dave.424

Thanks, John!

BTW, has anyone seen a picture of the actual badge?

Geocaching.com IS a great site. I have a few issues with how they do some things, but it's more about the big picture. I just don't think a Merit Badge should be linked to a single company. As far as I know this is the ONLY badge the actually requires the use of a specific company's product. Maybe BSA could work a good deal with Black and Decker to "sponsor" the Home Repair MB or with Coleman for the Camping MB. I think the problem with geocaching is a lack of familiarity. I'm sure most of the folks involved with developing the badge think that geocaching (the activity) is synonomous with geocaching.com (Groundspeak, Inc.'s website). Actually the majority of geocachers, probalby have the same impression since they do probably account for 97% of the market. Even First Aid does not require the use of the American Red Cross nor does Rifle Shooting require the use of the NRA. Though, I wouldn't necessarily have as much of an issue with singling out a leading non-profit / not-for-profit organization. "Outrage" is probably too strong a word for me, personally, since I have applied to be a counselor. I'd just prefer to see it be written in more neutral language.

Exactly. I don't mind at all referencing a particular site, but would probably have made the requirements generic and then listed various sites that could be used. That's all. The ironic thing is that Groundspeak (owner of geocaching.com) is pretty much fanatical about any hint of solicitation or commercial aspect to any cache listing. They continually state that such commercialization is "not in keeping with the spirit of geocaching."

Following their previous episode which discussed the Geocaching MB, I sent a note to Art and Karen, the hosts of the Centennial State Geocaching podcast and scouters, about the concerns I had over BSA's new Geocaching Merit Badge being specific to Groundspeak. Karen read my letter on this week's episode and followed that by speaking extensively about the two other main caching sites, TerraCaching and Navicache. If you're a geocacher, I recommend subscribing to their podcast, but in either case, I'd urge you this to follow the links below to listen to these two episodes show. You can also leave comments on the page. CSG Show #30 Thoughts on the Geocaching Merit Badge http://centennialstategeocaching.com/csg-show-30-thoughts-on-the-geocaching-merit-badge CSG Show #31 terracaching and navicaching http://centennialstategeocaching.com/csg-show-31-terracaching-and-navicaching (Since the full links don't work, if you just follow what IS linked, and click on "Shows", you'll see the individual episodes listed.)

The Geomate Jr. is good for new or very casual cachers, so it sounds like it might be good for scout units interested in caching. BUT to my understanding it does not allow entering custom waypoints as would be required for the merit badge. It is only useful for finding the preloaded (or updated from their site) list of geocaches listed on Groundspeak's geocaching.com and would not support placing new caches (since you can't mark your location) or finding caches listed on other sites such as TerraCaching.com or Navicache.com.

I'm sorry, but that's like Coca-Cola calls itself "The Real Thing". It doesn't mean anything. I'm still curious if there are any other merit badges that require the use of a specific commercial enterprise.

Our troop does not own one, but I have two and know we have a few other leaders (at least) with trail GPSr units. HobcawChaos is right, though. There are a variety of apps for various phones that make them perfectly functional for most geocaching.

I'm an ASM and an avid geocacher, so I was definitely interested in the new badge. Hoever, I've seen what are apparently the requirements. I like that they cover first aid, Leave No Trace, using the GPSr, how the GPS system works, and UTM, but am disappoined that three of the requirments are specific to Groundspeak - the corporation that runs www.geocahing.com. There are other (much smaller) geocaching sites out there ( www.TerraCaching.com and www.Navicache.com are two) and it would have been nice if scouts had an option of which site to use. Is anyone familiar with any ohter MB that requires the use of a specific commercial (even if free) website or business to complete the requirements?

Bump. Does anyone else use wooden nickels in their units? If so, how do you use them? I'd be very interested in trading. And if you have an interest in wooden nickels, check out the Wooden Nickel Collectors group on Facebook.

Anyone else have troop or other scouting nickels you'd like to trade?

This will likely be my last update on Brian - which is good news! And his son updated today to say that Brian was being released TODAY!

Thanks, all! scoutldr, I specifically added your comment to his FB page, along with a link to this thread. Hopefully, he'll get a chance to check it before long. Dave

Prayer is an amazing thing. Great news from Brian's daughter! Thanks to everyone!

Great news... Please continue to keep him in your prayers. Thanks, Dave