocaching came along, it just gave us just one more excuse to break out the ol' GPSr.

Of course, most GPSr's back then did not have built-in background maps, so we still had to rely more heavily on the beloved USGS TOPO map to keep ourselves from getting lost. As such, many of us have acquired quite a collection of TOPO maps over the year, myself included.

If you grew up with a, some might call it sick, fondness for TOPO maps, then you might be interested to know that the USGS is converting all of their historical printed topographic quadrangles to an electronic format and making them available for download. This will be a great way to see how much has changed in your area of interest over the years, if at all, as these maps include such wonderful detail. I know I'm looking forward to seeing the railroad alignment that used to run through my neck of the woods long before I arrived here. There is no longer any physical evidence that it ever existed. The only clue I've had up until now, ironically, is from a geocache: Eastport.

Cache On!

Pocket Query Wish List

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:09:00 +0000

For me, pocket queries are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and the main reason I cough up my hard-earned $30 each year to maintain my Groundspeak premium membership. Whether it's a pocket query along a route, of my bookmarks, within a 10-mile radius of my home or any location I plan to visit; the ability to create a list of up to 1,000 caches meeting any search criteria and instantly load them into my GPS receiver is one of my favorite aspects of geocaching (besides the actual outdoor part).

As great as PQ's are, there are a couple of nagging issues that drive me crazy, some of which may only pertain to a small percentage of people that geocache the way I do - using a non-wireless Garmin GPS device (GPSmap 60CSx), and an iPodTouch running the geocaching app.:

(1) The Search Radius
This is primarily an iPodTouch end user complaint. It's great that you can generate pocket queries containing up to 1,000 caches, which is the most I can load onto my Garmin device. But having a list of 1,000 caches in one pocket query set up for off-line use on my iPodTouch is a bit unwieldy. It takes forever to scroll through the whole list to pull up the info. for one specific cache.

That's why I like to break up my pocket queries into manageable amounts; say 500 caches each, or less. This is easy enough to do for caches along a route or bookmark PQ's. But it is impossible to do for a list of caches I haven't found within a 10 mile radius of my home - my most frequently used PQ. Coincidentally, there are typically right around 1,000 caches that I haven't found within that radius of my home.

What I would love to do is to be able to set up one PQ that lists all my not-found caches within a 5 mile radius (which I can do), and then a 2nd PQ that lists all of the not-found caches within a distance covering between 5 and 10 miles from my home. The current PQ search options do not allow for this:

(2) Why no United States?
The other thing that has always bothered me is why there isn't a United States option in the list of countries to search within?

This would come in very handy, for example, for those of us working on one of the many Jasmer Challenge caches, which requires that you log at least one cache that was placed in every month back to the start of Geocaching (May, 2000). I would love to generate a PQ showing me all the active caches in the United States that were placed in the year 2000, of which there are very few. The only way I can do that now is to create a separate PQ for each state, rather than one PQ for the entire US. Quite annoying.

Other than that, I can find very little to complain about when it comes to pocket queries, especially considering the alternative: loading caches into a GPSr one at a time.

Cache On!

Win A Barely Coveted Prize

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:46:00 +0000

Every so often, Groundspeak runs a caption creation contest on its blog site, Latitude 47. The current installment asks brave souls to create a caption for this image captured at the recent Groundspeak Block Party:

Think you might have a winning caption for this image? Go to this week's blog post to submit your entry. Or, if you want to see what other people have submitted so far, you can do so at the same site. You can also vote for your favorite caption.

And the barely coveted prize for the best entry? A trackable from the Geocaching Block Party.

Good luck, and Cache On!

Benchmark Hunting Tool

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:26:00 +0000

A lot of geocachers also enjoy trying to locate benchmarks, in addition to "regular" geocaching. Like geocaches, there are probably several benchmarks, or survey markers, near you. You can search the National Geodetic Survey database for local benchmarks here.

I recently came across this nice little survey marker searching tool that uses the Google Earth plug-in to map benchmarks for any given query. First, center the map in your desired location. Then, Under the NGS Control Station heading, select the "Query Setup" radio button. Filter your search if you like in the dialog box that pops up, and/or just click "OK". The search will return a display of all the different types of control points within a fixed radius of your search location. A useful tool to add to your geocaching/benchmarking arsenal.

Cache On!

Challenge Caches Off To A Challenging Start

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:10:00 +0000

The build up to the launch of Challenge Caches ended this week as Geocaching.com modified the website on Thursday to include a new section called, Geocaching Challenges. These are the long-awaited cache types meant to replace Virtual Caches. There is no container to find or log to sign. A cacher simply creates a Challenge Cache by "daring" other cachers to either take a picture of themselves with something, or perform a specific task. More information is available on the FAQ page.

Apparently the reception has been less than stellar, which prompted this blog post from Bryan Roth, Groundspeak co-founder, asking people to, "give Challenges a chance". It seems that not only have people not swarmed to Challenge Caches, but significant numbers of long-time cachers are complaining about them as they don't seem to represent the spirit of geocaching. This is consistent with a lot of comments I saw on Twitter, summed up by a tweet from one cacher that said, "if there's no box to find and I don't need a GPSr, it's not a geocache."

I checked the Challenges near me, and most of them have already received more poor ratings than positive ones. Too many poor ratings, and the Challenges are automatically removed by Groundspeak.

We'll have to wait and see if Challenge Caches eventually take off, or die a quick death. I can see how this might appeal to the new, smartphone-wielding geocaching crowd, which makes this a wise business move on Groundspeak's part as a means to attract new cachers. But me personally, I fall in to the old-timey cacher category who likes using his non-wireless Garmin GPSmap 60CSx device out in the woods to locate Tupperware and ammo cans.

Cache (and Challenge) On!

A Busy Week

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Lots of happenings in the geosphere this week, including:

1. Geocaching.com Introduces "Challenge Caches"

On their Latitude 47 blog site this week, Groundspeak announced that "Challenge Caches" are coming soon, and provided us with this interesting, but not completely informative, video:

Like most who have seen this, I'm not quite sure what it means. Is this the long-awaited replacement for Virtual Caches? Possibly. But why call them "Challenge Caches" when an informal category of challenge caches has existed for years, including the likes of all the Quad, DeLorme, County and Fizzy Challenges? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

2. GSAK Version 8.0 Beta Release

The good people at GSAK (aka, Clyde) released version 8 in beta form this week. This is/will be a significant upgrade from the current version and includes many new features, the biggest being:

Increased functionality by leveraging the new Groundspeak api
Support for custom data (virtually unlimited number of fields)
A newer, more modern look and feel

The first bullet item above is significant in that the GSAK program will now be able to interact directly with geocaching.com, giving you the ability to pull down cache data directly and instantly from the website into your GSAK database. The final release of version 8 will be a paid upgrade, but prices have not been announced yet.

If you are interested in running the beta program without losing your current version, you can install the v8 beta in a separate directory. There is no charge for downloading the beta product. Learn more at gsak.net.

3. Geocaching App for iOS 4.5.2 Released

A free update to the Geocaching iOS App is now available in the App Store. This release fixes a number of bugs including (1) the time/date bug which caused some logs to be posted "tomorrow" (a particular annoyance that I've discussed before), (2) searches returning incorrect cache sizes, and (3) a User Notes display problem.

4. Goodbye MapSource

GPS Tracklog reported this week that Garmin will no longer support its MapSource program, as they focus development efforts on Base Camp instead. Like a lot of long-time Garmin GPS users, this news is tough to swallow. I've tried Base Camp a few times, but it runs so slowly that I always end up coming back to MapSource. I guess it's time to make the permanent switch to Base Camp and hope that Garmin addresses the performance issues.

Cache On!

Pluggin' Away

noreply@blogger.com (GeoJoe) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:46:00 +0000

As life continues to get in the way of geocaching this year, my find rate has dropped below 1 per day. As depressing as that is, I've managed to keep my caching spirits up by focusing on filling in my caching calendar. So far, I've been doing well with that goal, and now have every month filled in since the start of this year, with the exception of February, thanks to leap day.

If I stay on task, I should have 365 out of 366 days filled in by December 9th of this year. Then it's just a matter of making sure I don't let February 29, 2012 go by without finding a cache; or it'll be a long wait until the next opportunity.

Well, gotta go. Today is another cache day to fill in.

Cache On!