+damechimera Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Ok so I am like hours new to this hobby. The first two caches I visited were MIA. I was with 2 other people and they couldn't find it either. What do I do? Hugs, Damechimera Quote Link to comment
+gof1 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Log your DNFs and keep trying. Are the others that went with you new to the game also? If so then the caches may still be there. Some of them can be tricky. Keep trying, you'll get 'em. Quote Link to comment
+Team Neos Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Which ones did you try to find? Some are easier than others when you are new. Quote Link to comment
nobby.nobbs Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 get back out there and look for others as you've either just got unlucky or not got your eye in yet. Quote Link to comment
+Ed & Julie Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 For a new geocacher, I would recommend looking for a small or regular-sized container with a low (1 or 2 stars) difficulty rating. Thise are easier to find, and you can begin to get a feel for what you are looking for. Microcaches are usually a tiny film cannister (or even MUCH smaller) and can be VERY difficult to find. Check your location (I don't know where you are located) and see if there are any caching clubs nearby. I'm sure there would be lots of cachers wlling to 'show you the ropes'. In the mean time, log your attempts on the caches as DNFs. It's not a bad thing, it just shows you could not find the cache that time, and may alert the cache owner that there may be a problem with the cache (missing?). Good luck, and keep trying!!! Ed Quote Link to comment
+emb021 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 For a new geocacher, I would recommend looking for a small or regular-sized container with a low (1 or 2 stars) difficulty rating. Thise are easier to find, and you can begin to get a feel for what you are looking for. Microcaches are usually a tiny film cannister (or even MUCH smaller) and can be VERY difficult to find. good advise. I would add the following. Start off with looking for caches in local city/county parks that you don't have to worry about being 'off in the wilderness'. Go for ones with the types as noted above. Also, check the logs first to be sure that they have been recently found (atleast within the last month). Some urban microcaches may be fairly easy to find. So if you want to try for them, do so. In my area we have some in the parking lots of various 'big box' stories (W*, T*, H*, etc) Quote Link to comment
+damechimera Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 We are going to try again as it has been located just 4 days ago. Yes, the two people with me are also brand new. I spent yesterday getting to really know my GPS. It is a Magellen Gold and I really had fun learning it better. The two people with me were my family and they had a ball even though we didn't find a thing! I can get use to this! BTW, when the news talked about this new hobby, I saw the kid use a stamp on the log at the cache. Is this something I may want? Also what other equipment would you suggest ie my own personal log book etc? My next step will be getting some books on the subject like "Geocaching for Dummies." Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved! Hugs, Damechimera Quote Link to comment
Hike Idaho Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I watched the same news report you did and found my way here. I still need to get a GPS so that I can find a geocache. I already found a couple of virtual caches based on their decription and because I work across the street from where they are at and see them everyday. I plan on checking stores around this area this weekend so that I can get a GPS to get started. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 (edited) We are going to try again as it has been located just 4 days ago. Yes, the two people with me are also brand new. I spent yesterday getting to really know my GPS. It is a Magellen Gold and I really had fun learning it better. The two people with me were my family and they had a ball even though we didn't find a thing! I can get use to this! BTW, when the news talked about this new hobby, I saw the kid use a stamp on the log at the cache. Is this something I may want? Also what other equipment would you suggest ie my own personal log book etc? My next step will be getting some books on the subject like "Geocaching for Dummies." Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved! The Magellan Meridians can throw you off. Be sure to let it settle for a minute or two when you get to the area. They are notorious for sending you past the cache. As far as your own stamp, some people do that, but not a lot. Its a personal preference. Many people who stamp also do letterboxing which requires a stamp. Regarding a personal logbook, some people (particularly those who find a lot in a day) keep a notebook so they can remember details of the hunt, what was in the cache, what they traded, etc... for their online log. For most of us, the online log is all we really need to keep track of our finds and DNFs. You probably don't even need a book like Geocaching for Dummies. The sport is quite simple and after a dozen finds, you'll know more than any book can teach you.. As far as other equipment, it depends on the caches you do. If you're going after caches in urban and suburban parks, all you really need is your GPS, maybe a bag of trade goodies and some insect repellent. If you're going after caches that involve longer hikes, you'd bring anything you'd bring on a long hike. Water, extra clothing, food, maps, compass, etc... If you have a PDA like a Palm, you may eventually want to go paperless, so you can download cache pages to your Palm or pocket PC. There is a lot of info about that in the forums. Just search on "paperless". Edited April 13, 2006 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+damechimera Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 Thank you so much!!!!!!! You are awesome!!! Hugs, Quote Link to comment
+SouthernLaCop Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Greetings Dame Chimera, Welcome to Geocaching, I do not know if you remember me but I was once a member of the ECS also (this is the X-Lord Sir Dante' de Blois of Acadie)it is good to see an old friend in a new hobby. Do keep looking as it will get better the more you look, you might want to check and see if any of the Geocachers in the Vegas area meet that way you can ask questions and have them show you some tricks of the trade. I work here in the New Orleans area and we had ameeting last night . good luck in your hunts. Tell all of my Vegan friends hello for me. In Service to your friendship, X-Lord Sir Dante'de Blois SouthernLaCop Quote Link to comment
+buddles Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 welcome damechimera, I have been caching for a year. I just found my 100th cache! I have a lot of DNFs. Don't make it hard on yourself. You have a lot of learning to do. People hide things in different ways and in different types of containers. Keep looking for things that look out of place. I have a Magellan - my mentor taught me that Magellans tend to overshoot the target. When it says that the target is near, I keep on walking a ways, then turn around and walk back from the other side. Approaching the target from two sides seems to work better, at least with my unit. Try to find some events in the area. Go to them and meet other cachers. You'll find them to be a warm bunch of people from all walks of life - all very friendly and helpful. At one of the events, one of the guys even wanted me to go out rappeling with them! (I didn't go - but maybe some day...) Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment
+damechimera Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 Greetings Dame Chimera, Welcome to Geocaching, I do not know if you remember me but I was once a member of the ECS also (this is the X-Lord Sir Dante' de Blois of Acadie)it is good to see an old friend in a new hobby. Do keep looking as it will get better the more you look, you might want to check and see if any of the Geocachers in the Vegas area meet that way you can ask questions and have them show you some tricks of the trade. I work here in the New Orleans area and we had ameeting last night . good luck in your hunts. Tell all of my Vegan friends hello for me. In Service to your friendship, X-Lord Sir Dante'de Blois SouthernLaCop I DO remember you!!!! Good to here from you and I will see that all the Vegans know you are alive and well!!!! Hugs, Quote Link to comment
+sdeclipse99 Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 welcome damechimera, I have been caching for a year. I just found my 100th cache! I have a lot of DNFs. Don't make it hard on yourself. You have a lot of learning to do. People hide things in different ways and in different types of containers. Keep looking for things that look out of place. I have a Magellan - my mentor taught me that Magellans tend to overshoot the target. When it says that the target is near, I keep on walking a ways, then turn around and walk back from the other side. Approaching the target from two sides seems to work better, at least with my unit. Try to find some events in the area. Go to them and meet other cachers. You'll find them to be a warm bunch of people from all walks of life - all very friendly and helpful. At one of the events, one of the guys even wanted me to go out rappeling with them! (I didn't go - but maybe some day...) Good luck to you. Is this common of all magellan gps units? I have an explorist 400 and was wondering if I would have the same type of issue. I'm a brand spankin new noob to geocaching. I've managed to load some geocache points onto the unit and was going to set some time aside this weekend to head out for my first find or at least attempt my first find Quote Link to comment
+buddles Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Is this common of all magellan gps units? I have an explorist 400 and was wondering if I would have the same type of issue. I'm a brand spankin new noob to geocaching. I've managed to load some geocache points onto the unit and was going to set some time aside this weekend to head out for my first find or at least attempt my first find I only know what I was told and have seen evidence of this on my Magellan SportTrak Color receiver. A good place to ask this question would be the GPS Units and Software discussion Quote Link to comment
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