Ellteejak

Wow!! Who would have thought that I was off by up to 200 feet by using the wrong datum. I was using the datum on most USGS maps, so I assumed (incorrectly) that www.geocaching.com would have conformed to that standard. Guess not. So should I activate WAAS? or not? Given all the other issues.

Since I have yet to find one, what does a Geocache look like? Is it a bag covered with leaves? Is it stuck between roicks, or under rocks? Is it in a tree? or under branhes? Is it in a can, or a plastic container? This all sounds like a Dr. Suess thing doesn't it?

I use an actual Magnetic compass with a DECLINATION offset to tell me the true north direction. Unfortunately many who place Geocaches may not know about what that means. In fact your GPS has a setting to decide between Magnetic North or Actual North, that you need to pick. If your GPS is the wrong setting then you are marking the way point in the wrong place (maybe). That said, I found that I was using the NAD27CONUS version of the DATUM instead of the WGS84 that is recommended. I am changing it, and I will try to find some 1/1 skill level caches. Maybe that will make the difference. So does everyone think the DATUM thing was putting me way off?

DECLINATION is the official term for the difference between magnetic north and actual north. It is preety significant. Around 13 degrees in Connecticut.

Okay just put in my zip code 06492 into the Geocache machine. The top three closest are the caches I tried to find. Everyone else is finding them but I am getting hosed. I just can not find them. Really weird. I think I may be off by 20 feet or something. When I was walking back down the trail, my GPS shows me to be 30 feet off the trail instead of exactly on it.

If you get a compass and use it make sure you know what DECLINATION is when you take bearings. This is the difference between the magnetic and true norths. Of course when people post to take a bearing in a direction, then the "posting" person needs to be very accurate.

How about this for a better way. We need to start telling people exact directions to a cache. Maybe tell people to stand on top of an exact landmark, and walk exactly XXX paces to the cache in the exact direction (compass bearing including DECLINATION) to the cache. If this is "cheating" then is it better that: 1. People get discouraged and give up Geocaching? 2. People tear up the area looking for the cache? I know it is a game. But guess what: If you loose a lot I bet you do not play any more.

I went out for a different cache today. I did not find my second attempted cache. This is very discouraging when I am trying to motivate my son to try this out and we can not find the caches. He mentioned that after two long one mile woods walks that he is not interested in doing this again. I can not say that I blame him. We would need to tear apart the woods to finds the cache. Not very helpful. This one had a picture (very vague) and a bearing. Of course if the person who set the bearing knows nothing about DECLINATION then the bearing would have put me in the wrong place the whole time. The picture was of a fallen tree and some small saplings, but no clear landmarks where in the picture the cache would be. People need to do better, clearer pictures with landmarks. The clue was really vague as there were two identical "split" rocks that easily caused my confusion.

Two questions as a NEWBEE to Geocaching. 1. If someone places a cache with a non-accurate GPS (older without WAAS) and posts that the cache is there at the waypoint. Then someone with an accurate GPS shows up and finds nothing because they go to a different waypoint (the accurate WAAS one), how does this get fixed? 2. If a cache is hidden under leaves, buried, or under water, or hidden in new green leafy growth, how do you find it? I guarentee that I can hide a cache and no one will ever find it without a metal detector and crawling every square inch of the area to find it. Comments?