[Team Deejay]

Welcome to the addiction, jsdad. All the advice you have received here is basically correct, but it sounds like you aren’t all that familiar with downloading coordinates/caches from the website. Here are some options:

1. You have already seen the link to download the cache coordinates directly into your GPS. This only works for Garmin GPSes (most of the newer models, including etrex) and loads only the coordinates and the GC code (GCXXXX) into your GPS as “waypoints”. If you want the name/description/hints/size/difficulty/terrain/type, you will either need to print out the cache page or use one of the methods below.

2. There is also the option of downloading a LOC file. Basically, the LOC has the same information as the Garmin download, so if you are downloading one cache at a time (more on that later), there is no real advantage. Once you have downloaded the file, you can load it into various waypoint managers (more on that later) and then use that manager to send it to your GPS.

3. If you are premium member, you can also download a GPX file of an individual cache on the cache page. The GPX file contains virtually all the information about the cache, including name, description, size, hint, etc. You would still need to load this file into a waypoint manager to get it into your GPS. Normally, when you load this file into your GPS, it will STILL only load the GC Code and coordinates, but some waypoint managers allow you to change the “name” of the waypoint to include other information, such as the name or the terrain/difficulty. This also depends on which waypoint you select.

4. Finally, if you are a premium member, you can set up what is called a Pocket Query. With a pocket query, you specify criteria for a set of caches which will be emailed to you in a GPX file. Currently, the most caches you can get in a single GPX file is 500 caches, but the limit is moving up to 1000 soon. Like option 3, this option will include all the information about your caches.

You will find that nearly all experienced geocachers will use option 4. It is too time consuming to download caches one at a time. The question then, will be what to do with this big file of 500 caches. That is where a waypoint manager comes in.

When you buy a GPS, it will come with waypoint management software. For Garmin GPSs, it is called Mapsource. For Magellan, it is called Mapsend. For Lowrance, GPS Data Manager (GDM). For Delorme, you can use any of the Delorme mapping software packages, and they provide you with one of the packages with your purchase. All of these are suitable for downloading coordinates to your GPS, basic mapping, keeping track of your finds, etc.

I would estimate that probably 25% so of experienced geocachers use the included waypoint manager. The rest use third party managers which provide much more features. When you first start out, I would recommend that you stick with this free version for your first 100 caches or so. Other popular options are EasyGPS (free), ExpertGPS ($60), and GeoBuddy ($60), but most people around here are using GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) ($25, Shareware). If you want to go this route, you probably should buttonhole someone into showing you how they use GSAK (everyone will have different answers) to see whether or not you want to mess with it. I will say that the best feature of these programs for beginners is the ability to combine multiple caches (with all the information) onto a single sheet of paper, assuming someone doesn’t try to replicate War & Peace in the cache description (you know who you are…) You can also print a grid of the caches you want to find, with most of the required information.

Once you get this far, you may want to stop printing out cache sheets and carry the cache information with you. Up until about 2 years ago, this would mean using a Palm or PocketPC device and downloading the information from your waypoint manager. Now, however, I would say the best approach is to use a Smartphone. Software applications are available for Blackberry, Iphone (and Ipod Touch), Droid, and Window Mobile. If you don’t already have a smartphone, the cheapest approach is probably to get an old Palm off of Ebay and use that. Most of us old timers can walk you through the process, even though we don’t do it ourselves anymore.

[Team Deejay]

Just a quick clarification. The order is not really the issue. The key is that you need to post the LCG entry before the cache rescue is APPROVED by an administrator. Once the rescue is approved, it disappears from the LCG list. Sometimes that rescue will get approved in a just a few minutes, so posting the LCG entry first eliminates the issue.

[Team Deejay]

A little birdie told me that the final destination is Virginia.

[Team Deejay]

Becky and I are blessed with infinite patience and unlimited tolerance for bad grammar and punctuation.

[Team Deejay]

Jumpin’ Jahosavat!

[Team Deejay]

@rcflyer2242 wrote:

Thanks teem Deejay I get how it works now. I will just move 3 caches a little further down the trail.
Now when it comes to my 56 cache series it sounds like what your saying is I should get all the spots, then submit the caches and then after they are published, disable them?
Can anybody tell me how the battleship series was worked out? Or the states series? All help will be appreciated. Thanks

The battleship series was submitted over time with instruction to publish on a specific date. The state series was mostly published as they were placed.

Normally if you want a big bang publish, you would create them without activating the caches, then ask for an offline review. You absolutely need to do this if you have a mystery final, as that needs to be reviewed before the series is published.

[Team Deejay]

Just to calm things down….the other multi cache was submitted prior to rcflyer’s caches. The publication was delayed several weeks while the owner obtained a permit. When we have multiple unpublished caches in the system, the lowest number takes priority. Now, if you enter a listing and don’t do anything with it for an extended period, it might be deleted during database cleanup, but that was not the case here.

To be honest, we discourage the practice of “saving spots”. It is difficult enough for hiders to avoid hidden multi and mystery cache waypoints. It is impossible for people to avoid unpublished caches. That said, you can submit a page and then take time to plan your caches, execute timed releases or get permission for a placement. Just don’t make it your life’s work to get a permit filed.

[Team Deejay]

I’m afraid there were many who thought it was gibberish before you messed it up. 😆 Seriously, this is one of my favorite puzzles in the area, so I’m glad you got it repaired.

[Team Deejay]

The wildlife refuges (Horicon, Trempealeau, and the Upper Mississippi) are all off limits currently, due to federal policy where these area are designated such that the only public use allowed must be “wildlife centered”. That means that you can kill the animals if you want, but you can’t walk through without “wildlife watching”. They routinely refuse permission for earthcaches, except for those placed by the rangers (much like this event).

The fisheries and other USFWS properties do not have a formal policy as far as I can tell. In those cases, you should talk to the property manager.

[Team Deejay]

Hey, now that you have all the puzzles solved, will you take me along? 😈

[Team Deejay]

That would be good, but it would be better if you complained directly by phone, email, etc.

[Team Deejay]

Apparently it has always been that way. They tell me it is intentional. If I had a dollar for every time a developer told me that….Sigh….

[Team Deejay]

Please don’t delete this image or publish the cache you have it attached to. I will send this to the BUGZ department.

[Team Deejay]

@cheezehead wrote:

@Team Deejay wrote:

You don’t actually need to host it anywhere. Just create the reviewer note and submit it, then on the cache page, click the “upload a photo for this log” link and upload the file to the log. Note that this is definitely the preferred method for uploading graphic information to the reviewers, as this information is deleted automatically when the cache is published.

Yup! Been there done that. BUT…..the image IS IN the profile gallery till it the log is deleted. So anyone who looks at the gallery can see the image and the solution. But I think I figured it out.

Let me try again. If you use a REVIEWER NOTE, it will be automatically deleted when the cache is published, so no one will see it. If you use a NOTE, it will not be deleted when the cache is published. You will know you created a reviewer note if the icon looks like Signal the Frog. That log will be deleted automatically. If the icon looks like a piece of paper, you have a regular note, which will stay. The reviewer note logs are specifically designed for communicating with the reviewers. The regular notes are for communications with everyone. So…puzzle spoilers for the reviewers go in the reviewer notes. Pictures of the scenery, your dog finding the cache or whatever, go in the regular notes.

[Team Deejay]

You don’t actually need to host it anywhere. Just create the reviewer note and submit it, then on the cache page, click the “upload a photo for this log” link and upload the file to the log. Note that this is definitely the preferred method for uploading graphic information to the reviewers, as this information is deleted automatically when the cache is published.

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