Snowcaching Tips?

[+Chiro75]

We have about 6" of snow on the ground here in west MI and there is only more on the way. I have hit a handful of traditional caches the last 2 weeks and failed miserably at them all, even using the hints. Lots of digging around, lots of cursing and slipping and sliding, but no finds. I know I can look for that snowflake icon to help ID winter-friendly caches, but short of that, any other techniques for snowcaching? I think I'll probably continue to head out (the dogs have tons of fun), but instead of going with the thought of actually finding anything, I'll simply go with the excuse of recon for caches I'll hit in the spring. I have as many DNF's as I do finds now, which is fine, but the only reason I'm not finding these suckers is that they are buried. Anyway, any tips other than digging, following other people's tracks, etc?

[+Folshen]

Try a walking/hiking stick. I found a cheap one last fall at Meijers for $10 and if you take the rubber boot off the end it leaves a nice little metal tab...works great for "sounding out" ammo cans. Tupperware gives off a different sound too.

 

Other than that, keep hunting...persistance pays off. Read the caches pages and logs for other little clues and hints. As for those DNF's, don't worry about them. We've all got 'em and still get 'em. Just had three in one day a couple weeks back.

[magellan315]

Winter is always a good time to get in virtuals, locationless and working out puzzle caches.

[+the hermit crabs]

This might help you decide which caches to go for when there is snow on the ground: look for caches that had a reasonably high number of finds last year during the winter. Read through some of the Jan/Feb logs. If you see things like "this wasn't too hard to find even in the snow" or "this is a good cache for winter", then they're probably good to try. Also try looking for ones that were placed last winter -- the hider might have put it in a snow-friendly place if there was already snow on the ground.

 

As for search techniques once you're out in the snow -- I'm the wrong person to ask. We're not very good at it, and we log lots of winter DNFs. And half of the ones we find in the snow we find by accident, after we've already given up and are leaving the area and then we practically trip over it. Hmm... maybe that should be our new winter searching technique: get to the area, and right away say "I give up!" and turn around to walk away. The cache will be right in front of us. This will save us a lot of time and frozen fingers.

[+Hippie Kidz]

Being from Canada, you can't let a little snow stop you. We bring the car snow brush. It makes it so your hands don't get too cold. All though, it will not work very well when the snow turns crusty.

[+BlueDeuce]

Winter is always a good time to get in virtuals, locationless and working out puzzle caches.

Huh, that's my advice for summer caching.

 

As for winter, try caching with others. It won't seem as frustrating if you have more than one person poking around. (and the extra footprints help obscure your search path)

 

Besides, winter is easier to take if you aren't sitting inside all the time. Go get some fresh air and some smilies.

[+briansnat]

It takes some luck, some experience and a willingness to frequently go home empty handed.

 

I look for clues above the snow. Perhaps larger tree surrounded by smaller ones. I'll check the base of that larger tree. If I see the shape of a down tree in the snow I'll dig around the base and any place branches split. I'll also poke around look around the base of any large boulders.

 

A ski pole or hiking stick comes in handy for poking around.

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

Magellan 315, sounds like winter is going to become a time to do Waymarking instead

 

I must say based on the amount of DNF's people are claiming on here, I'd expect to see a lot more logged out there.

[bogleman]

Good excuse to hit some urban micros. They are fairly snow proof (depending on the hide). I started last year in November and had many finds through the winter, only 130 inches of snow last year. Dress warm and have a good pair of gloves. Wait for a warm spell & the snow to start melting and check the piles that still have snow on them - worked for me a few times.

[+OmniCitadel]

well i recently on a walk discovered my hunting dog is great at finding them... but you always need to look at the dog because she disturbs the cache and brings me it... i didnt log it because i was not expecting to find a cache and didn't have a pencil...

[+Chiro75]

Yep. Here's my plan:

 

1) Still hit caches, but go in with the assumption that I'll find nothing and if I get lucky I get lucky. It will be good activity and good recon for when the thaw hits around August (kidding).

 

2) Hit urban micros, which I already stink at, so this will be nothing new.

 

Digging around in the snow is not my cup of tea, plus I want to bring my dogs and they get really impatient, so I'll just do the walks and hikes and if we stumble on it great, but if not I won't be upset. As it stands now, I just get ticked when I can't find them. Grrr.

[+ODragon]

Want the ultimate hint? Check the cache pages and find ones that were found after the snow. It's really hard to rehide them well. Go after those... you should have no problem!

[+webscouter.]

I have a thin fiberglass rod that was made to mount reflectors on at the end of a driveway. It makes a great snow probe.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Winter is always a good time to get in virtuals, locationless and working out puzzle caches.

I've never found a good time to search for virtuals

[+BlueDeuce]

Want the ultimate hint? Check the cache pages and find ones that were found after the snow. It's really hard to rehide them well. Go after those... you should have no problem!

ah, but if you make several locations look like someone re-hid a cache, well then, good luck!

[+carleenp]

Want the ultimate hint?  Check the cache pages and find ones that were found after the snow.  It's really hard to rehide them well.  Go after those... you should have no problem!

ah, but if you make several locations look like someone re-hid a cache, well then, good luck!

I have made multiple locations in the snow before and purposely made tracks to the wrong spot etc. All that stomping in the snow was fun!

[+ODragon]

I have made multiple locations in the snow before and purposely made tracks to the wrong spot etc. All that stomping in the snow was fun!

Yes, it is but it will usually still narrow it down more than being the first person to find it after a snow...

[+wandererrob]

I have a thin fiberglass rod that was made to mount reflectors on at the end of a driveway. It makes a great snow probe.

that's some good thinking right there! Gotta go to Lowe's, excuse me.

[+CraigInCT]

So, I should cancel the napalm and flamethrower order????

[+OmniCitadel]

So, I should cancel the napalm and flamethrower order????

well it might make things easy for you... but think of all the melted mctoys inside...

 

"eeeeewwww this travel bug is covered in ronald mcdonald gooo"

[+badlands]

This is my first winter caching and so far so good.

 

So far the biggest problem isn't the snow, the cold or the days that get dark early, it's those pesky signs that say "park closed at dusk".

Edited December 9, 2005 by badlands

[+flask]

Want the ultimate hint? Check the cache pages and find ones that were found after the snow. It's really hard to rehide them well. Go after those... you should have no problem!

hee, hee, hee.

 

we leave decoy tracks. we dig where we know the cache isn't. we make butt-and -ammo can prints in the snow in lots of places where we didn't sit with the cache.

 

we also bring a broom and a small shovel. we sweep out real tracks, fill in any holes we made, smooth over the surface, and if we can, we time our hunt to just before a new snow falls.

 

good as new. and plenty of false tracks.

 

aren't you glad you don't live here?

[+BlueDeuce]

With the right tools you can make some great finds!

 

[+ODragon]

aren't you glad you don't live here?

Not at all... as long as there are enough caches around, I'd be happy to live anywhere!

[+Ladybug Kids]

I've never used a metal detector in the winter, but I'm sure it would work great to find things under snow after seeing how well one worked last summer to find a couple of caches in rock fields, so BlueDeuce is on to something!

 

Some of my fondest caching memories of the past year have been snow caching. We had to cross country ski, skijor or snow shoe to the caches. Once at the cache locations, we used ski poles and shovels (aluminum grain shovels for mass snow removal and smaller backcountry ski shovels for working in brush or heavy forest) to locate the caches and batted over 90% on winter finds. Be gentle when probing for a plastic container...I broke right through the lid of a rubbermaid with my ski pole at one location. Fortunately, another cacher was going after the same remote cache a few days later and was willing to take my replacement container out for me.

 

Here are some of my favorite logs from last winter:

 

Chena Cache

Kaimus Cache

Mammoth Tusk

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Taiga Cascade

Clear Creek Butte

Bluff Point

Edited December 9, 2005 by Ladybug Kids

[+GPSOkie]

With the right tools you can make some great finds!

 

Hmmm....looks familiar....very familiar Ace 150 or 250? I LOVE my 250. I never thought about combining my metal detecting with geocaching. Strange as I've used my GPS along with my metal detecting hobbie for about 4 years. Thanks for the idea !!

[+BlueDeuce]

Nobody got the golfball as the joke?!?

 

(sigh) I am just so unappreciated in my own time.

[+Cass River Cachers]

One good thing about winter caching is no mosquitoes or other pesky things like snakes. LOL

[+Team Cotati]

Give serious consideration to bowling and billards, really nice winter activities. X-country skiiing, snowshoeing, sleding, ice skating, igloo building, snow ball fighting can all get you outdoors doing activities that are significantly better suited to the season.

Edited December 9, 2005 by Team Cotati

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

Ah, this (alternative winter activities to caching) by someone who (at least so the profile says) lives somewhere where winter only really exists in some of the nearby mountains.

 

Hey Cotati, you forgot to mention downhill skiing

Edited December 10, 2005 by hairymon

[madflytom]

Maybe I'm the minority on this one, but I like geocaching in the winter more than in the summer. I just got into this in the summer of this year, and in Indiana summer in the woods means lots of brush to get in and out of in search of caches. In the winter and fall the brush is a bit more tame (although the thorns are still out...). The undergrowth lays down, and you can pretty much bushwhack anywhere you need to. I've been finding caches in the last few months easier than ever...could be experience, but I think the elimination of the undergrowth in my favorate areas is a big factor.

 

The comment about the hiking staff is a good one. I've found most of mine just by poking around in hollow logs or places that seem to look like they might have a cache inside. I also use the hiking staff in the summer when sticking your hand in a hollow log might get you snake or spider bitten....

 

Just my two cents.

[+JDandDD]

What I wouldn't give for just 6". Here in the snowbelt around the Great Lakes I've got 3 feet on my front lawn already. Snowcaching is a must. Already have done a bunch in the snow with no problem.

 

Actually, its not that hard. Snowshoes or xcountry skis get you over the snow and then a little digging finds it. I've found caches under 3-4feet of snow. Only a couple of times of year do I fail to find the cache, almost always because its under and ice-layer that you can't break through. Caches still tend to be hidden in the typical spots so you just use normal techinques and add the element of digging through the snow.

 

Hadn't used the snowbrush idea Hippie Kidz mention. Great idea and will be using that one this season.

 

Love snow-caching because it lets you do winter sports and since we started doing it the winter goes by much faster.

 

JDandDD

[+humanloofa]

What is this snow stuff you speak of. Don't want to cache in the snow move to Arizona. Beautifull weather all year round. Summer caching in the high country, nice and cool in the mountains, Winter head south, no snow down there. Or for a real thrill cache in the summer in Phoenix, never had a muggle problem when it was 120 out.