OpenCaching

You may have heard or noticed that a new geocaching web service recently launched in the U.S., called Opencaching. According to the site's wiki page,

"The goal is to provide a higher quality cache listing service in a user friendly format with features that members of the geocaching community have requested. The main difference between opencaching and traditional listing sites is that all services are open to the users at no cost. Additionally, Opencaching sites allow users to rate and report on existing geocaches."

You can listen to an interview with Opencaching moderator, Dudley Grant, on both the PodCacher show #289.0, and on the Geocaching Podcast show #174, for a detailed discussion about what the site has to offer.

In my second post ever on this blog (I'm sure you remember), I identified some of the other geocache listing services out there, but explained that this blog would primarily focus on caches from geocaching.com, since that site has the largest database of caches and the most features. I am impressed, however, with the opencaching site (free is good, and the cache search page is excellent), but I think they have an uphill battle on their hands. 

I don't see a lot of people dropping their existing geocaching.com memberships and switching to opencaching, nor does it seem likely that new geocachers would choose opencaching over gc.com, when there are so many geocaches available through the Groundspeak site, and so few on opencaching (or the other sites like Navicache and Terracaching). That's not to say that people can't enjoy both, and initially, you might see cache owners from gc.com list their existing caches on opencaching.com too. But for now and the foreseeable future, gc.com has the advantage by way of sheer numbers:

Cache Listing Site	Inception	Total US Caches	Caches w/in 10-mile Radius of Geojoe HQ
Geocaching.com	2000	1,221,513 (worldwide)	1,645
Opencaching.us	2010	302	0 (3 w/in 100 mi.)
Navicache.com	2001	3,608	6
Terracaching.com	2004	? (see map)	1

One thing worth noting, however, is that Opencaching offers many features that are currently not available or not allowed on geocaching.com, such as virtual caches and a cache rating system. Interestingly, these are some of the features that gc.com is currently considering bringing back and/or adding. Coincidence?

In spite of the relatively few caches currently available on opencaching.us, I did create an account (if, for no other reason, than to secure the user id name, "geojoe"), and will probably list some of my existing gc.com caches on the site just to see what happens. Take a look at the site and see what you think.

Cache On (and Go Giants)!

Garmin Chirp

Garmin released The Chirp yesterday, a wireless beacon device that can communicate with, and be programmed by, any compatible wireless-enabled Garmin handheld (such as the Dakota, Oregon and GPSMAP 62 and 78 series devices). Chirp can be used to store hints, multicache coordinates, count visitors and confirm the cache is nearby. 


Apparently you would use this to load cache hints and/or coordinates for stages of multi-cache, and place it inside your cache container. Then, anyone with a compatible device can access those hints and coordinates when they are within range (32 feet) of the cache. 

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this one, as it raises a number of questions: mainly,  "Why?".  $22.95 seems like a lot of money to pay for a device that will only help a small minority of cachers who own compatible devices to not have to manually type in the coordinate pairs of a multi-cache stage. Also, it would seem that Chirps, or entire caches containing Chirps, would be much more likely to go "missing" from the field. I'd hate to have to continually replace it at 23 bucks a pop.


Maybe there's more to it than I'm seeing at first glance. If you are using a Chirp, or plan to, I'd love to hear from you. GPSFix has a pretty detailed review of the device, and even though they seem to like it, I'm still not convinced. Some of the commenter's on this GPSTracklog review are equally as skeptical. In addition, apparently Groundspeak is not approving any Chirp-only caches due to the exclusivity of the equipment required, which could be problematic for Chirp-owners.


Cache On!

Ten - Ten - Ten

Image via Wikipedia

Don't forget to find and log a cache today, as part of Groundspeak's 10th anniversary celebration/promotion on 10/10/10:

"Plan to Go Geocaching on 10-10-10 We want to see how many geocachers can go geocaching on a single day! We've chosen 10-10-10, since the date represents 10 years of geocaching and 10 years of Groundspeak in 2010. Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your worst enemy (if that's what it takes) and let's see if we can beat the previous record of 56,654 accounts logging on April 18, 2010. Even one log counts since we are counting how many accounts log a cache rather than the number of caches logged."

Judging by how incredibly slow the geocaching.com servers are running today, however, I suspect today's promotion has already been a success. You may want to wait to log your finds until later tonight.

Cache On!

Before And After

Sorry for the late post, but I was busy collecting DeLorme rectangles last week. My buddy Rohrerboy and I spent a few days driving through the upper reaches of northwestern California. Now I see why people up here call this part of the state "the real Northern California." It's an incredibly expansive and mostly undeveloped area full of nothing but old-growth redwood trees and numerous rivers. Not to mention it being absolutely gorgeous.

The trip was a lot of fun. Among other things, we saw a herd of elk grazing by the freeway, black sand beaches, historic landmarks, and some very clever cache hides including one inside a toilet bowl in the middle of a field:

Logging My Find

When all was said and done we ended up driving 1,227 miles and finding 24 new qualifying caches for the Northern California DeLorme Challenge, 16 new qualifying caches for the Golden State DeLorme Challenge, and 6 new qualifying caches for the California County Challenge.

BEFORE

AFTER

This was my first taste of a real geocaching road trip, and it was well worth all the work that went into. In fact, we're already planning our next trip.

Cache On!

Road Trip

They say planning a trip is half the fun of the actual trip itself. So far, that seems to be true. A caching buddy of mine and I will be taking a few days off work soon to head north to try and find as many new caches as we can that fall within the boundaries of the individual pages of the Northern California DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer. 


For years, we've had this long-term goal of completing the California DeLorme Challenge (Northern) cache. And we figured while we're at it, why not simultaneously work on fulfilling the similar requirements of the Golden State DeLorme Challenge as well? Note that the latter cache does not allow you to claim caches found for the former, so we'll need to find a separate cache for each page of each DeLorme Atlas book.

To plan our little adventure, we're making use of every tool imaginable, including of course, the DeLorme Atlases themselves, GSAK and the handy little Challenge2 macro (that analyzes your cahce find data and reports/displays your progress on various DeLorme Challenges and USGS Quad Challenges for a range of geographic areas), Google Earth and the Geocaching Google Earth Viewer, and Google Maps to plan our route.


With just a few exceptions, my buddy and I need to find caches in roughly the same polygons as each other. But it becomes a logistical challenge trying to decide the best approach given our limited time frame. For example, should we do a big east and west zig zag across the state, or take more of an up and down approach? The more we delve into this, the more we realize that a straight shot up one route and down another is not an option, as we're going to be forced to venture out, and then double back, to the main trunk line just to make sure we cover as many DeLorme pages as possible. 


And then of course there is the dreaded page 62 to deal with - a DeLorme page that is about 95% Pacific Ocean and 5% land, and is home to a mere two caches:

Regardless, if the actual trip is half as much fun as the planning of the trip, then we're in for one sweet adventure.

Cache On!

Schmoozing With Geocaching Superheroes

Well, I was completely out of my element last weekend when I attended a couple of geocaching get-togethers, and found myself surrounded by caching superheroes. 


First up was the Castro Valley Meet and Greet, hosted by one of the nicest geocachers you'll ever meet, IrishJen. The event attracted a virtual who's-who of East Bay Area geocaching lore, including the likes of oneangrypuppy (11698 found), Materus (22882 found),  BuckyD (3700 found), frivlas (11697 found), and the top dog,  Alamogul (45162 found). It was great listening to the exploits of such fabled geocachers while munching on pizza and enjoying the raffling off of a variety of top-notch schwag items.


Speaking of Alamogul, as if being in the presence of such legendary cachers wasn't enough already, many of us (and many others) were invited to descend upon Alamogul headquarters for barbeque and more story-telling and socializing. I wasn't sure what to expect as I stepped through the front doors of the Alamogul fortress - would I see walls lined with cache containers and cabinets full of GPS receivers? To my surprise, it was simply a nice, typical home. But then again, I didn't see what was hidden in the basement...


But as I stepped out onto the patio, it wasn't long before I realized I was truly in the presence of the upper echelon of the caching elite, many who traveled from far away to be here. I got to meet hynr, the author of some of the best GSAK macros anywhere, and Berkeley Boomers, author of the wildly popular Fifty Parks Challenge cache. Many other geo-studs and studettes were present, and it was a pleasure meeting them all. The food was pretty darn good, as well.


Cache On!

Why A Blinky?

Often times you'll run across a cache description or hint that states something like, "you're looking for a well-camouflaged blinky". Okay, fine. What does that mean? Am I looking for something that lights up, a reflector, or a traffic signal? 


Well, after finding enough of these things, I finally figured out that a blinky is another name for a nano cache (I tend to be a little slow on the uptake). But I've always been bothered as to why that is. Well, I finally found a decent definition from GeoLex that satisfied my curiosity: 


Blinky – Often used as another word for Nano. In reality, a “blinky” is a small light, using a button battery and micro LEDs. They are intended to be attached to clothing, or even as earrings. They come with a powerful base magnet, and a similar removable magnet, to allow it to be attached to clothing without the need of puncturing the fabric. The electronics and battery can be removed in order to create a Nano cache with a magnetic base.


Sounds like the perfect accessory from the 1980's. Glad to see they've found new life in the geocaching world.


Cache On!


(image courtesy of http://saminc.ca/tradingco/)