Beginner annoyance

[svd2793]

Hi, my name is Sarah, and I've just started geocaching. I've visited 4 different places, but have been incapable of finding any caches. I know that I had the right co-ordinates, and that I was in the right place, but I simply could not locate the cache. Could someone please give me advice as to how to find the caches, where to look first, common hiding places, etc... I really hope I don't sound stupid or whiny!

 

Thank you so much in advance.

[+Wintonian]

Start by looking for regular or large caches and avoid micos in the bigining.

 

Also start by going for caches with a difficulty of 1 or.15.

 

Round here the roots of trees, in trees themself and under a plice branches are common hides in more rural areas where mot regular and large caches tend to be.

 

Micros in urban areas tend to be magneticaly attached behind sign posts, probobly making that the most common type of micro hide in urban areas over here.

Edited June 18, 2009 by Hampshire_Hog

[+Printess Caroline]

Hi Sarah! You don't sound stupid or whiny to me. If you look through this forum, you will see that many, many people have had the same sort of difficulties in the beginning, so you are not alone! Reading through some of those posts may be helpful to you. What I suggest is that you pick a cache that has a 1 star difficulty and is a "regular" size container to begin. Since you have had a few tries without finding, I would also suggest that you look at the hint for the cache. At the cache area, look for something that seems out of place and think of where you might hide the cache. If you see a pile of parallel sticks, check that out first!! Good luck on your next search!

[+DonB]

Hi, my name is Sarah, and I've just started geocaching. I've visited 4 different places, but have been incapable of finding any caches. I know that I had the right co-ordinates, and that I was in the right place, but I simply could not locate the cache. Could someone please give me advice as to how to find the caches, where to look first, common hiding places, etc... I really hope I don't sound stupid or whiny!

 

Thank you so much in advance.

First thing when you are starting out stay away from the micros until you get a few caches under your belt. Don't expect the GPS to get you right on top of the cache, you could have an error of as much as thirty feet. When you get close put the GPS away and look for something that mother nature wouldn't do like a pile of branches or pieces of bark piled against a log or tree. Also look the area over and think where you might hide a cache. Don't get discouraged, like anything else new it takes time. You might also try to hook up with some of the local cachers, I'm sure they would be more then happy to help you.

[+Printess Caroline]

double post

Edited June 18, 2009 by Printess Caroline

[+briansnat]

Good advice from others about staying way from micros at first.

 

Another common mistake that novices make is relying too much on their GPS. Your unit is accurate from about 10-30 feet. So was the unit of the hider, so the cache could conceivably be 40, 50 or more feet from where your GPS says it is.

 

So when you get to ground zero rather than concentrating on where your GPS is pointing, look around and think about where you would hide a cache in that area if you were hiding one.

 

You can use where your GPS says the cache is as a starting point, but if you come up empty you should expand your search radius.

[+ngrrfan]

My first search was a micro and I didn't know it. After telling someone else about the DNF, she suggested a cache of hers that was fairly easy to find as it was a regular size.

 

Upon achieving success with her cache and figuring out how to search, I then felt more confident in searching for smaller caches. Her cache taught me how to look, what to look for, use your head, THINK, and don't be afraid to look like you are nuts.

 

Now that she and I cache together she's taught me how to look for micros and nanos. I'm not as good as she is in spotting them, but I'm learning.

[+mahini]

My first cache was a micro... but I basically followed someone else around! She pointed at a fence post & said "that would be a good spot" & sure enough, there it was! (After circling a tree 2 or 3 times!) Now that we know what to look for with the itty-bittys, I wanna go back & try a few that we didn't find the first time!

[aniyn]

Sure-fire signs of a cache:

Small pile of parallel sticks

Stacked stones

large pieces of bark

Holes around tree roots / stumps

Fallen trees (ok, maybe just trees in general)

Cracks in rock faces

 

Other hints:

Look up! They aren't always on the ground!

Get down low! Sometimes you can't see them from above

Magnetic caches are popular

Look for footprints

Look for something that seems newer than it's surroundings (mostly on unban caches anyway)

don't pay too much attention to what your gps says

Cache names can often give subtle clues

Pay attention to terrain ratings. A cache with a low rating probably won't require you to stray from the trail (well, not far anway

Any spot worth checking is worth checking twice!

Edited June 19, 2009 by aniyn

[+cmdrblop]

I've found about 90 caches so far, so I feel like I've graduated from "rank beginner" to "getting fairly good at this." It was definitely tough in the beginning. I really had no idea what I was looking for, especially since I hadn't learned to check the cache size in the description.

 

It can be especially frustrating when you read the logs and other people seem to have no trouble. I'll be in a field somewhere, scratching my head, and I'll read logs with stories like, "It was midnight and raining like crazy, so I just dashed out of the car, made the grab and dashed back in." Huh? How do people do that?

 

Slowly, I'm learning.

 

Follow the advice others have given already. And once you find a few caches, you'll discover some patterns. Once I found a cache in a storm drain, under the lip, held on by a magnet. It took a long time to find, and I thought, holy cow, that's a sneaky way to hide a cache! But since then I've found two more caches hidden the same way. The most recent time, when I saw the storm drain I just walked up, reached in, and made the grab. I think that's part of the fun. You learn as you go, and it's exciting to develop the skill.

 

Stick with it, and have fun!

[aniyn]

I've found about 90 caches so far, so I feel like I've graduated from "rank beginner" to "getting fairly good at this." It was definitely tough in the beginning. I really had no idea what I was looking for....

 

Hehe, I know what you mean. The magic number for me was around the 35 mark. It seemed

to get a lot easier after that. By around 60 I was just motoring along. Although I don't think I 'll ever get the hang of bad coordinates....

Edited June 19, 2009 by aniyn

[+rockey_f_squirrell]

When looking under Sitcks or Brush Watch for Snakes! Recently Most of them have strayed away from brush piles (more experienced cache hiders) but there may still be some brush hides.

 

A lot of hiders are aware that snakes are a problem in brush piles so I would leave brush piles as a Last Option

[+BrrrMo]

Go to YouTube and check out Headhardhat's GeoSnippets.

 

Good Finding!

[knowschad]

I found one of your DNF logs by looking at your gallery. Not only is that cache a micro, but notice the DNF log a couple below yours:

 

June 10 by soundguy72 (711 found)

Been out to this one a couple of times, with no love. GPS never wants to settle down and play fair.

 

He has over 700 finds, and still DNF'd it (note that if he had posted all of his DNF's, that it would have been clearer to you that it could be a tougher nut to crack than it appears at first glance)

 

Nevertheless, judging by the picture, it brought you to a cool place.

 

One other piece of advice... see if you can't find someone to accompany you. Even if they also are not an experienced cacher, more eyes can help.

[orangecamper]

I'm pretty new to this, too, and the advice here is pretty darned good! I have only DNF'd on urban micros and over 3 difficulty so far, because I am sticking with easier and larger caches. The best advice I have gotten is to get within 50' and PUT THE GPS AWAY. Look with your eyes, not the GPS. Most that I have found have been within 5-20' of what the GPS says, but some have been farther. You DO need to take time to learn to look, I am better at spotting than my BF, and he gets frustrated with that. But, I have spent more time in the woods (hiking and camping) than he has. Take your time, start with the easiest ones, look around on the forums. GOOD LUCK!!!

[+OHail]

One thing I did when I was first starting geocaching was go to the web sites which sell cache containers. (eBay was the first I checked.) I learned a lot from just seeing the different types of containers as I had no idea what a bison tube or nano was. I also learned about the fake face plates, sprinkler heads and similar containers. It was a big help.

[+StarBrand]

Here are some general hints:

 

Look for caches with a difficulty of 2 or less for your fist few caches. Stick with regular sized caches for your first few. Micros can be quite hard to find sometimes. Stick to areas you are familiar 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 the hider - where would you put a container in this location? Look for things too new, too old, too perfect, not like the others, too many, too few. Change your perspective - a shift in lighting can sometimes reveal a cache. Keep in mind that many micros are magnetic or attached to something (via string, wire etc). Slowly expand your search area to about 40 feet from where your GPS says ground zero is. Bring garden gloves and a flashlight - they help! Be prepared to not find the cache more often then you think.

 

Most of all - have fun!!

[+Wild Thing 73]

It is just experience, just keep on caching and the caches will come....stay safe

[+popokiiti]

When looking under Sitcks or Brush Watch for Snakes! Recently Most of them have strayed away from brush piles (more experienced cache hiders) but there may still be some brush hides.

 

A lot of hiders are aware that snakes are a problem in brush piles so I would leave brush piles as a Last Option

Walking sticks are a help with this issue, but you can always come back to the cache on another day. All the advice you have here is great...we stuck to the 1/1 but even so, it can sometimes be tricky in tree cover. Keep at it, at GZ look around and check all the spots where you would hide something. There is always the "cachers' trail," where you can see where the feet of others have gone before you

Good Luck - and you weren't whining, just asking a sensible question!

[+Steve&GeoCarolyn]

Hi, my name is Sarah, and I've just started geocaching. I've visited 4 different places, but have been incapable of finding any caches. I know that I had the right co-ordinates, and that I was in the right place, but I simply could not locate the cache. Could someone please give me advice as to how to find the caches, where to look first, common hiding places, etc... I really hope I don't sound stupid or whiny!

 

Thank you so much in advance.

 

One thing we've found is that it is harder to find caches in urban environments (at least for us) than it is to find them in natural environments. I don't know where you have been caching, but if you look for a regular sized container (as everyone else has said) in the woods or some other natural environment, it may get easier.

 

To us the way people interfere with the environment to hide their cache is immediately obvious and a bit odd. For example, humans place sticks in straight lines. Nature does not. Also the cache will look a bit more obvious since it will have straight edges while the natural world is curvier. If you were trying to find the same thing in the city where everything looks man-made, it becomes more difficult.

 

Carolyn

[+JustJackMN]

Don't depend on the rating for the find, the terrain or the size because I have found that most hiders think a nano is a large cache......a wall cliff is a 1 terrain difficulty, and hiding a micro in the treetops is a 1 difficulty.