My 2 favourite geocaching.com features in 2010

As the year winds down I want to thank Groundspeak for introducing 2 features that I've found very useful and has enhanced my geocaching experience:

• Personal cache notes
    PCNs allow cachers to post notes on a cache page that are not viewable by all. It appears above each cache description. This is especially useful for 2 reasons: 1. to help me remember the cache - I add details about what the cache looked like and how it was hidden (information that would be considered spoilers in the log) 2. to add solved waypoints for puzzle caches and solved multies. Hopefully it will be incoporated into a GPX file.
  
• Favorites reward system
  Favorite votes are a simple way to track and share the caches that you enjoyed the most and reward the CO for a job well done.

A very good response in the forums to the new favorite system at geocaching.com

Groundspeak introduced some nice new features just in time for the holidays. My favourite new feature is the Favorites List.

A "rating" system has been talked about in the forums for about 6 years and more recently quite fervently. Now that the database has grown to over a million caches, people were looking for ways to separate the wheat from the chaff and also to reward cachers for a job well done and encourage better hides.

Groundspeak has come up with a system that pleases the vast majority. It's a reward system. Premium members get favourite points, 1 point for every 10 caches you log as a find. The 10% rule is turning out to be quite generous. Most people are pleased with having too many votes rather then not enough. In the last couple of days I've been going through my list of finds and have used 17 of my alloted 88 favourites.

I plan on going over the list again for good caches that deserve some recognition. I'm hesitant to bestow a 'favourite' on old cache finds (older then 2 years) that were great when I found them, but may have changed.  As an example, about 5 years ago I visited a cache that was in a hollow stump covered by a coon skin cap. At first it looked like a sleeping racoon (or dead racoon). Gave me a start and even though I was pretty sure it was an animal skin and not a real animal I poked it with a stick first just to be sure. A fun cache experience. Last year I re-visited but the coon skin cap is gone and the container is old and battered. Now it's a more average experience and the CO isn't doing much maintenance so it's not something I'd want to reward with a favourite ribbon.

So far I'm impressed with this new feature. One of the best things is that it's filterable. Do a search for a caches in a location then click the blue ribbon icon in the Favorites column to float the caches with the most favourites to the top of the list. Plans are in the works to make the FL filterable by pocket queries. FL PQs will be especially nice when planning trips to new locations.

You'll find the Favorite List discussion here:

http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=265640

Planting a cache is a responsibility not a lark . I'm in favour of small restrictions.

I was reading Head Hard Hat's blog entry: Placing a Cache -- would it be too much to ask?

HHH asks if it would be too much to ask to follow the guidelines and not place a cache on private land with 'no trespassing' signs. He has come around to the thinking that there needs to be a minimal cache find restriction before hiding caches. He got the typical response:

Jonathan said: "One of the most exciting parts of geocaching is placing your own hides. For me, I wanted to return the favor to all of the people whose caches I had found near my house so I was placing caches right after I started finding."

Here's how I feel about it:

As a CO for the last 9 years, I agree that being a CO can be the best part of geocaching. However, there's a responsibility to the caching community attached to hiding a cache. Placing a cache on private "no trespassing" land is not "returning the favor". There are so many who plant and do not read (or choose to ignore) the guidelines and their numbers are increasing.

There are also too many that plant, get bored and drop the game within days of planting. I'm also seeing new (usually young) COs who plant poorly then become argumentative via the cache logs when the complaints come in about poor placement. One new CO said "Screw private property" after people commented that the cache coordinates were taking them to the middle of an apartment buildings parking lot.


It's become too easy for anyone to plant a cache - online maps, google earth, cell phones.

First and foremost I'd like to see a time period of at least 3 months registration before anyone can plant a cache. Then allow one initial hide. After 3 more months, once the CO has experienced the responsibilities of ownership and hasn't become bored, restrictions are lifted. This should weed out the fly-by-nighters.

I'd also like to see a small amount of cache finds required.

Do we really need COs who wouldn't wait 3 months before hiding a cache? Anyone who would quit geocaching because they had to wait a few months would likely not be a responsible owner. If you're really itching to plant a cache without experiencing this pasttime, use another caching service: 0penCaching.com, Opencaching.us but let's make geocaching.com about quality caches placed by responsibile, knowledgeable, caring COs.

Geocache containers - good advice from Clan Riffster

Clan Riffster

Post #20

(Isonzo Karst @ Dec 11 2010, 07:01 AM) Micro - bison type container Micro - Matchsafe Micro - soda preform Micro - Nalgene bottles Small - Nalgene bottles Small - Lock and Locks Regular - ammo can IK has compiled a great list of containers that work well, in almost every environment. I think the only thing I could add to it would be: Small: Therapak Canisters, which can be found here. The medium ones shown on that webpage are the ones I use. They are roughly 2.5" wide by 6" tall, made of durable plastic, and have a screw on lid with a gasket seal. They come 15 to a case, in that size, and sell for around $30 a case. I currently have 64 active hides, (I think), with a varied selection of containers. To date, my Therapak canisters are the only ones that have had no failures. I would also like to give you a list of containers that don't work well in most environments: Black & grey film cans. Gladware Fake Lock & Locks Prescription medicine bottles. (Yes, I know you said you used them) Coffee cans (metal or plastic) Altoids tins Hide-a-keys Cookie tins Baggies (as the primary container) When talking to folks about their hides, one question I like to ask is, "Did you use a baggie?". If the answer is "Yes", (which it almost always is), my next question is "Why?". Quite often, the answers are worded to the effect of, "To keep the log dry". A mantra I like to blabber is; "If you must use a baggie to keep your log dry, your container has already failed at a very basic level". I then promote the axiom of "Take Pride In Your Hide", part of which includes the ideal of never utilizing a substandard container.

Garmin's Opencaching - I give up

I had no further help from Garmin regarding my inability to access the forums. I've tried getting a new password. No luck. I get a new password. Plug it in. Says I'm registered then says I need to change my password. I do and it re-directs me to a page that says my username/password is invalid.3 days of this. Twice garmin staff have contacting me saying my access problems are fixed when it isn't.

I am sooooo frustrated. Someone has posted saying the proverbial, 'if you don't like it then go back to where you came from and don't let the door hit your backside' comment and I can't reply. Soooooo frustrating.

At this point I feel like dropping Opencaching for good and just hope that their existence will spur geocaching.com to improve their database. Maybe Opencaching will come around and create a site that works, but for now, until I hear that OC works as it should, I'm ignoring the OC database and their forums.

Garmin's Open Caching - my first impressions

My first impressions

Permission

This is my number one frustration with the site. When hiding a cache you must check the box:  "I have permission from the landowner or manager to hide my geocache."

Twice I've asked the question, does Garmin truly expect that each CO contacts a land manager to get explicit permission for each cache listed in their database? How do I know, as a finder that permission was granted?

I asked the question regarding permission in CacheMania's blog and once on the Opencaching forums. So far one person answered via the blog saying:

"why would you place something on someone else’s land without permission? Even if it’s public land, someone has to maintain it, and should know about the container."

And another person via OC's forum said:

"Pretty easy thing to do is go ask the park if it is ok." 

I highly doubt that each cache hide listed in OC has explicit permission. From reading other blogs about recent cache hides, one was placed in a hospital parking lot - no reference in the clues indicating they had asked permission of hospital management to place the cache.  I have my doubts that even 25% of caches listed in OC or GC have explicit permission, nor do I think they need to. It's going to depend on whether the cache is on private property or on public land that explicitly requires a cache permit.

"I have permission from the landowner or manager to hide my geocache" to me means you have contacted and received explicit permission in writing or verbally from a land manager whether it's private land or public land AND that you have the name of a contact person. If questioned by a finder or garmin officials regarding permission you can provide the name and contact information.

Rating system

• It doesn't seem to work. I've rated caches both above and below 3.5 yet the Awesomeness rating stays the same, i.e.3.5 Sweet. 
• The 3.5 is the default rating. I think once one person rates the cache the rating should change to whatever that person rated it as. Then recalculate any time anyone else rates the cache. 
• Once I rate the cache I can't see what rating I gave it and 
• I can't change the rating or remove it - what if I made a mistake and clicked at the wrong time on the scale? 

I do like that it's filterable and I like the sliding scale which is interactive with the map. If only the ratings worked.

I'm used to GCVote where I always know how I rated the cache. I also see how many people have rated a cache. And when I click on  the stars I see a bar graph indicating the ratings given. GCVote is anonymous so I don't know who rated. With each passing day I'm appreciating GCVote more and more.

Language

I find the language to be teen-centric which gives the site an immature feel. "Awesome" "Sweet" "Fierce" are lame words - it feels icky, like when your parents are trying to be cool.

Personally, I think it's a mistake to have teenagers be your target audience. Most are not mature enough for the responsibility of cache ownership. I've seen enough evidence on geocaching.com that teens think messing with people is a "totally awesome" thing to do. "Screw PP [private property" is one of the comments left by a teen CO when finders complained that the cache was missing, on private property and not where the coordinates indicated (in the middle of a apartment building parking lot).

Forums

• I haven't been able to get into the forums with my Lone R account. 3 times I've contacted Garmin and they've told me they fixed the problem but everytime I try to login I get a fatal error message:
  

  Fatal error:

  • The email address you entered is already in use. If you have forgotten your password, please click here.
  • That username is already in use or does not meet the administrator's standards. If you are LONE_R and you have forgotten your password, click here.

  Unable to proceed with save while $errors array is not empty in class vB_DataManager_User in [path]/includes/class_dm.php on line 849

• I started a new account just to get into the forums. I still had to make a couple of attempts before it worked. However, I have to keep logging in anytime I want to post something. The preview button isn't working for me, I get kicked out and have to log in again if I click it. The submit button works. 

Positive impressions

• I like the maps
• I like the sliding rules for D/T, size and cache quality ("awesomeness")
• I like the increments especially in the cache quality scale. I can rate one cache a 3.0 because it's a decent cache experience and has a old somewhat tattered but still sufficient camo'd plastic peanut butter jar as a container and another cache a 3.3 for the same experience but a lock n lock in better shape then the peanut butter jar. 3.5 I might reserve for an ammo can hide with a decent overall cache experience.

My geocaching logbooks

I sometimes like to add a bit of creativity by making my own logbooks. Here are a few samples:

Covered the cardboard in camo duct tape and
bound the book with leather strapping.

This logbook cover is made with the wrapping paper
that was on a gift box of Laura Secord chocolates.

This long thin logbook was used for a tubular container.
The binding is a japanese-style stitch.

This cover was made from a kleenex box.
Pamphlet stitch binding.

Pamphlet stitched.
Stamped with my handcarved rubber stamps.

Open to show the pamphlet stitching.

Finally, Groundspeak is implementing a reward system

New Cache Rating System, From the Feedback site

Groundspeak has just announced that they will be implementing a 'Favorites List':

...we have decided to let people rate a percentage of their finds as their favorites

It will be a Premium member feature.

I'm hoping that the feature will be filterable.

Interesting that it should be implemented a day after opencaching.com's beta site was released. Garmin's site allows finders to rate a caches "awesomeness" as well at D/T ratings and cache container size.

Poll: Conduit, junction, electric boxes - have you ever opened a real one in error?

A great well-crafted LOL cache

Cool post about a life saving event while geocaching

A great log entry about a rescue in Georgia. Fanasfreak saved a life while on his way to the Tragedy geocache. Here's the log entry:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=ba271a53-56b7-4349-bf15-3b3d7bdec3c6

Unusual man made structures encountered on the trail

Ever come upon a strange structure in the woods? The most common structures I've encountered are branch teepees and inukshuks.The following items were on the way to caches. I've photographed some 2010 sightings:

A splash of colour in the winter

Many inukshuks lining a secondary trail.
This photo doesn't show them all but there were
probably 50 small inukshuks about 15 feet apart.

A wreath of branches carefully laid around this tree. Side view.

The wreath. Front view.

A pyramid of milk crates. The center, top most crate is yellow.
The crates were bound together with zip ties.
I came back 2 weeks later and the crates were gone.

A caches LQ - Lameness Quotient

Summary from: What is your definition of a lame cache?

It is often stated in the forums that lameness is subjective. What is lame to me may not be lame to you. I'm wondering if most people differ in what they consider lame or if there is a general consensus of a few certain features which would deem a cache lame by the majority of cachers.

• random container, random place with no special history, view, nature, hike or other feature, a cache description of less than 3 lines of text
•  Guardrail cache along major highway, nothing to see for miles (except that nice park about 2 miles down the road with no cache).
• Many factors combine to achieve what I like to call a cache's Lameness Quotient, or LQ.
  These include, but are not limited to the location, the container, the hide style and the write up.
• Example of an "on-purpose" poster-child of lame caches: Always Lame
• A cache in a completely unremarkable location, this includes many LPCs, Guard Rail and Cattle Guard caches.
• A cache made from a container which is not up to the elements, i.e will leak or decompose within a year.
• A cache which makes poor use of natural cover, particularly where there exists abundant cover for a small, medium or large cache, but a micro has been placed.
• Yet another travelbug hotel - seriously, can we stop creating these? When they are muggled it's a major loss.
• Needle in haystack - When I see the cache is small or micro in a big pile of rocks, I just move on, I don't have time for that.
• A cache placed where visitors will do harm to the environment - I've seen a few placed in sandstone or serpentine where climbing to search for it will, or already has torn away the slope or rock face.
• Any hide which modifies or damages the hide location in a permanent nature, particularly without permission from park, land owner or land management - when a cache is remove there should be no trace it was ever there - no metal plates, no Velcro, no holes bored.
• Unsafe containers which may cut, pinch or otherwise injure someone trying to open them in a reasonable manner (if you get hit by a ricochet while trying to shoot one open, that's your own dumb fault.)
• Placed and forgotten hides - the CO thought Geocaching was a blast and wanted to do one or more hides and then abandoned the game - these may be good or ingenious, but a neglected hide eventually becomes a problem for other geocachers.
• Bottlecap hides - a bottle cap is litter, expect it to be picked up. Try gluing your vessel to a rock or piece of wood instead.
• Caches which needlessly place seekers at risk - there's challenging terrain and then there's dangerous terrain where a cache should never be placed - i.e. on a branch overhanging a pool of crocodiles.
• Caches where the CO is off on coordinates by a significant distance, such as 50 feet, or more, depending upon terrain - 50 feet in a fairly open spot, not a problem, but 50 feet in a hillside, thick with undergrowth can be a real bother and encourage a lot of geotrail making.
• ask "why did you bring me here!?!" If we cannot readily determine the answer, the lame-o-meter will begin to twitch!
• A cache placed only because there was a space on the map.
  A cache who's only redeeming quality is that I got a smilie for finding it.
• Most caches in parking lots would fit that criteria. There are, however, exceptions that are hidden on guard rails or in parking logs that offer something unique (or at least not common) to the experience. That can be done in a variety of ways. All it takes is a little imagination and initiative. If a CO hasn't tried to use a little imagination and initiative it's probably going to be a lame cache.

Geocacher Stages of Evolution

September 27, 2010
by cumbyrocks

A new Theory of Geocacher Evolution.....
Stage One – The Newbie Monkey
Stage Two – The Neolithic Geocacher
Stage Three – The Geo-Sapien
Stage Four – The Confirmed Cacher
Stage Five – The Geo-Elder

Read more......

Puzzle Cache Public Service Announcement

My favourite geocaching video!

Every day in American thousands of Mystery Caches suffer from neglect...

Secret Weapon: Local soldier's hobby helps save lives in Iraq

Trailhead Tessie's Shelton Trail write-up about letterboxing and geocaching

A good write-up about letterboxing and geocaching, their differences and similarities

Letterboxing and Geocaching
Treasure hunting out on the trails
by Trailhead Tessie

[Shelton, CT] There are dozens of letterboxes and caches hidden in Shelton's open spaces, just waiting for you to find them.  The clues are listed online.  They are not always easy to find!  Your ability to navigate your way along the trails and decipher clues will be tested!  Are you tenacious? Like to solve problems on your own? Enjoy the outdoors?  If yes, then give it a try.  More....

My handcrafted geoswag/signature items

I like making handcrafted items to leave in caches.
Here are a few of the items I've crafted to place in caches:

Other web pages about geoswag:
Making signature items : sculpey coins and DAS air dry coins

Useless hints

Some people just can't leave that hint field empty. Some of the useless hints that COs provide:

• ab uvag arrqrq
• rznvy zr sbe n uvag
• ybt n qas naq rznvy zr sbe n erny uvag
• Gurer vf nzcyr cnex cnexvat jvguva n dhnegre zvyr bs gur pnpur.
• LBH JNAG N UVAG, GUNG'F CYNVA GB FRR
  BGUREJVFR LBH JBHYQ ABG OR QRPBQVAT ZR
  OHG ORPNHFR V YBIR FNQVFGVP SHA
  V QBA'G GUVAX V'Z TBVAT GB TVIR LBH BAR!

Copy and paste the above into:
rot13 decoder

A most interesting bookmark list

Bad Ideas: a geocache bookmark list

List Owner: dbrierley

Cautionary tales of geocaches placed without landowner permission or careful thought about location. Another bookmark list is Bomb Scares and Other Fun Stuff by Rupert2. Google Map

Stealth for private property caches - is it warranted or even wise?

I found this post interesting and thought provoking.  When it comes to lamp post caches in parking lots or parking garage caches or caches on store/office property. is it better to not be stealthy or sneaky?:

ZeLonewolf

Post #29

(wimseyguy @ Aug 5 2010) Owners who demand stealth from seekers are misguided. If I am confronted by security or law enforcement, I will simply stop what I am doing and explain it to them. I have every right to expect that you do have permission to place this cache there, and will share that with security. If they are not aware that the cache is placed with permission, and they remove it thinking it is a suspicious object, that becomes your problem, not mine. I'm off to find the next cache. PS-My Slogan=caching since 2002/plenty of honest conversations with security and LEO's I agree with this completely! I make no attempts to be stealthy, I just walk up to GZ and start searching. If somebody sees me retrieving and removing the cache, it's not my problem -- it's the COs problem for putting it somewhere inappropriate. In these terrorism-crazed times, the LAST thing I want to do is to act "stealthy" or "sneaky" while removing/replacing a small container in a public place. If a cop pulls up while I'm searching, I keep searching until he walks up to me an addresses me. I'm not doing anything wrong or illegal, however, if I'm acting "sneaky" or "stealthy", than it sure looks like I'm doing something wrong or illegal which is why I refuse to do it.

Thanks to a geocacher, I found an old unpublished letterbox

A new cache was planted in a local park just a few days ago.

The coords were fuzzy, about 30 feet off, so a wide circle of searching occurred. Someone posted finding a letterbox in one of the trees, something to do with the Wizard of Oz. Ooooooo, if my hunch was correct it had to be unpublished and planted many years ago by letterboxers who are not active anymore.

I headed out today and there was the tell tale container that these boxers had used when they planted. The box may have been out there for 6 years. The tree had grown some and the hole it was in was tightening around it. Took me about 5 minutes of finagling before I found just the right spot that it would fit through to extricate it.

When I opened the box I was pleasantly surprised to find that the contents were in very good shape. I opened the logbook to find that the very first log was from a tree lover who stumbled upon it when exploring the hollow. See the photos above. He called the discovery an 'unexpected delight'.

....As I'm writing this, I just got an email from the cacher that reported finding the letterbox. He too had a tough time getting the box out and he actually found it in poor shape. Had to pour out water and wipe/dry out the cache. He did a great job. The logbook was damp but not wet. The container is a dollar store container, not water tight. If the owners will let me help out I'll have to see if I can find something small, thin and watertight. Ideally it should be about the size of an altoids tin.

What an interesting find. I hope it can be salvaged and shared with more letterboxers. I emailed the owners and await their reply.

Show "Geocaches Found" on profile page only to friends

I would love to see the following feature implemented at Geocaching.com. I hope Groundspeak is listening:

Show "Geocaches Found" on profile page only to friends 

In the public profil everybody with a gc.com account can monitor my activities. I am not feeling to comfortable with this and would like to show this only to friends. Pls. include an option for this.

All the rest can access my logs on the cache page. Same with gallery.

Rating system

How about an award rating system for the geocaching site?
Bronze, Silver and Gold Signal Awards

Bronze for caches rated 3.5 stars
Silver for caches rated 4 stars
Gold for caches rated 4.5 or 5 stars

Rating system discussion on the new GC Feedback site:
http://feedback.geocaching.com/geocaching/topics/finders_cache_ratings

Things I like to collect from geocaches

Handmade items

Crocheted finger puppets

 

Plastic animals