Yuk, I'm not very good at this...

[stevierg]

So a friend told me about geocaching and I had heard about it before, but thought it was always in the mountains and there were only a few or it was a limited community. We'll he pulled out his Garmin GPS device and showed me all the locations near by and I was shocked, this is awesome!

 

So I pick up the iPhone app and check out around my home and there are a good bunch near by. I go to the first location and there it is right in front of me a fake ground sprinkler with a travel bug, a log book and a broken pen. I put it all back and will go back again with a pen to sign the log book and possible take the travel bug to a new location.

 

So here I am super excited and tonight in the pouring rain I decide to check out a 4 locations. The first one was a disaster, I was drenched in the rain and covered with crap from the bushes and no luck finding it. I think I saw it just before I left, but there was a cobweb that could hold a bird so I thought I would leave it be... not good with insects.

 

The second cache I looked for was in a park, I didn't realize that the park was surrounded by a forest and that the cache is in there somewhere. After almost slipping to my death down a muddy wet path on a steep gradient hill in the woods I head back defeated. My iPhone kept giving me different directions and as soon as I got to one place it pointed 20 feet behind me. I had no luck at all.

 

The third cache was supposed to be behind a statue under a pillar or something, I had a read of the hint and everything, but no luck either, in fairness the rain was pretty heavy now and I was getting really wet.

 

The last one I checked for was what I thought to be the easiest, but in the exact location I just could not find the cache even though I was pretty sure I knew where it was exactly based on the hint.

 

So hear I am, day 2 of my life geocaching and I all got was muddy pants and a wet hoody...

 

Defeated but not deterred.

[+krfoo]

Stick with it! It will probably be more fun without the rain.

I use the iphone app, but the GPS on smart phones is not accurate... So sometime GZ can be precisely found. We bought a GPS for hiking and it certainly helps provide confidence that you are in the right spot.

[+The Chaos Crew]

oh, bless, I can just imagine you returning home all soaked through and fed up

 

Stick at it - try a dry day next time

[NordicMan]

I'm surprised your iPhone didn't short out due to all the rain! Smartphones aren't very rugged, and the iPhone in particular doesn't have a great GPS receiver.

 

Please try again on a sunnier day!

[+vw_k]

Welcome to the hobby Your success will improve with practice, once you have a good idea of how caches can be hidden and you learn to "think like a cacher".

 

Dedicated GPS units are often more accurate than iphones but I kow plenty of people who cache with their phones. Remember to check on the cache page for any hints and to make a note of what size container you are looking for. The cache gallery and the aerial photos on geocaching google maps are also worth checking to get a good idea of the location.

 

Happy caching!

[+Chokecherry]

Caching in the rain has started to grow on me. I think it's almost one of those if I'm going to get dirty I'm going to get real dirty and make it worth it sorts of things.

 

I wouldn't use my phone that situation but now a days I typically lock the phone up in the car and take the GPS unit out. That when I go sliding down the muddy hill I don't have to worry about the damage I'm doing to my equipment quite as much.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Caching in the rain has started to grow on me. I think it's almost one of those if I'm going to get dirty I'm going to get real dirty and make it worth it sorts of things.

 

One of the funnest days I've ever had geocaching was when I went out with three other geocachers to get a couple clusters of caches in two rural parks. It had rained the previous night and from all the bushwacking that we had to do everyone was pretty wet by the time we got back to the parking lot to head to the other park. When we got to the second park the skies opened up just as we arrived. For a couple of the finds we actually had to huddle around the cache so that the log would stay dry as one person signed all of our names. On the way out we saw streams flowing down the hill that didn't exist an hour earlier. Everyone one of us was soaked to the bone but all had a smile on our face.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Sounds to me as though you had a joyous time.

 

The thread title though, "Yuk, I'm not very good at this..." is wrong... You are perfect at this!

A person with a sense of adventure and spirit -- so what if you didn't find the first ones? (Imagine a thought balloon here)... I can see you now, sliding down the slippery slope, crashing down at the canyon floor and landing atop Kathleen Turner just as Michael Douglas did in "Romancing the Stone".

The best part is, it only gets better with time.

 

Man, you are made for this game!

[+Aggrajag]

Whatever you do, don't give up!

 

I'm a newbie at this, just a month into it with only 25 finds under my belt, but I'm loving every trip. My girlfriend and I both have iPhones (both iPhone 3G) and mileage does vary; hers seems to update more quickly and more accurately yet sometimes I can get a fix and she can't. It's very bizarre. The biggest issue we found was the battery and on long trips we'd take in turns running the app or even having them both off for a while. We'd always use the hint too because if you're within about 40 feet (generally that's as accurate as it gets) it is still a heck of a lot of hiding places.

 

Having said all that, it is a fantastic starter device to introduce you to this fascinating and addictive sport/game/hobby.

 

We've now taken the plunge and bought a Garmin and we're now learning to not use the hints and to, as stated above, try to get into the mind of the cache owner.

 

Please don't give up. Try a few on a dry day and when you're more confident venture out in the rain!

 

[edit: bad punctuation]

Edited June 11, 2010 by Aggrajag

[+AuntieWeasel]

 

I love caching in the rain. Makes me feel all x-treme and stuff. Instead of, you know, fifty and unfit.

[+woody_and_pip]

one of the mistakes that I have made and am learning how to deal with is to stay away from micro sized caches, at least until you get some regular finds under your belt.

 

I cache with my kids and it has taken me a bit to catch on to something as simple as reading hints and actually looking at the size of the cache. Right now, I have decided to skip the micros and concentrate on the easier to find sizes. At my early stage as a geocacher, it is the finds that keep us fueled and it is frustration that can suck the excitement out very fast.

 

So, make sure you double check the sizes and types of caches before you head out in search of it. My advice is to look for some regular sized ones and get some finds under your belt.

[+StarBrand]

The iphone is really not the most accurate device around but does work. Keep in mind you may have to slowly expand your search area due to errors in readings - ash much as 50 feet sometimes.

 

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!!

[+The Chaos Crew]

 

I love caching in the rain. Makes me feel all x-treme and stuff. Instead of, you know, fifty and unfit.

 

I love this picture! you look like the villain from an Indiana Jones movie, just about to launch into some sort of cool martial arts moves with that stick

[+AuntieWeasel]

I love this picture! you look like the villain from an Indiana Jones movie, just about to launch into some sort of cool martial arts moves with that stick

 

That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. By some strange coincidence, that is exactly what I want to be when I grow up.

[+quikslam911]

A wet day caching beats a day at work anytime.

[+jennyofthemoon]

To the OP, you are posting here after all that,so you are very good at it already Keep at it, it gets even better than your day!!! I actually enjoy caching in the rain on most occassions. Changes the surrounds so much that it is like a different visiting place completly than on a dry day.

 

And that PICTURE!!! Awesome

[stevierg]

Thanks all for the advice and support

 

Today is going to be in the 80's so much better than before. I have a garmin bike GPS which might be better, while a nightmare to put in co-ords it does accept and I hope will be a little better.

 

Fingers crossed I find at least 1 of the 4 I failed to last week.

[+Chokecherry]

Brought some brand spanking new cachers out today. Unfortunately the only ones in terrain they were able to get to were more urban so there was a little learning curve about small containers stuck in trees. And the bonus was we even got to cache in the rain (totally into it and makes a warm shower once home that much better).

 

It's hit and miss even with a GPSr. But we still had fun.

[+Coldgears]

The one thing that messed me up for my first ten hides is the fact the GPS will never get your literally right on top of it. It will only get you so close...

[+Chokecherry]

The one thing that messed me up for my first ten hides is the fact the GPS will never get your literally right on top of it. It will only get you so close...

 

I had that conversation a couple times today too. Along with the if we're standing under dense tree cover it will bounce and that is when put the puppy away and use our mad skills and find it. You'll get close though.

[+Nahyes]

Exactly the same for me except the rain

 

I was just about to think that I have to give up this exciting discoveries.

Found 1

 

...and the next 5 I couldn't...although receiving massages that it can be found very easily (by far more experienced cachers I know .

So I started to think where I would hide...don't work yet

So I start thinking that my GPS might not be accurate enough (eTrex H)... Possible? Anything I can do to make it more accurate (it is showing me 5 to 6m difference)

Not give up?

I don't want to...really enjoy...and would more, if I would be a little bit more successful!

 

Regards

[+woody_and_pip]

The one thing that messed me up for my first ten hides is the fact the GPS will never get your literally right on top of it. It will only get you so close...

 

That one took me a while to understand. If my gps says that it is only accurate to 20 feet, it is safe to assume that the one that the CO used is probably just as (in)accurate. It can be frustrating to think that after you combine the 2, you can be off by 40 feet or more even when the gps says zero.

[nimzfamily]

I feel for you, I just started yesterday and have found 1 out of 8 searches. Today was my 1st find. It was wonderful, was beginning to think I would never find one. I am using my new HTC Hero smartphone and it works pretty good. Still, I get to the coordinates and wonder why I can't find it. But I am having a great time and am sure I will get better with time. Thanks to everyone here !!!!!!

[+niraD]

So I start thinking that my GPS might not be accurate enough (eTrex H)... Possible? Anything I can do to make it more accurate (it is showing me 5 to 6m difference)

Consumer grade GPS receivers will be accurate to about 3m under ideal circumstances. Under less than ideal circumstances, their accuracy can easily be 5-20m.

 

Note that this applies both to your GPSr, and to the GPSr used by the cache owner. Thus, 5-6m accuracy is perfectly normal under ideal circumstances, and it's actually very good under less than ideal circumstances.