I Suck

[+psugrad98]

I just picked up Geocaching. I've found three caches. All were easy out in the open caches.

 

I've tried to find other caches, but am having a lot of trouble. I go to the coords and look around the area and can't seem to find them.

 

What are some tips you can give me to help me find caches a little easier? I try to look within a 15 foot radius or so of the coordinates.

 

I am getting frustrated.

[+bittsen]

I just picked up Geocaching. I've found three caches. All were easy out in the open caches.

 

I've tried to find other caches, but am having a lot of trouble. I go to the coords and look around the area and can't seem to find them.

 

What are some tips you can give me to help me find caches a little easier? I try to look within a 15 foot radius or so of the coordinates.

 

I am getting frustrated.

 

Look around as if you wanted to hide a cache. Where would you hide it?

Look for anything that looks out of place.

Look for anything that looks perfectly placed.

Start with 2 and lower difficulty rated caches and work your way up.

Cache with a friend. 4 eyes are better than 2.

 

Just a few ideas.

[+tango501]

start with difficulty 1 and larger sizes

use ms maps, google earth to get an idea what and where before you head out

 

maybe find an experienced gc'r to team up with until you have more experience

 

happy hunting

[+flask]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

[knowschad]

Start with difficulty 1 and larger sizes

 

Maybe find an experienced gc'r to team up with until you have more experience

 

Good ideas, those.

 

Also, make sure that your GPS is set to use the WGS84 Datum that geocaching uses (its in your manual).

 

Also, are you using a handheld GPS or an automobile navigation device like a Nuvi/Tom-Tom? If so, it not only does not make a very good geocaching tool (although people do use them sometimes) but it needs to be set to take you off-road.

[+Parknet]

Don't give up. I completely understand. I have looked for about 20 caches and found just 4. Just remember that the consolation prize is trekking to the often very cool location, being outside, etc. I have done most of my searching within a few miles of where I live and it is very cool to see the neighborhood in a new light. If feel like a tourist in my own hood.

 

It was so sweet to find that 1st big cache so keep looking. Read the logs and often you'll get a feel for how hard it will be. Thew few caches I found so far were generally right where the gps said they should be but the accuracy tolerance kept me moving around until I found it.

 

What I am doing now is making sure I go to caches that were recently found so I am pretty sure they are still out there.

 

Fun stuff.

[knowschad]

Totally off topic here, but I just noticed that your main profile page shows 4 caches found, yet your caches found page only shows three, as you say. Odd... Wonder what's up with that?!?

 

(edited to add: I just saw the same thing on Parknet's profile. Must be a bug)

Edited July 15, 2009 by knowschad

[+Jeep_Dog]

I just picked up Geocaching. I've found three caches. All were easy out in the open caches.

 

I've tried to find other caches, but am having a lot of trouble. I go to the coords and look around the area and can't seem to find them.

 

What are some tips you can give me to help me find caches a little easier? I try to look within a 15 foot radius or so of the coordinates.

 

I am getting frustrated.

 

knowschad brought up some great points - such as what kind of equipment are you using? I've noticed my iPhone accuracy is horrible, and I would not want to have used it in my early days.

 

Also, many times 15 feet isn't enough. A lot of times accuracy is around 20-25', now couple that with the cache owner's accuracy being off, and you could have 40-50' radius for a good search.

 

Keep at it. You will develop an eye for the "unusual" in a place that usually turns out to be a cache...

[+Castle Mischief]

Are any of the hides that you're having trouble in located near or in a parking lot?

 

I'm being completely serious.

 

Just asking because we don't want to spoil anybody's fun.

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Maybe I missed it, but here's one that could be helpful. Not all caches are on the ground, look up too. Good luck and welcome to the game!

[+Unkle Fester]

Look:

 

Up

Down

Over

Under

Inside

Outside

Next to

Stuck to

Behind

 

Think:

What would annoy someone?

Where would I hide it?

What would be out of sight out of mind?

Does that look fake?

 

Become paranoid, it helps.

 

Soon you will be able to tell who hid the cache by the hide/container.

[+bittsen]

Are any of the hides that you're having trouble in located near or in a parking lot?

 

I'm being completely serious.

 

Just asking because we don't want to spoil anybody's fun.

 

Yeah, I actually got stumped on my first one of those.

~hangs head in shame~

[+Chrysalides]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

Not quite as relevant as flask's song, but more mainstream:

 

(link to Amazon's MP3 store)

[+whistler & co.]

We have been caching for several years. We have over 2000 finds (finally!). We still suck. Get used to it!

Edited July 15, 2009 by whistler & co.

[+CluelessTwo]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

 

 

Hi Ya

 

I would say to have a look at clues within the title. One of our first things we got stumped with had a cryptic title and we didnt even think of the title as having any relevance until after finding the cache. Also, it helps to know what your looking for. To be honest we found nanos and things with magnets were the easiest to start with. Then we started hunting tupperware. Also try and keep to places your GPS reception is good and trust your GPS. Think outside the box. Do not take anything for granted in the environment, even if it looks as if it should be there just make sure and pull, it may be stuck on with magnets or velcro. Even things like pipes coming out of the bottom of gas or electric boxes. Dont pull so hard you will break real ones but just enough so that if it is planted it will come free. Also check in places you wouldnt normally think of like if there are caps on the top of round metal poles, the cache may be inside the pole and connected to it. Also the skirts on the bottom of light poles sometimes lift up in the states (if thats were you are) and make a good hidding place for 35 mm film containers (so I seen on you tube anyhow). As far as tab loc and amo containers, these will not be buried but will be under stones, under leaves, tucked in under the roots of a tree or into the tree if it has a fairy hole.

 

We have only been at it 11 days now but I really hope this helps. Sometimes I think that seasoned cachers may forgot how unnatural it all seemed at the start and how stumped they once were. The ones that once stumped us are now the ones we look forward to!! Its amazing how into it you get, dont get disheartened!! Just give it your best shot and keep ploding on, your brain will start clicking into place with particular hiders styles too! If it were as easy as just finding a box here and there then we wouldnt get hooked now would we?

 

Good Luck and Happy Caching.

 

Claire xx

Edited July 15, 2009 by CluelessTwo

[+bittsen]

Hi Ya

 

I would say to have a look at clues within the title. One of our first things we got stumped with had a cryptic title and we didnt even think of the title as having any relevance until after finding the cache. Also, it helps to know what your looking for. To be honest we found nanos and things with magnets were the easiest to start with. Then we started hunting tupperware. Also try and keep to places your GPS reception is good and trust your GPS. Think outside the box. So far we have found fake bolts, fake birds, fake cones, fake signs..... the list goes on. Do not take anything for granted in the environment, even if it looks as if it should be there just make sure and pull, it may be stuck on with magnets or velcro. Even things like pipes coming out of the bottom of gas or electric boxes. Dont pull so hard you will break real ones but just enough so that if it is planted it will come free. Also check in places you wouldnt normally think of like if there are caps on the top of round metal poles, the cache may be inside the pole and connected to it. Also the skirts on the bottom of light poles sometimes lift up in the states (if thats were you are) and make a good hidding place for 35 mm film containers (so I seen on you tube anyhow). As far as tab loc and amo containers, these will not be buried but will be under stones, under leaves, tucked in under the roots of a tree or into the tree if it has a fairy hole.

 

We have only been at it 11 days now but I really hope this helps. Sometimes I think that seasoned cachers may forgot how unnatural it all seemed at the start and how stumped they once were. The ones that once stumped us are now the ones we look forward to!! Its amazing how into it you get, dont get disheartened!! Just give it your best shot and keep ploding on, your brain will start clicking into place with particular hiders styles too! If it were as easy as just finding a box here and there then we wouldnt get hooked now would we?

 

Good Luck and Happy Caching.

 

Claire xx

 

Just a thought, and its up to you, but I would edit your post with BIG letters to say that it contains spoilers.

 

Just a thought, and as I said, its optional.

[+TexasGringo]

My first cache was a Large Ammo Box....in a group of trees in the middle of an open field. It took me about 1/2 an hour to find it...because I didn't know what to look for and the tell-tale signs of where it was.

 

Even today I have not found a couple 1/1 caches...even though people before me and after me have found it.

[+Sioneva]

Are any of the hides that you're having trouble in located near or in a parking lot?

 

I'm being completely serious.

 

Just asking because we don't want to spoil anybody's fun.

 

Yeah, I actually got stumped on my first one of those.

~hangs head in shame~

 

Make that two of us...

[+Water-Rats]

As said before, it takes a while to develop your cachers eye.

Don't be disheartened. If you post a DNF, quite often the cache owner will see that you are new to the game and email you and give you a bit of a hint/hunting tip.

In our very early days we posted 2 DNFs and within hours messages came back with a bit of an extra hint. We replied to the messages saying that we'd hunted in such-and-such a place and recieved replies saying that we were certainly in the right area but needed to look harder in the places that we were looking in (if that makes sense). When we returned to these caches we refined our search in the spots we'd been hunting in and lo! those caches were found. Turns out that they were tiny little things. Not quite a nano but smaller than a micro. We'd probably bitten off more than we could chew but because of the encouragement we got in our early hunts, we kept with the hobby and are having more fun than we imagined that we would. Totally hooked now.

 

However, we post a DNF now, the cache owners look at the profile and say "they are over 200 finds, they'll work it out eventually )

Trust your GPS, checking the co-ords never hurts either. We've written them down wrongly before now and entered them as written down and wondered where the cache is Thats caching

Happy caching, welcome to the hunt.

Edited July 15, 2009 by Water-Rats

[+CluelessTwo]

Are any of the hides that you're having trouble in located near or in a parking lot?

 

I'm being completely serious.

 

Just asking because we don't want to spoil anybody's fun.

 

Yeah, I actually got stumped on my first one of those.

~hangs head in shame~

 

Make that two of us...

 

Yeah I seen something about the parking lot caches on youtube. They look sly!!

 

Claire xx

[+CluelessTwo]

Hi Ya

 

I would say to have a look at clues within the title. One of our first things we got stumped with had a cryptic title and we didnt even think of the title as having any relevance until after finding the cache. Also, it helps to know what your looking for. To be honest we found nanos and things with magnets were the easiest to start with. Then we started hunting tupperware. Also try and keep to places your GPS reception is good and trust your GPS. Think outside the box. Do not take anything for granted in the environment, even if it looks as if it should be there just make sure and pull, it may be stuck on with magnets or velcro. Even things like pipes coming out of the bottom of gas or electric boxes. Dont pull so hard you will break real ones but just enough so that if it is planted it will come free. Also check in places you wouldnt normally think of like if there are caps on the top of round metal poles, the cache may be inside the pole and connected to it. Also the skirts on the bottom of light poles sometimes lift up in the states (if thats were you are) and make a good hidding place for 35 mm film containers (so I seen on you tube anyhow). As far as tab loc and amo containers, these will not be buried but will be under stones, under leaves, tucked in under the roots of a tree or into the tree if it has a fairy hole.

 

We have only been at it 11 days now but I really hope this helps. Sometimes I think that seasoned cachers may forgot how unnatural it all seemed at the start and how stumped they once were. The ones that once stumped us are now the ones we look forward to!! Its amazing how into it you get, dont get disheartened!! Just give it your best shot and keep ploding on, your brain will start clicking into place with particular hiders styles too! If it were as easy as just finding a box here and there then we wouldnt get hooked now would we?

 

Good Luck and Happy Caching.

 

Claire xx

 

Just a thought, and its up to you, but I would edit your post with BIG letters to say that it contains spoilers.

 

Just a thought, and as I said, its optional.

 

Ive edited the post now. Sorry about that. Perhaps being too helpful there!

[+Von-Horst]

I just picked up Geocaching. I've found three caches. All were easy out in the open caches.

 

I've tried to find other caches, but am having a lot of trouble. I go to the coords and look around the area and can't seem to find them.

 

What are some tips you can give me to help me find caches a little easier? I try to look within a 15 foot radius or so of the coordinates.

 

I am getting frustrated.

 

You could try asking on the Mid-Atlantic forums if anyone will be your 'cache buddy' and meet up to go for a few caches.

 

Alternatively, you could look on this list to see which is your local caching organisation.

 

By and large geocachers are a friendly bunch and are more than willing to help one another.

 

Best of luck and don't give up,

 

Mike

[+power69]

Look:

 

Up

Down

Over

Under

Inside

Outside

Next to

Stuck to

Behind

 

Think:

What would annoy someone?

Where would I hide it?

What would be out of sight out of mind?

Does that look fake?

 

Become paranoid, it helps.

 

Soon you will be able to tell who hid the cache by the hide/container.

Think sesame street too. "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things isn't exactly the same. . . . . ." SPECIALLY in an urban environment.

I can't count the times ive touched the cache yet couldn't find it.

[+psugrad98]

Start with difficulty 1 and larger sizes

 

Maybe find an experienced gc'r to team up with until you have more experience

 

Good ideas, those.

 

Also, make sure that your GPS is set to use the WGS84 Datum that geocaching uses (its in your manual).

 

Also, are you using a handheld GPS or an automobile navigation device like a Nuvi/Tom-Tom? If so, it not only does not make a very good geocaching tool (although people do use them sometimes) but it needs to be set to take you off-road.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. I never have been good at finding stuff in general.

I use a Gamin etrex, wsg84 datum.

[+Stargazer22]

Don't feel bad. There will always be ones you can't find no matter how much experience you get. Just part of the game.

 

Last year I had only about 300 finds at the time and we went to look for a diffcult cache in the woods. Micro with no hints, etc.. The last group of 6 cachers to search for it had an accumulated total of over 20,000 finds between them and they DNF'd it. We searched for about 40 minutes and found it in plain sight. Made us feel like super cachers for a few minutes!

 

Hang in there and eventually something like this will happen for you, too, and you will feel like a super cacher for a few minutes. At least until you look for that next hidden ammo can for an hour and can't find it. Then the next log for it says some guy's 5 year old found it in under 2 minutes.....

 

Edited to add that I would recommend widening your search radius. There have been several of them I found 25-50 feet from GZ, and a few that were 75-100 feet away. 15 feet radius is not a big enough area to search. Remember that the hider's GPSr had some error when he hid it, and you're going to have some error searching. Adding the errors together gives you a more reasonable search radius.

Edited July 16, 2009 by Stargazer22

[+Unkle Fester]

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. I never have been good at finding stuff in general.

I use a Gamin etrex, wsg84 datum.

I use a Garmin Rino and a bottle of Advil

 

(edit inapropriate humor)

Edited July 16, 2009 by Unkle Fester

[+CluelessTwo]

Don't feel bad. There will always be ones you can't find no matter how much experience you get. Just part of the game.

 

Last year I had only about 300 finds at the time and we went to look for a diffcult cache in the woods. Micro with no hints, etc.. The last group of 6 cachers to search for it had an accumulated total of over 20,000 finds between them and they DNF'd it. We searched for about 40 minutes and found it in plain sight. Made us feel like super cachers for a few minutes!

 

Hang in there and eventually something like this will happen for you, too, and you will feel like a super cacher for a few minutes. At least until you look for that next hidden ammo can for an hour and can't find it. Then the next log for it says some guy's 5 year old found it in under 2 minutes.....

 

Edited to add that I would recommend widening your search radius. There have been several of them I found 25-50 feet from GZ, and a few that were 75-100 feet away. 15 feet radius is not a big enough area to search. Remember that the hider's GPSr had some error when he hid it, and you're going to have some error searching. Adding the errors together gives you a more reasonable search radius.

 

Hi Ya

 

Im no good at finding stuff either. I take about 30 minutes each day to locate my keys which are only ever found in a range of 5 places (which I keep forgetting). But we have 52 finds in 11 day which I think is ok. That being said I think that its a major help when your with someone. My husband is the hunt it down and overturn everything (within reason) one and Im the stand (looking as if your doing nothing) for 5 mins and take in whats around you. I approach every cache almost like a crime scene. I want to see whats been newly moved. Which place has had the most wear from foot steps. If there are any rocks with moss on the east side, if there are any twigs logs etc that look just too perfect, if theres a rock that possibly doesnt fit with the colour of others there. If there is anything that doesnt belong. That being said, by the time I go through my checklist Jonny has moved everything anyhow. lol But surprisingly my thoughts have rarely been wrong, I have rarely seen a landscape touched by man that looks completely perfect, I have rarely seen rocks or logs placed in a natural way by man. We naturally want to create order whereever we go and nature dosent really have order, so every hider (whether its the original hider or the last) will leave their mark not matter how careful they are.

 

Claire xx

[+Ktulu_1]

I'm very much a newbie to this and I just DNF'ed a 1/1 yesterday.

 

I had some extra time before a meeting and there was a cache in the area. I thought I had a pretty good idea where the thing was. I drove right up to where it should be and couldn't find it. I was highly frustrated over the whole thing. I spent the first half hour of the meeting thinking about it. Now I think about when I can get back to that area and try again.

 

I'm assuming this is pretty common with people that are new to this game. It takes practice just like anything else. Hopefully some of these tips will help flatten out the learning curve a little.

[+Castle Mischief]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

 

ZOMG! Can open! Worms everywhere!

[gojkgo]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

 

omg, that slayed me.

[+CluelessTwo]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

 

ZOMG! Can open! Worms everywhere!

 

Hi Ya

 

Is it not common knowledge where people hide caches?? within 11 days I have a generally good idea where to look. Now my post is something I flagged upon recommendation. However it dosent give the GC number of the caches and what I found at each. This guy is also in a completely different country to me AND i also edited the post to eliminate some of the deeper information.

 

Are we here to talk about caching or not? If this is another off topic subject then all the help I can ever give someone when they are stuck is "look for it". Which is a bit stupid because thats what they have been trying to do.

 

I was giving an insight into the mind of a cache hider. Is that such a bad thing? Discuss.

Edited July 16, 2009 by CluelessTwo

[+blueberryice]

were there hints with the ones you have not been able to find? Where some micros.. (they can be harder to find) Don't worry I am new too. I found my 20th yesterday. As strange as it sounds I am starting to 'feel' where the cache may be. I hunt a lot with the kids and I need to make the call a lot sooner with them. Bugs me LOL I plan on going to one of our DNF today (I am kidless) and find the bugger. I am also hoping to find some itty bitty micros down town. (not kid friendly my kids like to trade)

Edited July 16, 2009 by blueberryice

[+Castle Mischief]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

 

ZOMG! Can open! Worms everywhere!

 

Hi Ya

 

Is it not common knowledge where people hide caches?? within 11 days I have a generally good idea where to look. Now my post is something I flagged upon recommendation. However it doesn't give the GC number of the caches and what I found at each. This guy is also in a completely different country to me AND i also edited the post to eliminate some of the deeper information.

 

Are we here to talk about caching or not? If this is another off topic subject then all the help I can ever give someone when they are stuck is "look for it". Which is a bit stupid because that's what they have been trying to do.

 

I was giving an insight into the mind of a cache hider. Is that such a bad thing? Discuss.

 

I don't have any issues or any negative opinions about you posting a description of those kinds of hides. My apologies if I gave that impression.

 

There is a minority of forum members that are of the opinion that any discussion of these same hides (specifically the posting of a picture of said hide) results in the world shattering, death bringing, reality rending Spoiling of the Fun for anybody that might stumble across these descriptions or pictures.

 

Again, sorry. You kind of got caught in an "inside" joke.

 

I'd post a link to the thread with the Horrible Traitorous Images, but then somebody might click on said link and then, well...

[+dad-and-ash]

Start with the easiest ones you can. The ones with a 1/1 rating. Our very first cache was so easy, we saw it when we parked the car. Then gradually build from there. Build your confidence with the easy ones, but don't get down with a DNF. If all else fails, take a child with you! They have a knack for it. They're kinda like 2-legged bloodhounds! Our 8 year old often finds them before we do. Just an idea.

[+flask]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

 

omg, that slayed me.

 

happy to be of service.

[knowschad]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

 

omg, that slayed me.

 

happy to be of service.

 

I finally got a chance to listen to that... hilarious!!! Where/how did you find that? Its perfect!!

[+mchaos]

I would have to say the best tip I can give and that you can get is "Don't give up!"

 

I had some difficulties when I started out. You just have to keep looking. Some of them are place really well, and others are not.

 

There have been times when I have had to go back to find a cache I couldn't find the first time. Some of the times the hide was so obvious I couldn't believe it.

 

Ya just have to keep trying.

[+Harriet the Spy]

I suck too...

my dnf bookmark

 

Log all your dnfs! Its not like the smilie count that everybody can see. There is no public tally of them, only you can see your tally. Unless of course you keep a public bookmark of them.

 

When you log your dnf, go ahead in your log and ask the owner for help. Or email them, or better yet go to an event and ask for help. EVERYBODY needs help in finding caches, and usually owners or other cachers are more than helpful.

[+Chrysalides]

I suck too...

my dnf bookmark

I'm working on a simple GSAK macro to create a table of my DNFs. It won't be anything close to FindStatGen, but it should give some interesting figures, such as DNF subsequently found, DNF now archived, DNF remaining to be found, and so on.

 

Someone else has a way to use FindStatGen directly to display DNF stats, but it requires copying the DNF to another database and marking them as Found.

[+OldLog]

I am new at this also. Try and stay away from a cache that has not been found or has a lot of DNF recently. I have discovered there a lot of caches out there that do not receive any checks by there owner so don't be discouraged. They just may not be there.

[+flask]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

 

omg, that slayed me.

 

happy to be of service.

 

I finally got a chance to listen to that... hilarious!!! Where/how did you find that? Its perfect!!

 

i didn't find it; i wrote it.

 

i'm glad you like it.

[Chiroptera lover]

Thank you Harriet the Spy! I found this thread after searching the forum for "discouraged." Your list makes me feel better. I started my own DNF bookmark list and now I know that I have 15 finds and 8 DNFs (assuming I'm remembering them all).

 

Meliny

[+mr.mudd]

Heh heh, I only started recently and I have 15 finds and 18 DNFs, so you aren't the only one.

[+geodarts]

I still suck at it. But do the caches that take you to places where you enjoy visiting so the day is worthwhile regardless of what happens, pick out those that are less difficult or contain good hints, and ask the owner to help you. Once you start finding a few, things will fall into place.

 

I would also recommend going to a caching event, meeting some local cachers, and going out with them. Seeing how other people approach a cache can help. Some areas have web sites for local caching groups that feature group hikes or caching trips. Check out those if you can.

[+Cornell Finch]

Just a quick note to say thanks to Flask for the song. It brought a huge smile to my face on a very sad Sunday morning.

[+blackrattle]

I just picked up Geocaching. I've found three caches. All were easy out in the open caches.

 

I've tried to find other caches, but am having a lot of trouble. I go to the coords and look around the area and can't seem to find them.

 

What are some tips you can give me to help me find caches a little easier? I try to look within a 15 foot radius or so of the coordinates.

 

I am getting frustrated.

 

We have been at this for only a little while as well. One of our first mistakes was not looking at the type of cache. You can look all day and never find a puzzle cache at the posted coords. Did that and learned our lesson.

[+Count Fartula]

If its in the woods, simple. Look down. What you are looking for is trampled ground. If it has recent logs the ground will be disturbed and leaves flattened. This can zero you in quickly. If its urban, process of elimination works best for me. Find all the places that it wouldn't be. Meaning, spots that muggles would see it. You are now left with the possible hiding spots.

I'm new at this also. Sometimes you just need to leave and come back a few days later with a fresh outlook on the area. I missed one a week ago, then found it upon my return within a few minutes.

[+Winstonsmom]

you may wish to sing this song:

 

that explains a lot

 

TY flask for posting the link to your song! It took me a while to learn to laugh at myself and accept the DNFs. I am adding your song to my DNF ritual.