Planned Itinerary Facility

[Geodes]

I usually go caching by myself - and my wife usually asks me where I'm going, so that if I don't come home, she'll be able to tell the police where I went

Unfortunately, she doesn't have a good grasp of mapping, geocaching or many of the place names I'd use to identify an area and I don't think my brief descriptions to her would be of much use to any search parties setting out to locate me if I failed to return home.

After some consideration, it occurred to me that I'd be better off writing down my itinerary (cache names) for the day and leaving her that, along with a phone number for a fellow geocacher - who would be able to provide real and useful information to the authorities in the event of my failure to return (especially if they'd done the caches I was planning and knew the probable access points, nature of the terrain, possible pitfalls, etc)

It then occurred to me that such a facility might be of some use, sometime, to other members of the geocaching community (international/interstate visitors particularly) and could, perhaps, be facilitated somehow through the GCA website.

I don't have any suggestions for what form it could take, but I thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone thinks the idea has any merit.

PS I've since noticed the govt has their "smarttraveller" facility where you notify them of your planned itinerary when travelling OS.

[Agent Basil]

I am in the same mind.

Today, as I left for 4 bush caches, I told my son if I wasn't back by dinner, I left the Google map view of the 4 caches I was intending to visit on my PC screen

[CraigRat]

It's a good idea!

Perhaps we could set it up so you can pick the caches you want to do the night before, and you can email a link of the days itinerary to someone.....

Hmm... that's doable.... <scratches chin>

[PesceVerde]

Sounds like a good idea.
When planning a decent walk to a cache off the beaten track, especially where mobile phone coverage is at best unreliable, I [nearly] always leave an appropriate list of coordinates just in case, with someone who would care if I didn't show on time eg:

Date [date]
Bushwalking/caching.
1. START AT [COORDS].
2. to CACHE X [COORDS]
3. to CACHE Y [COORDS]
4. ESTIMATE RETURN TO START BY z.30PM TODAY via Hill Abc [or whatever...]

There's probably a better way to do it but it's worked OK so far.

[Bundyrumandcoke]

Could be tricky. In a few weeks time

Start at home
Attempt cache 1
Attempt cache 2
Attempt .........
.......
...........
.......
.......
.......
.......
.......













...........

..........



Attempt cache 450

If not home in 4 1/2 weeks, try ringing us or contact the police somewhere in Qld, NSW, Vic, or SA.

Cheers
Bundy

[Damo.]

Not quite what you are looking for but I think it's a handy utility
if you are in mobile phone range. (with a data plan)
http://free.3dtracking.net
I have a "Where's Damo?" icon on my NCS's (non-caching spouse) laptop so if I am running the app on my mobile it will bring up a google map showing my location. I guess if the icon stopped moving for some time she could print out the map and give it to the authorities! LOL

[GhostGums]

Not quite what you are looking for but I think it's a handy utility
if you are in mobile phone range. (with a data plan)
free.3dtracking.net
I have a "Where's Damo?" icon on my NCS's (non-caching spouse) laptop so if I am running the app on my mobile it will bring up a google map showing my location. I guess if the icon stopped moving for some time she could print out the map and give it to the authorities! LOL

I thought I heard the other day that Google is offering a new feature to show mobile phone locations on google maps. I assume you need to register it as the owner for privacy concerns etc, but again its only for mobile areas.

[jusojara]

Not quite what you are looking for but I think it's a handy utility
if you are in mobile phone range. (with a data plan)
free.3dtracking.net
I have a "Where's Damo?" icon on my NCS's (non-caching spouse) laptop so if I am running the app on my mobile it will bring up a google map showing my location. I guess if the icon stopped moving for some time she could print out the map and give it to the authorities! LOL

I thought I heard the other day that Google is offering a new feature to show mobile phone locations on google maps. I assume you need to register it as the owner for privacy concerns etc, but again its only for mobile areas.

I understand that depending on the location of the mobile phone towers, this service can be up to 15km out (although would still narrow down the general location)<p>Apparantly other mobile devices, like laptops using WiFi will give a more accurate location though.

[Damo.]

Not quite what you are looking for but I think it's a handy utility
if you are in mobile phone range. (with a data plan)
free.3dtracking.net
I have a "Where's Damo?" icon on my NCS's (non-caching spouse) laptop so if I am running the app on my mobile it will bring up a google map showing my location. I guess if the icon stopped moving for some time she could print out the map and give it to the authorities! LOL

I thought I heard the other day that Google is offering a new feature to show mobile phone locations on google maps. I assume you need to register it as the owner for privacy concerns etc, but again its only for mobile areas.

I understand that depending on the location of the mobile phone towers, this service can be up to 15km out (although would still narrow down the general location)<p>Apparantly other mobile devices, like laptops using WiFi will give a more accurate location though.

The application I mentioned actually uses a mobile phone's inbuilt GPS (Nokia 6110 Navigator, N95 etc) to transmit your location back to a website at a set interval. It's as accurate as the GPSr involved.

[Richary]

I believe the WA cachers have a section on the forum where if you are going somewhere remote you can post a message, and if you don't say you are back safely then someone can raise the alarm.

Living alone and not having any close friends among the geocaching community here, I always go out solo. Occasionally I attempt something that while it shouldn't be particularly dangerous a wrong step could end up causing you problems, just to pick an example a couple of the Tangles caches near Campbelltown NSW. As well as a few SA ones I did a while back. Occasionally have thought that perhaps I should have let someone know where I was going before I left!

No point in emailing my parents, while they could pass on details of what I was attempting it would just scare them. So perhaps every state should have that sort of topic.

Though as we know, sometimes plans change, you can't find the one you were attempting so go for another. Perhaps an epirb would be a good idea as a lot of the harder physical terrain caches are often out of mobile or handheld CB range. But then again an eprib would be limited use in a canyon. And relies on you being conscious to activate it after slipping down a 20 metre cliff.

But perhaps a state based topic in each forum - if you are going to try something hard solo or just with one other person, post a note. Mention where the vehicle will be left and what it is. Then if after a suitable amount of time you haven't posted "back safe" and nobody can contact you then a local might be able to check if the car is still there and organise a search party.

This obviously requires responsibility on the part of the cacher. a) leave the car where you say you will. b) report back safely when you do get home or back in range. c) don't bother posting trip reports for every cache unless you know/suspect it will be hard core and where the public isn't likely to go regularly.

I would suggest also a note be left on the car. Gone to cache GCxxxx left at 10am Sunday. That would give an idea if you are well overdue to return.

[Ksix]

...I would suggest also a note be left on the car. Gone to cache GCxxxx left at 10am Sunday. That would give an idea if you are well overdue to return.

Only problem with leaving a note is that, depending on where you park you are just advertising that you won't be back at your car for some time and it makes it a prime target for some idiot to break into and steal the contents (or car itself)...

[Geodes]

While EPIRBs and/or SatPhones must be a great comfort if you're spending a lot of time in potentially tricky areas, most geocachers are unlikely to make the considerable outlay to purchase one and some of the other mobile phone gizmos mentioned seem a bit gimmicky and certainly wouldn't be embraced by the likes of my wife .

After pondering for a while, I think there are 2 phases to a possible process of providing some sort of support for a cacher who gets into trouble -

1. The cacher provides a list of their intended itinerary (cache names) with someone who will miss them if they're not home by a certain time. This should be easy enough in most cases but, if the whole family is going out or, like Richary, they have no local friends or, like Bundy, they are away from friends for an extended time, then a forum thread as they apparently use in WA may be a useful option.

This is all pretty straightforward but, if the unthinkable happens, and the cacher fails to return home, then some sort of process needs to be activated -

2. Ideally, it would be nice if the home contact could ring a special "geocaching emergency number", report the details of the missing cacher's itinerary and then leave it to them to ring "000" and contact local cachers who could, perhaps, go out and check for log entries, look for the missing cacher, wait for police and guide them, or whatever. Of course, geocaching doesn't have any full-time (or part-time) employees who could man such a service, but we could probably organise a list of names/phone numbers/locations, etc and somehow maintain it so that the home contact could, at least, put the emergency services in touch with people who could be of assistance.


The aim of all this is, I guess, to formulate some sort of action plan which can be activated (cf bushfire plans) in the event that one of our own gets into trouble, without a lot of hand-wringing and subsequent finger pointing about how we could/should have done this, that or the other. It also assumes that experienced local cachers and/or the cache owners of those caches on the itinerary will be very well placed to assist emergency services in locating the missing cacher.


PS I was prompted to start this thread by the situation in Victoria last Saturday when it was evident that a fairly ordinary day out in a not particularly dangerous looking area can turn very nasty and cause a lot of stress for family and loved ones back home.

[crane2]

At geocacher-u http://www.geocacher-u.com you can download a green placard like the "do not disturb" signs that hang from your door in hotels. It's suggested that you laminate it and then if you like you can write the id # of the cache you are looking for in the appropriate space with a non permanent texta. As someone who caches on my own most of the time I use it sometimes, so that when my car is still there after three days, someone might investigate.

[listmaker]

It would be nice to have a number for a central, 24-hour, geocacher-locater. One number that could be shared around a number of people. Then again, maybe a geo-buddy system would be sufficient? Leave an itinerary with a relative or online, as suggested by Geodes, plus phone numbers of two or three geo-buddies who can chase up the details if the cacher doesn't return by a given time?

[CraigRat]

Realistically, theres only so much we can do, heres what I've been thingking I could impliment

*you go to a 'my Itinerary' page and add the caches you are planning to do on a particular day, in an approximate order, along with time frames for start/finish times etc.

* you then get an option to email that itinerary to someone, or print out a sheet to give to a non-caching/non tech savvy person.

On that itinerary would be things that are more relevant to non-cachers like your mob phone if it's in your profile (opt in of course), a google map of the caches and the like.

It would have to be left up to the cacher to put things in place to ensure someone checks on them if they don't return.

We can't have ppl relying on the GCA website contacting ppl as I imagine if something went wrong and we DIDN"T notify someone, we could be in a heap of trouble liability wise.

If you want to start up regional 'check in' phone services or whatever you could mention it in your notes etc, but it would not be done under the GCA umbrella.

Would this do as a starting point?