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New To Geocaching


dman2

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Top date i found 2 out of a possible 8 caches.I know that the gps only brings a person close to a cache site but i spend way to much time trying to find them.As you people say search around but when i am in the middle of the woods with no trees around and my gps tells me to go thru the bushes i find that the bushes are so thick that sometimes i can't .My gps told me 1.78 km and i went 6km and was not even close.When i got close i was on a walking trail in a sort of bog that had a boardwalk and i was suppose to go left and i would have had to go thru the bog and get totally soaked.

My thinking is that would not be fun.

Till i fume later.

 

Dman :laughing::ph34r::ph34r:

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You might try posting to the forum for your regional area and see if there are any other cachers nearby who might want to go with you a couple of times to give you some insight into how a cache hider thinks. By and large, cachers are a pretty friendly group, and surely there is someone who lives close by who would be more than happy to give you a hand.

 

Welcome to the hobby, and don't let a few DNF's get you down!

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I had similar problems when I first started. Crawling up hillsides and through bushes. I discovered that the trail would almost allways loop back around to the cache. Try to picture in your head where the cache is and then figure the easiest route to get to it. Seldom will it be the direct way.

 

Happy caching

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Welcome to the sport, great advice above. Check in your regional forum or see if there is a cache group close by, look on the cache pages for reference to one. Looks like you have a good distance between most caches so I could see why you would get discouraged. You mention that your gpsr was off coords, which gpsr and do you recall how many sats you were tracking? You might need to be a bit more patient waiting for the gpsr to grab a signal or you might need to check for settings?

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It's always a good idea to remind yourself that someone had to get in there to *place* the cache in the first place. If it's impassable and the listing says it's a one-star hide, it's time to re-evaluate your route in. Read the logs and the listing carefully for clues.

 

We did not have the benefit of cacher pals to show us the ropes, we had to learn on our own, but it's a great idea. Cache-savvy friends will help you greatly. Good luck, and let us know how it works out for you!

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Very typical new user mistake - trying to follow the GPS arrow in a straight line. I got myself in several hard places on my first few caches. Learned to take a look at trail maps and other resources to get me closer before I begin. Have also learned that in a forested area, if the GPS says .5 miles then I should plan on a 1 mile hike to account for the terrian and obstacles.

 

Valuable hint:

If you think it will take 20 minutes tell your wife you will be back to the car in 45 minutes. :laughing:

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A typical day of caching in my area is 50% skunks. It takes a little time to get a sence of how to approach certain caches where the arrow is telling you to jump off a cliff, or take a swim. The person who hid it usually doesn't like briars, brambles, thorns, quicksand, drowning, and falling off cliffs any more than the average finder so there is usally a way in. Finding it is part of the challenge.

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I have had my share of DNF's and they will continue to happen. There have been at least 3 caches that I made 3 to 4 trips to find it.

 

Advise:

 

1) Know what you are looking for, ei: Film canister, magnetic keyholder, ammo box, etc.

 

2) If you were the hider, where would hide it.

 

3) Know the difficutly of the cache before heading out, and read the previous logs.

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Thanks for all the info .I am not an easy giverupper and will keep trying.The friend help sounds great.I will keep you people posted as how things are going.Another hard part for me is to get the wife into it.Maybee i'll cut her off for awhile and she may come around.

Dman

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