Attempted My First Cache

[4cstrip]

Well...I failed. I had a nice hour and a half walking around in circles and bumping into the same fence in Central Park NY. Great sunny friday afternoon, but no luck. I know it is my lack of experience with the GPSr, and not really understanding what it is telling me. It seemed like the pointer and the lat and long numbers were jumping around, even when standing still. But when I posted my failure to find log, I read a number of successful logs from just days ago, so....I will keep trying until I find it. May have better luck in winter, since I think it may be under some brush behind a fence.

[+Team FUBAR]

Dont' worry it'll get better with practice. In this sport/addiction just remember the cache can be anything, anywhere. One thing to remember is once your gps says yout close like within 30 ft or so put it down and start looking. Your gps will get you close but usally won't take you right to it. Don't get discoutraged and don't rely on your GPSr toooooo much.

 

Cache you on the trail

Bill

[+Team Cotati]

Dont' worry it'll get better with practice. In this sport/addiction just remember the cache can be anything, anywhere. One thing to remember is once your gps says yout close like within 30 ft or so put it down and start looking. Your gps will get you close but usally won't take you right to it. Don't get discoutraged and don't rely on your GPSr toooooo much.

 

Cache you on the trail

Bill

 

Edited July 7, 2006 by Team Cotati

[+Miragee]

What size was the cache? For your first ones, you might want to make sure you are looking for "regular"-sized caches that are rated a '1' for Difficulty.

 

If you were looking for a "micro," it could have been a bison tube cammoed to look like a leaf in that bush.

[+Team Cotati]

Well...I failed. I had a nice hour and a half walking around in circles and bumping into the same fence in Central Park NY. Great sunny friday afternoon, but no luck. I know it is my lack of experience with the GPSr, and not really understanding what it is telling me. It seemed like the pointer and the lat and long numbers were jumping around, even when standing still. But when I posted my failure to find log, I read a number of successful logs from just days ago, so....I will keep trying until I find it. May have better luck in winter, since I think it may be under some brush behind a fence.

 

I wanted to look at this cache to see if there was something unusual about it. Would you mind posting the waypoint name? Also you ought to post a DNF for caches that you search for but can't find. This info is very valuable to both future searchers and the cache owner. Good luck and 'Cache on Garth!!

[donna03079]

I agree with Miragee above. If the cache you are trying to find has a high difficulty rating, then you might want to pick one that's easier for your first one. I still pick easy ones even now, because I'm still on a learning curve too. I have a very low-end GPSr, but it has enabled me to find caches (most times). The number read outs CAN bounce around and have trouble "settling". I just keeping walking (sometimes slower) and see if the numbers are taking me closer or further away from the cache. If my GPSr gets down to within 10 ft, I start looking around and the radius can be 20-30 around me. Enjoy and good luck!

[+Team JSAM]

Dont give up those GPSr can be tricky at first, pass that cache up and search or easy ones that are reg. sized and find a few caches get to know your GPSr and then go back for that one you could not find it will be fun to see how much you have learned. When we first started caching we looked for a cache for about 30 mins but DNF then after a 100 or so finds we went back and found it in 30sec it was funny to see what you learn after a little practice.

 

-TJ

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

As a fellow New Yorker, I can tell you part of the problem is the uniqueness of Manhattan. While it's not as bad inside Central Park as on the streets themselves, the extreme clutter of unusually tall buildings tends to cause an unusual amount of GPS signal bounce and false readings compared to other urban areas (though I imagine downtown Chicago probably has a similar GPS problems).

 

There are a few exceptions in Manhattan where the area is more "open" (for example, today we walked from the Staten Island Ferry terminal to South Street Seaport and because one side of the walk faces the water instead of tall buildings, the GPS worked fine most of the way.

 

You may want to try your first finds in a more open area like nearer to you in Long Island or even head up here to Westchester, lots of easy finds that will also be easy on your GPS until you get more used to caching.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[treebw]

My daughter had our first day out and I tried to find two. The first one, Red Alert#5 appeared as though it was going to be in a dumpster...uh...I don't think so. We finally gave up.

Hikencache was rated harder, but we couldn't find it in the bushes. How long does it take to get used to it and actually find a cache?

 

Red alert #5 (rated 1 for difficulty)

 

Hikencache 5: Cosmo's Conundrum by OC_Clay (GCNQ3N)

California (Rated 4 or so for difficulty)

 

Both in zip code 92627

 

[+salmondan]

My daughter had our first day out and I tried to find two. The first one, Red Alert#5 appeared as though it was going to be in a dumpster...uh...I don't think so. We finally gave up.

Hikencache was rated harder, but we couldn't find it in the bushes. How long does it take to get used to it and actually find a cache?

 

Red alert #5 (rated 1 for difficulty)

 

Hikencache 5: Cosmo's Conundrum by OC_Clay (GCNQ3N)

California (Rated 4 or so for difficulty)

 

Both in zip code 92627

 

 

Give it some time- pretty soon you will be addicted like the rest of us! We have a simple etrex yellow, little of 50 finds- having a great time- but still sticking to the simpler hides. (1-2 1/2). Read logs and clues before you go- and keep them in mind when the GPS has you traveling all over the place.

 

Maybe someone reading this can steer you in the direction of a few easy caches to get you going.

[+salmondan]

Currency Exchange looks like a quickie.

Look for larger caches, recently found, logs with comments that say quick find for better odds.

[treebw]

Thanks Salmondan...I will look and let you know. Thanks for the positive note!

[+Zzyzx Road]

My cousin had a problem with her GPS reading correctly - it hadn't been calibrated right. She ahs the same model as mine, so I took both out to our local park (with trees and some taller buildings, not NEARLY like NY!) and calibrated both at the same time. We ended up with the compass being exactly the same, and the coord number that was in that 3rd decimal place was only 2 off. After that, her GPSr read just fine, and mine is USUALLY within 7-10 feet.

 

"Use the Force Luke" We have not found so many that we can call ourselves experienced, but many of them have been so darned well-camofloooged that we had to take a step back and recall Sesame Street..."One of these is not like the other ones!" You WILL hone your power of observation with this hobby!

[treebw]

Currency Exchange looks like a quickie.

Look for larger caches, recently found, logs with comments that say quick find for better odds.

 

WooHooo!!! We found it! Thanks so much for the advice!! We even found another simple one after that! And you're right, my daughter is already addicted...

[+salmondan]

Currency Exchange looks like a quickie.

Look for larger caches, recently found, logs with comments that say quick find for better odds.

 

WooHooo!!! We found it! Thanks so much for the advice!! We even found another simple one after that! And you're right, my daughter is already addicted...

 

Awesome! Have fun.

 

Dollar Store and Oriental Trading Company are 2 good places to start collecting your replacement swag. Don't forget to carry around some trashbags, some waterless hand cleanser, some writing utensils, and a phone for when you get turned completely around!

[4cstrip]

I wanted to look at this cache to see if there was something unusual about it. Would you mind posting the waypoint name? Also you ought to post a DNF for caches that you search for but can't find. This info is very valuable to both future searchers and the cache owner. Good luck and 'Cache on Garth!!

 

Here you go: N 40° 45.992 W 073° 58.583

called Logg Inn at zip 10104

Thanks to all for the advice and incouragement. I did log a dnf, then posted here. I'm preparing to look for some closer to home, so I will post my first fnd soon I hope!