YES...another Newbie - but I'm CLUELESS !

[dandelion23]

OK, i enter the way point into my gps right ??

( By Waypoint - From Origin: N 43° 20.252 W 076° 23.213 ) - this is what it looks like..

 

and what does this mean?

 

SS

0.4mi Traditional Cache (1.5/1.5)

 

So the SS (the little pic didn't paste) but it means South 0.4miles.. from where?? from what?

from the WayPoint?

 

so i enter the Waypoint into my system, and from there walk 0.4 miles to find Hidden Treasure? that would mean that there is a cache at 0.4, 0.9, 1.2 miles..etc...? is that right ? there could be 4 or 5 or 10 caches all within a couple miles of eachother.. ??

 

sorry this is such a lame topic and that i sound like such an idiot..

ha haa.. thanks for your help... !!!

Edited November 16, 2008 by dandelion23

[+DiamondDaveG]

Maybe I'm not fully understanding your question, but I hope this helps.

 

.4 miles south of that waypoint is a cache named Birds of a Feather. Remember that is .4 miles 'as the crow flies' not .4 miles as the crow is walking along a nature trail. Your actual walking distance may be farther.

 

And from that list the next nearest cache is .9 miles to the SW and another 1.2 to the SW, etc.

 

Yes, theoretically, there could be 10 caches within a couple miles of any given point. For example, there are 17 caches within a 5 mile radius of my house.

 

edited to add additional info.

Edited November 16, 2008 by DiamondDaveG

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

OK, i enter the way point into my gps right ??

( By Waypoint - From Origin: N 43° 20.252 W 076° 23.213 ) - this is what it looks like..

 

and what does this mean?

 

SS

0.4mi Traditional Cache (1.5/1.5)

 

So the SS (the little pic didn't paste) but it means South 0.4miles.. from where?? from what?

from the WayPoint?

 

so i enter the Waypoint into my system, and from there walk 0.4 miles to find Hidden Treasure? that would mean that there is a cache at 0.4, 0.9, 1.2 miles..etc...? is that right ? there could be 4 or 5 or 10 caches all within a couple miles of eachother.. ??

 

sorry this is such a lame topic and that i sound like such an idiot..

ha haa.. thanks for your help... !!!

That distance and direction is from whatever you entered as the center of your search area. If you entered your zip code, then it's from the geographic center of that zip code. If your search was from another Cache, then it's the distance/direction from that Cache.

 

Try looking through the first few pages of results and see if there's a place name in a Cache title that interests you. That's how I found my first one. It was named after the field where my niece played softball.

[Tonka_Boy]

Usually, to find a hidden geocache, you would enter the coordinates of the cache itself. Then let the GPSr guide you to it. The coordinates that you entered is an open field just north of a mobile home park - outside of Fulton, NY. There's no geocache there. But those coordinates are .4 miles north of the Birds of a Feather geocache.

 

If you are looking for that geocache, try entering N 43° 19.900 W 076° 23.285 into the GPSr, and follow the arrow to find the cache.

 

Hope that helps.

[janx]

Usually, to find a hidden geocache, you would enter the coordinates of the cache itself. Then let the GPSr guide you to it. The coordinates that you entered is an open field just north of a mobile home park - outside of Fulton, NY. There's no geocache there. But those coordinates are .4 miles north of the Birds of a Feather geocache.

 

If you are looking for that geocache, try entering N 43° 19.900 W 076° 23.285 into the GPSr, and follow the arrow to find the cache.

 

Hope that helps.

 

That's probably the best advice.

 

For a first time cacher, the "easiest" way to get going is also the most basic method:

1) use geocaching.com to identify a cache you want to hunt (say "Birds of a Feather" mentioned above)

2) enter the coords as a waypoint into your GPSr (read the manual)

3) set the GPSr to navigate to the waypoint you just entered

4) switch modes on the GPSr to put you in compass mode to show which direction and distance the waypoint is (once again, read the manual, the right mode has an arrow showing the way)

5) park the car near enough to the waypoint (use Google Maps, plus clues on the website)

6) walk to the waypoint, using the GPSr's needle to tell you which paths are the closest towards the waypoint

7) when the distance says "0" and the needle keeps swinging, you're at the 0 point.

8) start looking around in a 30' radius from the 0 point for a cache container

 

There are fancy ways to do all of the above. However, all GPSr I've ever seen will let you do it as I show above.

 

The key is, enter the waypoint correctly. Set your GPSr to navigate to that waypoint (as opposed to some other point). Then put it on compass mode, so you can see which way to head, and how far. The needle explains far more than "direction".

 

Also, be aware, the GPSr usually doesn't know which way you're facing when you turn it on. Walk about 10 feet, then freeze. The compass needle will swing, as it now knows the direction you traveled, based on your starting and stopping position. Newer GPSr may work include a "real" compass to not have this problem, but it's good to verify anyway.

[+Ed56]

At the risk of stating the obvious or being redundant I'll try to help. There's no such thing as a lame question. Just lame answers, hopefully this won't be one of the latter. First maybe you should reset to the beginning and make a fresh start.

 

I'm assuming you have pulled up on your computer the full screen for the cache you're interested in hunting. On my (Garmin 76S) GPS you hold down the ENTER key until it beeps. You will see a MARK WAYPOINT screen. Cursor up to highlight the top line and press ENTER to select that line for editing.

 

Use your 4-way key to scroll through the alphabet and spell out a name for the cache. Next move your cursor down a couple of lines until it highlights the word LOCATION. Press ENTER and again use your 4-way button to enter the coordinates.

 

When you've finished entering the coordinates highlight the word OK and press enter. Now your data should have been successfully loaded and saved. Just to be sure it's in there , press your MENU key once or twice until you get the MAIN MENU screen. Highlight the word POINTS, press ENTER then highlight the word WAYPOINTS. Press ENTER again and you should see a list of waypoints (geocache names). Scroll until your cache name is displayed and if the data is correct... you're all set.

 

An easier way is to just connect a USB cable to your GPS and plug the other end into you computer's USB port to download a geocache in about 5 seconds. See your manual for how to do this.

 

When you're at the trailhead and ready to go looking for a cache just turn on your unit and pull up the cache name, press ENTER and somewhere on your screen you should see the bearing and distance to the cache displayed. Go find it! I hope this helps.

Edited November 21, 2008 by Ed56