Having trouble with finds

[+pepper3]

I need some help, we got started a few months back and when we go out on the weekends. Some days we have great luck and find all the caches. Other days we have no luck at all or will only find one for the entire day.

 

There are time will be at ground zero and find a cache over 40 feet away or on the complete opposite side of the trail and after searching around GZ, we end up with a DNF for the day. We have a Geomate Jr. which will bring us right to the target and we have a nice find. But some days, we look all around and can not find anything.

 

Any suggestions on what we are doing wrong or why sometimes things are no where near GZ and others are right where the GPS is pointing.

[+kunarion]

Any suggestions on what we are doing wrong or why sometimes things are no where near GZ and others are right where the GPS is pointing.

Your Geomate is doing fine. An accuracy of 20 feet is the standard range (with an unobscured line of sight to the satellites). Since the person that hid it was also 20 feet off, you can mentally draw a circle of 40 feet from GZ, and that's the area to hunt.

 

So have more on hand than just coordinates. Check out the cache descriptions on geocaching.com. There's often useful info in the text, the hint, the logs, and the satellite map view. Chose the "difficulty" carefully.

 

And you may not find the cache sometimes. Log a "DNF" (so others know that it's tricky for some people), and try another. And when you've got some more experience, come back, and you might find it.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited February 14, 2010 by kunarion

[+ngrrfan]

It all depends on the accuracy of your unit. With mine, I can read GZ and still be off by 10 feet or more. What I have found/figured out about my GPSr... when it says GZ (almost disregarding the accuracy reading) I AM within 5 feet. It's something I've figured out.

[Rocketsteve]

I need some help, we got started a few months back and when we go out on the weekends. Some days we have great luck and find all the caches. Other days we have no luck at all or will only find one for the entire day.

 

There are time will be at ground zero and find a cache over 40 feet away or on the complete opposite side of the trail and after searching around GZ, we end up with a DNF for the day. We have a Geomate Jr. which will bring us right to the target and we have a nice find. But some days, we look all around and can not find anything.

 

Any suggestions on what we are doing wrong or why sometimes things are no where near GZ and others are right where the GPS is pointing.

 

Don't forget the "Human Factor". Some days when I'm caching, my brain just isn't firing on all eight cylinders. There have been ammo can caches that I wasn't able to find on one day, but I go back a couple of weeks later and I practically run the thing over. If at first you don't succeed, try it again on another outing and you may have better luck.

[+kh54s10]

I am also relatively new at this and have figured out that after a while you will develop some "Geosense". You will learn to identify the usual hiding places and also see things that will lead you to the cache that you might miss now. "Geobeacons" are things to look for like broken twigs, piles of sticks, footprints etc. As others have stated the GPSr will get you close but not always right there, then look for signs of the hide.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Offhand, I would say that you are doing fine. Most of the caches you have found so far have lower D/T ratings. One thing I would add is that when you get to GZ, think like a "hider", not a "hunter" -- 'Now just where could I hide a cache here?'

 

Other posters are correct. Never count on the GPSr to put you atop the cache. On average, your unit will put you within 20', but remember too, the cache was hidden using a GPSr which also has the same typical average accuracy. You can be at GZ but still 40' (or more) from the cache!

 

Best advice: Practice, practice, practice, then practice some more. You kill two birds with that one stone -- you get more smileys and you learn something with each new find!

[+richblufkin]

I would agree with everyone else, that you are doing fine. The first few times we went out I was ready to give up, thank goodness I didn't. I can't imagine life without this new hobby. I noticed you have 29 caches already, so you are doing good.

I have had some that I just could not find and it drives me crazy. It seems really good when my wife and daughter are both with me. We usually check out all the recent logs, to get as much info as possible and also to see if the cache may not actually be there if there are a lot of DNF. Also like a few others have said, give yourself a 20-40ft circle to look in.

I have a few friends here that geocache and the phone a friend option has worked out for me twice. I had walked almost on top of two caches unti I talked to them.

So, hang in there and have fun.

[+ngrrfan]

And wait until you go with a couple of people that have over 500 caches each. They walk to an area, and within a couple of minutes have found the hide... in the mean time you don't even have a clue what they've spotted and you feel so dumb and blind.

 

Then comes the day when you spot the cache first and you can sit back and gloat while they do the bumble bee dance. Oh is it ever worth it. I've gotten much better at spotting "logical" hiding places but there are still some micros that drive me crazy, but each outing you learn something new and you remember things and so you start looking for specific hints and tips as you cache. It's called EXPERIENCE.

[+mike-ski]

Just a short note here on what I have found. There is a favorite cacher that I enjoy going after his hides. I will bet you lunch that 90% of the time his caches are always about 40+ feet off my GPSr. Now I'm fine with others but this one guy I'm always thinking that the cache is not at the GZ when I go to try and find it. I don't think he's trying to be sneaky...I just think thats the way it is.

Edited February 17, 2010 by mike-ski

[Danielc]

Just a short note here on what I have found. There is a favorite cacher that I enjoy going after his hides. I will bet you lunch that 90% of the time his caches are always about 40+ feet off my GPSr. Now I'm fine with others but this one guy I'm always thinking that the cache is not at the GZ when I go to try and find it. I don't think he's trying to be sneaky...I just think thats the way it is.

Hi,

If the cacher's co-ordinates are consistently about the same distance off, It would be worth sending him a message. He may have his GPS set to the wrong map datum or whatever.

Cheers,

Dan

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Just a short note here on what I have found. There is a favorite cacher that I enjoy going after his hides. I will bet you lunch that 90% of the time his caches are always about 40+ feet off my GPSr. Now I'm fine with others but this one guy I'm always thinking that the cache is not at the GZ when I go to try and find it. I don't think he's trying to be sneaky...I just think thats the way it is.

Hi,

If the cacher's co-ordinates are consistently about the same distance off, It would be worth sending him a message. He may have his GPS set to the wrong map datum or whatever.

Cheers,

Dan

I wouldn't bet on the datum being set wrong.

 

Be aware, some people use what is called "soft coordinates". A manner of not placing the cache directly at the coordinates to artificially raise the difficulty level.

A technique generally frowned upon.

Edited February 17, 2010 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+Mosaic55]

I'm not that experieced either, however -

 

I don't find the "drunken bumblebee dance" to do any good. I find it's better to back off 60 or 80 feet and approach the cache again. Don't worry about getting the distance to zero, anything under 10 feet is good. Doing it this way, if I get to a point where the GPS says the cache is 5 feet to my right, then 5 feet to my right is often a good spot to start looking.

 

And I read all the log entries looking for clues about what to expect and I'm not shy about using any hint the cache hider wrote.