TAG :: Toronto Area Geocachers » northernpenguin
Oct 31 2011
Friday night, Cachedrone made an interesting post in the Groundspeak Forums – “Testing in Ontario: Organized Group Hunts“.
The text of his post reads:
Recently the reviewers of Ontario approached Groundspeak with a request. We asked if Ontario could be used for a two month period to test the idea of allowing an Event to be listed for the sole purpose of group caching (organized cache hunt). We are pleased to announce that they agreed. For the months of November and December it will be possible to create an Event Cache to simply go geocaching. We are very interested to see what the community creates during this period and how these events are received. This test is exclusive to Ontario and will end on the 31st of December. We may have to limit the number of group hunt events that are listed in any given area. With the exception of allowing group hunts, all other guidelines still apply to the review process, like the 14 days advance notice. It should go without saying that each of these events, the logs posted on them and any forum feedback will be tracked for discussion with Groundspeak at the end of the test. This should be viewed as a one-time opportunity to explore a new way to be social with fellow geocachers on the trail and not an indicator or future developments. We look forward to this study and your feedback.
If you have questions about this you can reply within this forum thread or email me directly at [email protected]
What does this mean, exactly? Well, it means that for two months – November and December 2011 the rules regarding event caches are being tweaked in Ontario, Canada as an experiment. Normally a geocaching event must be a social activity that is more than just a group of people going geocaching together. This is to prevent people from listing an event every time they go caching with friends (overwhelming the event listings).
Now, these organized cache hunts can be listed as an event. That means activities like the Ottawa GeoMob’s weekly breakfast, or the BFL Crew’s friday night get togethers could conceivably be listed as events. More likely, gatherings like the massive GHMGC organized cache hunts that occur monthly will be listed as a monthly get together.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out. It could mean a new social dynamic with regular caching events bringing more cachers together. Or it could mean losing sight of the big events like Spring Fling / GHAGAFAP, as the events are drowned out by a sea of “Lamp Post Micro Events”
Is this another quantity over quality concession from Groundspeak – power trails for event cachers? Time will tell – at the end of the day, how Ontario geocachers respond to this experiment could define the future of events for everyone.
Events still need to be listed 14 days in advance, and the reviewers will be limiting the number of events in the same area if necessary. Events that are posted will be analyzed by Groundspeak. The experiment ends December 31,2011.
[ Groundspeak Forum Thread ]
Oct 28 2011
Well, here at TAG Central, we just got an interesting message. It came in a bottle, with a map that would certainly interest one Captain Jack Sparrow:
The Central Ontario Geocachers, an’ the Spring Fling organizers be pleased to announce that COG Spring Fling 8 be published an’ that plannin’ be well underway! On the 16thof the month of June which be a Saturday, bring ye all to the gathering!
We be also thrilled to announce that this year’s event be brought to the beautiful shores o’ Georgian Bay in the quaint, but thrivin’ community o’ Midland, Ontario. If ye be havin’ nerebeen to Midland, ye dasn’t know what ye be missin’! With beautiful parks, waterfront an’ urban areas perfect fer Geocachin’, this year’s venue offers us vast opportunities to be expandin’ on the successes that we be havin’ had with our past events.
Arrr, so ye be wantin’ to go to sea an’ ye don’t be wantin’ to end up in Davy Jones’ Locker? Then ye best be learnin’ to be talkin’ like a buccaneer!
In addition to our venue change, we will also be challengin’ ye to experience the event as a buccaneer. Huntin’ bountiful booty, sailin’ the high seas, swashbucklin’ an’ havin’ yer parrot do the talkin’ be all possibilities this year as we embark on our excitin’ new theme. Can ye answer the call?
The event page is already posted (GC1MGEQ). If you’re going to be anywhere near Central Ontario next June, you really owe it to yourself to attend this marquee event. Last year’s theme was Bond, 007. We’ll be sure they will take this year’s pirate theme to a whole new level. Be sure to post your will-attend on the event listing, and visit cogfling.ca for the full story.
[ Cogfling.ca ] [ GC1MGEQ ] [ Central Ontario Geocachers ]
Oct 22 2011
My how BFL Boot Camp has grown. The first year, we hid 6 geocaches and they were mainly based on the use of firetacks. The event “Fall Back to Night Caching“ (archived – Geocaching login required) had 38 teams attend, and was organized by 5 people. At the time, we figured it would be a one time event.
Fast forward to 2011, and we are hosting the 6th iteration of this annual event. We’re looking forward to seeing 200 people attend this year, with over a dozen caches hidden for it. We have 20 people helping out on the organizing committee. The caches now feature lasers, UV paint, glow in the dark features, and more. Gone are the days of a simple follow the firetack to the tupperware type cache hunt. Over the years, the BFL Crew has hidden over 50 night caches in North Halton. Two of the original hides are still active – GCYPW9 The Circle, and GCYXNJ What Bugs You in the Night.
The event caught the attention of Groundspeak this week, and they have posted an article on the official Geocaching Blog – “Latitude 47” about the event. The article, titled “Geocaching in the Dark: The Great Canadian Night Caching Event” appeared on the blog Friday evening. Featuring information about night caching, our event and even some photos from past year’s events.
This year, the night caching event portion starts at 2130h and, while the even officially ends at 0400h, often there are attendees still out well past that time. We look forward to seeing you at the event on Saturday, October 29th.
[ BFL Boot Camp VI – Retro Reflect ] [ Latitude 47 ]
Oct 11 2011
Here’s a disturbing new development for geocaching in Canada. The Ministry of Transportation has banned geocaching on their property. That’s all highways, roads, rest stops, guardrails and more. Anything posted within 100 metres of a road, or MoT structure is going to be declined by the reviewers for the time being. This one’s going to affect a LOT of geocaches in British Columbia.
From the Groundspeak Forums, cachers who have caches placed within 100M get the following reviewer note:
Due to a recent complaint by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, Groundspeak has asked that no roadside geocaches be published at this time. This means no caches by a highway, road, lane, pullout, intersection, traffic circle, median, highway rest stop, boulevard or any land or equipment that may be remotely considered owned or maintained by the Ministry of Transportation. There is a huge grey area here as the Ministry of Transportation has not yet told Groundspeak exactly which land they consider their right of way. Because of this, we must err on the side of caution.
This is not to say that your cache can never be published. The people at Groundspeak headquarters are working with the Ministry of Transportation to hopefully bring this debate to a satisfactory conclusion for everyone involved. I understand your frustration but please be advised that this is out of the reviewer’s control. Everyone concerned is frustrated.
You have the option to move your cache to another area well away from any road or you may wait until the matter is settled. If you choose to wait, be advised that it is the government we’re dealing with and there may not be any settlement for a very long time.
I’m temporarily disabling your cache to give you the option to move far from any road. If you do move it, please feel free to click the enable link by the top right corner of the cache page to submit your cache to the reviewer’s queue once again.
Now the argument could be made that micros along roadways aren’t the top of the quality scale but this does affect more than the roadside power trails. 100 metres extends a fair amount into most parks and private properties too. This wipes out the concept of hiding a cache on your own property if you live in a typical suburban lot, as your entire property is usually within 100 metres of the road in front of your house. The loss of the “highway rest stop” cache is also a painful one as many geocachers will use the rest stops with caches to break up a long trip.
The BC reviewers are working with the Ministry of Transportation to clear up exactly where to draw the boundary lines and such, and perhaps even repeal this new restriction but for now, be warned that since it’s the Government they are dealing with, this could take a while (see: Ontario Parks). So far, this is a Groundspeak restriction – no word on if they have contacted other listing sites just yet.
Here’s hoping the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario doesn’t send any similar messages to Groundspeak. For now, watch the thread on the Groundspeak Forums, or perhaps the British Columbia Geocaching Association for developments.
[ GC Forum Thread ] [ BCGA ]
Sep 27 2011
Here’s an interesting update that just came out for the Garmin Montana series. You can tweak the paperless geocaching now to be more OpenCaching like, or more “Traditional” (aka Geocaching.com) like, or combine them both.
This is handy for telling at a glance whether the cache is listed on Garmin’s OpenCaching.com site, or elsewhere. My immediate thought turns to noting which site I’m going to log the cache find on or potentially seeing cross listed caches for logging both quickly.
In “Traditional” View (seen above), the list hows Groundspeak icons, and the Difficulty/Terrain stars. The same information shows on the map view.
Switch the unit over to “OpenCaching” mode and that all changes. You’ll now see the icons shown in OpenCaching.com’s brown palette and the radar view showing the Difficulty, Terrain, Size and Awesomeness rankings.
Of course, you can see them combined in list view as well.
The Dashboards and Filters also reflect the changes. To see the Opencaching filter screen, you have to set your “Geocaching Style” to OpenCaching.com, or if you have only OpenCaching caches on your unit you can use “Auto”
While Garmin says the changes are only available on their giant flagship Montana handhelds, the blog post promises more units will support the feature soon.
[ via GPSTrackLog / Rich Owens ][ Garmin Paperless Opencaching ]
Sep 27 2011
Screaming Skulls – photo by northernpenguin
Latitude 47, Groundspeak’s official blog has posted a feature article on GCPJNV – “Screaming Skulls”. The cache is one that is well known to Toronto area (and most Ontario) geocachers as a fantastic geocaching day-trip destination. It’s Groundspeak’s “Cache of the week” this week.
This cache is located at Midlothian Ridge -just west of Burk’s Falls, amid the haunting art of Peter Camani. The art features concrete forms of head like figures which appear to be screaming. In the middle, is the artist’s home dubbed “Midlothian Castle“. Seen from the air, the concrete forms depict an image of a dragon. Some of the works quite literally depict souls … the artist has an option where you can have your cremation ashes added to the concrete when you move on to the afterlife.
The cache was placed by The Go Getters in 2005. It’s been visited by 211 people and has 43 favourite points. If you visit the cache, plan on spending at least an hour exploring the area. Autumn is a particularly nice time to visit!
For Groundspeak’s take on the popular cache, head on over to their story. The images in the Groundspeak story appear to be from visit logs by filmclips and simplyred.
[ GCPJNV Screaming Skulls ] [ Latitude 47 ]
Sep 12 2011
BFL Boot Camp, our annual night caching tradition, usually starts at a pub, and then we head out into the woods for a night of geocaching. While the main event was announced a few weeks ago, we still needed some time to get the pub together. Today, I’m glad to say we’ve addressed the pub situation. We’re meeting at the Mohawk Inn and Conference Centre for our pub.
In previous years, we’ve had problems accommodating everyone who wanted to come to the pub, as frankly there aren’t a lot of pubs that can handle crowds of 100+ people all at once. We tried to solve the problem one year by splitting the pub up and taking over three venues. This year we’re fortunate that the facility can handle up to 180 people – we’re taking over a banquet hall.
Still, in less than 12 hours we’ve signed up over 80 people for the pub event which is approaching the half full status so, if you’re coming out for BFL and want a seat at the pub, best to get that will attend in now.
Another fantastic opportunity this year is that the pub is, in fact, an Inn. So you can crash there after caching most of the night, or you can leave family members there to relax while you’re out caching if they are only interested in the pub portion of the evening. Rooms start at $75.
More information about the event activities can be found on the BFL Boot Camp website. The events are listed on Geocaching.com.
[ BFL Boot Camp VI – Super Pub Night ] [ BFL Boot Camp VI – Retro Reflect ] [ BFL Boot Camp Website ]
Sep 07 2011
COGger’s are much happier tonight, now that Groundspeak has finally corrected the series of errors that followed the issuing of the first Mega Event souvenir in Canada (Spring Fling 007). At first, the Souvenir had a crappy, low resolution image that featured a man holding a gun (of all things):
Next, they replaced the artwork with a much better logo, the one that was featured on the shirts you all bought at the event:
But the bio was still that of the Groundspeak Lackey who came up with the original gun themed image! I’m glad to report (via rca777) that the proper bio is now up for local cacher Elf (of Rainbow’s Connections). Rather than explain who she is, here’s how Groundspeak wrote up her bio on the updated Souvenir page:
About the Artist:Elf is a Geocacher with an interest in the simpler, kookier, and often overlooked things in life. She will help you step outside your comfort zone, and make you think about your world, your ways, and your thoughts on just about any topic. When not hiking or geocaching, she spends her time reading, writing, creating stuff, marshaling bicycle races, and challenging those around her to become even more amazing people. She also tends to attract various wildlife such as beavers, moose, and grackles, to get stuck upside down inside tree trunks, caves, and other hard to get into spaces, and to get quite muddy, wet, scratched, scraped, and bruised – all in the name of fun. She also enjoys wrestling salmon and working on her “How One Gets Oneself into these Situations: The Guide” photo album.
Congratulations to Elf for having her artwork featured in a Groundspeak Souvenir. It’s a great show, and much better represents the event as it was. Here’s hoping they call you first next year for the Spring Fling 8 Souvenir.
[ Spring Fling 007 Souvenir Page ]
Sep 01 2011
Well, Waterloo Region had their GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit, and Alberta had theirs. Now, it’s Toronto’s turn!
The GPS Maze Exhibit is an interactive display about geocaching put together by Groundspeak, Minotaur Mazes and Trimble Navigation. The travelling exhibit features a 2,500 square foot maze with interactive experiences that teach about GPS technology and, of course, geocaching. The Waterloo Maze exhibit was clearly American oriented but this time (the rumours say) it will be the redesigned Canadian specific version that debuted in Alberta this summer.
The exhibit will run at the Ontario Science Centre from October 2, 2011 through January 8, 2012. There is an admission fee for the Science Centre but it’s a really cool place to explore in addition to the Maze Exhibit.
Also, just like they did in Waterloo, Groundspeak will host a Geocaching Event complete with a Lackey (Eric) on opening day. The event runs from 11AM to 2PM on October 2.
[ GC33AVY – GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit Event ] [ GC32XHM GPS Adventures Exhibit ]
Aug 20 2011
Not to be outdone by Groundspeak’s “Challenges” updates, Garmin’s Opencaching.com site has also posted a site update. Most of the changes are little UI tweaks like making the map full screen, and updated searching.
There are some GPS specific changes though. If you have a Montana, 62 series, Oregon or Dakota, there’s a firmware update waiting for you. This will let you rate a cache’s “awesomeness” in the field, and participate in the new digital verification feature. Colorado owners (like me) are left out in the cold on this one.
Digital verification lets a cache owner verify your find by having you scan a QR code, enter a code manually or … respond to a chirp beacon. The manual code method will work for owners of older devices and I presume the QR code feature will make it’s way to the smartphone apps. Otherwise only those of you using an absolute top of the line camera built in Garmin GPS need apply.
Another tidbit that I found in the release is that the Garmin Dakota a week giveaway has expanded from the USA to include Canada now. Every 10 approved caches placed before August 28 earns you an entry to win a Dakota 20 GPS.
[ Garmin OpenCaching Update ] [ Garmin Advanced Geocache Logging ]