Cache Ba$h Review Thread

[RSplash40]

Well, you snuck that in there while I was re-thinking my post and decided it wasn’t the best venue for the reply I had typed.

Texting, emails, posting in forums, etc loses a lot of the conversation…not always the best method of transferring information. There was a statistic out a few years back that only 10% of the message actually comes through when typed.

I took took offense to your posting as you did mine, I gave all of what I valued as important information other than the cache that I did post a note to. Your reply also left me feeling ripped and torn like I had no idea what I was talking about.

In hindsight there was more we both could’ve done, but whats done is done and its time to move forward.

[thepharmgirl]

@glorkar wrote:

@thepharmgirl wrote:

The reason we had a 10am deadline for Geo-Golf was that we needed time to enter all the coordinates we received. This deadline was listed on the Event Cache Page for months and it was also in the Booklet. Perhaps next year we could include it on the Geo-Golf form itself. If we had more volunteers, perhaps somebody could enter them as they were handed in. But alas, most volunteers had multiple tasks to do over the weekend.

Just figured with the number of people that showed up, I probably wasn’t the only one who missed that point 🙂

True. Only a little over 100 people played the game.

[thepharmgirl]

@RSplash40 wrote:

In hindsight there was more we both could’ve done, but whats done is done and its time to move forward.

okie dokie. agreed. 😀

[thepharmgirl]

I’ve forwarded all the comments so far to the chamber director. Keep them coming. There is a meeting next week to discuss next year’s event, so all comments and suggestions will be taken into consideration.

[Team Black-Cat]

I just hung around the park for about nine hours on Saturday. I’m easily entertained, so I was happy just catching up with people that I haven’t seen in a while.

From my perspective, it looked like things went very smoothly. The planning committee did a great job.

My only complaint would have to be that being out finding caches is the main focus of the event. I realize that it’s that way by design and probably won’t change, but I would like to see more happening at the event venue.

[wegakempf]

We are still newbies so this was our first event. We arrived Friday, not sure what to expect, but were blown away by how helpful everyone was. We did appreciate the listing that was posted of available hotels in the area a few days before the event, as up until that time we weren’t able to find lodging.

We enjoyed doing the BINGO on Friday, as it really helped break the ice. The kids did the chutes and ladder, game which was a bit confusing at first, but a volunteer was able to get us started. We didn’t do the Golf as we didn’t understand it, but that was our choice to not ask for help, we were more interested in sitting down and relaxing so no biggie there. We now know for next year what it’s all about. Thankful for patience and assistance to the download volunteers. Made 5 trips up to download booth due to GPS issues 😳 The family loved the free swimming passes, they came in handy.

We enjoyed all the caches we got to, even the ones out of West Bend as these seemed to be the ones where we didn’t have someone ahead of us or right behind us and were able to make the find on our own. We didn’t know the area so it gave us a chance to see some countryside in the process also.

My only suggestion is that those that did find all of the caches, should have received something. Not sure how many did find them all, and maybe this is not financially feasible. We found half and had a great time doing so.

Thanks for a great weekend, and thanks to all the volunteers. Looking forward to next year.

[BigJim]

This was my first year at the Cache Bash. Due to a sudden change in her work schedule, my wife could not attend with me, so I went on my own. In 9 months of caching, I’ve only run into other cachers at a cache site twice, until this weekend. At several caches I felt “cheated” because I didn’t get a chance to actually find the cache. I realize that with that many cachers, there’s nothing that can be done about this, but it was what it was.

I really liked that the event was held over two days. I would not have been able to find all the caches I did if I hadn’t had a head start on Friday. Next year I will be there at noon, so I have even more time to cache.

Overall I thought it was a very well-run event.

All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.

[amita17]

I am still logging my finds, but timely feedback is important too.

I’ve attended all three years, and will add my agreement that the event gets better every year. I arrived around 1:30 on Friday, so there was no wait for the download. I appreciated having a choice on how the caches would be listed in my GPSr (and I appreciated a re-download when after a couple hours I realized I had made the wrong choice).

I did play geo-golf, actually leaving my cachemates to turn in my form so I could make the deadline. I didn’t see the box on Friday or I would have done it then. Maybe it can be next to the green ticket box? The first two years I was in the right area, just not close enough to win. This year I didn’t hear them say the winning coordinates, just that it was “by the river”, so maybe they could be posted or announced next year?

I did try the turkey shoot at the breakfast. I am still not sure I understand the whole averaging thing… Several tried explaining it to me, maybe if I had seen a written explanation I might have better understood it?

My group went to new caches and old ones. All but one were in good shape. The one that wasn’t was a new one, and I think with the masses descending upon it, some replacing it better than others, the log disintegrated.

This year I played Bingo and hadn’t before. It was interesting to hear some of the stories that went with the signatures.

I heard there was going to be a Wherigo but never saw any information on it. Was it a one-time group thing, or could it be done on your own if you have the right kind of equipment?

I saw the night caches posted on the pavilion. We opted to do regular caching at night. Note to self: don’t leave the flashlight in the other vehicle. Respray the insect repellant. So was the specific night caching on your own, or a group venture?

I really like the two days. No chance I will ever get them all, but it is nice to get more each year than the previous year. I did find some caches without standing in line, but was grateful sometimes for the help. I like to get a good bunch of numbers, but having time for socializing is nice too.

Plenty of parking and bathrooms…no complaints there I hope.

I also hurried to get my WGA shirt, since some expressed concern about sizes. They had my color and size available.

I liked the variety of toppings for the pancakes…yum!

Any volunteer I came in contact with was helpful and friendly. The townspeople were tolerant, accepting, and even extra helpful. The lady at the duck blind boat cache even offered to row us out, though we didn’t take her up on it. One of the business owners found us cachers amusing. No one was rude.

That sums up my experience, I guess.

[lone_gunman]

Only suggestion I have is to have more at the event site during the day. Just in case I feel like lounging around again next year.

[thepharmgirl]

@amita17 wrote:

I heard there was going to be a Wherigo but never saw any information on it. Was it a one-time group thing, or could it be done on your own if you have the right kind of equipment?

Thanks for all the feedback! The Wherigo is permanent and can be done on your own with the right equipment: GC27QDH

There wasn’t any advance notification because I wasn’t sure I would have it ready in time. Luckily, I managed to get it published in time for the event, and I think I posted a note about it. According to the feedback of people who did it, it works great on Garmin Colorados, locks up on some Oregons but not on others, works on Droids if you downloaded from the computer and not your cell. Somebody also did it with a Blackberry and it worked well. Seems like I will have to clean up the programming so that it works for everyone.

There is also a way to play the game on your home computer and that works perfectly.
😀

[Barry Butrymowicz]

Val and I are not in Geocaching for the numbers, and that was the main reason that we have not attended this event in the past, as a last minute decision we decided to cut our vacation short in Indiana and head to West Bend. We were amazed on how well run and how nice the event ended up to be, and will be back next year for sure. Most of the caches we found together, which slows us down compared to other teams but if at all possible we try to cache together. for those of you that don’t know Val is partially wheelchair bound. Short hikes and P&G are ok, but longer hikes require the chair. Starting late on Saturday 9:30 – 10:00 we still found 27 for the event, (with the help of LDove and pharmgirl pointing out the more accessible caches) Kudos on the great event. On Sunday we took a walk around downtown area and found another 12 or so caches that were for the most part all accessible (This was a great added plus for us to end the event)

For next year,

1) Possibly list in the booklet which caches are accessible or separate them like the water caches were.

2) GROUP PHOTO!!! Just before or after the prize drawings

3) More vendors (I will contact Geocoin Club / Pathtags.com owners and put in a good note for this event)

4) Lackey Attendance (For the size of the event, it is surprising that they were not here)

5) Reading the other posts about the money raffle tickets, when we received ours the Chamber volunteer separated them for us and dropped the second half into the bin for us, (Idea for next year keep the $ raffle bin in the registration Kiosk and have the Volunteers deposit them as you register)

6) Dedicated TB Drop off/ Pick up trading area 1 for 1 honor system

7) Travel Bug Discovery Area (Signal would have loved to have been there)

8) NAME TAGS (Sticker Type for those who did not have the WGA laminated ones or their own)

Barry and Valarie of sweetlife

[LDove]

The Chamber director did announce the geogolf coordinates.

I personally read every single log that comes out and my eyeballs feel like they are gonna start bleeding! 😯 I value every single one and use that information to improve my hides for the next year.

We can’t control every cache in West Bend. If some are not maintained, it is up to the last cacher there to post a needs maintenance log just like you would anywhere else and someone would get out there and fix it. I personally went out and added new logs to most of my own caches and also stuffed a couple hundred log bags and asked cachers to replace full ones if they found them. I don’t know if there is more we can do on that.

The downloads were announced to start at noon and they did. We had all cachers out of the line by 1:03. Some people chose to line up sooner and it probably felt longer in the heat and humidity and we do appreciate your patience. Unfortunately, anyone who works with computers knows glitches happen. This was a service provided by the WGA and people who volunteered their computers for the day, we appreciate them being there and helping and not letting people have to hand load 67 new caches on their own!

As far as having more to do at the event venue suggestions please! We had geogolf, chutes and ladders, swimming, a Whereigo cache, vendors, free pass to the dog park, food, drinks, cool cache container contest, WGA booth, classes, bingo, Annie’s quiz game, little cachers pennies and prizes game, secret treasure box activity, free boat rides, prize drawings AND post event party, and 60+ caches to find. Whew, I thought it was a full day 😛 , but we are looking for ways to please the masses so feel free to suggest anything you think would be something you would want. I know I am going to ask the makers of OFF to give us some goodies or a vendor booth next year and I AM NOT KIDDING! 😆

[LDove]

Oh and I forgot to mention, I TOTALLY agree with the nametags. I felt I was wandering in a sea of people whom I should know but had no idea who they were! I thought of this last year and it was one thing we missed again! We won’t forget again next year, I promise! 😀

[thepharmgirl]

@sweetlife wrote:

4) Lackey Attendance (For the size of the event, it is surprising that they were not here)

They were invited as well as numerous vendors. Getting input from event attendees will definitely help the cause for next year!!

[-cheeto-]

One more thing. We noticed a sharp decline in the “discounts” in the goody bags. After last year, I made a point of registering early because of the great discounts that were in the bag last year. It seemed noticeably different this year.

This year we went to McDonalds drawn by the free smoothie coupon and Walgreens by the free water coupon. Both locations we spent nearly $30 above and beyond the freebie. (FYI – Walgreens was sold out of Bug spray!!)

My family gave preference to those locations that offered coupons in the goody bag. I felt like those companies wanted my business. This is something I think the chamber should concentrate more on. They should encourage their chamber members to offer coupons to draw in more customers during the event weekend.

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