booger4203 Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 Hello all , Name here is Dan just got into the Cacheing hobby, Got myself a Garmin GPS 72 and have tried a few hunts to no avail. I got to tell ya maybe its just me but this is alot harder than i expected Havin a little trouble getting the hang of using the GPS unit says im 10 feet away 1 sec then BAM!!! now im im 40 feet away ? Like i said im new to the hobby and still learning lookin forward to my first find. Hope to meet some of you fine folks in the Wheeling Wva area. By the way my friends call me booger Dan Quote
+Travelinmatt76 Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 Some GPSr take a little while to settle down. When I get close to the cache I place my GPSr on the ground, or sometimes I hang it off a tree limb. Then I start looking for the cache. I check the obvious places first, stumps, rocks, UPS (unusual pile of sticks). Then I go back to my GPSr and now it has had some time to settle down and start averaging. It will show distance and bearing. Next I head off in that direction and start looking again. Also, it's a good idea to start off with regular size caches that have a 2 difficulty level or lower, and remember that your GPSr could be off by as much as 30 feet. Your GPSr makes an educated guess as to what it's position is. Quote
+evelbug Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 When you get in that 10-40' area where your gps bounces around (espically under trees and on cloudy days), start looking for hiding spots. The first cache is always the hardest. The more you do, you'll start to be abole to pick out where the good hiding spots are. Things to look for are large knotholes in trees, crevices in rock, hollowed out stumps. Basically anything that looks either out of place or like a good hiding spot. Another tip: stay away from micros for a while. They can be tricky and requier a whole new set of places to look. Usually, the bigger the container, the easier the find. I'd like to get dow to WVa and do some caching some time. I used to live in Charlie West, but this was way before caching. (I believe the gps satelittes still had SA turned on.) WV is a beautiful state. Quote
upto0013 Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 Hey, I started yesterday had this problem too. Once I got within say 25 feet I started walking real slow and looking around, helped a lot. Quote
+IGJoe Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 As a newbie I hope you're NOT using the pointer. Until you become familiar with how and when your GPSr jumps around you may find it much easier to use the map instead. At least thats the way it went for me. And remember to look for the cache, not the spot that your GPSr says is 0ft from the co-ords of the cache. I know that sounds super simplistic but I still have to remind myself. Quote
+Aquacache Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 (edited) Hope to meet some of you fine folks in the Wheeling Wva area. Hey Dan ... er, Booger. Welcome to this obsession we call geocaching. Just wanted to let you know that there is a geocaching event (get together) at Cabela's on Oct 22nd. Follow this link for more information. I'd like to get dow to WVa and do some caching some time. I used to live in Charlie West, but this was way before caching. (I believe the gps satelittes still had SA turned on.) WV is a beautiful state. Consider this an official invitation for you too, evelbug! Hope to see you all there! Edited October 7, 2006 by Aquacache Quote
+Trucker Lee Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 Hey Booger, when you get to about 50-75 feet, look to see where the arrow points, then move sideways a bit and do this again. Search where both arrows pointed, and move outward. Quote
+mgbmusic Posted October 7, 2006 Posted October 7, 2006 Ya know, they say the first cache is the hardest, but I find thats not all that true. I use the bearing and distance feature with a good old fashioned compass. And I use common sense. I'f I'm looking for an ammo box, the hiding places are gonig to be limited (althought I've been surprise a couple of times!). So, in your shoes, I'd start with those. Also, give yourself enough time to do a thorough search. I'm done caches in minutes, and some have taken me close to an hour. My first cache, I had actually given up and was heading out when I found it (and bear in mind - this was on the second trip!). The very first time I went caching, with a borrowed GPS, I searched for 2 hours and I wasn't even close. I know I'm REALLY bad, but when you have to cross a river twice, and still wind up on the wrong side, there's issues there... Quote
booger4203 Posted October 9, 2006 Author Posted October 9, 2006 well my vacation is over and hopefully Ill be able to get back to it in a few days. I plan on hidin a cache here real soon in the bridgeport / Colerain area and also where I work ( Dont worry it will be on public property ) Thanks all Booger Quote
+adjensen Posted October 9, 2006 Posted October 9, 2006 well my vacation is over and hopefully Ill be able to get back to it in a few days. I plan on hidin a cache here real soon in the bridgeport / Colerain area and also where I work ( Dont worry it will be on public property ) Welcome to the hobby! One recommendation that you'll hear over and over, so I'll be the first, is to not hide a cache until you've found a number of them. Not only will it give you some good ideas of what to do with your hide, but it should also give you some ideas of what not to do. The first time I found a lamp post micro, I thought that was pretty cool. I'm no longer so enthusiastic about them. Although it's really easy to get caught up in the whole thing, and to want to "give back," it's generally a good idea to wait on that until you're sure that it's something you want to do, and you can give back quality, rather than quantity. Quote
booger4203 Posted October 10, 2006 Author Posted October 10, 2006 Found my first tonight : Was sitting in front of the ol computer at 2am and decided to go find a few, well a few turned into one after noticing my gas gauge. Anyway found "I can see Sam from here " pretty easy find thanks to the path in the tall grass but hey! its my first i need all the help i can get. Gonna try to make it to Cabelas for the meet and great but i think i have to work that weekend ( Figures ) Thanks for all the advice all it seemd as though i was counting on the GPSr to guide me directly to the cache I now know its gonna take being smarter than the GPSr to have fun at this hobby!!! Thanks All Dan ( aka Booger ) KC8ONR Quote
booger4203 Posted October 11, 2006 Author Posted October 11, 2006 Thanks for all the advise it has helped me in the last couple of days and have gained some knowledge about this hobby what to look for and not to expect the obvious. Thanks again all im havin boat loads of fun!! Dan Quote
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