1st time solo and no treasure

[Foodiefun]

We went to the Houston Zoo today. I just bought a Garmin 60CSx and downloaded 5 caches. Tried 2 out of the 5 and no luck. One was a virtual. The compass would get us up to 20 feet and then change footage, but would point in the same direction. We scoured the areas and could not find container or ghost. lol

 

I'm still figuring out the Garmin and haven't bought any maps yet. It just pulled up the the Geocaches and it started searching. Screen with a compass pulled up with miles, speed, etc, but no map. Does this happen when you haven't purchased maps? Or is there a screen to see the actual roads/path?

 

We tried Zoo 3 and & Houston Zoological Gardens. I know we won't find every one, but it just seemed that we were right on top of them...supposedly.

 

Is it okay as a newbie to contact the originator of the cache to see if we were anywhere near it?

Edited July 9, 2010 by Foodiefun

[+StarBrand]

First of all - don't expect the unit to put you on top of the cache. Most handheld units have an average accuracy somewhere between 10 and 25 feet under typical conditions. Add your error to the hider's unknown error and you could easily find yourself looking for a cache 50 feet from where your units says it should be. Usually it will be 20 or less feet but do be prepared. Inside that radius the unit can act kind of flucky - put it away and start looking for the cache.

 

Second - virtual caches are just the location itself. You usually have to answer some question about what you see there or photograph yourself there. No container or ghost to be found. Check the listing page.

 

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!!

Edited July 9, 2010 by StarBrand

[+dfx]

We went to the Houston Zoo today. I just bought a Garmin 60CSx and downloaded 5 caches. Tried 2 out of the 5 and no luck. One was a virtual. The compass would get us up to 20 feet and then change footage, but would point in the same direction. We scoured the areas and could not find container or ghost. lol

there's nothing physical to "find" with a virtual cache. you just have to read the cache description, figure out what the logging requirements are and then do that. in the case of the Houston Zoological Gardens virtual cache, you're required to send the name of the zoo cafe to the owner of the cache, and that's it. then you've "found" it.

 

zoo-3 is a micro cache, which can be very tricky for a newbie. consider going for caches with larger containers first.

 

Is it okay as a newbie to contact the originator of the cache to see if we were anywhere near it?

yes, totally, even as a non-newbie!

[Foodiefun]

Thank you for the replies!

 

I know that the the virtual was a location (I was referring to the ghost due to to symbol) and I knew what caffe they were talking about as I'm a Houston Zoo member and have been there a gazillion times.

 

My problem was that my Garmin kept moving me out of the zoo and I started doubting what I was looking for. So that is why I'm a little concerned. Maybe I wasn't even in GZ. I did calibrate the compass before heading out.

 

We did look high & low and pushed branches around for Zoo 3, but the bushes were very overgrown. Maybe that made a difference too...if it was IN the bushes. lol

Edited July 9, 2010 by Foodiefun

[jholly]

First of all - don't expect the unit to put you on top of the cache.

 

Very true. Out of all the caches I have found I can recall only once that the unit went to zero and I looked down and there the cache was. But that was about the only place for the cache so I guess it really does not count. But while standing there the unit did jump to 8 feet, so all was well.

[+Quossum]

Hello, fellow Houstonian!

 

Yes, micros can be challenging until you develop an "eye" for them. Try to find some Regular sized caches first; we have plenty of them in this city!

 

Also, as far as the maps are concerned, I downloaded a Texas Topo for my Garmin 60CSx from here:

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

 

That will help, trust me!

 

Good luck in all!

 

--Q

[+michigansnorkelers]

I own a 60cs. It does come with a base map, but only of major highways. Helpful on cross-country trips but mostly useless in the city.

 

After several years, I finally broke down and bought the Garmin maps for it. I wish I had done this initially. Not only are the maps helpful, but so are the many associated functions like finding nearby gas stations when you're on vacation and running below empty!

 

I didn't know about the free maps until recently, but have since loaded some topo maps with success.

 

As for getting skunked, I missed the first several geocaches I attempted. The first five will be the hardest, and they will get easier as you become more familiar with them.

 

Want an easy micro? Almost certainly, there is one hidden under one of the lamppost skirts in your local Wal-Mart. Often it will have the name ALWAYS in the cache name. Find it, and you'll get an idea of how far off the coordinates can be.

[+michigansnorkelers]

You should also concentrate on traditional, regular or large caches.

 

You can search manually, or become a premium member and do a pocket query. It is rather cheap, yet very valuable when deciding where to hunt. I ran a quick one and came up with a bunch of suitable geocaches in a park near the zoo.

 

[+Warturtle]

I find that my GPS is for some reason very inaccurate with the geocaching option, so instead I write down coordinates and match it with the listing on the GPS.