Happy Caching!

D74VSTW6HTQR

So, Tupperware Tuesday geocaching adventure reports will begin again after this long break. If you would like to participate, you can learn how here. Today’s geocaching had a couple of new twists: A real Treasure Hunt and my first full day of geocaching without using my DeLorme PN40 GPS.

Geocaching with my iPhone has its advantages. In a crowded park no one seems to pay any attention to me walking around holding it right in front of me and paying so much attention to the device. People have become so used to seeing people outside and yet ‘plugged in” that once the identify the device, they ignore you. This greatly enhances the stealth factor in my geocaching arsenal! I love that! Not that I really needed the increase at the 340 acre Ft. Steilacoom Park, but watching people’s reactions certainly gives me more confidence that the iPhone purchase was worth the price. I just wish the accuracy and signal lock were better. I’m sure with the 4G coming out those things can be improved. 

The geocache that I went to find is  Ft. Steilacoom Monument – GC25NZB by StealthBountyhunters. With one hide and one find, I’m pretty sure this is a “sock puppet” account, but a nice hide none the less. The cache has been there since March and there is a geo-trail forming. As spring progresses lets see if we can’t let that heal a bit by just walking over as much green as possible instead of stepping on it. I’d like this one to last for a while, since it would be very conveient for the trading of TB’s. The size and the hide are good for a trading spot if the geocache is not compromised. Just remember to keep an eye on the trail and you should be able to see anyone before they see you.

The other geocache search took me to the American Lake Park on the other end of town. I had never been to this park and it’s nice, but there seems to be a lot of people just parked in their cars sitting there. I don’t get that. If you go to a park why stay in the car? Are the afraid of too much fresh air? Sunshine? What? I’m so baffled by it. The geocache there is American Lake Park  – GC1792X by Spookdawg13. A park and grab, but not quite that easy with everyone sitting in their cars. 

Did you know that the City of Lakewood Parks and Recreation Department has a Treasure Hunt going on? Yep. This is week three of ten. I spent the rest of the daylight hours driveing around the city looking at things and comparing what I saw to the 3 clues. No luck though. You can find the clues and links to all the great stuff they have going on this spring at www.lakewoodparksandrec.com. You’d think that as geocachers we’d have the best chance to find this. Well, after today, I’m just not so sure of that. Anyone else out there following this Treasure Hunt? Having any luck? Got any ideas? I’m stumped so far.

Well, that was my Tuesday. Tomorrow is another day and I have an empty fridge, so you know what that means. Costco. My checkbook is trembling already!

Signal the Frog is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc.

On December 3rd, Groundspeak enlisted the help of geocachers nationwide to participate in a social networking/GPS technology challenge commissioned by the, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency of the United States, or DARPA. The challenge was designed to “…explore the roles the Internet and social networking play in the timely communication, wide-area team-building, and urgent mobilization required to solve broad-scope, time-critical problems.” according to the DARPA Challenge website. The Challenge was to be the first group to correctly submit the locations of 10 moored, 8 foot, red, weather balloons stationed at 10 locations in the continental US. A $40,000 dollar first prize amount was set for the first person/group to correctly report all 10 locations. If Groundspeak won they offered to put up and additional $10,000, to bring the total to $50,000 and to donate the entire amount through DonorsChoose.org to help fund school programs in need of GPS equipment. A fantastic gesture and a wonderful investment in our children’s education and future.

The date of the Challenge was set for December 5th, 2009. It wasn’t a lot of notice from Groundspeak to its troops in the field, but geocachers from all over the US responded to the call. A blog “10 Balloonies – Groundspeak’s DARPA War Room” was set up to help keep geocachers informed of the challenge as it unfolded and a temporay Twitter account was set to keep the information flowing.

The action was hot and heavy that Saturday. MIT proved to be the victors being the first to correctly locate all 10 balloons. Groundspeak and it team of Geocahers found a total of 8 balloons for a respectable showing. It was a successful social networking experiment for both DARPA and Groundspeak. Here’s hoping that this trend for Groundspeak continues.

Groundspeak and the Groundspeak Lackey’s, decided to honor the contributions of all the participating geocachers by donating the $10,000 dollars they offered to put up if they won.  They will be choosing the programs to donate to over the next couple of weeks. It was a Win-Win Saturday for geocachers and Groundspeak, geocaching for a good cause.

UPDATE:

• Here is a related article that details MIT’s strategy: Random Connections: DARPA Challenge Update
• And and update from Groundspeak: After the Challenge, What have We Learned

I just saw your latest TV commercial and it seems you have the “little guys” out shopping early this year, so I thought I better get to writtin’ ya real quick like. See… I’ve been a really, really, really, good geocacher all year this year.

• I aint’t been in the parks before dawn or after dusk.
• I aint’t crossed any “No Trespassing” signs. (That was hard!)
• I always traded up instead of equal.
• I logged every geocache, travel bug and geocoin the same day found them.
• I ainn’t done no four-wheelin’ where I shouldn’t uv.
• I stayed on the clearly marked approved trails and tried not to step on too many plants.
• I didn’t hold on to any travel bugs or geocoins more than a week. (ok maybe a week and a half)
• I even kept the dog on a leash and (if you can believe this) even picked up her poop!

Really, you’ve seen my dog, I oughta get a medal or something for that last one! Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is… I think I’m bein’ pretty darn reasonable asking for this one geocaching gift this year for Christmas. I’d really like this fancy new geocaching GPS called the Garmin Oregon 550t. (I included the link to it for ya below.)

Garmin Oregon 550t Touch-Screen Handheld GPS Receiver with US Topo Maps & Integrated Camera IN STOCK The navigator with the photographic memory — Garmin Oregon 550t combines rugged outdoor touchscreen navigation and pre-loaded 3D topo maps with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera. The result? A multipurpose device that will make your biggest adventures even more memorable. Also new is the addition of the addition of the 3-axis tilt-compensated compass. This will allow the unit to report an accurate heading even when the unit is not held in a level position.

It sure is pretty! Those geotagged photos could come in handy when the Mrs. just don’t believe I was where I said I was and when. And the 3-axis tilt-compensated compass would come in real handy after a few cups of holiday cheer. I’ve been know to tip at least three ways after the annual Christmas party! Anyway… Talk it over with the Elves and let me know what ya think. Hope you had a great year of Geocaching! ~ CoastCacher

p.s.: I’ll make sure to leave a candle burning for ya this year instead of the fireplace going. Sorry about that one. Hope you aren’t too mad about it.

p.s.s.: I found this review of the Oregon… I hope it helps you make up yer mind See ya soon Santa!Oregon 550t Review

Garmin eTrex Vista, Photo by CoastCacher

I have often been asked why I prefer the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx to the Garmin eTrex Legend HCx. Two reasons: the electronic compass and the barometric altimeter. The Vista has them and the Legend doesn’t. Now you may be thinking that a compass isn’t really important if you have a GPS unit. After-all, once you get to the coordinate location you just have to rummage around and look for the cache. Right? Well, maybe. But, if your are at the cross section of two trails, in heavy tree cover and the cache listing has a hint that says, “the cache is behind the third tree on the southwest corner”. It would be nice to have a “electronic compass”, now wouldn’t it. The same holds true for parking garages and the “barometric altimater” feature. Eight stories of parked cars, surveillance cameras and only one location for the cache. I never thought I would use the altimeter. I was wrong. Variations of both of these situation have happened to me several times over the years. Each time I am thankful over and over again I made the choice I did. I may have spent and extra forty dollars upfront to have these features, but I have saved more than triple that amount’s worth of aggravation on long days of geocaching. Click here to view a side by side comparison of features between the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and the Garmin eTrex Legend HCx

I still have my first Garmin eTrex Vista Cx. It is still my GPS of choice for urban caching. It is small, fits in the palm of my hand and tucks away quickly without generating much notice from people nearby. It easily blends in with the urban environment unlike my other favorite GPS; the DeLorme PN-40. But that’s another story for another day.

Here is video on using the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx for geocaching.

UPDATE: Congratulations to “StrangeMinds” on your Garmin eTrex Vista Cx purchase!