Anyone have advice for a newbie

[+2BeachCuties]

I wanted to find a fun way to get my young daughters interested in hiking and thought geocaching would be perfect. We have gone out two times and are not having much success finding the hide. We have discovered 3 of 7 containers even though I know i was at GZ for them. I wanted to see if anyone could post some advice on what to look for... I dont want them to get discouraged.

 

i read that caches are not buried but are they covered up by tree limbs, leaves etc? Are most placed on the ground or in a tree?

 

please help

[GOF and Bacall]

The hides very as much as human imagination itself. Usually when I get to a location I start by asking myself "Where would I hide it?" There is, however, a bit of a learning curve. Start with caches that have lower difficulty ratings and work your way up. Take a bit of time to figure out where you would like to visit and then see what caches are near by.

 

Stick with it. Once you have added to your experience it gets to be more fun than work. Trust me.

[+kunarion]

i read that caches are not buried but are they covered up by tree limbs, leaves etc? Are most placed on the ground or in a tree?

Most of the ones I've found in forests were on the ground. Often they're covered with leaves, pine straw, bark or sticks. A container that hasn't been found in a while gets hidden well by leaves. Although they’re not supposed to be “buried” by digging a hole, some containers are hidden by using an existing hole.

 

But a cache container could be anywhere (even very high in a tree). You must check the cache description, in case there's a clue. Containers come in many sizes, and may be cleverly camouflaged and hidden.

[GOF and Bacall]

Oh, and watch out for the micros. Those little buggers can be tricky. Stick to the larger caches for now.

[+dexter-cacher]

Yep...pick the easy ones to start out with especially with kids...You could also look for the "kid attribute" which shows kid friendly caches but I caution you that nt everyone uses the attributes. Read the clues and don't give up..happy caching

[+HedgeMage]

My (now 7-year-old) son and I have been caching together for about a year. Our first cache was a huge disappointment -- we had to turn back due to dangerous litter (broken glass bottles and other sharp things on uneven ground where a fall would have been easy). We found and DNF several others, and then met up with my aunt and uncle who took us on a tour of favorite caches in their area.

 

We'd navigate to ground zero, then if there was no luck with the find after awhile, my aunt and uncle (who had found all of these before) would offer a kid-appropriate clue such as, "This cache has been found many times, does any place around here look more traveled than the rest?" or "You won't find that one without a boost from someone taller". They also knew which hides to avoid because they were just too tough for a little newbie. All of those successes made future DNFs sting less, because my son already felt like a "real" geocacher.

 

Happy caching

--Susan

[+StarBrand]

Stick with it - caches can be well hidden and you sometimes have to get rid of some pre-conceptions.

 

Here are some general hints:

 

Look for caches with a difficulty of 2 or less for your fist few caches. Stick with regular sized caches for your first few. Micros can be quite hard to find sometimes. Stick to areas you are familiar with. Look for anything out of place or unusual. Look for unusual piles of sticks, grass, leaves, rocks, sand, etc. Feel where you cannot look. Think vertical, not all caches are on the ground. Look up or at eye level. Look for traces of previous searches to zero in on the spot. Think like the hider - where would you put a container in this location? Look for things too new, too old, too perfect, not like the others, too many, too few. Change your perspective - a shift in lighting can sometimes reveal a cache. Keep in mind that many micros are magnetic or attached to something (via string, wire etc). Slowly expand your search area to about 40 feet from where your GPS says ground zero is. Bring garden gloves and a flashlight - they help! Be prepared to not find the cache more often then you think.

 

Most of all - have fun!!

[+Anno Lynke]

I started caching less than a year ago.

my advice is read the descriptions.

I had several finds the because of signal bounce was putting me 50 ft away from the trail.

but the description said 10 ft off the trail.

so I went back and found them.

 

Also the idea of looking for signs of previous visitors helps sometimes

I found several from noticing paths where others had gone into the bushes.

Have fun

[+ChaceGuild]

Having only been Geocaching for a few days, I've found the "standard" hints and tips to be very good

 

One other thing I've found helpful - if you can, take a walking stick/pokey thing! They really are a boon, especially if the cache has been well covered by grass/straw/leaves, etc. The ability to hear that "Klunk!" as stick hits plastic or metal is a real help

[+briansnat]

We have discovered 3 of 7 containers even though I know i was at GZ for them.

 

Remember that ground zero could be 20, 30 or 40+ feet from where your GPS says it is. Your GPS will get you to the general area. It will rarely bring you right to the cache.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I see that only one of the three was a micro. Probably with kids, you are best achieving your goal (for them) if you stay away from micros for a bit. Work at the small to large more. At least they should have some swag for the young ones, and they generally are a bit easier to find.

 

Once acclimated to geocaching, they will learn to take the micros along with the others, and that swag really has little to do with "the hunt".

 

When at Ground Zero (20+ ft) of the cache, forget the GPSr, as it will only confuse you from that point on. Switch to hunting with your eyes and brain. The GPSr will only on rare occasions put you directly at the cache. It will only put you in the area.

 

Enjoy the hunting.

[+BrrrMo]

I see that only one of the three was a micro. Probably with kids, you are best achieving your goal (for them) if you stay away from micros for a bit. Work at the small to large more. At least they should have some swag for the young ones, and they generally are a bit easier to find.

 

Once acclimated to geocaching, they will learn to take the micros along with the others, and that swag really has little to do with "the hunt".

 

When at Ground Zero (20+ ft) of the cache, forget the GPSr, as it will only confuse you from that point on. Switch to hunting with your eyes and brain. The GPSr will only on rare occasions put you directly at the cache. It will only put you in the area.

 

Enjoy the hunting.

 

Go to YouTube and do a search for Geocaching. There are some good videos on about the obsession. ;>}.

[Eshel_1948]

The most direct route isn't always the best route. I figured this one out after my first cache yesterday when a piece of ice I was standing on trying to get a reading broke off and I started to float down the river.

[+ChaceGuild]

Very true - as good as some GPSr's are, they'll never beat those natural gifts you have - your eyes! I quickly learned to put away the GPSr when at GZ, as others have said it will just confuse you, or make you get impatient (did me!).

 

Another easy tool you may want to look into is the little telescopic magnet pointer - This sort of thing

If find it very handy when a cache is listed as being of metal construction, as you'll get the distinctive metal "Klink!" as magnet meets metal

[Eshel_1948]

The most direct route isn't always the best route. I figured this one out after my first cache yesterday when a piece of ice I was standing on trying to get a reading broke off and I started to float down the river.

[+HawkLawless1]

Try looking at local parks or green spaces in your area. Those areas tend to have a higher density of larger cache containers than say a more urban area might. After that, it's training your brain to look for the clues: areas that may show increased activity, piles of sticks/rocks that look irregular, any anomaly that looks different from its surroundings or that has someplace that might harbor a cache. Couple that with information/hints from the cache listing and that should get you close. If you have information regarding the cache, let your kids in on it. I'll repeat info over and over as we search and most times, my son will find it first. He's shorter and thus a totally different perspective.

 

Also, if you have a premium membership, you can pare the search down by choosing kid friendly caches and ones that are of a certain terrain, difficulty, and size. Should help a little.