Tim Talbert Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 So, I bought a Garmin Vista HCx for hiking, and in the course of learning about it, I came across geocaching, which I had heard of before. Sounded fun, however, I have been unable to locate any of more than a dozen I have tried to find, all of which had been found by others within days or weeks. Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos, which I gather are pretty small. Are caches made intentionally hard to find? Any hints? Tim Quote Link to comment
+WeightMan Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 So, I bought a Garmin Vista HCx for hiking, and in the course of learning about it, I came across geocaching, which I had heard of before. Sounded fun, however, I have been unable to locate any of more than a dozen I have tried to find, all of which had been found by others within days or weeks. Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos, which I gather are pretty small. Are caches made intentionally hard to find? Any hints? Tim Micros are small and nanos are even smaller. Beginners are wise to start with lower difficulty caches and try for regular size ones at first. Micros are generally around the size of a 35mm film canister. Nanos may be smaller than a dime. Look for things that don't look right. For the smaller caches, try feeling in areas you can't see. Also expand the search radius. Your unit will have an error and so did the hider's. Those can combine nicely or badly. The cache could wind up at zero, but is more likely to be 15-20 feet away and could be further. Quote Link to comment
+Wintonian Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) Some are designed to hard to find. To start with I would stay away from micros and nanosunless it is a realy easy to find micro, in which case it probobly isn't a perticualy intresting one. Also with 72 finds I have still only attempted 1 puzzle cache mainly because I if I look at one that is more than simple I get freaked out just looking. You will probably have a lot of DNF's to start with, then as you get used to where and how they a hidden you will start to find more and more, I think I am still only finding 5 in 6 to 7 in 8. Edited February 21, 2009 by Hampshire_Hog Quote Link to comment
+deb3day Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Are caches made intentionally hard to find? Tim Well, they have to be somewhat hard to find or they might be found by muggles and removed. No one wants that to happen. So you need to look in places not readily visable. That is what makes it fun! Quote Link to comment
+JoesBar Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) Hi Tim. micros and nanos are tough. They are small and smaller, respectfully. Look at the cache page and seek regular caches first. use the 'star rating' on the cache page to see the difficulty rating that the owner posted. look for 1 and 2 star caches first. As you gain experience, finds will come easier. (words of encouragement from a guy with 200 dnfs. [] []) Edited February 21, 2009 by JoesBar Quote Link to comment
+rambrush Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 #1 don't stick your hand in spots you can not see in unless you have a flashlight, gloves or like to get bit or stung. Usually after awhile you will get the feel of the game, you know its a regular cache and you have read the logs to see if things are off or other info from other cachers. Then you go out and start to notice the terrain and what would accomidate that type of cache. Then if you can connect with a local cacher and go out with them you might learn a bit of knowledege. Welcome to the addiction! Quote Link to comment
+wkmccall Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 So, I bought a Garmin Vista HCx for hiking, and in the course of learning about it, I came across geocaching, which I had heard of before. Sounded fun, however, I have been unable to locate any of more than a dozen I have tried to find, all of which had been found by others within days or weeks. Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos, which I gather are pretty small. Are caches made intentionally hard to find? Any hints? Tim Don't become discouraged.... Some Micros and Nanos are hard to find by even a veteran cacher. Stick with the "Larger" type caches to begin with and as you become more familiar with how caches are hidden and how to spot them, then give the smaller ones a shot. Some caches are meant to be hard to find - even larger caches. The most important part of caching is to just have fun! Quote Link to comment
+redjada Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 So, I bought a Garmin Vista HCx for hiking, and in the course of learning about it, I came across geocaching, which I had heard of before. Sounded fun, however, I have been unable to locate any of more than a dozen I have tried to find, all of which had been found by others within days or weeks. Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos, which I gather are pretty small. Are caches made intentionally hard to find? Any hints? Tim I agree, I'm new at this game to. I went for the smalls and the regulars to start. If there is a micro in the area, Ill look for it. Think I have one or two out of my 18 finds, and my better half found those. So, look for the easy smalls/regulars to start. Smalls are around the size of a peanut butter jar. Regulars, ammo box size. But usually well camouflaged. If you can find the easy ones, then you will learn how the game is played and what to look for. We logged two today, but the snow makes it hard. Here's what you have to do. You need to re-train your eyes to look for something they don't see. Goto http://www.fedex.com/us/ and see if you can see the arrow in "FEDEX" logo in the upper left corner. If you see it, that's Geo Caching Quote Link to comment
James the 1st Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Hi tim. When I first started caching I had exactly the same problem as you. One of my friennds told me pritty much what has been stated ubove. If I could give you some advise it would be to gain some expierience with larger caches and then retry these micros/nanos. Good luck. James the 1st. Quote Link to comment
Tim Talbert Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Update: Thanks for all the encouragment and suggestions. Yesterday I selected 4 local 1 difficulty medium sized caches, and found 3 of them. Felt like I was skulking about sometimes, but big fun. Tim Quote Link to comment
GeoZ0mbie Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I remember the first week of Caching and we had Ground Zero in the middle of a parking lot. We thought for sure the co-ords must be off. After 20 minutes I examined the Light Post and found that the square cover lifted up and BAMB there it was. My wife and I discussed who the hinder must be an electrician and what a clever hide. By the end of the months we realized how wrong we were. Every Light post has a base that slides up :-( The point is, once you start finding them the easier it gets. Quote Link to comment
+BrrrMo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 So, I bought a Garmin Vista HCx for hiking, and in the course of learning about it, I came across geocaching, which I had heard of before. Sounded fun, however, I have been unable to locate any of more than a dozen I have tried to find, all of which had been found by others within days or weeks. Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos, which I gather are pretty small. Are caches made intentionally hard to find? Any hints? Tim Considering that between the two machines being used, yours and the hiders, the Hide could be somewhere within a 50' circle of GZ. Drop a Micro or Nano inside a 50' circle ( read as needle in a haystack )and to find it your GeoSense has to kick in. I am not that experienced, but have found that most Micros & Nanos will be found by sitting down, looking around, and then checking every place that the Cache Listing, has given you hints, as to where it might be. There is a Micro in my area that I still haven't found, and I have been told twice where it is. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 ...Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos... Tim Starting this activity by looking for a needle in a haystack is tough. Larger containers can be hard enough. Some folks think the GPS will take you to the cache and then you just look down and there it is by your feet, or maybe under the big X painted on the ground. Some hides are almost that easy. A lot aren't. Starting with a larger container size for your finds lets you get some experience before you take on the needle and haystack hides. Oh and yes, some nano hiders are sadists who enjoy your pain... Quote Link to comment
tboyla Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 ...Most of the ones I have looked for are either micros or nanos... Tim Starting this activity by looking for a needle in a haystack is tough. Larger containers can be hard enough. Some folks think the GPS will take you to the cache and then you just look down and there it is by your feet, or maybe under the big X painted on the ground. Some hides are almost that easy. A lot aren't. Starting with a larger container size for your finds lets you get some experience before you take on the needle and haystack hides. Oh and yes, some nano hiders are sadists who enjoy your pain... REMEMBER THE BASICS: Look for something out of place,ie stone leaning on tree, branches piled against log. check accuratcy of unit ie within 30 ft means a 60ft circle. read found post on geo site. Quote Link to comment
+Lassendograiser Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 As a new cacher I can tell you I have gotten frustrated with a couple of caches. The best advice I could give you is #1 start with the regular size caches. #2 is go to a geocaching event. I learned so much seeing some of the cache containers and magnetic type caches that are out there. I had no idea how creative our co-cachers can be. I saw everything from the traditional ammo can to what looked like a valve stem cover with a magnet. You will, I am sure, be utterly amazed. I certainly was! Good luch and welcome to the insanity! Lassen Quote Link to comment
+Lassendograiser Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 (edited) As a new cacher I can tell you I have gotten frustrated with a couple of caches. The best advice I could give you is #1 start with the regular size caches. #2 is go to a geocaching event. I learned so much seeing some of the cache containers and magnetic type caches that are out there. I had no idea how creative our co-cachers can be. I saw everything from the traditional ammo can to what looked like a valve stem cover with a magnet. You will, I am sure, be utterly amazed. I certainly was! Good luck and welcome to the insanity! Lassen Edited March 2, 2009 by Lassendograiser Quote Link to comment
+Trucker Lee Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 one little gadget I carry is an extendable mirror, found at local auto parts house or auto department of the big stores. Great for peeking into places you can't see. Quote Link to comment
+gardenwall2 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 1) go with other people. we pretty much split who finds what first. 2) stick to the larger caches. 3) since we're new, we're only looking for caches logged within the past month. 4) don't forget, the caches are hidden so that muggles don't stumble upon them. 5) walk around with your GPS, then figure where the closest spot to "ground zero" is. expand your search area from there. 6) after we found a few, we discovered certain people's caches are easier to find. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment
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