Hey, we know how you feel. For the first few weeks our find rate was barely 50%. I think I apologized for being an idiot about 20 times. Our easiest finds were the ones out in the woods. We didn't worry about it - just enjoyed the walks and the sights. Now after 3 or four months and a whopping 58 finds we feel like pros . Our goal is 100 before the end of the year. We limit ourselves to 3/3 difficulty/terrain or less (especially the terrain). We are also becoming familiar with the "style" of some of the more active cachers in the area which helps when searching. At first you really expect that GPS to put you right on the spot but as the others have pointed out the compounded error between the hider's coords and the seeker's can be considerable. We still use the hints a lot but I've stopped walking with my head down staring at the device. When I get within 30 feet I just start taking in my surroundings and it's amazing how often I'll spot the cache from a distance because I see a likely spot or something is just a little out of synch with the rest of the area. Hang in there, you'll get it before long. Meanwhile, enjoy the areas the caches take you to.
