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What can I do if I am really stumped on a cache?


ApologeticKid

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;) You can always e-mail the cache owner for a hint.

I have spent a lot of time lately caching, and I have only found about 1/5 of the caches I look for. What can I do in the event that I really get stumped on a cache? Is there some way I can get a little extra help, or is that against the rules? Thanks in advance,

-Timmy-

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There aren't really any rules. (mainly just guidelines) ;) And, yes, most cache owners will help you out with a hint if not precise instructions on just where that sneaky hide is.(they DO want you to find their cache) After you have found a few, it will get easier to find them because you know a bit more about what to expect; containers, hiding spots, individual hiders' style etc. Good Luck!

Edited by DaFunkyFrogs
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Are you starting off with caches rated 1 or 1.5 stars for difficulty, and which are "regular" size? Gain experience with these until your navigation and searching skils improve, then move on to the evil fingertip-sized micros and the difficulty 4 ammo cans hidden 50 feet in the air.

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I have spent a lot of time lately caching, and I have only found about 1/5 of the caches I look for. What can I do in the event that I really get stumped on a cache? Is there some way I can get a little extra help, or is that against the rules? Thanks in advance,

-Timmy-

 

Have you met any local cachers? Go to meetings, exchange phone numbers. I'm lucky in that a good friend of mine has found all the caches in the area. If I get stuck I can use a phone-a-friend to help solve the problem. The owner might not give you a hint, but your friend might tell you...

 

"oh that one is hell - that stump next to the cedar tree - its hollow. Turn it over"

 

Yes - it might be all about the hunt, but the time can come when your ready to give up and go home. You just want someone to tell you where it is before the mosquitos suck out all your blood.

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From my own experience and from talking to others....

 

The first few you find seem fairly difficult (Maybe the first 20 or 30). It seems to take "forever" to spot them, and when you finally do, you wonder how you could have been so blind.

 

You do everything people suggest--and you still don't find them all or find them quickly, but hey, you find a few!

You choose fairly large caches hidden in places where you feel comfortable looking around for a bit.

You read the cache page and the hint and every single log anyone ever wrote, looking for as many clues to where to look as you can get.

You don't keep staring at the gps trying to get it to go to "0" -- when you get "close" (10 or 20 feet) you just start looking around for a good place to hide the kind of cache you think you are looking for (ammo cans in large hallow places, magnetic caches on metal).

You read the cache page again once you get there, in case something new jumps off the page at you.

You carry a flashlight and you aren't afraid to use it.

Etc

 

The next 20 or 30 seem pretty easy. You've probably already found a few like them and know a bit about where to look. And then you get braver, and you try some of the 'harder' ones....and you are right back to hardly ever finding caches again.

 

It's all a learning curve--it gets easier QUICKLY! When you are first starting out 1 out of 5 isn't as terrible as you might feel it is right now....

 

In the meanwhile, if you are getting discouraged--don't!

 

Keep logging the DNFs (if it really is tricky, some owners will give you a hint if you email them,--but many will only give hints if they know you have already tried it at least once).

 

Stop before you feel frustrated with a cache. Go back another day with a fresh frame of mind. Try a different time of day if you can. Usually you spot the cache right away on the second trip.

 

If one kind of cache messes with you, try another kind. Some people rock at devious micros and can't find simply hidden ammo cans. Some people can flush out a magnetic container in two seconds but can't find a film can if they trip on it. Some people can just see where the ammo can has to be when they first step on the path in the woods.

 

Learning how to spot one kind of cache helps you develop your 'geosense' and before you know it, you'll be finding 9 out of 10 caches you look for on your first trip to the spot.

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Here are some general hints for hunting:

 

Look for caches with a difficulty of 2 or less for your fist few caches. Stick with regular siaed caches for your first few. Stick to areas you are familar with. Look for anything out of place or unusual. Look for unusual piles of sticks, grass, leaves, rocks, sand, etc. Feel where you cannot look. Think vertical, not all caches are on the ground. Look up or at eye level. slowly expand your search area. Come back at different times of day - a little chage in lighting is sometimes all that is necessary. Look for traces of previous searches to zero in on the spot. Think like hider - where would you put a container? What object would make a good hide spot? Look for things too new, too old, too perfect, not like the others. Be prepared to not find the cache more often then you think.

 

Most of all - have fun!! Walk away when it isn't fun anymore and try another.

Edited by StarBrand
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The first ones you try to find seem a lot more difficult than they actually are. I went back recently toa few DNF's that I had from when I started and decided to redeem myself....

 

They were SO easy with more geo-sense under my belt....

 

It takes experience and practice.

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I've just recently started geocaching and one thing I've found that helps is in the beginning to trust your GPS.

 

What I mean by this is that when I first started, I would get to the zero and then just start looking. But what I was finding was that I would move from likely spot to likely spot and before I knew it was a 100' feet from ground zero.

 

Now I drop my hat on ground zero and pay attention to searching likely spots in an expanding arc much like ripples in the water.

 

My daughter still hasn't got the hang of this. She'll be yelling through the woods at me that it has to be in this particular tree (old with lots of holes) and I yell back "look at where my hat is" and she'll realize she 150' from it.

 

However, after you've searched the surrounding area don't be afraid to try obvious spots "out of the way" sometimes they are just mismarked or moved.

 

We've been very lucky with GPS accuracy. 6 of our 7 have been within' 20' of the "zero". 2 of them within 4'.

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I just started cache hunting last weekend and have been doing fairly well so far. I don't have a GPS as of right now, but I used everything I can possibly use. I started off by doing all of the virtual caches in the area, and just started off doing traditional caches.

 

One great tool is Google maps. Use the Satelite imaging and zoom in as close as you can to get an idea of relative location to other structures. It'll get you withing 10 feet.

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It takes a while to get used to. I think I've failed on about two, but don't get too frustrated. You might just be having a bad day. If you've been searching for a while, don't quite just yet until it gets really annoying. I took a half an hour each on a couple caches one day and found them in the end. Going back is also goo too, I had to go back three ties before I found one cache. So don't give up, you can do it! :)

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It takes a while to get used to. I think I've failed on about two, but don't get too frustrated. You might just be having a bad day. If you've been searching for a while, don't quite just yet until it gets really annoying. I took a half an hour each on a couple caches one day and found them in the end. Going back is also goo too, I had to go back three ties before I found one cache. So don't give up, you can do it! :D

 

Two he says. TWO! I've DNFed two in the same rest stop! I've DNFed more caches in a day than he has found,EVER!

 

:) just a little friendly ribbing.

 

A DNF is no big deal. Just move on to the next. When you log your finds log your DNFs to. Come back on another day and try again. If you just can't figure it out ask the owner for a hint. Most will be happy to help. They do in fact want you to find it.

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I echo a lot of what others have already said on those hard to locate caches. Here's my 2 cents worth:

 

Don't get stuck with an "it's got to be here" mindset. I spent a lot of time trying to find one that I "KNEW" had to be in a tree. I looked around the tree trunk, hand over hand all the limbs, looked up inside the tree to see if it was hanging high. There was just no other place it could be since no other obvious hiding places were near except the ground and it had nothing but a few pine cones laying around. Wait a minute - did I say pine cones - I turned over a few and finally one didn't feel right. It unscrewed to open the container.

 

You can sometimes get hints from others' logs. Until you get the hang of things I'd stick with caches that have had several recent finds.

 

Trust your GPSr but don't give it total trust. If you go caching with three guys whom all have the same GPSr you'll be looking at three search areas several feet apart. Just get to the general area, put the GPSr down and start searching - first with the eyes (if I was hiding a cache, where would I place it?) and finally working outwards from the center. Let the GPSr sit for a while and you'll see the signals are drifting about. So trust your brain more than the GPSr when you're near the cache hide.

 

Finally, I'm no expert. I've got 2600 finds and my caching day batting average is still only about 80 percent.

 

Good luck and most of all, have fun.

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It takes a while to get used to. I think I've failed on about two, but don't get too frustrated. You might just be having a bad day. If you've been searching for a while, don't quite just yet until it gets really annoying. I took a half an hour each on a couple caches one day and found them in the end. Going back is also goo too, I had to go back three ties before I found one cache. So don't give up, you can do it! :laughing:

 

Two he says. TWO! I've DNFed two in the same rest stop! I've DNFed more caches in a day than he has found,EVER!

 

:unsure: just a little friendly ribbing.

 

A DNF is no big deal. Just move on to the next. When you log your finds log your DNFs to. Come back on another day and try again. If you just can't figure it out ask the owner for a hint. Most will be happy to help. They do in fact want you to find it.

 

Well, I've just started caching so psh! Or maybe I am that good :laughing: I doubt it.

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I will say that experiance is the best help. The first cache I ever went for was a bison tube in a park near my house. It took 5 different attempts to get this one. What it took to find this one was finding another bison tube in a similar hiding spot, and then the light went on. So give it time and it will get better. :laughing:

 

Geopitbull

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:laughing: Get to know some of the other local geocachers..life lines always come in handy!!

 

yes..maybe I'm a wimp...but it doesn't take me too long lookin' before I'm ready to use one to help me find that micro..even after 3100+ finds. I'm not quite as eager to do it if I'm not out huntin' solo and have more than two eyes lookin'..

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I have been caching for some time and feel that I know where to look for a cache, but I spent most of one summer looking for one of my fellow cachers hides. If I had logged a DNF for every time I did not find this cache it would have filled a book. I knew better then to ask for help because the hider was enjoying my suffer way to much. The day I finally found this stinker it was beginning to snow. Sometimes you just have to keep looking. Sometimes you just give up and go on to another. I should have given up, but I couldn't deprive the cache hider of the joy of seeing me suffering.

 

:laughing:

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Stop before you feel frustrated with a cache. Go back another day with a fresh frame of mind. Try a different time of day if you can. Usually you spot the cache right away on the second trip.

 

I think this is the best tip. It can suck to leave a cache site without finding it, but the longer you go without finding it, the harder it becomes. Take a break and come back later :laughing:

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I've just recently started geocaching and one thing I've found that helps is in the beginning to trust your GPS.

 

What I mean by this is that when I first started, I would get to the zero and then just start looking. But what I was finding was that I would move from likely spot to likely spot and before I knew it was a 100' feet from ground zero.

 

Now I drop my hat on ground zero and pay attention to searching likely spots in an expanding arc much like ripples in the water.

 

My daughter still hasn't got the hang of this. She'll be yelling through the woods at me that it has to be in this particular tree (old with lots of holes) and I yell back "look at where my hat is" and she'll realize she 150' from it.

 

However, after you've searched the surrounding area don't be afraid to try obvious spots "out of the way" sometimes they are just mismarked or moved.

 

We've been very lucky with GPS accuracy. 6 of our 7 have been within' 20' of the "zero". 2 of them within 4'.

 

That is a damned good idea

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