What next if I can't find caches?

[+shmish]

This past week I was out camping with the family and we tried to find a couple of geocaches. This is the 3rd time I've tried with the kids, and I think we've only ever found 1 cache. I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

It's kind of hard to learn from the experiences since I don't really have any success to refer to. I'd love to be able to see photos of the hides, so that now that I'm home I can get a feeling for where I went wrong. I don't suppose there are any kind of databases where a person can find out info on geocaches that they couldn't find?

 

thanks

[+bittsen]

This past week I was out camping with the family and we tried to find a couple of geocaches. This is the 3rd time I've tried with the kids, and I think we've only ever found 1 cache. I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

It's kind of hard to learn from the experiences since I don't really have any success to refer to. I'd love to be able to see photos of the hides, so that now that I'm home I can get a feeling for where I went wrong. I don't suppose there are any kind of databases where a person can find out info on geocaches that they couldn't find?

 

thanks

 

Here is an idea. Start with urban caches and work up.

Urban caches are, typically, much easier to find and will give you a few ideas of the deviousness of cache hiders.

 

Which vancouver are you from?

Edited July 7, 2009 by bittsen

[+Chrysalides]

You can always ask cache owners for a hint. Some are not very responsive, so you can try asking previous finders as well. There are a couple of caches where I really have no idea where it is, and won't be back again, so I'd just explain to the cache owner and ask them where they hid it.

 

If you're camping in a forest, check holes in trees, and piles of sticks or rocks. Also remember that your GPSr may not be very accurate due to tree cover. Cache description and / or hints may also provide vital clues.

[+succotash]

Since you don't say in your post, are you using a hand-held GPSr or an automobile GPSr? If you are using your car GPSr, that could be the source of your frustration. One other suggestion is to seek regular-sized caches. Micros and nanos, even those rated 1/1.5 difficulty, can be tough when you are first starting out and not sure what to look for.

 

Good luck!

[Dj Storm]

 

Here is an idea. Start with urban caches and work up.

Urban caches are, typically, much easier to find and will give you a few ideas of the deviousness of cache hiders.

 

 

I found the opposite to be true: Start with remote, regular size caches.

 

City caches tend to be micros, well hidden to prevent accidental finding. Also, tall buildings "shadow" a big part of the sky, so your GPSr will be less precise. Searching in an urban environment while trying not to be noticed is difficult.

Remote caches tend to be larger, usually hidden under "unusual piles of sticks", rocks, in tree holes, etc. There's rarely someone nearby, you can search without trying to be stealthy.

 

You should read the cache description, sometimes clues are given. Many caches have hints, (some of them cryptic, some of them plain give-aways), read (and decrypt) the hints either on the field when you fail finding the cache, or even at home before starting the hunt.

[+BrrrMo]

Go to YouTube and search under GeoCaching. The associated galleries on the cache listing, sometimes have photos that may help. Keep Looking & Good Finding!

[+Maingray]

 

Here is an idea. Start with urban caches and work up.

Urban caches are, typically, much easier to find and will give you a few ideas of the deviousness of cache hiders.

 

Which vancouver are you from?

 

Last thing you want to do. Start with woods hides, which will be a lot easier to find. then advance to the more difficult urban hides. A 1.5/1.5 urban hide to a novice can actually be very hard until you know some styles of hides.

[ASnugglingDog]

This past week I was out camping with the family and we tried to find a couple of geocaches. This is the 3rd time I've tried with the kids, and I think we've only ever found 1 cache. I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

It's kind of hard to learn from the experiences since I don't really have any success to refer to. I'd love to be able to see photos of the hides, so that now that I'm home I can get a feeling for where I went wrong. I don't suppose there are any kind of databases where a person can find out info on geocaches that they couldn't find?

 

thanks

Id just go to the groshory store. ITS AL ABOUT ME!NOS?!!!!!!!!! My FAVORit $ is Hot Nostrils! It was a hard findI coldnt find it???

[ASnugglingDog]

This past week I was out camping with the family and we tried to find a couple of geocaches. This is the 3rd time I've tried with the kids, and I think we've only ever found 1 cache. I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

It's kind of hard to learn from the experiences since I don't really have any success to refer to. I'd love to be able to see photos of the hides, so that now that I'm home I can get a feeling for where I went wrong. I don't suppose there are any kind of databases where a person can find out info on geocaches that they couldn't find?

 

thanks

Id just go to the groshory store. ITS AL ABOUT ME!NOS?!!!!!!!!! My FAVORit $ is Hot Nostrils! It was a hard findI coldnt find it???

Hmm? Maybe u need a fluff

[ASnugglingDog]

This past week I was out camping with the family and we tried to find a couple of geocaches. This is the 3rd time I've tried with the kids, and I think we've only ever found 1 cache. I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

It's kind of hard to learn from the experiences since I don't really have any success to refer to. I'd love to be able to see photos

 

thanks

Id just go to the groshory store. ITS AL ABOUT ME!NOS?!!!!!!!!! My FAVORit $ is Hot Nostrils! It was a hard findI coldnt find it???

Hmm? Maybe u need a fluff

Me? im so snuglie

TYVM! Nostriks

[ASnugglingDog]

OOF!;

[ASnugglingDog]

This past week I was out camping with the family and we tried to find a couple of geocaches. This is the 3rd time I've tried with the kids, and I think we've only ever found 1 cache. I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

It's kind of hard to learn from the experiences since I don't really have any success to refer to. I'd love to be able to see photos

 

thanks

Id just go to the groshory store. ITS AL ABOUT ME!NOS?!!!!!!!!! My FAVORit $ is Hot Nostrils! It was a hard findI coldnt find it???

Hmm? Maybe u need a fluff

Me? im so snuglie

TYVM! Nostriks why do smell like feet??/ smellinators???[/size]

Edited July 7, 2009 by ASnugglingDog

[+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!!

[ASnugglingDog]

I want to hide one 2!

Edited July 7, 2009 by ASnugglingDog

[+popokiiti]

Hi ASnugglingDog! You may find you will have to validate your email to publish a hide...I was going to send you a welcome pm, but it's here instead!

[+kunarion]

I thought I picked a few that would be easier, they were 1/1.5 difficult but we didn't have any luck with 2 of them. I tried another 2 by myself, with no luck.

 

I quickly discovered that I’m very, very terrible at finding caches. And I mean bad. I am the Anti-Cache. I am the Un-Cacher. I’m miswired. Something’s horribly wrong, and I often wonder how some “super-easy” one was “found by their 3-year-old”, when I had scoured the entire area many times. There’s a cache the size of a small cruise ship in the middle of a trail near here, that I am unable to spot.

 

Due to my severe deficiency, I’ve come up with a game plan. I hope you’re not as cache-disabled as I am, but even if you are, and you want to bring your family on an easy caching trip, here’s what you can do:

 

(Note to those who just like the challenge of the hunt, don’t really care if they find it or not, have their own game plan, generally have a good sense of where to find most any cache, or don’t want extra “hints” or spoilers: These tips aren’t for you).

 

As mentioned, you cannot tell how hard it will be to find a cache, by checking the “difficulty” level only. Some of the most baffling ones I’ve never found were “1 star difficulty”. Avoid any that are over 1.5, but also get familiar with the hiders. If you can’t find someone’s “1-star” cache, that person’s other caches can be ruled out, too. You ask why they would even do that? Go figure.

 

So you can write to the cache hider, who may explain where you went wrong. Whether or not such an explanation would be useful to you (in finding other caches), I don't know. But that's the "database" you asked for. Photos and all, I'd suppose.

 

Pick a “traditional cache”, in a “normal” or “large” size container, like an “ammo box”, in the woods. If it’s shown as “a few feet from the trail”, or if it says “this one is good for kids”, or it lists more than one way to find the cache (“among the three rocks”, etc.), that’s perfect.

 

Avoid the caches that say they “aren’t at the posted coordinates”.

 

If there are no hints, and particularly if they specify that “there are no hints”, or if it looks like a “puzzle” and you don’t know how to solve it, avoid it.

 

When you’ve read the cache info, if you don’t already have a very good idea about exactly where you’re going to look, don’t be surprised if you can’t find it.

 

Read the encrypted hint, and as many logs as possible, and be sure they confirm your idea about where to look. Be sure there are a LOT of logs, so you know a lot of people found it, and that it’s been found recently.

 

Click the map at the bottom of the cache page (Google Maps), and click “Hybrid” view. The icon is the central spot where the cache is hidden. Print that. See where the cache is in relationship to landmarks, compare distances. Use it with your GPS readings when you arrive.

 

Before you enter the spot (into the woods, etc.), note the distance and compass pointer on your GPSr. With no tree cover to confuse it, your device is pointing right at the cache. There are entire forum threads about how to zero in on a find, but just remember what that first good reading showed.

 

Using these simple techniques, I’ve averaged almost 1 cache find a day. Many caches will be ruled out, but there are many others left. So if my plan seems too “negative”, it’s not really. The caches that get through those tests are good ones for you – easy to find. Once you’ve built confidence, try one that violates just one or two parts of my plan. Then go for even trickier ones.

 

Did you see "StarBrand's" reply, a couple of posts ago? That has good info, too.

 

I hope this helps. Happy hunting!

Edited July 8, 2009 by kunarion

[+WRASTRO]

Great advice. We tried to hunt a cache last Thursday that everyone but us seems to be able to find. We did log our DNF but the next log was a find. Probably won't be back in the area for years, if ever. Ah well. Keep looking and keep logging.

[+PegasusAndGoodguy]

double post sorry

peg

Edited July 8, 2009 by PegasusAndGoodguy

[+PegasusAndGoodguy]

kunarion said:

"Click the map at the bottom of the cache page (Google Maps), and click “Hybrid” view. The icon is the central spot where the cache is hidden. Print that. See where the cache is in relationship to landmarks, compare distances. Use it with your GPS readings when you arrive."

 

I've also enlarged the "hybrid" when showing a friend just how "easy" it is. Then printed the pic. You have to use print screen, print key, or another print program, the map doesn't have one.

 

Take the print with. Helps when trying to find a place to park, and also it basically brings you right in to the cache, almost.

 

Just don't give up! My husband likens it to golf. One good drive or putt keeps him playing. Makes up for all the shanks. Same applies. One find, and you forget the DNF ones pretty fast.

 

Also... when trekking in wooded areas... It's amazing how often you can pick up the gist... consider yourself an Indian tracker. Then you'll notice that there are many times trodden paths that lead to, or close to the cache.

 

Good luck, and have fun.

peg

[+okroby]

I completely understand the frustration. I've just recently started myself. One week, I'll go out, and maybe find 2 out of 15 that I looked for. This week, I had a great day. Found 10 of the 13 that I looked for. So that great cache day sure does blur the memory of the not-so-great cache day.

 

(I'm not going to mention that one silly cache that is less than quarter-mile from my house, that I've been there looking 5 times, found the archived cache, but can't find the current cache. I'm not going to mention that darn cache.)

Edited July 8, 2009 by okroby

[+dtvw-jas]

You Tube!!! I stumbled across a video or two that helped to show me were to look (specifically) for caches. I had no problem my first time out thanks to those videos!! If I remember the link I'll post again.

[+shmish]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm using an eTrex HCx, and hope that my common sense helps with most errors that can happen via gps. I might try emailing a few hiders, and if I have time I'll look for some local caches to get more used to (although they will be urban caches, such is the life when living in the city).

 

cheers

[+popokiiti]

Look for the Geosnippets videos by HeadHardHat...on YouTube - I found them very helpful.