your first cache

July 25, 2009

Today I got my first cache! I was walking through a foresty area and was hacking down dead branches in my way (I got dirty... and a blister) I was getting kinda sad cuz I coudln't find it but then on our way back to the car my mom said it should be right around here (cuz this was where it smelled bad (don't ask..)) so I looked around and found it! I was so excited! it was amazing! and I got an army man with a parachute on it

So if you didn't guess I want to hear about your first cache! or if you have a really intresting story about a cache I wanna hear it! But please don't say the name of the cache cuz then if you give a spolier then someone could go find it eaisly and (at least to me) that would kinda be cheating.

6.7k · July 25, 2009

Glad you had a good time. My first four attempts I found exactly nothing. I had no clue what I was doing. But I kept after it and started to figure things out. I'm glad I did because it has given me many hours of fun. As a matter of fact even some of the trips out looking for caches that I never found where fun times. I got to visit new places and see things I never saw before. Some caches are more fun to look for that others but in the long run I have fun so I just keep doing it.

Happy caching.

July 26, 2009

My first cache was a couple weeks ago, and I didn't have a GPS yet. It was less than a mile from the house, and I was really familiar with the area, so I entered the coords into Google Earth to get a good idea of where it was and drove out there. GE actually indicated that it was on the north side of the road, but all that was there is a power pole and an empty corn field. On the other side was the edge of a forest with signs and fence posts and stuff, and my spider sense told me it was over there.

First thing I noticed was a bird house on a fence post which I had minimally noticed before from driving past all the time. What caught my attention was that the hole for the bids to get in was just scored in, so I knew that's what I was looking for. It took a second to figure out how to open it, but no problem.

I didn't know fake birdhouses were kind of cliche, so I thought it was cute.

15.3k · July 26, 2009

My first find was a large size cache: a plastic footlocker hidden inside a hollow redwood stump. At my church's annual men's retreat, a friend took several of us on an intro geocaching hike. We followed the arrow of the GPSr along a trail along the side of a hill. The redwood stump was on the downhill side of the trail. The footlocker had been lowered into the hollow stump sideways, so the upper end was at about the same level as the trail. A few branches hid the footlocker from view.

It's still the largest cache I've found.

July 26, 2009

My first cache hunt was nearly a year ago as part of a team event: http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/first-geocache-hunt/

It took another fortnight before I started geocaching on my own: http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/groen-lubbee...-geboortecache/

2.8k · July 26, 2009

Today I got my first cache! I was walking through a foresty area and was hacking down dead branches in my way (I got dirty... and a blister)...

Excuse me, but why were you 'hacking' down anything? Have you never heard the phrase 'leave no trace'? Did you tell the cache owner this? What if s/he wanted it to be a little more difficult to get to than just a 'stroll in the woods'?

Would you 'hack' away in a city park? Someone's front yard?

Amazing...

July 26, 2009

I DNF'd my first attempt. It was a cache that gets a lot of DFF's, but I was so new to Geocaching that I didnt know how to evaluate caches before I searched for them. Later that evening I moved onto a couple of guardrail caches and signed my first logs. Yes those infamous guardrail caches have a place. Without them this newbie cacher probably would have ended the evening with disappointment.

Since then I have logged over 500 finds and have gotten smilies on much harder caches, but I still stop and grab the occasional railrider or skirt lifter.

1.9k · July 26, 2009

Mine was a hide-a-key at a gas station(micro)

July 26, 2009

Our first GC1C92T was a film can at a memorable spot for the D Day landings and was a great way to remember Ken Small who campaigned for a decent memorial to the troops crossing the Channel

4k · July 26, 2009

Looked for Tupperware in a baseball field and instead found a film can. Yay for geocaching!

July 26, 2009

Like others, our first cache was a DNF. We were doing it without a GPS, but knew the area very well, and yet, we couldn't find it. We eventually moved on to a few others, and a few months down the road the origional cache we searched for was archived. Seems it had been missing awhile....made us feel not so bad lol.

4k · July 26, 2009

Your first cache search may be a DNF but your first cache (geocache) find is different.

July 26, 2009

My first cache was a micro. But, a speical micro to my wife and me.

See, we had heard of this "geocaching thing" from a friend and I was bitten by the bug really fast and wanted to get out there and start finding all the caches I could. However, we did not have the money at the time to purchase a GPSr and it looked like it was going to be some time before we would.

But, I was in a hurry about getting out there and finding some caches. So, while searching around our area, my wife found out that there was a cache at the place where our marriage ceremony was performed and thought that we should make that our first cache and find it together.

After waiting and waiting, I finally grab my 17" wide screen laptop with USB GPS receiver that I used as a GPS in my big rig and walked around holding that to find the first cache. We found it but it was absolutely hilarious to see me walking around with this huge laptop doing the "drunken bee dance."

Here's a picture that we took for posterity.

And it was hidden near this building which is where my wife and I were married.

8.6k · July 26, 2009

My first cache was a glad disposable container, with sticks and leaves epoxied to it (so lazy cacher's didn't have to camo it during a putback, I guess). Walked over it about six times, finally from a different angle, noticed one of the epoxied sticks had a cut, not broken, end. I thought it clever for the first find -- since then, after coming up with a number from the same cache-placer, I must say he is pretty darn clever with many of his hides. A number are in plain view of many, but are never noticed and even get quite a few DNF longs.

Neccessity IS the mother of invention!

July 26, 2009

My first find was exciting, The Doz (Dozzer the dog) and I were camping for the night at a local State Park, we went out looking for the first of the three we found that day. As we were getting closer I started to get goose bumps. I must have scooped the area for more then 30 min before we found it. When I returned home I tried to get the family into it, but it looks like it's going to be an activity mainly for the Doz and me.

July 26, 2009

My first find was a cache in an old, rural cemetery. It was a home made container that looked like the root of a tree protruding out of the ground...very cool for a first find.

July 27, 2009

Today I got my first cache! I was walking through a foresty area and was hacking down dead branches in my way (I got dirty... and a blister)...

Excuse me, but why were you 'hacking' down anything? Have you never heard the phrase 'leave no trace'? Did you tell the cache owner this? What if s/he wanted it to be a little more difficult to get to than just a 'stroll in the woods'?

Would you 'hack' away in a city park? Someone's front yard?

Amazing...

I was just making a way to get through thick branches and what not. it was off the trail so who really cares? I didn't do any real damage so, once again, who cares? and the cache wasn't even in that area so the owner woudln't care. trust me it's not just a stroll in the woods. it was a really good spot to hide it. at least I thought it was. it was my first so I haven't found anymore to compaire to.

I have hacked at a tree in the park in TN when I was a kid with my best friend. it was fun ^^ and I run around in this field by my house with one oh my swords and pratice on these weird stalk things that grow back there. I think they are called milk weed? I dunno... but I do know they are poisnoious. oh and I'm very sorry to everone because I know I spelled a lot of stuff wrong... why is it that math and sicence is so easy but spelling kills me....

4.8k · July 27, 2009

I was just making a way to get through thick branches and what not. it was off the trail so who really cares? I didn't do any real damage so, once again, who cares? and the cache wasn't even in that area so the owner woudln't care. trust me it's not just a stroll in the woods. it was a really good spot to hide it. at least I thought it was. it was my first so I haven't found anymore to compaire to.

I have hacked at a tree in the park in TN when I was a kid with my best friend. it was fun ^^ and I run around in this field by my house with one oh my swords and pratice on these weird stalk things that grow back there. I think they are called milk weed? I dunno... but I do know they are poisnoious. oh and I'm very sorry to everone because I know I spelled a lot of stuff wrong... why is it that math and sicence is so easy but spelling kills me....

Because Math and Science are 100% logical but spelling requires a certain amount of memory combined with a limited amount of logic.

Edited July 27, 2009 by bittsen

2k · July 27, 2009

Today I got my first cache! I was walking through a foresty area and was hacking down dead branches in my way (I got dirty... and a blister)...

Excuse me, but why were you 'hacking' down anything? Have you never heard the phrase 'leave no trace'? Did you tell the cache owner this? What if s/he wanted it to be a little more difficult to get to than just a 'stroll in the woods'?

Would you 'hack' away in a city park? Someone's front yard?

Amazing...

I was just making a way to get through thick branches and what not. it was off the trail so who really cares? I didn't do any real damage so, once again, who cares? and the cache wasn't even in that area so the owner woudln't care. trust me it's not just a stroll in the woods. it was a really good spot to hide it. at least I thought it was. it was my first so I haven't found anymore to compaire to.

I have hacked at a tree in the park in TN when I was a kid with my best friend. it was fun ^^ and I run around in this field by my house with one oh my swords and pratice on these weird stalk things that grow back there. I think they are called milk weed? I dunno... but I do know they are poisnoious. oh and I'm very sorry to everone because I know I spelled a lot of stuff wrong... why is it that math and sicence is so easy but spelling kills me....

Look at it like this. What would the park look like if everyone who visited knocked down a couple of branches? It wouldn't be long and there would be no more branches.

July 27, 2009

Original Stash Tribute, No secrets as to where it is.

Found a mystery gift coin, non-trackable Geo-Jedi. Way cool

July 27, 2009

I was just making a way to get through thick branches and what not. it was off the trail so who really cares? I didn't do any real damage so, once again, who cares? and the cache wasn't even in that area so the owner woudln't care. trust me it's not just a stroll in the woods. it was a really good spot to hide it. at least I thought it was. it was my first so I haven't found anymore to compaire to.

I have hacked at a tree in the park in TN when I was a kid with my best friend. it was fun ^^ and I run around in this field by my house with one oh my swords and pratice on these weird stalk things that grow back there. I think they are called milk weed? I dunno... but I do know they are poisnoious. oh and I'm very sorry to everone because I know I spelled a lot of stuff wrong... why is it that math and sicence is so easy but spelling kills me....

Because Math and Science are 100% logical but spelling requires a certain amount of memory combined with a limited amount of logic.

lol I love you. it was a retorical question but you still answered ^^ you're awsome!

Today I got my first cache! I was walking through a foresty area and was hacking down dead branches in my way (I got dirty... and a blister)...

Excuse me, but why were you 'hacking' down anything? Have you never heard the phrase 'leave no trace'? Did you tell the cache owner this? What if s/he wanted it to be a little more difficult to get to than just a 'stroll in the woods'?

Would you 'hack' away in a city park? Someone's front yard?

Amazing...

I was just making a way to get through thick branches and what not. it was off the trail so who really cares? I didn't do any real damage so, once again, who cares? and the cache wasn't even in that area so the owner woudln't care. trust me it's not just a stroll in the woods. it was a really good spot to hide it. at least I thought it was. it was my first so I haven't found anymore to compaire to.

I have hacked at a tree in the park in TN when I was a kid with my best friend. it was fun ^^ and I run around in this field by my house with one oh my swords and pratice on these weird stalk things that grow back there. I think they are called milk weed? I dunno... but I do know they are poisnoious. oh and I'm very sorry to everone because I know I spelled a lot of stuff wrong... why is it that math and sicence is so easy but spelling kills me....

Look at it like this. What would the park look like if everyone who visited knocked down a couple of branches? It wouldn't be long and there would be no more branches.

knocking down branches woudl be stupid... and just to set the record staright, I was using a stick, or maybe a root, to get dead "branches" (really just small plants that only concist of one branch and it's dead) that are in my way so I woudln't get hurt while seaching for this cache and I was way off lol but the point is I had fun so just drop it guys okay? no one got hurt, nothing is destroyed, everything is fine. so please just drop it. thanks ^^

July 27, 2009

Our first find was just yesterday! We heard about geocaching from a group of campers in New York on Lake Erie. They were returning from a third and successful attempt at a difficult cache. We are in southern West Virginia at a campground and decided to try it. We picked a close one, 2.5 for terrain and 3.5 for hidden. With two dogs in tow, it took about two and a half hours to get close to the correct coordinates. Vicki slipped on a toppled wooden bridge and slammed her back into the edge of the bridge and one of the dogs managed a good roll in a pile of unidentified dung, but we kept looking. We were just giving up and ready to head home when we noticed the *********** that looked just right. Bingo! A four lock box in a beautiful state park. We're hooked...

July 27, 2009

My first cache was an accidental find. Not sure about the date, but I logged it as 11/8/06. I will return someday to find this one legitimately and look at the logbook to see what I wrote and the date.

"Stone Boy #1"

I was on a short hike to a spot I had been to before a few times. It's a really peaceful place with a great view. The terrain is rocky. I was building a rock tower (stacking rocks on top of each other) underneath one of the rocks I picked up to use was a small tupperware. "What's this?" I opened it up and read the explanation - "Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!"

I sat there and read all the logs. It was really cool. I wrote something dumb in the logbook, took something, left something, put it all back where I found it and wrote down geocaching.com so I could look it up when I got home.

No GPS unit, so I kinda forgot about geocaching for a few years til I bought an iPhone. I used the iPhone to find my second (first intentional) cache on 5/6/09. "SG014 Daggett Summit" right down the road from my house. It only took a few caches with the iPhone before I realized I needed a "real" GPS unit.

Edited July 27, 2009 by mattbrady775

August 3, 2009

My first cache was an accidental find. Not sure about the date, but I logged it as 11/8/06. I will return someday to find this one legitimately and look at the logbook to see what I wrote and the date.

"Stone Boy #1"

I was on a short hike to a spot I had been to before a few times. It's a really peaceful place with a great view. The terrain is rocky. I was building a rock tower (stacking rocks on top of each other) underneath one of the rocks I picked up to use was a small tupperware. "What's this?" I opened it up and read the explanation - "Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!"

I sat there and read all the logs. It was really cool. I wrote something dumb in the logbook, took something, left something, put it all back where I found it and wrote down geocaching.com so I could look it up when I got home.

No GPS unit, so I kinda forgot about geocaching for a few years til I bought an iPhone. I used the iPhone to find my second (first intentional) cache on 5/6/09. "SG014 Daggett Summit" right down the road from my house. It only took a few caches with the iPhone before I realized I needed a "real" GPS unit.

congrats on the accidential find! funny thing is that if it was an acident then that means you muggled it! lol but now you have joined the nonmuggles and are now a cacher! and this shows that someone needs to hide their stuff better so it wont get muggled again. so did you take anything from it?

August 3, 2009

My first find was on a cache that occasionally causes people to incredulously say 'THAT was your first find?!?'

It's not that it's particularly difficult (A bit of an annoying hide with questionable co-ords), however I certainly think that that first day really shaped my view of the geo-world. Laurier Bridge Troll is a multi that gives you some pretty clear instructions - So clear, in fact, that it's not at all difficult to simply Letterbox off of them! I sort of cheated, finding my first cache without even using my GPS, but I later DNFed on a bunch of easy trads using my GPS... I hadn't yet figured out how off a Legend tends to be! (I still can't believe how much better my Oregon is)

One year later, to the day, to the hour, to the minute, I re-found my first cache - This time doing it the proper way (Of course I knew where it was, but it was more for the sake of ceremony than anything else). I posted as note to the cache page with a picture of myself holding that little keyholder, one year later.

August 3, 2009

My first cache was a VIRTUAL, but I had NO IDEA what that meant so I spent two hours trying to find some kind of container. The year? 2002. Although I don't have a lot of finds, I keep the county I live in pretty "cleared" from my unfound list. Only two not found in my county today for me.

I can still remember that first virtual!

3.3k · August 3, 2009

My first cache was an accidental find. Not sure about the date, but I logged it as 11/8/06. I will return someday to find this one legitimately and look at the logbook to see what I wrote and the date.

"Stone Boy #1"

I was on a short hike to a spot I had been to before a few times. It's a really peaceful place with a great view. The terrain is rocky. I was building a rock tower (stacking rocks on top of each other) underneath one of the rocks I picked up to use was a small tupperware. "What's this?" I opened it up and read the explanation - "Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!"

I sat there and read all the logs. It was really cool. I wrote something dumb in the logbook, took something, left something, put it all back where I found it and wrote down geocaching.com so I could look it up when I got home.

No GPS unit, so I kinda forgot about geocaching for a few years til I bought an iPhone. I used the iPhone to find my second (first intentional) cache on 5/6/09. "SG014 Daggett Summit" right down the road from my house. It only took a few caches with the iPhone before I realized I needed a "real" GPS unit.

congrats on the accidential find! funny thing is that if it was an acident then that means you muggled it! lol but now you have joined the nonmuggles and are now a cacher! and this shows that someone needs to hide their stuff better so it wont get muggled again. so did you take anything from it?

A muggle finding a cache doesn't necesarily muggle the cache. Muggling a cache usually means taking it or destroying it.

And I encourage you to continue having fun in the woods and not worrying about breaking off a few dead branches. Maybe even step on a plant or two if you are really feeling wild and crazy. I am pretty certain the wild animals who live in the woods break off a dead branch and step on a plant every so often. I know of caches where the vegetation is so aggressive it needs to be cut back every so often just to keep the cache accessible. Very few plants are going to be harmed by casual human contact except in the most sensitive ecoligical areas. Use your knowledge of the local area and act accordingly.

Our first find was a tupperware wrapped in a black garbage bag (really bad idea) but we still had fun and are headed for six years playing the game now.

August 3, 2009

black garbage bag? really? that woudl be knoticable... but water proff, from rain at least.

3.3k · August 3, 2009

black garbage bag? really? that woudl be knoticable... but water proff, from rain at least.

The water proof thing was the idea here in the Seattle area. Unfortunately it was wrong. The bags actually collect moisture and make everything wet and moldy. A good quality container is all that is needed. We don't see many caches in bags around here anymore.

And even black garbage bags can be hidden easily under a pile of leaves, sticks, rocks, etc.

August 3, 2009

My first cache was a VIRTUAL, but I had NO IDEA what that meant so I spent two hours trying to find some kind of container.

I did that on my first day too...

If I recall correctly, my record up to that point was

Found (Multi)

DNF (Trad)

Found (Trad)

DNF/Found (Virtual)

I realised that it was a virtual later that evening, and was able to answer the question, so all was good.

That, and another experience on my second day very quickly caused me to learn the importance of noting the cache type & container size. Today, I don't leave home without that, and the D/T rating. In the last couple of weeks, the Oregon has been making that much easier <_<

August 3, 2009

black garbage bag? really? that woudl be knoticable... but water proff, from rain at least.

The water proof thing was the idea here in the Seattle area. Unfortunately it was wrong. The bags actually collect moisture and make everything wet and moldy. A good quality container is all that is needed. We don't see many caches in bags around here anymore.

And even black garbage bags can be hidden easily under a pile of leaves, sticks, rocks, etc.

Well I'd take that as lesson learned. if my cache was ruined like that I woudl be upset.

August 3, 2009

I have a pretty Type A personality, so by the time I went out to find my first cache, I had spent a couple weeks researching the hobby and already knew a fair bit about the ins and outs. I went with my brother (his first time, too), and we went 8 for 9, I think.

Any way, our first cache is still one of my favorites. It was a warm day in late winter, so there was little underbrush and almost no bugs. We had a nice, short hike along the top of a bluff in the woods, with some of the best views of the lake around here. It took about 5-10 minutes of searching to find the ammo box in plain sight. <_< We hadn't brought any swag with us, but when my brother saw the foreign coins, he left several Subway coupons from his wallet, and he was pretty excited when another cacher logged shortly thereafter how excited s/he was to find the coupons.

I think we may have to revisit that cache again soon. Maybe in honor of our 100th find.

your first cache

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