How many finds did you have before your first hide?

[+California66er]

I'm pretty new to the game, and while I'm still not spectacular at it, I am loving every minute. I've got some ideas for hides already, but want to find at least a few of each kind before I even attempt my own first hide.

 

How many finds did you have before you felt comfortable making your first hide? (Or for that matter, how many hides did you have before you knew WTH you were doing?) Not looking for any kind of a hard-and-fast rule; I'll do it when I'm comfortable in my own abilities. Just wondering how long other folks waited.

[+Castle Mischief]

Honestly I can't remember. I think about 30.

[+Mom-n-Andy]

I'm pretty new to the game, and while I'm still not spectacular at it, I am loving every minute. I've got some ideas for hides already, but want to find at least a few of each kind before I even attempt my own first hide.

 

How many finds did you have before you felt comfortable making your first hide? (Or for that matter, how many hides did you have before you knew WTH you were doing?) Not looking for any kind of a hard-and-fast rule; I'll do it when I'm comfortable in my own abilities. Just wondering how long other folks waited.

 

I hid my first cache after about 80 finds, and only after upgrading to a really good GPS receiver so that I could get good coordinates. I really didn't plan to do a cache then but found something called a "FTF travel bug" in a cache. Apparently the goal of this variety of travel bug is to be placed in a new cache for the FTF, who will then place a new cache containing the travel bug for another FTF. And so on. So I felt some obligation to put out a cache with the travel bug, instead of just sending it on its way in the usual manner.

 

I've been geocaching on and off for 6 years but still don't know what I'm doing. The geocachers in my area are always coming up with something new and different from what you've seen before. That's what makes it so much fun.

[+Juicepig]

before i feel comfortable? I still don't!!

[+42at42]

My first hide was too soon. After about 10 finds. I could have done it better. It is still there and still being found. It is a great location, but not well hidden, even though it is a bit of a challenge to some. Now with a few more finds, I have more ideas of ways to hide.

 

After about 30 finds you will have seen a variety of good and not so good hides. It will give you a good idea of what to do.

[+captnemo]

I would have said ten, but decided to look it up and it was only 3! Did I know what I'm doing? Didn't know I was supossed to! Still not sure I know, but that keeps it fun.

Edited March 3, 2010 by captnemo

[+Harry Dolphin]

57 finds. Month and a half. And five and half years later, it is still active.

[+California66er]

I'm nearing 30 finds now, but still don't really feel like I know what I'm doing yet. They've almost all been urban caches, for instance, and there haven't been too many puzzle caches.

 

In April and May, I'll be taking an 8-state road trip to shoot a documentary. I've made a list of 232 caches along the way that I'd like to try and get. Mostly traditional, but about a dozen each of virtuals, offsets, and puzzles (I won't have a ton of downtime with shooting, so I had to do way fewer of those.) Even two or three EarthCaches. I think after that, I'll start working on my own... of course, I'd love to do a really good series, but I suspect so would everyone else.

[+hallycat]

I had quite a few, in the 100's. Probably should have hid one sooner but....

 

I think you should make sure this is not a passing fad before you hide.

Too many people hide caches then stop playing and leave the cache to become geolitter.

[+StarBrand]

1

 

It is still out there - doing well in the Original container after 8+ years.

[+NeecesandNephews]

I only have 41 finds (so far ) and 0 hides, but reading here in the forums it seems I am an exception. I notice a lot of threads asking advice on hides, containers, ect, by people who have very few finds or none at all. Seems hiding is becoming a more prominent part of joining in the game.

 

I've got some great ideas, and some great locations, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Don't think I will for a little while yet.

 

I find it amusing when people join without even reading many of the very well put together "primers" on the game, but rush right over here to the forums to ask questions.

[+California66er]

I had quite a few, in the 100's. Probably should have hid one sooner but....

 

I think you should make sure this is not a passing fad before you hide.

Too many people hide caches then stop playing and leave the cache to become geolitter.

 

That's good advice. I do tend to get very fired up about something and then lose interest quickly. I don't particularly think that that's the case here, but it may well be.

[+L0ne.R]

I'm pretty new to the game, and while I'm still not spectacular at it, I am loving every minute. I've got some ideas for hides already, but want to find at least a few of each kind before I even attempt my own first hide.

 

How many finds did you have before you felt comfortable making your first hide? (Or for that matter, how many hides did you have before you knew WTH you were doing?) Not looking for any kind of a hard-and-fast rule; I'll do it when I'm comfortable in my own abilities. Just wondering how long other folks waited.

 

We started Christmas Eve 2001, found 6 caches and planted our first cache, a regular size rubbermaid container, on January 20 2002, under a pile of boulders a few feet from a trail. It had 2 happy finders on March 16, when we checked on it in April it was missing -- learned not to plant so close to a trail, especially a popular trail (it was near a waterfall), among boulders that look like kids would have fun playing on, in and around.

 

I hope your first cache hide will be one you are proud of and earns a lot of great compliments. May it live long and prosper.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Lone R

[+California66er]

I only have 41 finds (so far ) and 0 hides, but reading here in the forums it seems I am an exception. I notice a lot of threads asking advice on hides, containers, ect, by people who have very few finds or none at all. Seems hiding is becoming a more prominent part of joining in the game.

 

I've got some great ideas, and some great locations, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Don't think I will for a little while yet.

 

I find it amusing when people join without even reading many of the very well put together "primers" on the game, but rush right over here to the forums to ask questions.

 

Sorry to offend, if in fact I have. I haven't stumbled upon these primers yet, as I'm usually on the site for short periods of time. This thread isn't really meant to give me an idea of how long to wait; it's more meant to be conversational. To see how long other people waited.

 

All I've found in my limited searching was an FAQ that said: "Q: How do I hide a cache? A: Before considering your first geocache hide, find a variety of caches in your area to familiarize yourself with the activity."

 

I'm working on that part.

[+StarBrand]

... I haven't stumbled upon these primers yet, as I'm usually on the site for short periods of time. This thread isn't really meant to give me an idea of how long to wait; it's more meant to be conversational. To see how long other people waited.

 

All I've found in my limited searching was an FAQ that said: "Q: How do I hide a cache? A: Before considering your first geocache hide, find a variety of caches in your area to familiarize yourself with the activity."

 

I'm working on that part.

http://www.geocaching.com/resources/default.aspx

 

Start with the links on this page.

[+NeecesandNephews]

After my previous post went up I looked at it and thought "that could be misunderstood"!! I didn't refer to the OP in this thread when I said "rush right over here and ask questions" Guess what I should have said was , " come over here to the forums and ask others how to do it".

 

I am glad to see anyone gathering opinions, and to me it seems responsible to do that!!

 

The reason quoted above by hallycat is the one that explains why I haven't hidden any yet. I never know how busy my schedule is going to be, and want to be a "good citizen" in regard to cache maintenance.

 

edit to add_ hahaha you were posting as I was typing I was afraid I had worded that wrong. My apologies!!!

Edited March 3, 2010 by NeecesandNephews

[+Endorfun]

For eight years I had not found one geocache since about 2001 as I had been working non stop. Eight years it was home, airline, or taxi with a blue tooth headset and a notebook as the only contact with those I know at up to 130 hours a week on the clock for a Dec 2009 deadline. But, as such, I did manage to help several friends with setting up about a dozen or so caches in that time. Finally in January I retired from my eight year work load at 41 and have now jumped back into caching and other recreational items that I have neglected in all this time.

[+ekhoc]

Not looking for any kind of a hard-and-fast rule; I'll do it when I'm comfortable in my own abilities. Just wondering how long other folks waited.

Just about 20 finds, I think. Way too little. Should have been 200...

[+L0ne.R]

The reason quoted above by hallycat is the one that explains why I haven't hidden any yet. I never know how busy my schedule is going to be, and want to be a "good citizen" in regard to cache maintenance.

 

This is an admirable quality.

[+Isonzo Karst]

About three weeks. 9 finds, because 2 or 3 per weekend was doing good back then. My first two hides are still out and active. I didn't do something really stupid until hides 3, 4 and 5 ;-).

 

If there's some really cool place that you know about, and it's the first thing you thought of when you started finding caches, yep put one there (assuming there isn't already one there).

[+rob3k]

I had about 200. Personally, I wanted to see a good range of hides before placing one. I also put out a fairly vanilla traditional cache along a trail as my first.

[+HawkLawless1]

I'm at 100+ and still haven't set up my first cache. Have a whole box of possible containers and a notebook of ideas, but haven't pulled the trigger for lack of the "right" place and time. Need to wait for life to settle down a bit. I'd hate to set one up and then have to pull it or leave it. 'Til then, I'll just continue to enjoy others' fruits and take good notes.

Edited March 3, 2010 by HawkLawless1

[+ArcherDragoon]

Around 50 or so...don't recall for sure...

[knowschad]

I had to look back and do a little counting... 14. My first was a 3-stage multi. I fat-fingered the first stage coords and had people looking over a quarter of a mile away. I had to fix the "clever" 2nd stage after about a week, I think it was, and eventually replaced it entirely. Then the first stage went missing, so I converted it do a single stage, where it lasted for several years.

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

I usually recommend 100

[knowschad]

I don't have any recommendations. Sometimes creativity is ruined by exposure to what others are doing. As has been said here many times by others, I've seen great caches put out by newbies and I've seen terrible caches put out by cachers with years of experience and hundreds of hides. There are, however, things that can be learned by finding a bunch first (which containers are watertight, how to not hide caches in places that will fill with ice in the winter, etc).

[+briansnat]

I had 1 find before my first hide. 8+ years later it's still active. At one point early on I think I had more hides than finds.

Edited March 3, 2010 by briansnat

[aniyn]

I had 9 finds if i recall correctly. That was pretty much every cache within 20km of me though. I think ideally you should be around 30 finds before you hide one, as that'll be a pretty good sample base. It's all relative though; I've seen people with tons of finds leave relatively poor caches.

[+Wooden Cyclist]

About 300, and I feel like I waited too long.

 

Read the guidelines and posts about hiding then jump in. In your first cache description you could state that it is your fist cache and invite comments and advice from the finders. I did that and got a few good pointers from the local cachers.

[+Juan Durrer]

I had about 20 finds.

 

At that point, I couldn't wait to "give back," so to speak, and felt comfortable doing an LPC.

 

(I spent about 45 minutes walking around the first LPC I ever got to, and may never have found it if another geocacher didn't come along and show me - and snag the FTF!)

 

So, feeling confident that by use of my iPhone and Google Maps that I could ascertain the coordinates precisely, I went and hid a film canister and started getting the "found it" logs. I know it's not real exciting for experienced hands, but lots of people visit my cache and seem to have enjoyed it.

 

And getting those logs is a fun part of the game that you shouldn't wait so long to get! It makes you want to do more hides, and without more hides, what have we got?

 

I have already planned some better and trickier caches, and a multi, but I'm waiting for Spring weather to get them hidden. Now I have a real GPS and by then I'll also have much more experience and will have the confidence that those more fully conceived hides will be good and accurately placed.

 

R

[+L0ne.R]

I don't have any recommendations. Sometimes creativity is ruined by exposure to what others are doing. As has been said here many times by others, I've seen great caches put out by newbies and I've seen terrible caches put out by cachers with years of experience and hundreds of hides. There are, however, things that can be learned by finding a bunch first (which containers are watertight, how to not hide caches in places that will fill with ice in the winter, etc).

 

Right. And I think it's not so much about number of finds as it is commitment to the game. I think I'd prefer to see a short period of active participation (maybe 4 months) before a cache is hidden, rather then concentrate on the number of finds.

 

I prefer to see a hider who invests something in the hide. Some suggestions -- a good container (usually ammo can or real lock n lock -- but any water tight container will do), a good size container appropriate to the location (don't plant a micro in a stump because it's easy and cheap, when a regular size cache would be more appropriate and more fun for finders), nice location (is it a place you'd like to come back to often). Be prepared to maintain your cache and the cache listings. When a report comes in about a problem you will be expected to address the issue in a timely fashion.

[knowschad]

Right. And I think it's not so much about number of finds as it is commitment to the game. I think I'd prefer to see a short period of active participation (maybe 4 months) before a cache is hidden, rather then concentrate on the number of finds.

Good point!

[+Wooden Cyclist]

Right. And I think it's not so much about number of finds as it is commitment to the game. I think I'd prefer to see a short period of active participation (maybe 4 months) before a cache is hidden, rather then concentrate on the number of finds.

Good point!

 

So someone sets up an account then waits for four months to get started they would be qualified to hide a cache?

 

Just playing devils advocate here. Some people would find 100's in their first four months others might not leave the house.

 

The same goes for setting a specific numbers of finds. I could log dozens of LPC finds then be qualified to hide?

[+Kit Fox]

57 finds. Month and a half. And five and half years later, it is still active.

 

After 19 finds, I hid my first cache. MLDC Micro Still going strong after 5 1/2 years also.

[+L0ne.R]

Right. And I think it's not so much about number of finds as it is commitment to the game. I think I'd prefer to see a short period of active participation (maybe 4 months) before a cache is hidden, rather then concentrate on the number of finds.

Good point!

 

So someone sets up an account then waits for four months to get started they would be qualified to hide a cache?

 

Just playing devils advocate here. Some people would find 100's in their first four months others might not leave the house.

 

That's why I said "active" participation. They would still be finding caches, maybe just one a month but it shows that they are participating and have not become bored with the hobby. An event thrown in for good measure would be icing on the cake. If you meet other cachers you probably don't want to disappoint them with a lame cache hide as your first contribution to the game.

[+GeoGeeBee]

I had about 35 finds when I found a cache that had been badly neglected, in a location I really liked. I emailed the owner and offered to repair it. He is no longer active in geocaching and asked me to adopt it, along with his only other hide, so I did.

 

I just recently hid my first "all my own" cache. I had 57 finds when I hid it.

[+narcissa]

I had more than 100 finds.

Edited March 3, 2010 by narcissa

[+geodarts]

I think I had seven finds when I placed my first cache (one accidental, four with a gps). It is still one of my favorite caches that I have placed. Some other caches, that I placed with far more experience, have not been nearly as successful. That is not to say that experience does not count. I archived one of my early finds after concluding it was the wrong cache in the wrong location but in the right area. With a little more experience (and a lot more visits to the area) I found the right location.

 

As a personal matter, I have found that my sense of instant gratification has created more problems than experience. But perhaps there is some relationship between the two.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Erickson

[+OzGuff]

I had found 30 caches before I placed my first. 6.5 years later it is still going strong, with over 300 logged finds on GC.com!

 

I have placed more than a few caches over the last 6.5 years and still make the odd mistake in cache placement. New cache placers have their hearts in the right place, so it is hard to complain. But I generally try to give new cache placers a word or three of advice if I find their new offerings lacking. Location is something that I generally don't complain about -- they can't all be epic 5/5 caches with quantum mechanics puzzles and zip-lines. And one cacher's trash is another cacher's treasure. I may not like the location but I *will* sign the log and move on.

 

My advice is usually based on how long I think the cache will survive in situ. If a couple of words of mine help keep a few caches around a little longer -- great!

 

Hope this helps the OP!

[+Fiver1]

I placed my first cache after about 130 finds.

[+bittsen]

I think I had around 50 finds before I placed my first one.

I've learned a lot since then.

[+9Key]

I think I had around 40 finds, but it was 5 months after I started caching as there weren't as many caches back in '02 as there is now. My first one was a multi-cache that still goes missing to this day. Just not a good spot (too close to the trail).

[+California66er]

The thought first came to me when I was on my way to a cache. I hit a point that I knew wasn't the right coordinates, but I said outloud, "This is where I would put it." It had a great view, a perfect hiding spot, everything.

 

After getting to the actual cache, I was underwhelmed. But I was even newer then than I am now, and I thought, "You know, I just don't know enough about this game yet to hide my own cache."

 

What I like about the responses in this topic is that, overall, you seem to be saying that time spent "in the bush" isn't as important as the commitment to the game and thought put into the cache. Which resonates with me.

 

One thing I'm interested in seeing on the aforementioned road trip is to see the way caches are done in different areas. So far, I really like the assortment of caches I've seen, even though most of them are urban caches. I guess here in L.A., that's of necessity.

 

Thanks for all of the input so far!

[+Scubasonic]

I think about 100

 

SS

[+NeecesandNephews]

The thought first came to me when I was on my way to a cache. I hit a point that I knew wasn't the right coordinates, but I said outloud, "This is where I would put it." It had a great view, a perfect hiding spot, everything.

 

After getting to the actual cache, I was underwhelmed. But I was even newer then than I am now, and I thought, "You know, I just don't know enough about this game yet to hide my own cache."

 

What I like about the responses in this topic is that, overall, you seem to be saying that time spent "in the bush" isn't as important as the commitment to the game and thought put into the cache. Which resonates with me.

 

One thing I'm interested in seeing on the aforementioned road trip is to see the way caches are done in different areas. So far, I really like the assortment of caches I've seen, even though most of them are urban caches. I guess here in L.A., that's of necessity.

 

Thanks for all of the input so far!

 

 

Sorry again for my bad start!!! Judging by what you wrote, you might have a better grasp on it than you think you do. Don't sell yourself short!!

 

I will add one of the most impressive hides I have found (hey I am new) wasn't a breathtaking location, nor particular sneaky, or difficult, but was a first aid kit box painted pink!! (GC21XMH) I was impressed by the concept, and the meticulous maintenance it displayed. Everything inside it was neat, clean, and dry. Even in our short time caching I have come to appreciate that very much!! You could just tell that the Owner was proud of it!! Just thought it worth mentioning!

[+buzzy_cacher]

I only have one hide -- hid it when i hit 20. I made it into a puzzle cache and it turned out REALLY well. I felt comfortable earlier but I thought it we be best if i waited. Your personal decision.

[+California66er]

About 300, and I feel like I waited too long.

 

Read the guidelines and posts about hiding then jump in. In your first cache description you could state that it is your fist cache and invite comments and advice from the finders. I did that and got a few good pointers from the local cachers.

 

That's really great advice. Thank you.

[+Chrysalides]

I guess I win procrastinator of the thread award? About 500 before I found a location I like.

[+tomfuller & Quill]

Exactly 3 finds before I hid my own. After 4.5 years the screwtop container is still in good shape. When I hid it it was over 12 miles from the nearest cache. 11 finds and no DNF's, I must have done something right.

I waited until I had found 7 5/5's before I hid a 5/5 puzzle.

My first find was a FTF on a micro hanging in a tree.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I think I had around 50 finds before I placed my first one.

I've learned a lot since then.

I learnt from the best! BrianSnat, Skully & Muldur et al. Rat Team 6. The Artful Dodger. rjb43nh. Water Boy with Wife. Davideo. I hadn't even seen a micro when I hid my first cache.