Chief301

Brand new cachers will commit this faux pas from time to time. "I looked all over the place, it can't POSSIBLY be there, it must be missing!". That's your ego talking :-). In reality, it probably is there, you just haven't figured it out yet. I've posted a couple of Needs Maintenance logs, but only with very good evidence. In a couple of cases I returned with my kids to let them find a cache that I'd already found, so I know where it was supposed to be and it was missing. Just post a DNF unless there's some other reason to suspect it's really missing.

What's the point of exploring, one might ask? Hasn't everything already been discovered and mapped, pretty much? Why explore someplace that somebody's already been? Everyone does their thing for their own reasons. Don't think of it as navigating to an object, think of it as navigating to a location. The object (cache container with a log book inside) is merely the means to document that you've been there. Sure, some locations are going to be kinda lame (in parking lots and such), but many well thought-out caches will take you to places that are interesting in some way...either for the history, or the scenery, or the hike or bike ride or climb it took to get there. Geocaching has given me a reason to visit many cool locations (most very close to home) that I either didn't know were there, or had never stopped to appreciate before. I think that's the real reason, at least for me.

I don't normally wax poetic but I was taken with the Christmas spirit the other day picking up GC1DYN1 ("L2C Series - COPAC" by The Faerbers)....This was the result.... 'Twas the morn before Christmas Going back to the house Not a creature was stirring Not even a mouse Just finished the night shift My truck needed gas But maybe I have time To grab a quick cache! My iPhone app started I searched for "Nearby"s I chose a prime target And homed in on the prize On Eden! On Fort Street! On Ferdinand, a left! I hope it's a Smiley And not DNF! On a dark, quiet corner I came to a halt And sprang from the truck To begin my assault I was happy to see Not a muggle in sight Just one small advantage Of caching at night! My iPhone was guiding With display so merry (I'm glad I decided Against the BlackBerry!) But the fence interfered With my compass magnetic I won't let that stop me That would be pathetic! So I pocket the phone And survey the fence Who needs GPS When you've got Geosense? I soon find my target A nano, quite small Cleverly hidden Glad I found it at all! I pull out the prize From its hidden location Without even a hint For more information Back to the truck Where I sign the log book Then return the small tube To its secretive nook I'm soon on my way In the cold morning air In hopes the next cacher Will soon find it there So thanks to the Faerbers For some Christmas Eve fun Happy Caching to all From Chief301!

Still a noob (60 finds so far) but some of the things that I've found frustrating, in no particular order: -Getting over the self-consciousness of poking around somewhere and thinking that someone must be watching , probably calling the cops... -Too many micros and nanos. They're the prodominant size around here and if I had taken the advice of the experienced cachers on the forums ("stick with small or regular for your first few") I probably would never have gotten off the ground Regular size caches are more fun, wish they made up a higher percentage of the local population. -Not knowing about LPC's. DNF'd a couple when I was first starting. Had no idea. Fencepost caps seemed like a no brainer, I caught onto them pretty quick, but I figured that those skirts had to be bolted down some kind of way I was actually kind of excited when I found my first one. -One thing I found REALLY frustrating early on was reading all the "Easy P&G", "Too Easy", etc. logs on caches that I couldn't find. Easy for you, maybe.... -"Hints" that say "No Hint Needed". No, seriously, I do need the hint... -Going back to a cache that you previously spent 30 minutes hunting for and spotting it practically before you get out of the car. Face palm -Not enough decent public access lands around here. Probably why the proliferation of park & grab caches around here...all the woods are private land, posted, hunting clubs or otherwise unaccessible. Forget hiking trails and public access wilderness areas, all the pretty places are off-limits

Sounds like something that goes with melted cheese....

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Okay, got the avatar working, not the sig line....

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Hmmmm....a cross between Peck and Eastwood...I can't help but think that "To Kill A Mockingbird" would have had a VERY different ending....

Trying to figure out how to attach an avatar and sig line to my forum profile. Or is this a Premium Membership feature? I can't find where to do it. Thanks.

Do you have a smartphone like an iPhone or Droid? Because some people use them for geocaching. My iPhone is all I use and I do fine, I don't even own a GPS. I really can't speak for real "urban" caching because where I live is about as far away from urban as you can get. But not all caches are super intense, Indiana Jones style adventures. In fact, most aren't. In the urban or suburban environment, caches will be a lot easier to get to (but not necessarily easier to find!) That doesn't make them any less fun to go after. Well thought-out caches will bring you to landmarks and locations of interest in your city that you may not have known existed. That's the real attraction of Geocaching, either backwoods or urban...going to new places and the challenge of the hunt. If you like hiking for miles or kayaking or getting lost in the woods, there are caches to suit your taste. If you don't go for that kind of stuff, there are caches to suit your taste too! Start out by searching the Geocaching site for caches in your area. Every cache listing has a detailed description and a difficulty/terrain rating on a scale of 1 to 5. Difficulty tells you how hard it is to find it, terrain tells you how hard it is to get to the location. Most urban caches will have a pretty easy terrain rating, and the difficulty rating could be either very easy or very difficult. Give it a try, you'll find that urban caching is fun too!

I liked the were-owls explanation better

Don't worry, most caches aren't puzzle caches! And you can stick to searching for "traditional" caches if you don't care for puzzles (I haven't done any puzzle caches yet, because a) I haven't come across one yet, and I suck at math ) Are you having any luck finding someone in the Toledo area to hook up with? I think you would really benefit from going out with an experienced cacher for your first few. I can tell you're getting really frustrated and after 30 or so unsuccessful attempts I suppose I would be too. It's a really cool hobby and I'd hate to see you give it up without having tasted success. The game is really not as difficult as I think you've convinced yourself it is. However, it is much more difficult trying to do it with just a printed map than with an actual GPS device. Do you own a handheld GPS? Would you be willing to buy one? Or even better, do you own a smartphone like an iPhone or a Droid? Because you can download geocaching apps to those phones and use them. I've found over 50 caches so far since I started a couple of months ago, using just the Geocaching app on my iPhone (I don't have a "regular" GPS device) So there's another option for you. Don't give up! Do some more reading on the Geocaching website and get an idea of what you're looking for. Don't forget, these things are by design very well hidden. They are meant to be found by someone who has the coordinates and knows what they're looking for, and is specifically searching for it. They won't be lying around obvious for the casual observer to stumble across. Good luck, we're pulling for you!

I'm a bit of a history buff, so I really like caches that bring me to historical sites, or any interesting location that I didn't know about. If I learned a little something that I didn't know before, I'm happy. I like having an excuse to use some of my outdoorsy skills and gear. Around here, "outdoors" always means hunting and fishing, which I used to do some, but I don't care for it anymore. Geocaching gives me a new reason to get off the couch. I like the fact that geocaching is still kind of an "underground" activity that not everyone is into or has even heard of. It's different from the same old "hunt/fish/watch LSU sports" that EVERYONE else does around here. It's unique. I like that it's something we can do as a family. I did a lot of camping and Cub Scout stuff with my son when he was little, and I've always felt that my daughter got short changed on that. But she likes to cache so now we have "our" thing that we do together. I like that it doesn't cost a lot. Finally, I realized that I REALLY needed a hobby. For the last 20 years I have been a volunteer firefighter in my community, and I still enjoy that. But once I became chief it became a lot more of a responsibility. I came to realize that all my free time, all my social contacts, revolved around the fire department. So my life is full of "have to do" stuff instead of "want to do" stuff. Geocaching gives me an opportunity for some "me" time, which is something that I think I've been missing for awhile.

Micros aren't always "impossible" to find for the newbie. Some of them are pretty straightforward (although some are tricky!) They can be challenging but even a noob like me will find most of them eventually. Most of my 40 or so finds so far have been micros, simply because they seem to be the predominant size around my area. If I'd decided not to go after micros at first I would hardly have any finds at all! Your initial post mentioned a "learning curve" and that's right on. I've been stumped by some hides that others logged as "easy park 'n' grab" and it's frustrating at first. Then a couple of weeks and a few finds later I've returned and found them in seconds, just because I'm learning now what to look for. Two days ago my son and I found a really neat one in a very cool location (not a micro, but a small) that took less than 5 minutes for us to locate it. I thought it was fairly easy, the prize was the location more than the hide. But then reading the recent logs, we realized that the last 2 or 3 logs were DNF's from some very experienced cachers, who all had find totals in the thousands. So it stumped the veterans but we found it! We were really pumped about that, plus the location was so neat that it's probably my favorite find so far.

Yep, that's one thing I've learned pretty quickly, always get out of the vehicle with pen in hand or pocket, even the PNG's. But then, most of my area is micros so BYOP is pretty much standard procedure...

Agreed. I'm just starting out as well and on a couple of occasions I've found that reading other people's logged finds will give clues as to where it might be (intentional or not!) I've also had a cache owner drop me a hint after I DNF'd one of his caches (the very first one I ever hunted...guess he felt sorry for the newbie!) Use the published hint if one has been provided. I actually found a tiny nano under a bench at a busy shopping mall last weekend using the hint alone, no navigation required. The hints do help. Also, if you have a couple that are stumping you, put them aside for a while and go find some others. As you gain some experience with successful finds, and different types of hides and containers, you'll probably have an "Aha!' moment when you'll realize where that pesky hard-to-find cache might be!

First, do you actually have a GPS? Or at least a smartphone with a GPS app? Not that some people haven't been successful finding caches without one, but it sounds like you have an awful lot of turf to cover. You'll really need to pinpoint your search better than just "somewhere in the park". Second, most caches are going to be VERY well hidden. Remember, these things are in public places and by nature must be invisible to the casual observer. Also, many caches are very SMALL. Don't expect every one to be an ammo can, some of them are as small as a thimble. They can be ANYWHERE! Carefully read the description of the cache. It will let you know what type and what size container you are looking for. Also, some caches give you a hint which can be a big help. Don't be afraid to use it! Keep at it, you'll get the hang of it. It takes some practice to learn where to look and what to look for.

niraD, thanks for the advice! I'll talk it over with the troops and see if they'd like to create their own accounts and/or a family account and we'll decide on an appropriate way to log the finds. I like your suggestion about signing the log with the team name then noting on my account "signed log as Team _____". That makes sense (I think I've seen it a couple of times, actually). Thanks!

Having just started caching, I don't have a stand-alone GPS unit but have been having great success with my iPhone 4. The Geocaching app for the iPhone lends itself naturally to paperless, "freestyle" caching, I find. But then, I haven't exhausted all the local caches yet so I'm still hunting in areas I'm very familiar with, stopping to grab a couple here and there as I go about my daily business. A quick glance at the map and I have a general idea where most of them are, I'll make a mental note to get this one on my way home from work one day or that one next time I'm in such-and-such area, etc. When I do find myself in an area that I'm less familiar with, the app works great for spur of the moment, "Wonder what's around here?" kind of caching. I suppose once I've run through all the local stuff I'll get into planning some more extensive expeditions to unfamiliar turf, but for now freestyling is working great for me

I have a similar question....I have an account (obviously) and have been logging my individual finds as such. Now my family is starting to tag along and I was thinking of creating a "team" account for when we all go. Question: Is is appropriate to claim a "team" find and for the individual members of the team (who are actually present when the find is made) to also claim the same find on their personal accounts? So, say my daughter creates her own account and we go caching together one day; should we both sign the log individually and also as the team? I've noticed that on some of the local caches there are a couple of "ad hoc" teams that go caching together often, but they're all claiming individual finds with no real "team" account. Similarly, what if the team returns to a cache I had previously logged on a solo visit? Could we make a team find for that date even though one of us has already been there? Or if a member wasn't with the team the day a find was made, can they visit the cache later and claim the individual find? I imagine the "rules",such as they are, are kinda loose around the interpretation of this question, just wondering what would be considered proper etiquette? Thanks

So far I've come across a duffel bag full of clothing and personal items hidden under a tree about 30 ft. away from a cache, a shirt and jeans (complete with a "belt" made from a pair of Samsung earbuds) under a foot bridge, and the front half of a rotting deer carcass that had been thrown off a bridge into a canal. Didn't find either of those last two caches and as far as the last one is concerned, I don't think I'll be going back after that one. The bridge is on a gravel road out in the middle of the cane fields but the place is such a nasty illegal trash dump that there's nothing pleasant about going there.

I only have 25 finds but two of them have been fake birdhouses...well, not exactly, one of them was a fake birdhouse and the other was a fake wood duck box (see example below)... ...which are a pretty common sight around here. In this case, the top where the hole is actually was a functional birdhouse and the bottom part opened to reveal the cache.

Deleted because the picture wouldn't show up right.....

I really don't remember when I first heard of geocaching. I guess I've been "aware" of it for a few years now but it didn't particularly pique my interest beyond a general thought of "That's pretty cool". I guess back then the main things I knew about it were 1) there aren't a lot of caches in my area, and 2) GPS units are more expensive than I really want to get into. Fast forward a few years and I have a friend in my volunteer fire department who is retired and takes this annual 2-month ski trip to Lake Tahoe. He has guests come up for shorter stays while he's there and one of them (a neighboring fire chief who I know well), unbeknownst to me, is into geocaching. They do a little caching while they're up there and he said they had a great time. So next time I see the chief, I mention it and he gives me the details. Coupled with the fact that by now there are a lot more caches in our area, I'm starting to develop an interest. I still couldn't see dropping all that $$$ for a GPS unit just to play a game, but when I upgraded my phone to the iPhone 4 recently I figured it was time to give it a try. Tried the free app for awhile but didn't take long to decide to upgrade . That was only a couple of months ago and after a slow start I now have 25 finds. Did the first few solo just to figure it out but have started bringing the family along now. The kids get a kick out of it (wife is warming up to it, I think )