[thepharmgirl]

@TyeDyeSkyGuy wrote:

Are there any good camping areas nearby?

Yes, there are a couple campgrounds in the area. Hopefully we can get an accomodation list together for you soon. (I’m leaving for vacation in a couple hours, but if nobody gets back to you, I’ll make you a list when I return.) 🙂

[thepharmgirl]

Congrats!

[thepharmgirl]

I was hoping to get up there this summer as well. I also want to visit the waterfalls in that northwestern corner.

[thepharmgirl]

Agreed. A toast to fun. 😀

[thepharmgirl]

@seldom|seen wrote:

I long ago proposed, and many others before me, a simple objective ranking system for caches that could be used to determine the best and brightest in the state.

Hmm, that’s an interesting idea… Maybe the GC.com folks should include that. Like, at the same time you log that you found a cache, you could “score” it right away if you wanted to.

Although… I’m not sure how I’d feel if I saw the results and everyone thought my caches sucked. 😯 My feelings might be hurt. ha.

Or do you mean just rank the ones that are nominated as the best?

[thepharmgirl]

@cheezehead wrote:

I have nominated a few up North … so they make the bookmark list so people who vist the area might read the cache page, see the bookmark and the nomination and might think it’s worth going to find.

I definitely appreciate that. When planning a caching trip, I make a special effort to visit certain caches based on nominations/wins. I think the nomination is just as strong as a win. I figure “this must be an extra special cache.”

@kansas64 wrote:

… It seems more a popularity contest than a contest to highlight the best caches that are out there in Wisconsin.
Is this just me that this bothers?

I used to be slightly bothered by what I perceived to be a “popularity contest” regional trend of voting too, but now I figure if it’s popular, there must be a reason. And although I don’t personally vote for a cache unless I’ve found it, I can understand why some cachers might do that between a list of choices they haven’t found… Perhaps it’s a unique or interesting concept that grabs their attention. Perhaps they like to support creative hides… Or puzzles… Or high terrain challenges… Or high difficulty. Perhaps they like the natural scenery of the area. Perhaps it is merely high on their “to do list” based on the raves of other finders. Perhaps it’s just fun and the logs made them laugh. Everyone has their own opinion about what makes a cache great, and I think it’s that variety that I most enjoy about caching. Sometimes the cache itself isn’t especially spectacular, but the journey and cache log conversations between cachers makes it extra-memorable and extra-fun for a regional group of friends (eg: Catwalk… not a nominee, but I needed an example).

I guess what I’m saying in my long-winded way is that whatever makes a cache extra-special to win the COTM honor is completely subjective because everyone enjoys different caches for different reasons, and everyone is entitled to his/her one vote, so I think it’s fair.

[thepharmgirl]

Actually, Jeremy made a personal house visit and got me all set up with both the Cachemate on my iPaq Pocket PC and the Free 30-day trial of Cacheberry on my Blackberry Pearl 8130 Smartphone. I also tried the 30-day trial of the Trimble Geocache Navigator on my phone. I had a chance to play around with each application and here’s my review:

Quick summary: I prefer CacheMate on the Pocket PC over the Cacheberry on my Smartphone, mostly because the screen size is twice as big which makes it easier to read (less scrolling) and all the cache page info I want (description, hint, past logs) is on ONE page instead of clicking from various menu choices. Also, I can make logs and voice notes for caches and keep track of trackables (dropping, retrieving, and discovering them in caches so I don’t forget). Geocache Navigator was convenient because you don’t have to load anything into it, but the GPS/compass/map never really worked, it doesn’t list trackables, and it’s REALLY not worth the mega-money, IMHO, so I’ll barely mention it.

Price:
CacheMate $10
CacheBerry $15
Trimble Geocache Navigator $40/year (can you say rip off?!)

Main List Display:

CacheMate – Simple and easy to use… very similar to CacheBerry. However, I found it is more flexible which is nice. The columns can be edited to include or not include whatever categories you want (distance, cache type, container, name, notes, etc) and moved around the screen according to personal viewing preference. You can sort and filter caches by any of these column headings. Cache types are simply listed using the letter “T,” “M,” “U,” etc, and Disabled caches are marked with an “X”. Caches you found show a green checkmark, DNFs show a red note. Normal notes are yellow. It marks trackables with the same symbol whether it is a geocoin or travelbug (so you must view the actual cache page for specifics).

CacheBerry – Most similar-looking to GC.com pocket query list, with actual colored icons for cache type (trad, multi, unknown, etc). It lists both geocoin and travelbug icons. Disabled caches have the (-) icon and are crossed out, and it marks notes and found caches as well. Columns can be added or deleted, but cannot be moved around, and you cannot scroll over to view the whole cache name if it is cut off. You can sort and filter.

Individual Cache Page Display:

CacheMate – My preference. The cache description, hint, and past logs are all on one page. Only the 5 past logs are shown. You can click on “edit log” and post a note about the cache, mark it found or DNF, record the time it takes to find the cache, record a voice note, or view the specific trackable items in the cache. You can then grab, drop, or discover them. All the notes and logs can be retrieved later. If you have internet access, you can link to the cache page online.

Cacheberry – This is somewhat annoying on my little Blackberry Pearl because it’s a smaller phone, so I have to scroll a really long time to read the cache description. Also, you have to click on a separate page from the dropdown menu to view the hint, and a separate page on the drop down menu for the past logs (max 5 logs). You can post a field note about the cache, but there was not a voice recording option. You can view the trackables in the cache, but there is no option to drop/discover them. You can connect to the online cache page with internet connection, and you can view location on the Blackberry Map.

I hope that helps. I guess everyone is right though… it’s easiest to just try it out yourself (once you bribe a super-smart guy to set it up for you 😉 ).

[thepharmgirl]

@seldom|seen wrote:

Guess I’d like to see a poll first on how many find it irritating vs how many don’t care. I’d prefer not to, but I can be convinced otherwise.

As someone who loves those puzzle caches, I sort of LIKE seeing all the icons on the map. It doesn’t look cluttered to me…. just exciting. Seeing MORE icons makes me MORE likely to go to that area to cache. I definitely cache by map, not by query list. I click on each icon on the map to see each mystery cache page. I know I’ve missed some good ones because the icons were hiding. It’s a little frustrating to find out there are more caches you missed after the fact. For an out-of-town cacher, it’s helpful to see all the cache choices to better plan the day.

I had stacked my own puzzle caches in West Bend, and now regret it for the same reason. That’s just my two cents.

[thepharmgirl]

It’s too confusing. I already downloaded the Cachemate this morning, before I found out it apparently doesn’t work with my PPC 2002. Well that’s terrific. The cachemate site has ZERO instructions for a stupid person like me who doesn’t intuitively know how to use their product. So now CacheMate is on my PPC 2002. I can’t register it for some reason (my codes don’t match), and I have no idea how to get my GPX files loaded into it. I give up. I hope the people at Cachemate are happy with my $10 donation. I read Jeremy’s post about the Cacheberry, and I tried to get the 30-day trial of that, but I couldn’t figure out how that worked either. 👿 I’ll go back to my 2-hour process of writing down all the cache information. Or maybe I will buy a Colorado or Oregon. 😀

[thepharmgirl]

cool, thanks.

[thepharmgirl]

I enjoy smart-alec responses as I often dish them out myself (or at least think them to myself), but since I already partially use the memorization technique, it wasn’t especially helpful. 🙂
I’m sure some brilliant tech mind can help me out with a private lesson, but I wanted to post this in case anybody else also wanted a tutorial on paperless.

Hi Jeremy….help, please? 🙂

[thepharmgirl]

I’m terribly disorganized. I often have to solve puzzles multiple times because I lose my solutions if I take too long to go find the cache. If I don’t complete an entire multi in one day, I’ll have to re-do the whole thing because I don’t keep track of the waypoints I already visited. My “stuff” is scattered in various closets and drawers. I keep meaning to organize it all into one folder/box, but there’s always something better to do (go cache!).

The only things I can ever find for sure are my GPSr and a pen. Everything else is optional. [:D]

[thepharmgirl]

@kansas64 wrote:

I have not used the logo on my first few placements, basically because I did not know where it was hidden. Yes hidden, I didnt think searching for 10 minutes to find it was acceptable.

Hmmm… I think you’re right. I didn’t have a WGA banner on any of my cache pages, and after reading this post, I decided I would go do that…. and it took awhile to find the link. Maybe not 10 minutes since I could rule out “photo album” and “milestones.” I wouldn’t have thought to look under “Wiki.” I don’t even know what a Wiki is. Although now I see it’s also under “About Us” in small print. Perhaps “How You Can Spread the Word” needs its own paragraph heading there with larger letters? Or perhaps a section under “Hiding a Cache” would be more intuitive? I don’t know if you want to go Link Crazy though.

[thepharmgirl]

@RSplash40 wrote:

Q: Why is the slippery ice like music?
A: If you don’t C sharp – you’ll B flat!

Well that’s A natural conclusion.

[thepharmgirl]

@gotta run wrote:

We have a plate holder that says “gotta run.” does that count?

I saw one like that in Manitowoc last week

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