Application / Live

Adventure Cache

A map-first geocaching and exploration companion: create adventures, follow clues, log finds, collect rewards, and keep working offline. Shipped to iOS and Android.

Current status
Live
Platforms
iOS · Android
Built with
.NET MAUI · SQLite

Available on the App Store and Google Play.

The River Marker Cache screen on an iPhone: a Cache Objective card for a traditional cache with one visit, item, hint and question, above a Next Move panel reading “Start with the active clue question, then head to the map.”, Seeker view, one active question and one hint, one visit and one item, and Open Directions and Check Weather buttons.
The River Marker Cache screen on an iPhone: a Cache Objective card for a traditional cache with one visit, item, hint and question, above a Next Move panel reading “Start with the active clue question, then head to the map.”, Seeker view, one active question and one hint, one visit and one item, and Open Directions and Check Weather buttons. Select the image to enlarge and browse 4 screenshots.

What it is

Adventure Cache is a companion app for geocachers, metal detectorists, and anyone looking for a reason to head outside: create geocaching adventures, hide caches, log finds, and earn badges. Caches, items, and adventures sit on a map with walking or driving directions, and detectorists get equipment profiles that tie their machine to the finds they log. It is live on Google Play and the App Store.

The rebuild

Adventure Cache began as a Xamarin.Forms app with separate Android and iOS projects. I rebuilt it as a single .NET MAUI project and kept its identity intact: the package identity, signing, offline field records, and sync queue all had to carry over. It was not a clean swap. Production rounds turned up Android startup and first-install database issues, then an iOS first-launch crash in App Store version 20.1, which version 20.2 fixed.

What changed afterward

Fresh installs, first launch, and the exact build the store delivers are now release gates of their own.

Read the engineering write-up on earlhayes.com

A closer look

The Riverfront Field Guide route on an iPhone: a short trail with two stops staged and mapped, a Route Command panel whose next stop is Stop 1, “Brass Key Fragment”, and Open Stop 1, Open Directions and Check Weather buttons.
The Riverfront Field Guide route on an iPhone: a short trail with two stops staged and mapped, a Route Command panel whose next stop is Stop 1, “Brass Key Fragment”, and Open Stop 1, Open Directions and Check Weather buttons.
The Badge Hub on an iPhone: 4 of 21 badge tiers unlocked, 4 of 7 badge families discovered and 1 of 2 secret badges revealed, above a Badge Guide explaining that badges grow from the records you create, even offline, and the start of Public Badges.
The Badge Hub on an iPhone: 4 of 21 badge tiers unlocked, 4 of 7 badge families discovered and 1 of 2 secret badges revealed, above a Badge Guide explaining that badges grow from the records you create, even offline, and the start of Public Badges.
The Sync Queue on an iPhone: everything is synced and the queue is clear, the phone is online and ready to sync but not signed in, and a Local Storage card notes that queued drafts stay on the device until they sync.
The Sync Queue on an iPhone: everything is synced and the queue is clear, the phone is online and ready to sync but not signed in, and a Local Storage card notes that queued drafts stay on the device until they sync.
Get in touch Résumé

Adventure Cache screenshots