TAG :: Toronto Area Geocachers » 2011 » July
Jul 23 2011
Been to Groundspeak’s Latitude 47 blog today? The blog is Groundspeak’s official one and normally features stories about caches, cachers or events from around the world. They also have caption competitions for “barely coveted” prizes. Well, today they are featuring a writeup by lackey “MissJenn” about … COG‘s recent Spring Fling Zero-Zero-7 Mega event cache.
Also, if you attended the event, check your profile for the Souvenir you earned!
[ Latitude 47 ] [ Central Ontario Geocachers ]
Jul 19 2011
GCX3K4 Eagles Nest; Caverns Walk is a 5/5 cache placed by pickachu. It was later adopted by Shaggy01. The cache is located about 1.5 hours north of Toronto, near Singhampton (just outside Collingwood). It is located along the Bruce Trail, in the Blue Mountains section of the club.
This 4 stage multi has (as of today) 19 favorite points which is 42% of premium members favoriting it. It’s a 4 stage multi – 3 physical stages with redirect co-ordinates and a final. What really makes the cache shine is just where it is. The start point is at the top side of the Standing Rock and Caves Side Trail …. a trail that delivers what it advertises. You will be passing through several cave like fissures and that’s what makes the cache fun. Wear good boots and make sure you are comfortable climbing over wet, mossy boulders.
During the summer, you’ll find the caves are a good 10 degrees (Celsius) cooler than the surrounding environment. I’ve been to these caves in August and found snow here. The inverse of this is winter. Be prepared for a very, very difficult terrain when this section of the trail is covered in snow and ice. Taking a wheelchair or bike in here is right out of the question, any time of the year. Travelling here in spring, summer, fall should not require any special equipment however.
This cache is well worth basing the day on obtaining. You can complete the cache in about two hours (not including the drive to/from the trailhead). If you have a camera, best add another hour or two to the time, as you will want to use it here. While you’re in the area be sure to check out Ragnarok which is a short drive south of this area (to Nottawasaga Bluffs Conservation Area), or hike some of the loops and enjoy the views out toward Collingwood and Georgian Bay.
Jul 16 2011
PSA for cache hiders….
Cachedrone posted in the Canada Forum that there has been a minor change in the rules … or perhaps just the enforcement of the rules.
If you have a cache with a business name in it, the cache was most likely disabled over the last 24 hours or so.
This is fallout from a player complaint so the easy solution to the “grey area” or which names are allowed or not allowed – set the grey area to black or white and disallow all.
So, that WalMart micro may need to be renamed before you deactivate it.
In a later post, Cachedrone confirmed we can still name a business that an event is hosted at but only once in the description and certainly not in the title.
Forum post is here:
http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=278129&pid=4777538&st=0&#entry4777538
Jul 11 2011
The Ontario Trails Project has been updated to version 0.79. It’s not actually complete with all the trails I have but I felt it was time to release what I have for summer trip use. The big news is Algonquin portages and some other canoe routes, thanks to CANVEC data. I have a long way to go – Algonquin isn’t complete but there’s a pretty good amount of trails around Opeongo Lake and the west side of the park. I’ll be adding more canoe routes / portages as the summer continues.
If you’re out capturing trail data, make a note of interesting things along the trail too – I’ve added a couple new data sets, mainly informative bits like the cairn shown above but I’m also marking things like waterfalls and – for the canoeists – dams.
You can grab the map update at the usual spot, and here’s what’s new:
Ont-Trails 0.79
Added: New data type "Information". Shows interesting POIs along trails, or trail notes where applicable.
Added: New data type "Dam". Shows dams along canoe routes.
Added - New sections of Etobicoke Creek Trail near YYZ - Mississauga - northernpenguin
Added - Killarney PP - (some) Portages on George Lake, Killarney Lake, O.S.A. Lake - northernpenguin
Added - Tar Vats Trail - Killarney - northernpenguin
Added - New trail over QEW in Hamilton - Hamilton - John Carriere, dfx
Added - unnamed trail - Fonthill - dfx
Added - Welland Canal Trails (East side) - Port Weller - dfx
Added - Trestle Trail - Port McNichol - dfx
Added - Thiffault Nature Trail - Coldwater - dfx
Added - Optimist Park - Burlington - dfx
Added - Durham Region Forest Trails - Uxbridge - entogeek
Added - Walker Woods Trails - Uxbride - entogeek
Added - Sheaves Tower Trail - Blair - northernpenguin
Added - three trails from Nonquon Area - Nonquon - entogeek
Added - Long Sault CA Wild Turkey Trail - Clarington - entogeek
Added - Cowan Trail - Coldwater - entogeek
Added - Beausoleil Island (Georgian Bay Islands NP) - Georgian Bay Islands NP - Speedy54
Added - Side Trail in Hampton CA - Orono - Barnie's Band of Gold
Added - Portions of Sutton-Zephyr Rail Trail - Brown Hill - Speedy54, entogeek
Added - Cup and Saucer Trail - Manitoulin - Fizbot
Added - Wolf Den Trail (Misery Bay PP) - Evansville (Manitoulin) - Fizbot
Added - Lakeshore Trail portions (Misery Bay PP) - Evansville (Manitoulin) - Fizbot
Added - Saugeen River Canoe Route - Hanover to Southhampton - Fizbot, northernpenguin
Added - Chutes Provincial Park - Massey - Fizbot
Added - Saugeen River Trail - Walkerton - northernpenguin
Added - Old CPR Trail - Walkerton - northernpenguin
Added - Sydenham River Canoe Route - Owen Sound - northernpenguin
Added - Numerous Portages,Canoe Routes - Algonquin PP - (CANVEC)
Partial List of Lakes Affected:
Oxtongue River
Smoke Lake
Claude Lake
Norman Lake
Bena Lake
Mikado Lake
Small Lake
Bluebell Lake
Shawandasee Lake
Greenwood Lake
Gateway Creek
Snow Lake
Ragged Lake
Little Coon Lake
Big Porcupine Lake
Dividing Lake
McGarvey Lake
Whatnot Lakes
North Grace Lake
Lemon Lake
Lake Louisa
Lawrence Lake
Pardee Lake
Rock Lake
Minkey Lake
Rockaway Lake
Kimball Lake
Cache Lake
Source Lake
Pincher Lake
McCraney Lake
Maggie Lake
Minnow Lake
Whitespruce Lake
Dace Lake
West Harry Lake
Floss Lake
Oak Lake
Panther Lake
Petawawa River
Timberwolf Lake
McIntosh Lake
McIntosh Creek
Falcon Lake
Furrow Lake
Potter Creek
Kearney Lake
Pond Lake
Pog Lake
Whitefish Lake
Sunday Lake
Sunday Creek
Fork Lake
Norway Lake
Rose Lake
Opeongo Lake
Sproule Lake
Pinetree Lake
Happy Isle Lake
Wright Lake
Blackfox Lake
Redfox Lake
Hiram Lake
Whitegull Lake
Updated - Tiffen Centre Trails - Barrie - northernpenguin
Updated - Tom East Side Trail (BT reroute) - Hockley Valley - dfx
Updated - Hydro Corridor Trail - Burlington - dfx, northernpenguin
Updated - Bruce County Rail Trail - Port Elgin - northernpenguin
Updated - Beaver River Canoe Route - Slabtown - northernpenguin
Updated - Nottawasaga River Canoe Route - northernpenguin
[ Ontario Trails Project ]
Jul 05 2011
Well, Groundspeak has updated the iPhone app again. But this update is significant – it’s the first one to use the new Geocaching API and it shows. The immediate benefit is that the app is a little quicker and there is a new “Advanced Search” screen that lets you filter like crazy. You can turn on / off certain cache types, set a range for difficulty or terrain, pick certain sizes and … drumroll here …. you can filter caches that up to four of your geocaching friends have already found. How’s that for curing those “which cache is next?” arguments at the car!
Some teaser screen shots:
The GC app will update it’s database the first time you run it. Signs of big changes
… and you’ll have to re-authenticate due to the API
New Authentication Dialog
The API authentication is similar to apps like Twitter and Facebook now. See that “Allow Access” button?
Advanced Search Screen
Hidden at the bottom of the Advanced Search screen, you can filter out caches four of your friends have already found.
Head on over to the app store to get the update (or buy it).
From Groundspeak’s release notes:
Updates include:
- New Advanced Search to filter by location, cache type, difficulty/terrain, keyword, exclude your finds, exclude finds for up to 4 friends, and Premium caches
- Sync Personal Cache Notes between the website and your iPhone
- Create multiple offline cache lists to plan outings; useful when you may be travelling outside network coverage
- Download Pocket Queries to the iPhone to view cache details, images, and map tiles offline
- Numerous bug fixes to address performance and reliability
[ Geocaching App for iPhone ] [ Release Notes ]