TAG :: Toronto Area Geocachers

Jan 03 2012

Ontario Trails Project v0.80, Now Available!

By northernpenguin and has no comments yet.

Well it’s been a while (5 months!) but a freshly baked Ontario Trails Project release is out the door. As usual, we’ve got new trails, cleaned up trails and we even removed some incorrect trails.

If you want to skip the details, the map can be downloaded (as always) from http://trailmaps.torontogeocaching.com
* Note: If you are downloading this data for commercial use, please contact me first. The data is creative commons, with attribution.

Here’s what changed this time:

Ont-Trails 0.80

Added – The Gut Conservation Area – Havelock – northernpenguin
Added – Flowerpot Island Trails – Tobermory – Nozzletime
Added – Merle Gunby Side Trail – Owen Sound – Nozzletime
Added – Trent-Severn Waterway Trail ( Parkhill to McFarlane ) – Peterborough – Murfster
Added – York Region Trails, Scout Tract (added to existing) – Speedy54
Added – Mud Lake Trail – Port Colborne – dfx
Added – Local trails – Ancaster – dfx
Added – Local trail – Niagara Falls – dfx
Added – Local trails – Port Colborne – dfx
Added – Breithaupt Park – Waterloo – cache4pat
Added – Mount Albion Conservation Area – Hamilton – northernpenguin
Added – Welland Recreational Waterway – Welland – northernpenguin
Added – Bond Lake Lower Trail – Oak Ridges – northernpenguin
Added – Hyde Tract – Flamborough – teamvoyagr
Added – (Partial) Niagara Glen Trails, Whirlpool Trail – Niagara Falls – northernpenguin
Added – Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve – Bradford – Christopher Lenort
Added – Innisfil Town Hall Park Trails – Innisfil – Juicepig
Added – Lingham Lake Trail – Tequila, Lifeguard1
Added – Lingham Lake Dam Trail – northernpenguin, Lifeguard1
Added – Mill Pond Hiking Trail – Dorchester – maxter86
Added – LAwrence Walkway – Toronto – Derek Pugh
Added – Bronte Creek Camping Trails – Oakville – Alexandar Karmanov
Added – Peacock Tract – Erin – Res2100
Added – Seaway Waterfront Trail – Upper Canada Village – Stewart Winter
Added – Delhi-Simcoe Rail Trail – Simcoe – Swamper68
Added – Vance Tract – Guelph – maxter86, rovers3
Added – Durham Regional Forest Timber Tract – Uxbridge – Terra Scout
Added – Etobicoke Creek Valley – Etobicoke – Psychocyclist
Added – Dryden Tract (Alps Woods) – Cambridge – Rovers3
Added – Humber Valley Heritage Trail (Kleinburg Chapter) – Kleinburg – Barry Westhead
Added – Mill Pond Trail – Cambridge – Doug Mathieson
Added – Bruce Trail Side Trail – Mulmer – Nozzletime
Added – Waterford Heritage Trail (Missing Portions) – Brant – Swamper68
Added – Elgin Trail (Fingal to Lyle) – St. Thomas – Dr. House
Added – Cedar Valley Conservation Authority – Oshawa – Capers4
Added – Rock Glen Conservation Area – Arkona – northernpenguin

Added – Canoe Routes & Portages – Algonquin Park – Stewart Winter
- Ironwood Lake
- Bug Lake

Updated – Micheal Starr Trail – Oshawa – northernpenguin
Updated – Harmony Creek Trail – Oshawa – northernpenguin
Updated – Joseph Kolodzie Oshawa Creek Bike Path – Oshawa – northernpenguin
Updated – Bruce Trail Reroute – Speyside – Avernar
Updated – Rouge Park Trails – Toronto – Chris-Mouse
Updated – Westminster Pond Trails – London – maxter86
Updated – Silverheights Trail – Cambridge – Doug Mathieson
Added Parking:
Pottawatomi Conservation Area
Mount Albion Conservation Area
Breithaupt Park
Upper Kings Forest Park
Old Colony Road Parking – Oak Ridges Trail
Cedar Valley Conservation Authority

Added Information:
Johnson’s Hole (Lingham Lake)

Garmin Updating GPS Units for OpenCaching

By northernpenguin and has no comments yet.

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 ]

Opencaching.com also updates their site – Now with cache verifications

By northernpenguin and has no comments yet.

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 ]

GeoBeacon: Garmin Chirp – on an iPhone (or iPad)

By northernpenguin and has 2 comments.

A couple weeks ago (July 20), a new app quietly popped up in the App Store by Pi-Soft Consulting. These are the guys who brought us the Wherigo player for iPhone which later became Groundspeak’s official Wherigo App for iPhone. The new app is called GeoBeacon …. it enables another technology that is used for geocaching, namely Garmin’s Chirp beacons.

The $1.99 app requires you to purchase a $80 Fisica key before you can use it. These are sold as Wahoo Fisica (pictured above), or you can also get the one from Digifit. This adds the important Ant+ technology to your iPhone, since the iPhone doesn’t have it built in. Once you have the app and the Fisica key, you simply open the app and use it to locate … or even program a Garmin Chirp. I have seen the Fisica key at Mountain Equipment Co-Op, might be a good spot to check before you import one from the USA.

The app can read a Chirp, program a Chirp, plot Chirp waypoints on a map. It’ll show you all the details including the number of visitors and when the last visit was, plus the run time and battery condition. One nice touch is the app will store lots of Chirp data rather than overwriting it immediately like the Garmin units do if another beacon comes in range.

The Fisica key is also useful outside the GeoBeacon app, so don’t feel like you’re spending $82 just to find a Chirp cache (though it is less than the average Garmin GPS with Chirp costs). I also use the Fisica key with my Garmin Heart Rate Monitor to keep track of my runs with RunKeeper.

Here’s a few screen shots from the app:

Connecting to a Chirp

Here the beacon data is being read. It's kinda neat how it "paints" in bit by bit.

Here's a detail screen that you get after the data is loaded. See the battery status?

Chirp details plotted on the map. Leave it to Pi-Soft to include the map view.

[ GeoBeacon (iTunes) ] [ Garmin Chirp ]

Ontario Trails Project v0.79 posted

By northernpenguin and has 1 comment.

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 ]

Garmin Colorado gets a 3.70 update

By northernpenguin and has no comments yet.

Well it seems the Colorado has a pinch of life in it yet. After a solid week of Garmin announcements about new product lines I’m surprised to see there’s an update for my Colorado. This is mainly a BirdsEye bug fix release but still nice to see they are still taking care of us Colorado owners!

Changes made from version 3.60 to 3.70:

Increased the maximum number of supported JNX files to 250 from 200

Fixed shutdown that sometimes occurred while scrolling through the list of background images

You can get it via WebUpdater

[ Colorado 3.70 Firmware ]

Garmin Launches Official OpenCaching Clients for iPhone and Android

By northernpenguin and has 2 comments.

When OpenCaching.com launched, one of the big questions on everyone’s mind was – Will Garmin support non-Garmin devices on the site? Today we have an answer: Yes, yes they will.

Garmin has launched official geocaching clients for the OpenCaching.com site today for iPhone and Android based devices. Since I use an iPhone, the screenshots are from that version. All the usual features one would expect are here in the app.

You can lookup caches (50 at a time), navigate to them via map or compass, log them or …. hide caches. Yes I just said hide caches. While Groundspeak has the idea of hiding a cache with your smartphone ”under consideration” (or do they?) … , Garmin – a GPS company – is enabling people to create or even publish caches from their smartphones while in the field. The app does indicate position error when grabbing the co-ords, but it remains to be seen whether we’ll see a lot of inaccurate placements, better than expected smartphone GPS performance, or simply people using the app to mock up their cache listings to be finished later. There’s nothing stopping a person from submitting this as a “Draft” to OpenCaching then just copying that info over to Geocaching.com as well.

The app also includes a “Guide” so you have the Opencaching guidelines right there in the field. Handy when you’re thinking about a placement, and aren’t sure if that would be allowed.

Multi caches are supported as well, you can create additional waypoints for a cache from the compass screen – click the waypoint symbol with the + on it in the top right, and carry on caching.

You can mark caches as Favorites (not Favourites in Canada ….) and you have a “Logbook” icon where you can see all your log entries to date.

The app is free (vs $9.99 for Groundspeak’s) but that is to be expected when the site is trying to get a foothold in the market. Links to OpenCaching.com downloads are at the end of this article. Try it out, see how you like it. Compare it to Cache Me if you use iPhone

Some screenshots from the App:

OpenCaching: Prep for the hunt

OpenCaching: Map Search

OpenCaching: Cache Details

OpenCaching: Filter

OpenCaching: Nav by Map

OpenCaching: Nav by Compass

OpenCaching: Log a Cache

OpenCaching: Share a cache

OpenCaching: Hide a Cache

OpenCaching: Hide a cache - Coordinate Entry

[ Garmin OpenCaching iPhone ] [ Garmin OpenCaching Android ] [ Garmin OpenCaching Blog Post ]

Garmin Beta Updates

By northernpenguin and has no comments yet.

Garmin has published some more Beta firmware updates. While these can enable additional functionality, they’re not always fully baked – you might have to deal with unexpected problems when you run a “beta”.

GPSMAP 62/78 2.95 Beta:

Change History

Changes made from version 2.94 to 2.95:

Fixed issues relating to WAAS performance.

Fixed issue where the device would not regain a GPS signal after losing the GPS signal in a tunnel.

Fixed shutdown on the map screen when a waypoint was being moved to the same location as a geocache or other POIs.

Fixed issue where proximity waypoint alerts could only be set in feet regardless of what was selected as a Distance/Speed unit in the setup page.

Fixed an issue where the enabled/disabled option for custom maps could not be changed when two or more BirdsEye™ Satellite Imagery providers were on the device.

Fixed an issue where the device would not beep when approaching a destination while routing off-road.

Problems with the software may be reported to 62-78Beta@garmin.com

Oregon x50 4.49 Beta:

Change History

Changes made from version 4.47 to 4.49:

Fixed issues relating to WAAS performance.

Fixed issue where the device would not regain a GPS signal after losing the GPS signal in a tunnel.

Fixed shutdown on the map screen when a waypoint was being moved to the same location as a geocache or other POIs.

Fixed an issue where the enabled/disabled option for custom maps could not be changed when two or more BirdsEye™ Satellite Imagery providers were on the device.

Fixed an issue where the device would not beep when approaching a destination while routing off-road.

Problems with the software may be reported to OregonBeta@garmin.com

Thanks Allory_D (Twitter)

[ GPSMap 62/78 Beta ] [ Oregon x50 Beta ]

Garmin’s OpenCaching.com launches Virtual Caches

By northernpenguin and has no comments yet.

While the debate continues at Groundspeak over Virtuals, Waymarks and how or if they should bring back virtual caches, Garmin has gone ahead and launched the feature on their competing service, OpenCaching. From their blog post:

Since OpenCaching.com launched four months ago we’ve been listening to the community and using your feedback to build features you’ve requested. Along with our continously improving peer review system for new geocaches; saved searches with email alerts for new caches; and email alerts when someone logs a visit to your cache; today we’re excited to bring virtual caches to the OpenCaching.com community!

What is virtual caching? This type of caching is perfect for areas where physical caches are not allowed or unfeasible, but where a cool “search or do” activities can still be done. These often have educational, outdoors, or human interest components that tap into geocachers’ natural instincts to explore and learn.

Starting today, geocachers can publish their virtual caches in accordance with our updated guidelines. Keep in mind that in the US & UK, your submission can get you entered to win a chirp geocaching beacon, but the contestends soon, so get your entries in before the end of April!

[ OpenCaching.com ]

Ontario Trails Project Updated to 0.78, now with Canoe Routes

By northernpenguin and has 3 comments.

The Ontario Trails Project has been updated to version 0.78 tonight. We’ve got a whack of new trails, including Algonquin’s Western Uplands trail and the Killarney loop. Also new in this update, we have added a new class of trail – canoe routes. If you have any canoe trips along the Province’s established canoe routes, please send in your tracklogs. Put-in and Take-out points should be noted. I am using the Put-in symbol to represent areas where you can put the canoe in the water or put out. The Canoe take-out symbol is reserved for locations where the canoe comes out of the water only – like above a dam.

This update’s changelog:

Ont-Trails 0.78
* New Trail Type added: Canoe Route
* Updated TYP file – new canoe route trail type, updated parking icon, new icons for canoe put in/take Out

Updated – Bruce Trail @ Crawford Lake CA – Milton – Conservation Halton
Updated – Crawford Lake Trail @ Crawford Lake CA – Milton – Conservation Halton
Updated – Burns Conservation Area Trails – Milton – Conservation Halton
Updated – Hilton’s Highway Trail – Hilton Falls CA – Milton – Conservation Halton
Updated – Red Oak Trail (Red) – Hilton Falls CA – Milton – Conservation Halton
Updated – Esquesing CA Trails – Conservation Halton
Updated – Highland Backpacking Trail – Algonquin PP – Dennis Sheen
Updated – Gould Lake – Swimmrguy
Updated – Cruickston/RARE trails – Cambridge – Zeke
Updated – Hanlon Creek Trails – Guelph – Entogeek
Updated – Glen Major Forest, Walker Woods – Entogeek
Updated – Little Tract – Guelph – Fizbot
Updated – Crawford Tract – Guelph – Fizbot
Updated – Palgrave Side Trail – Palgrave – Entogeek
Updated – Glen Haffy CA trails – Entogeek
Added – Grand River Canoe Route, Cambridge to Paris – northernpenguin
Added – Tour de Matchedash – Swift Rapids – northernpenguin
Added – Lingham Lake access trail – northernpenguin
Added – Nottawasaga River Canoe Route, Minesing Swamp Section – Minesing – northernpenguin
Added – Beaver River Canoe Route (Bruce) portions – Grey County – northernpenguin
Added – Baylawn Drive Ravine Trails – Pickering – Entogeek
Added – Snake Island – Lake Simcoe – GPSDerek
Added – Nonquon Wildlife Area – Entogeek
Added – Lawson Tract – Oxford County – Treknschmidt
Added – LaCloche/Silhouette Backpacking Trail – Killarney PP – polarhiker (Everytrail) (With Permission)
Added – Frank Tract – Milton – Fizbot
Added – Montreal River/Ishpatina Ridge Canoe Route, Trail – Barnie’s Band of Gold
Added – Durham Region Forest Trails (Partial) – Entogeek
Added – Bechtel Park Forest Trails – Waterloo – Cache4Pat
Added – Indian Point Trail – Petawawa – Entogeek
Added – Morris Island CA – Fitzroy Harbour – Entogeek
Added – David Lake to Silver Peak – Killarney PP – Sudbury – Jason Fowler
Added – Western Uplands Backpacking Trail (Second Loop) – Algonquin PP – Jason Fowler
Added – Bat Lake Trail – Algonquin PP – Jason Fowler
Added – Moon Island Trail – Massassaga PP – Jason Fowler
Added – Wreck Island Trail – Massassaga PP – Jason Fowler
Added portages – Massassaga PP – Jason Fowler:

Portage A 406
Portage B 730
Portage C 1225
Portage D 488
Portage E 239
Portage F 634
Portage I 782
Portage K 369
Portage L 542
Portage N 232
Portage M 348

Added – Campbellville Road Pond Trail – Milton – Entogeek
Added – Rattlesnake Point CA – Milton – Conservation Halton
Added – Mountsberg CA – Milton – Conservation Halton
Added – Iroquoian Village, Visitor’s Centre @ Crawford Lake CA – Milton – Conservation Halton

[ Ontario Trails Project ]

TAG :: Toronto Area Geocachers

There's no place like N43, W79

Ontario Trails Project v0.80, Now Available!

Related Posts:

Garmin Updating GPS Units for OpenCaching

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Opencaching.com also updates their site – Now with cache verifications

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GeoBeacon: Garmin Chirp – on an iPhone (or iPad)

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Ontario Trails Project v0.79 posted

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Garmin Colorado gets a 3.70 update

Changes made from version 3.60 to 3.70:

Related Posts:

Garmin Launches Official OpenCaching Clients for iPhone and Android

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Garmin Beta Updates

Change History

Changes made from version 2.94 to 2.95:

Change History

Changes made from version 4.47 to 4.49:

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Garmin’s OpenCaching.com launches Virtual Caches

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Ontario Trails Project Updated to 0.78, now with Canoe Routes

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