geosense

[+mwmh2009]

Hello all. We are brand new. Just found our first today. Our Garmin was off by 20 feet. Is this normal? Also, what does geosense mean? Thanks!

[+dakin55]

Hello all. We are brand new. Just found our first today. Our Garmin was off by 20 feet. Is this normal? Also, what does geosense mean? Thanks!

you gps was off 20 but you still had geosense to realize were it was

[+huskerrich2000]

twenty feet would be considered normal, in fact because the placer could have been off twenty feet it could be as much as forty feet or more.sounds like you have great geosense.

[+Curioddity]

It's kinda like the force that a Jedi Knight allegedly has, but a little more grounded.

 

Kidding aside, a GPS can't find a cache. It can only lead you to where you need to start searching. Once you're there, the GPS can only serve as a distraction to the real task at hand which is using the tools you were born with to find the cache. Those tools (sight, smell, hearing, touch, and imagination) are widely known as your senses and once they're attuned to the evil things geocachers do to hide caches, they're also known as geosenses.

 

Pete

[+niraD]

Under ideal conditions, consumer GPS receivers are accurate only to about 3m (10ft). This applies both to your GPSr and to the cache owner's GPSr, so being off by 20ft is completely normal even under ideal conditions. In less than ideal conditions, it is normal to be off by more than that.

 

As others have said, once your GPSr says that you're within that range, put it away and use your "geosense" to figure out where the cache might be hidden.

[+terrkan78]

Welcome to geocaching! I, too, wondered what "geosenses" meant when I first saw that word in a cache description. In my caching area, when cache descriptions say "use your geosenses," what they usually mean is the cache is hidden in a typical spot - not something highly unusual. Unfortunately, a hint like "use your gensenses" doesn't do you the slightest bit of good until you've found enough caches to know what on earth "typical" is. I found that somewhat frustrating when I started this sport last year. Around here "typical" spots for regular-sized caches include: old stumps, underneath logs, at the base of a tree, in the middle of a bush, underneath a pile of branches/rocks (I'm sure there's lots more, but those come to mind). Some days I think my "geosenses" have completely taken a leave of absence (particularly when I can't find several caches in a row). Other days I think I may actually be getting the hang of it. []

[LilClaire]

Thanks for the explanation of geosense. I like the comparison with the Jedi.

[+burtsbodgers]

The most important geosense in my opinion is...

knowing when and where to cache.. 6' snow drifts... torrential rain....

dark alleys... hurricans.... typhoons.... riots.....

can all be times when geosense comes in to its own

[+maggi101]

I would liken Geosense to a cross between intuition and logic.

 

The logic part comes when you start thinking "Ok, I'm looking for something roughly the size of a film can, if I were hiding a film can, where would *I* have put it to protect from from random passerby AND the elements?" or "what would a tennis ball be doing in the bushes HERE?!" The intuition part kicks in when you being to start gravitating towards a certain area because it feels right (in my case, usually thanks to the logic part first, but thats just how my brain works.).

[+nericksx]

My hubby says that in using his geosense he looks for things that wouldn't occur on their own in nature. As in, "there is nothing in nature that would cause all that bark to pile up *just so* at the base of a tree." He finds lots of caches when we're out together.

[+delphic]

My hubby says that in using his geosense he looks for things that wouldn't occur on their own in nature. As in, "there is nothing in nature that would cause all that bark to pile up *just so* at the base of a tree." He finds lots of caches when we're out together.

 

Geosense is the art of looking for the single out of place item and allowing your mind to question it's location/position AND allowing your body to actually investigate it. There is a cache near my home that is a large bucket with a large, smooth, round river rock firmly glued to the top. Only the rock sits above ground. It is on a hill of decomposing granite, not a river withing 10 miles. I smiled when I saw it.

[+mwmh2009]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. 9 replies in 1 day! I thought I'd be lucky to get one in a day. This is an active forum with a lot of great people. While I'm here...So...I have tried the search feature but can not find a list of acronyms and what they mean. Specifically...what does TFTC. It sounds like a good thing. Generally people put it after they locate the find.

[+huskerrich2000]

that one is easy Thank For The Cache

[+maggi101]

Specifically...what does TFTC. It sounds like a good thing. Generally people put it after they locate the find.

 

You'll find the answer to a lot of vexing acronyms at http://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx

 

Edited November 24, 2009 by maggi101

[+Harry Dolphin]

Geosense is a combination of 'where would I hide the cache' and 'what is slightly wrong about this picture'. Of course, some of the toughest hides are those that are not where I would hide it, nor is there anything wrong with the picture! The rocks over there are scratched! Why is there a small piece of bark there??? (That one was actually pretty tough!)

[+ScottKaren]

And no matter how good your geosense it, it will still not help you find the remote.

[+edscott]

There are lots of examples, but my most recent one was a cache where the last finder had placed the cover rock on upside down. The rocks in the area are a light tan but have a thin layer of algae on them.... except the one that had no algae. I replaced it correctly so now they all are algae side up.