Mistakes I've made

[Guest RXQ]

We all learn from our mistakes, maybe other can learn from yours.

Here would be a good place to write down mistakes you have made.

 

Here are some of mine:

 

Bring extra batteries. My gps said that my batteries were at half strength, a hour later. I was getting low battery warnings.

 

Bring a copy of the geocache page. There nothing like starting out and finding out you entered the wrong coordinates and your gps says that the cache is eight miles away, when it's not. Also there are some hints on there that may help you out.

 

Bring a compass. When you are close to the cache stop. Let your gps get a good fix. Your gps will say something like .02 miles at 185 degrees. Take out you compass and take a reading. Look at what's 100 feet in that direction it will give would a better idea where to look for the cache. Otherwise you end up walking around in circles looking at your gps.

 

 

[This message has been edited by RXQ (edited 04 May 2001).]

[Guest Moun10Bike]

Excellent suggestions! Some others:

 

* Keep your cache bag well-stocked with a variety of goodies. Too many times I have found a cache and discovered that it was too small for any of my items to fit. I now try to carry a lot of tiny items as well as larger ones so that I can always have something to put in the cache.

 

* Always schedule more time than expected for a cache hunt. Even when I have done lots of beforehand research, I can run into unexpected obstacles such as fences, private property, or marshes when attempting to get close to a cache.

 

* Carry a pen or pencil and sharpener. I have found several stashes with broken or missing writing implements, or pens with dry ink. I have also heard of caches that have missing logbooks, so taking along an extra one or some paper might be a good idea as well.

 

* Keep your GPS on whenever possible. I learned long ago while mountain biking that it is much easier for a GPS to maintain lock under cover than it is for it to regain it anew. If you do turn it off, be sure to find an open spot and wait a bit for it to reacquire satellites before proceeding. This goes for both hiding and hunting.

 

[This message has been edited by Moun10Bike (edited 05 May 2001).]

[Guest john hewitt]

This is not a geocaching mistake (as I just got my gps earlier this week, and the nearest site is about 100 miles away), but a gps mistake. We moved to this area less than a year ago, and we are way out in the country. I went in to town today, and did not have the gps with me. I started to bring it along just to play, and didn't. To make a long story short, I took a different route than normal (just knowing that this road would come out where I thought it would!) Right, lost. Backtracked about 5 miles or so. The unit would have made me a happier camper today! I will take it along next time.

[Guest byoung57]

John, is Nancy KY somewhere near Beattyville?

[Guest john hewitt]

According to my Vista, it is 75.3 miles north east of Nancy. Neat gadget this thing is!

[Guest Alex]

Check & double check your cache posting. I entered E014 instead of E140 - only a few thousand miles difference!...and then the embarrasment of having to post a correction.

[Guest Snowtrail]

Another tip is to mark where your car is so you can navigate back to where you started. I was so into getting to the cache that I wasn't paying attention to the trails I took and got back to the car a lot slower than if I had marked it.

[Guest chipper]

dark.

[Guest Mike_Teague]

and on that note, also take food/water, ESPECIALLY water..

 

Take the typical hiking/camping essentials..

 

An apparent short hike CAN turn into something bigger than you were willing to get into... best to always be prepared .. (I learned this first hand on a cache hunt last year -- an apparent half mile walk in 90 degree heat that turned into a 3-4 hour ordeal, and we had left our water in the car)

[Guest jfk]

This time of year, bug spray isn't such a bad idea either. A couple of people have reported bug problems near one of my caches. From now until the end of summer mosquitoes can sure ruin a trip if you're unprepared.

[Guest Snowtrail]

There have been two hikes where I wished I had a change of clothing. Sounds silly, but the poison ivy was chest high in places, and I got it all over my clothing. I had Technu, so I was able to get it off my skin, but next time I'm taking extra clothing in my trunk to change into after the hike.

 

It'd be a good thing in case you get wet too. Never know what you'll run into on a cache hunt.

[Guest MadGPS]

Snowshoes and a little survival shovel for winter cache.This would have been tools that one would use because of the snow.That's going after cache a little to fast.

 

------------------

MadGPS

[Guest MadGPS]

Snowshoes and a little survival shovel for winter cache.This would have been tools that one would use because of the snow.That's going after cache a little to fast.

 

------------------

MadGPS

[Guest tak1]

For all of you guys that bike with your units: when you mount your receiver on your bike tie it to the handle bars. Get a small clasp of some sort and use the wrist lanyard that comes with the unit and fasten it to your bike. You never know if your mount will come off. Or if you hit a big bump the unit might pop out. I don't have any road rash on my 315 yet, and I don't plan to either.

 

LK

 

"Magellan for all"

[Guest chriscmoor]

We're obviously a group that is very much enamored with our high tech gadgets, but, so far, no one has mentioned one of the most important safety items. Bring your cellular phone. Even seemingly remote areas can have cellular service, although my experience has been that digital cellular or PCS is mostly useless if you aren't in a major urban area or within a couple of miles of an Interstate Highway. In more remote areas, a good UHF/Marine band radio might be advisable. I have an acquaintance that is alive today because his buddy had a cell phone in his saddlebag during a trail ride.

 

And always remember: Tell someone where you are going including your GPS information and when you expect to return.

 

------------------

Chris Moore

Montgomery, AL

[Guest tak1]

For all you bikers: if you have your GPS mounted on your handlebars, you should still take the wrist lanyard and physically tie the unit to the handlebars. If you hit a big bump or get hit by a tree branch the receiver might come out of the cradle. If it's tied to the handlebars then it won't fall on the ground. I haven't got any road-rash on my 315 yet and I don't intend to.

 

LK

MB, Canada

 

"Magellan for all..."

[Guest ddrevik]

Surprised no one mentioned it yet, but a backpacker's first aid kit is almost a must. Great for cuts & scratches as you hike thru the underbrush.

[Guest Exocet]

I pretty much bring everything I would need, assuming I'd have to spend one night out in the woods, for a hike of anything more than about a half mile from the car.

 

That doesn't mean I bring a sleeping bag or whatnot, rather that I bring water with me every time, a smallish first-aid kit, waterpoof matches, flashlight, a small bit of food, leatherman, etc.

 

I *always* bring extra batteries and my cell phone. Of course, the cell phone needs to be charged first before I head out and I've learned that one via the hard way.

 

To date, a friend and I have visited 25 caches and have never had a problem. We have had to hike out in darkness a few times, but since I always bring the flashlight and extra batteries it hasn't been a real problem.

[Guest Exocet]

I pretty much bring everything I would need, assuming I'd have to spend one night out in the woods, for a hike of anything more than about a half mile from the car.

 

That doesn't mean I bring a sleeping bag or whatnot, rather that I bring water with me every time, a smallish first-aid kit, waterpoof matches, flashlight, a small bit of food, leatherman, etc.

 

I *always* bring extra batteries and my cell phone. Of course, the cell phone needs to be charged first before I head out and I've learned that one via the hard way.

 

To date, a friend and I have visited 25 caches and have never had a problem. We have had to hike out in darkness a few times, but since I always bring the flashlight and extra batteries it hasn't been a real problem.

[Guest mgh]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RXQ:

...walking around in circles looking at your gps.

---

 

Lol, not ME!

 

[This message has been edited by mgh (edited 18 May 2001).]

[Guest mgh]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RXQ:

...walking around in circles looking at your gps.

---

 

Lol, not ME!

 

[This message has been edited by mgh (edited 18 May 2001).]

[Guest metro]

etary to page me on my phone (it serves as a beeper also), drove and hiked back and eventually triangulated the sound and found the phone. Lesson learned is to put the phone in a zipped up fanny pack on future cache searches!

 

------------------

metro

[Guest Peter Scholtz]

1. Leaving a Garmin eTrex in a sweater pocket while climbing up a three meter rock Cliffhanger style. Cracked the plastic cover protecting the LCD while hugging the rock.

 

2. Not taking a raincoat when there is cloud cover.

 

3. Seeking the cache with the coordinates only (no printed cache details report) and ending up trying to get to the cache from the wrong side of the mountain. Got to within 150 meter but the last bit was a steep ravine. I was in a jean and sweating profusely. The wet jean caused by knees to "stick" and effectively I lost coordination. And I was alone. Realised I could kill myself and aborted.

 

------------------

Peter Scholtz

www.biometrics.co.za

[Guest genegarris]

Leaving the car without the cache details is the hunting sin I am most guilty of.

 

Recently I was in a hurry to meet up with a buddy to go cache hunting and was quickly printing everything out on my olde laser printer. Heading out to the last cache I noticed that that the map portion of the cache didn't print so basically all we had were the co-ordinates!

[Guest DungeonKeeper]

I always have my GPS show bearings with reference to true north when navigating because maps use north as a reference. If you do this, always remember that a conventional compass will read a different heading for the same direction, because it reads magnetic north. Where I live in Canada, the difference is -24deg. and worse the farther north you are from the equator. Not a big problem unless you need to use the compass to get back home incase of GPS problems. A two mile trek down game trails is fun if the GPS is working well, but being off a few degrees can become a 5 mile exit with a compass. I once got lost in some trees while hunting, but I knew that if I kept heading straight east I couldn't miss a major highway where I had parked my truck. Needless to say, I did find the highway, but didn't recognise which part until I had walked 2 miles in the wrong direction and noticed a road sign. When I finally found my truck it was about 500 yards in the opposite direction from which I started down the highway. That alone is grounds for a GPS and waypoints in my book!

[Guest RXQ]

Do not try and read your GPS with your back to the sun. The glare will blind you. No matter how hard I try, I keep getting nabbed on this one.

[Guest logscaler]

D.Keeper; If you get the right type of compass and have a good topo map, you can set the compass for the declination standard on the map so that the map and your compass point in the same direction.

[Guest IronHelix]

few more ideas... these depend on where you're going and may not be necessary for a short hike (under 1/2 mile)

Bring a knife, (fire starting device), and a small medikit. Even a handful of assorted band-aids will do, or in a pinch a box of tissues and some medical tape.

[Guest JasonW]

One that hit me today whilst out caching.....

 

Looking for a cache near the shoreline - GPS insisted cache was approx 200ft offshore - cursed GPS continuously for 30 mins or so, before discovering that it had somehow been set to a datum other than I expected.

 

My learning : Check your GPS Settings

[Guest Pokey]

After a sucessful five finds on Sunday we decided to attempt two more caches out of a notebook we have of cache pages. Our luck ran out on these two, as we were unable to locate the caches. Well the six miles of hiking and the views were nice. After getting home I checked the caches to try and find out what our problem was. The problem was stale caches pages in our notebook. Both caches were no longer active. Last time we head out on a lark without double checking our information.

Jeff

[Guest RXQ]

Don't try to smack a mosquito with the GPS in your hand.

[Guest Cape Cod Cache]

If you go out the night before a hunting session, keep the beers to a minimum. And then do a checklist when you are ready to leave. We all '***-u-me'd the others had the paperwork. I spaced out 6 printed caches w/ maps and had to duplicate them when I got home. It's amazing how loud a printer gets at 1am...

[Guest Hawk-eye]

not a warm day!

[Guest CharlieP]

Many good suggestions above, I had already learned some of them the hard way, but will be spared some of the others. I would add that if you use a compass that requires putting the NORTH point in the indicated position, be sure you do not use the SOUTH point, or your search will be greatly extended! If the path to the cache seems unusally difficult, there is probably a better route. And if your GPS will not work in a certain area, like in a ravine, try moving to higher ground near the cache and taking a bearing and range from there.

 

FWIW,

CharlieP

[Guest gcoughran]

Quick summary of the very best ideas from this thread thus far:

 

(1) Bring your GPS and spare batteries. Oddly, people hv forgotten both and regretted it.

(2) Store your car's location in memory, or at least your starting point. It could save you lots of time getting back.

(3) Bring a cell phone. Anyone can sprang an ankle or break a leg, even on a simple hike.

(4) Go with a partner, or at least let someone know where you're going. If you don't come back, you'll be glad someone know's something wrong.

(4) Buy a couple canteens and ALWAYS bring water. Heat exhaustion can creep up on even the fittest athletes. In the Army, we MADE our soldiers drink every half hr or so while hiking. Heat stroke can kill.

(5) Bring a small compass.

(6) If there's a chance you won't make it back by dark, bring a flashlight or don't go.

(7) If your as allergic to poison ivy/oak as myself, turn around when you see it. This is not the Army, no one's forcing you. Going thru poison to find a cache is foolhardy IMHO. A serious case of poison ivy could cost you 1-2 wks of work, serious misery, medical bills, and possibly scarring.

[Guest zilla]

Ha! Wish I had read this thread before this weekend.. I was camped at the Flaming Gorge, got bored and looked at my waypoint list.. There is a cache that I had entered earlier.. The wife and I headed out, it was ONLY 18 miles away.. Right.. 45 miles later we were 8 miles away[crow flies] and at least 15 on the road.. The gas gauge read MT.. Hmm Turn around and head back.. The irony is that there is a couple of gas stations in the area of our camp.. If only I had checked the fuel, instead of getting in a hurry.. and as they say in Wyoming on't sqat with yer spurs on... Oh well another day

 

 

[This message has been edited by zilla (edited 01 July 2001).]

[Guest zilla]

Ha! Wish I had read this thread before this weekend.. I was camped at the Flaming Gorge, got bored and looked at my waypoint list.. There is a cache that I had entered earlier.. The wife and I headed out, it was ONLY 18 miles away.. Right.. 45 miles later we were 8 miles away[crow flies] and at least 15 on the road.. The gas gauge read MT.. Hmm Turn around and head back.. The irony is that there is a couple of gas stations in the area of our camp.. If only I had checked the fuel, instead of getting in a hurry.. and as they say in Wyoming on't sqat with yer spurs on... Oh well another day

 

 

[This message has been edited by zilla (edited 01 July 2001).]

[Guest packnrat]

quote:

---

Originally posted by tak1:

For all of you guys that bike with your units: when you mount your receiver on your bike tie it to the handle bars. Get a small clasp of some sort and use the wrist lanyard that comes with the unit and fasten it to your bike. You never know if your mount will come off. Or if you hit a big bump the unit might pop out. I don't have any road rash on my 315 yet, and I don't plan to either.

 

LK

 

"Magellan for all"

---

 

The etex by garmin has a bike mount for your handle bars.

[Guest Cache-potato]

quote:

---

Originally posted by packnrat:

The etex by garmin has a bike mount for your handle bars.

---

 

Magellan Bashing?? Okay I'm in.

[Guest packnrat]

this is not a ad for REI but if you go there you can find a day pack and all of the items needed to keep you alive and in good health for a day out hunting,

 

just keep this in the jeep and you can get out at a sec notice if need be.

[Guest Chris Juricich]

My list thus far has included--

1) cell phone

2) GPS (duh!)

3) digital camera

4) extra batteries

5) replacement gifts

6) water

 

Haven't gotten around to quality hiking shoes, but maybe someday. My tevas are too damned comfortable!

[Guest logscaler]

Well let's see;

 

(a) do not leave anything at the cache you want to take back.

 

( When you go back after said item the next day, when you slip and start to fall, do not plant your hand on a cactus leaf, still trying to get the dang things out. Ouch.

[Guest The Kite Wizard]

1. I make sure I have a trash bag with me. Even the remote places seem to have some garbage.

 

2. I wear gloves which help me get a grip on limbs etc. and protects from poison ivy.

 

3. I use a hiking stick for balance and probing hidden spots where danger may be lurking.

 

4. I bring 2 Benadryl tablets in my First Aid Kit in case I get stung by an insect or bitten by a snake. Keeps a bad alergic reaction at bay until you can get some help.

 

The Kite Wizard

[Guest geofred]

Having read all these comments I realize I have made virtually all the mistakes (things to remember to do) in my first 6 hunts. I must be an expert.

[threx]

I once end up a side of a steep slope trying to follow the general direction that the GPS was pointing at. Slid down about 50 feet when the slope gave way. I had scratches on my calves and forearms, trying to prevent the slide. It's a good thing I came with my cousin who came to my rescue holding on to a fibrous branch and reaching out to my hand. If not, I would have fallen down several hundred feet down the mountain, I would have been seriously injured if not dead, and it would have been one hell of an acetone session.

Talk about being dumb and fearless.

[+Cachier]

There is no substitute for pre-planning. Know the area, find the trails and identify the terrain that you will encounter. Although mapping GPS units are good, printed topos and available trail maps are much better. I've learned from experience that, 'you can't always get there from here'.

 

"When you find it, its always in the last place you look."

[+worldtraveler]

Topo/street maps, etc. are great if you can get them, but the amenities so often taken for granted in the U.S. are frequently not available elsewhere. That's when the adventure starts!

 

Circumstances frequently do not afford the degree of preparation I would prefer, but I've learned to assess the risks and usually go anyway. Beats a "ho hum" cache search any day!

 

Worldtraveler

[+Cache Crazy]

How about searching for a cache for over 1 hour and then come home to find out that it was a virtual cache!!

 

Rule #1 - Print out cache page along with last log, (just so you know if it is still active)

[Vonster]

Originally posted by Cache Crazy:

How about searching for a cache for over 1 hour and then come home to find out that it was a virtual cache!!

 

Nothing to the frustration one feels when one goes hunting a certain bug/borg in a certain park only to find that it has been removed and the picker-upper didn't tell anyone...grrrr...

[ardor]

Great posts all,, as a newbie,,, I've found that when going bushwacking in the forest,,, when your sure the cache is close,,, it's never as close as that little branch and twig that is far closer to your eyes, and it is indeed farther than most other objects you'll eventually regret tripping over.