Mark Challenge Caches with WN Logs

[Orxion]

Hello everyone,

 

I’ve encountered a small issue with the way found caches are displayed in the app, particularly with the special category of “challenge” caches. When I find a cache and log it as found, the icon changes and I can easily see that I’ve found it. However, for challenge caches, I usually log them with a note initially and update the status later. This is because I might need to verify certain criteria later and don’t want to spend time in the field doing so.

Imagine walking through a forest with 30 challenge caches. Some of them I can log immediately (WN), and some I can’t because they might be high up in trees or otherwise difficult to access. While the app can navigate me to these caches, it doesn’t provide a clear overview of which ones I’ve found and which ones I haven’t. This makes tracking progress quite challenging.

Would it be possible to configure the app so that a cache logged with a note also shows as found (just modify the icon, etc)?
(or even to go as far as for a future feature to allow users to display found challenge caches and possibly save these finds directly to a bookmark list to remember them)

This improvement would greatly enhance the caching experience by making it easier to keep track of found challenge caches without needing to change the log type immediately.

Thank you for considering this suggestion!

[Team DEMP]

A couple of suggestions/options...

1) I mark challenge caches that I qualify for by updating the coordinates. Qualified challenges show with the corrected coordinates mark and those I don't show without. I log those that have the corrected coords and I leave a Write Note for those I don't. For those that I do qualify, I usually have the Personal Note updated with the text to copy into the log to show I meet the requirements, such as the text from PGC checker. 

2) You can use highlighting to temporarily mark caches you visited if you are just looking. for a visual indicator on the map/list in Cachly. 

Other folks might have other suggestions. 

[Orxion]

Yes, highlighting is a solution, but only if it were part of the logging form, like a simple checkbox or an on/off switch with a predefined color. In the current system, I would have to go into another menu for each cache and highlight it there.

[Team DEMP]

A Write Note isn’t a Found so I don’t see why both would mark a cache as Found. It appears you want a visited indicator which is only needed for a cache you want to and’s write a WN log for without logging it as Found? Highlighting sends the best for those few exceptions you might have and there are multiple ways to quickly highlight off a list of live view. Yes it’s another 2 taps but not a burden. 
 

I thought of another option… log them all as Found but disable the Send Now toggle. All caches will be marked as found and then you can go back through the pending logs and review/adjust each before sending.

 

[Orxion]

Ad 1)

Just between us, do you play geocaching? Yes, theoretically, it’s just a few clicks, but if you’re in the forest, on a bike, etc., any additional fiddling with the system is annoying and time-consuming. As for the “Found it” log, if I log in with a WN, I would simply check a box, and the cache would be logged and simultaneously shown on the map as visited, without any further hassle. Last week, I was in Poland for a few series, one with 50 challenge caches and another with about 20, and it’s easy to lose track of where you’ve been and where you haven’t (especially if you are just savings logs).

Just between us - you say that 2 extra clicks are no problem (no burden). When would it be a problem? Three clicks? Four? If you go for one cache, it’s probably fine, but if you have more, it becomes annoying. It’s another thing to think about while planning your route (under ideal conditions, if it rains, every extra touch is a problem because the screen reacts poorly, etc.).

Ad 2)

This isn’t a solution. I still have to log a WN because if I just highlight caches on my phone, I would have to manually track and log them later, which adds more problems.

[Team DEMP]

I have more than half the number of challenge caches found as you. I’ve been playing for 21 years. Does that help?

[Orxion]

Nothing personal, but if you have that many finds, your proposed solution seems rather amusing. Whether we’re talking about marking everything as found in the field and then sifting through them at home to figure out what I actually qualify for (as per your previous suggestion), or the highlighting issue—if we could set it so that every cache logged with a note is automatically highlighted, then it might be a solution.

 

However, the idea of logging a cache with a note and then manually opening each one to highlight them individually turns a fun activity into paperwork.

 

And if you’ve been geocaching for that long, I shouldn’t have to explain that the fun lies in walking through the forest and finding caches, not in fiddling with the app and trying to remember where I’ve been or not.

[Team DEMP]

Watch the video at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xxxz0qq2ahjs7wpqvlfli/RPReplay_Final1720484948.MP4?rlkey=desgzz9mltmlrwljgjzjiwyls&st=zp4o825j . It takes 3 seconds to add a highlight to the cache you just submitted a Write Note for. Lets round up to 4 seconds. if you need to do this 15 times a day, which is more than the number of challenge caches you logged in any one day based on your stats, that adds up to, drum roll, 1 minute. 

1 minute at most during your entire day. Probably 5-10x less than it took to post your last reply, taking shots at me and my suggestion, but nothing personal. Good luck.