MnGCA

tomslusher · Geocacher Joined: 02 Jan 2003 Posts: 182

This weekend I'm driving to Muskegon, MI and I plan on hitting some caches along the way. I just spent the past few hours trying to follow my route through 5 state maps on geocaching.com and saving all the ones near my route to my watchlist. Then I set up a pocket query to download all the caches on my watchlist.

Is there an easier way to do this? There has to be, don't you think? Anyone care to divulge thier secrets?

Thanks,

tomslusher

SirPoonga · Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 10:28 pm Post subject:

That would be a cool tool, upload a route you saved in your GPS and list all the caches within a range along the route. Rickrich? Smile

If I wasn't on modem I'd research doing this myself. I need some more stuff to add under my belt.

Marsha and Silent Bob · Past MnGCA President Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 6261

well there are a couple ways I do this...

For a long trip (along a route) I pull PQs for the area around the predetermined route (I create the route w/Streets and Trips but you could use anything or do it manually).

Then I covert it to CSV (comma seperated variable) file with GPSbabel and import it to S&T. I then ask S&T to give me all the caches within a certain radius of the predetermined route. I save the map and use GPSbabel's companion for S&T (st2gpx) and create a GPX for my GPS.

If I am just going to drain an area around a zipcode I would pull a full GPX for that zipcode (say 20 mile radius). Then I would use Watcher to play with the GPX file. I would set a single cache as my center point and ask Watcher to give me all the caches within a radius of that (it will also let you specify a specific direction that you want the caches to be in (say, for example, only the caches W, NW, and N of the center point).

You can limit caches by type, owner, current status (it will rate the caches based on # of recent DNFs, etc).

You can then export a new GPX file with only the caches you wish to do. I then usually pipe them into GPS Visualizer (free) to map them out.

It's very useful IMHO.

YMMV.
_________________
Sad state of affairs.

King Boreas · Posted: Wed May 12, 2004 1:06 am Post subject:

I got lost on like step two.

Marsha and Silent Bob · Past MnGCA President Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 6261

SirPoonga · Posted: Wed May 12, 2004 11:53 am Post subject:

S&T can find caches?

Pear Head · Posted: Wed May 12, 2004 7:35 pm Post subject:

I usually just use Geocaching's map to pick out caches along the route that I haven't done. I personally like to check out the cache page and print it out if I think it's doable. Once I open the cache page I just download the .loc file for that individual cache and rename it when I save it (something like 1.loc, then 2.loc, etc). Then it's just a matter of uploading each file.

I have a trip planned in a little while to go back to Oklahoma. I found 17 caches that seemed like quick ones from the freeway to do, so I printed those sheets off and then uploaded the waypoints to the GPS.

Marsha and Silent Bob · Past MnGCA President Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 6261

rickrich · Geocacher Joined: 06 Jul 2003 Posts: 673

The hard part of this is snagging a sufficiently large enough set of waypoints from gc.com to cover the intended route, and I don't know any good way to do that that isn't labor intensive, requires thinking, or that takes many GPX queries over several days, or all three. Once you have a pool of waypoints, its pretty easy to filter them to the ones that fall along a route using any one of a number of different tools and programs.

IMHO there isn't a real good solution to this part of the problem. Other than, say, revolting en masse from the shackles that bind us to a single database site and the emperor that rules it.

Luckily, our family never wants to do on a trip, so this is not a problem I have had to deal with.

The best answer I could give is to create a route file using a mapping GPS or program, then bribe and privately email somebody who just might already have a "sufficiently large" set of waypoints to cover your route (or could get them, thats where the bribe part comes in). They could process your route file and hand you back a GPX file. And then keep your mouth shut on where you got the data. Because this type of activity is NOT permitted by the gc.com TOS.

-Rick

Moe the Sleaze · Posted: Thu May 13, 2004 7:58 am Post subject:

Heaven forbid we have to do some thinking to plan a caching trip!!

Kitch · Posted: Thu May 13, 2004 8:43 am Post subject:

Marsha and Silent Bob · Past MnGCA President Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 6261

My method does take some time... I use S&T's radius marker tool to put circles around areas the route will travel (took 4 for MN to TN because I skipped Chicago).

Then I pull GPXs for the center of the circle to the radius + 5 (to make sure I don't lose anything).

It took about 15 minutes for this 700 mile trip.
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Sad state of affairs.

rickrich · Geocacher Joined: 06 Jul 2003 Posts: 673

[quote="(took 4 for MN to TN because I skipped Chicago).[/quote]

Yeah, you have to skip any major metro areas because the radius of caches that will be returned will be much less than the 100 miles you requested, thus forcing you to have to "preview" the request to see what radius you really get before the 500 cache limit is exceeded. Mpls's radius is only 20 miles. Chicago is about 24 miles. So you have to account for that whenever your circles get within 100 miles of a big city, and start reducing the radius you search as you approach. Or just blow them off to keep it simple.