bug900cannon Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 My friend and I tried today to find 4 Caches and we were completely unsuccessful. We used the hints, google earth and nearby landmarks to try and help us find it, but though we searched the areas for a while, we found nothing. We looked in the Westerville, Ohio area for the four caches: Metzer Maze, USA go for the Gold, Sheltered, and Sports Chance. We are totally new to all of this and we wondered if there are any good tips on finding these caches and caches in general, because we've been digging through leaves ad brush all afternoon and haven't had anything to show for it. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Did you use a GPS?? Google Earth is known to off by anywhere from a few feet in some areas to several hundred feety in others - not reliable enough to be consistently used for caching. Here are a few tips though... Look for caches with a difficulty of 2 or less for your fist few caches. Stick with regular sized 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. Look for traces of previous searches to zero in on the spot. Think like hider - where would you put a container? 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. Slowly expand your search area up to 40 feet from where your GPS says ground zero should be. Most of all - have fun!! Quote Link to comment
+TwoSox Trekkers Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 What StarBrand said. I've found 9, DNF (did not find) 3. All three DNF's were small caches. I use a GPS and the Groundspeak app on my iPhone. Don't give up yet- it definitely isn't something you can do easy, or everyone would be doing it! Having a GPS helps a lot, if you're not using one. Good luck! Quote Link to comment
+digdug4 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Definitely start with easier ones at first. My family just started getting into geocaching at the beginning of March and found it difficult at first. The more you find, the more you realize the different ways to hide caches which make finding the next one easier. We are more aware of our surroundings when we are looking. Like others have said, look for things that might seem out of place or clues that others have been there. GPS definitely helps a lot. We have had some that we couldn't find and gave up searching. Then, maybe a half hour or hour later we think of something that we saw at the site and go back and look. Sure enough will find it the second time. Don't give up and have fun with it. Quote Link to comment
+larryc43230 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 My friend and I tried today to find 4 Caches and we were completely unsuccessful. We used the hints, google earth and nearby landmarks to try and help us find it, but though we searched the areas for a while, we found nothing. We looked in the Westerville, Ohio area for the four caches: Metzer Maze, USA go for the Gold, Sheltered, and Sports Chance. We are totally new to all of this and we wondered if there are any good tips on finding these caches and caches in general, because we've been digging through leaves ad brush all afternoon and haven't had anything to show for it. Thanks for the help! Welcome, neighbor! I live in the Gahanna area, and I've done my share of cache-hunting in Westerville. One great way to learn more, and to find other cachers that might be able to join you on your next caching expedition, is by attending a local event. As it turns out, there's a "Cache & Coffee" get-together scheduled for this coming Saturday, the 28th, in the Dublin area. There's no formal agenda at these meetings, but we're a very friendly bunch and we'll be glad to answer any questions you might have. For more information about the event, visit the event Web page here. Another monthly event in this area is held in Westerville. The next scheduled meeting there is on Thursday evening, April 9. For more information, click here. Hope to see you at a future event! --Larry Quote Link to comment
CommunITy Studio Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Two things that might help: Using the same App on my iphone, it is only accurate to .5 miles, not accurate enough to find a cache (great for looking up coordinates in the field though!). Since you are using a gps, it should get easier. I have noticed with my GPS (Garmin etrx h) , it works much better when I am in motion. For some reason if I stand still, it gets confused. To help with that, I stay moving, and it seems to track much better. Works great in a car. I hope that this helps! Good luck. Quote Link to comment
+TwoSox Trekkers Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Just another comment- My iphone has been extremely accurate, but I don't know whether to attribute that to the model or the exceptionally good coverage in this area. Quote Link to comment
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