WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? please help

[JudeandSaraJackson]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

[+Panther&Pine]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

Deep breath.

 

What are you using to find caches? I see you've logged one already.

You should edit it to omit the explicit clue.

 

and remember, breath.

[+Mezgrman]

Hi! Don't give up - keep tryin'! Sooner or later you will find your first cache - maybe you could go out with a more experienced cacher and learn some tips and tricks...

And YES, this game is real

 

Best greetings from Germany,

Mezgrman

[+Twitch Hugs Trees]

Absolutely no shovel should ever be needed to find or hide a cache-- it's against the guidelines.

 

Don't just rely on your GPS, they aren't as accurate as it says it is. There can be a rather large area that actually encompasses "ground zero".

 

Here is Groundspeak's help page, contains some very insightful reading. Here

[+Prime Suspect]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

Skip looking for micros for now. Start with Regular or Small. Don't assume your GPS is right. It rarely is. But a good one (ie, not a phone trying to be a GPS), will get you pretty close. Look in a radius of at least 20 feet from ground zero. Ask yourself where you might hide something. Look for anything suspicious or out of place.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Yes indeed, slow doowwwnnnn, take a breath, relaxxxx.....

 

Feel better now?

 

Judging from the questions you tossed out there, I feel it best that you read about geocaching and then read some more about geocaching. It just doesn't seem like you know too much about it.

Truly, it is as easy a pie -- once you understand the concept of it.

 

The game is not a joke, I don't have a clue what a "strimmer" is, but if the cops had caught you with a shovel -- you should have been arrested (in my opinion).

 

For starters, read the entirety of the information provided in this link: http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=1

 

THEN, if you haven't done so, click on every little thing that you can click on the homepage of geocaching.com (you did manage to find your way here )

The GETTING STARTED link has a lot of generalized ideas about geocaching. You build on those ideas.

 

As mentioned earlier, you should probably (for the time being) not worry so much about the micro caches (smallest), and go after the small or larger ones. Micros can be as small as your little fingernail. Need I say more?

 

One of the best learning techniques is to attend a geocaching EVENT near to where you live. There you will find face-to-face help from a lot of people that WANT to help you. You can find them through your PROFILE>SEARCH OPTIONS>•List newest in (where you live). This will display a list of them in your neck of the woods.

 

Hope it helps.

[+a2n]

I don't always find the cache but I always find something interesting.... maybe a place I have never been before, maybe I learn something about the history of the area.....

Have fun with it. And as others have said, expand your search. Your coordinates may be slightly different according to the accuracy of the device you are using.

Good luck from a fellow newbie.

[+Dragery]

I don't always find the cache but I always find something interesting.... maybe a place I have never been before, maybe I learn something about the history of the area.....

Have fun with it. And as others have said, expand your search. Your coordinates may be slightly different according to the accuracy of the device you are using.

Good luck from a fellow newbie.

 

Today I went for a guard rail cache that was behind a Big Lots.... I didn't find the cache but I'm sure glad the CO brought me there, it was inspiring. All that broken down cardboard, and abandoned shopping carts

[+briansnat]

The number one mistake novices make is relying too much on their GPS. The GPS will get you close but will rarely put you right on it. If your GPS says zero, the cache could actually be 20, 30, 40 or more feet from that spot.

 

So think more about where you would hide something if you were in that area than what your GPS says.

 

And as others mentioned, stick with small, regular and large caches at first. Micros can be frustrating to cachers with years of experience.

[+Prime Suspect]

The game is not a joke, I don't have a clue what a "strimmer" is, but if the cops had caught you with a shovel -- you should have been arrested (in my opinion).

strimmer = weed whacker, or string trimmer

[hoosier guy]

Sorry to here you had a bit of stress there. Choose some 1/1 caches that are regular size. Finding these will help develope you "cache sense" Maybe find someone experienced to go with you and guide ya along for a little while.

 

Mostly have fun and relax.

[+speakers-corner]

Hello Sara, hi Jude

 

welcome to the game. Join the GAGB (Geocaching Association of Great Britain)

 

http://www.gagb.co.uk/gagb/

 

They also have a Forum, also regional Forums where you can meet Cachers from your area. But dont give up, its fun, you get to see places you would never think of visiting if you didnt Cache.

[+speakers-corner]

Another good site that offers help and info in the UK is

 

http://www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk/resources/default.shtml

[+stubbyd]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

 

I've never found a cache yet personally - my children on teh other hand always manage to do so. I get us to the rough area and they do the finesse part and find it.

 

Take heart, it will come to you and rather than stress about the lack of find enjoy the area you're in instaed.

 

Oh, and my children are for hire if you wish

[+insx]

I can only echo what's been said (but I am bored in my lunch hour). Look for something significant, a post, a lifebelt, the base of a tree. Don't rely on the GPS although sometimes it will be spot on. Don't give the location away in your logs - that one needs an edit really.

 

Another thought, make sure the cache is at the location specified. When I was brand new to this I tried to find a couple of caches that weren't there - the location was only the place to gather clues for a multi cache that was located somewhere else.

Edited July 22, 2010 by insx

[+BrrrMo]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

 

Go to YouTube and do a search foe Geocaching vids. They can be a big help.

[MisterEFQ]

The first 6 caches that we went out and searched for were DNFs. Three of those we have recently came back to and found pretty quickly. The more you cache the more you will learn. We have only been going for 3 weeks and have learned tons and found 40 caches.

 

Go for the bigger caches, they are much easier to find. Stick within the 1-2 difficulty. Parks are a great place to cache. Read the logs before you even search. If you see several DNFs, dont go for it.

 

Just some advice from somebody who was in your boat a few weeks ago.

[blue163]

Search only for 1/1 or 1.5/1.5 caches that have been found in the last couple days. Preferably ones that have been found many times in the last month because when you get on site you will usually find foot trails leading around and directly to the cache. This will give you an idea of how other people search for caches as well as give you some guidance when you get on-site for where the cache is.

 

Start with regular/small sized caches, and always read the hints and ALL of the cache logs, lots of times hints are strewn in there. People will usually post if the cache is not very close to the given co-ordinates as well.

Once you have found 5 or 10 of them you will start feeling a whole lot better.

 

When I started we picked a random geocache, walked up and found it within 30 seconds. It was at the base of a pine tree poorly disguised. We then went on to 5 more cache sites, and at every one I searched all around the base of a pine tree and found nothing... I hated this sport and was ready to quit. A lunch break and a fresh mind and we were back in it, finding all 5 we had previously been unable to find.

 

If it helps they were things such as:

Camo taped round ball cache with a hook on the top hanging from a zip tie in a pine tree

Camo taped small LnL container buried under a patch of grass in the middle of a field of 2-foot long grass (this one was VERY frustrating, in the end we got a broom handle and used it to poke in the thick patches until we found the container)

Camo taped small LnL container stuck sideways in a split inside of a lilac bush about 5 feet off the ground. This was a particularly dense bush but once you peeled back the outer layer of leaves you could see inside pretty well

Small film canister under a lamp post skirt

 

Make sure you are using a proper GPSr, never a phone, and if possible turn on the accuracy display. On mine I find sometimes the accuracy can vary from as little as 3m to as much as 15m. If the accuracy is currently 15m I will try to get a better signal before proceeding towards GZ because in my opinion, a 15m diameter circle is a pretty big area to search.

[+insx]

I have to take issue with this. I know it's the established advice and it might be true most of the time but I am delighted with the GPS performance of my recently purchased (cheap) Android phone. It often reports accuracy of 3 ft and in practice it seems to get me right on top of most caches. I've been caching about a year now and I've never had a "proper" GPS receiver. I used to use a Palm Treo with a bluetooth GPSr with great results.

 

Maybe caching is rubbish with an iPhone, I've always avoided those

 

Make sure you are using a proper GPSr, never a phone, and if possible turn on the accuracy display. On mine I find sometimes the accuracy can vary from as little as 3m to as much as 15m. If the accuracy is currently 15m I will try to get a better signal before proceeding towards GZ because in my opinion, a 15m diameter circle is a pretty big area to search.

Edited July 22, 2010 by insx

[hoosier guy]

I can only echo what's been said (but I am bored in my lunch hour). Look for something significant, a post, a lifebelt, the base of a tree. Don't rely on the GPS although sometimes it will be spot on. Don't give the location away in your logs - that one needs an edit really.

 

Another thought, make sure the cache is at the location specified. When I was brand new to this I tried to find a couple of caches that weren't there - the location was only the place to gather clues for a multi cache that was located somewhere else.

 

Hope dinner is more exciting!

[+niraD]

I've been caching about a year now and I've never had a "proper" GPS receiver.

All that matters is that you identify GZ, search for the cache, and find it. I found hundreds of caches before I bought a GPSr. Recently, I've been using my Android phones (first a G1, now a Nexus One), and have found them to be at least as accurate as my old yellow eTrex. I load coordinates into the eTrex only when the terrain is such that I don't want to carry my phone in my hand as I walk.

[+insx]

Of course, the battery lasts ages on a dedicated receiver.

[JudeandSaraJackson]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

Deep breath.

 

What are you using to find caches? I see you've logged one already.

You should edit it to omit the explicit clue.

 

and remember, breath.

 

Thanks for this - my husband found one, hence the one find, but I wasnt responsible for it. Havent found any yet myself and have now tried about ten :-( Im going to have to get a GPS I think, doing it on my I phone and I think that might be the problem

[JudeandSaraJackson]

Thankyou all so very much for all your kind messages! I cant believe you are all so helpful! I think there are a few problems - I am doing this using a special app on my "i phone" and I thought it was precise - it seems there is some flexibility in the location, so when it says 0 feet, I must look wider around the place? I need to upgrade to a proper GPS. I also need to get a walking stick to enable me to rummage around a bit more. Also I will try only the bigger caches, maybe these micro things are two small - hadnt realised you could go for bigger ones. Maybe the wheelie bin sized ones will be easier to find. I will also try and go on a group session as yeah, I think I could do with some help. Do people have to climb right ino wooded areas, are the caches hidden in real thick undergrowth? Today I was right in some bushes but wasnt sure whther this was normal? Sara x

[+insx]

Hi Sara. I wouldn't invest in that GPS receiver just yet, see above. Get a few caches first. Your iphone will get you close enough.

 

They are generally not in the undergrowth. Normally they will be somewhere significant. If it's in a tree, it will normally be in a space in the roots or a hole in the trunk. If there are posts, it will normally be at the base of one of them. Think of a good hiding place. They are rarely randomly dumped in the undergrowth, although I do have one a little bit like that myself - it sort of fits with the container.

 

Don't be afraid of asking the cache owner for a hint via the messaging system. I did that and the whole family met up with me one evening at the cache site, had a friendly chat and demonstrated their collection of receivers.

 

There may well be a local meet up too. This will appear in the search for local caches, or in the Groundspeak newsletter.

[+Team_Searchgeo]

Sometimes GPSr's are right but most times they are not. If your I phone say 20 ft start looking and yea try bigger caches micros can be a pain I have found several but I still have two that are giving me fits. I used a Blackberry with a app when i first started. I found 10-15 caches with that including several micros and a nano. I have realized one thing and that is my 230$ PN-40 can be off as much as my free app for my blackberry. The plus for the PN-40 is that i can now hold thousands of caches on my system and separate them into different files. Remember a bunch depends on how accurate the hider was also, they could have been 20 ft. off and if your 20 ft off that means the cache could be 40ft away.Being new myself too I have been getting better now at putting the GPSr away when I get to GZ and just searching instead doing the drunken bee dance!!!!

Edited July 22, 2010 by Team_Searchgeo

[+Ike 13]

so when it says 0 feet, I must look wider around the place?

 

No need to upgrade quite yet. When you get to 75-50 feet away take your eyes off the phone and look around. Look for areas that look like others have been there. Look for piles of sticks. Don't forget to look at eye level as well. You'll get better with every find.

[+AKDisneyPirates]

Im new. Ive tried five caches now and havent found one. Felt like crying tonight when the police pulled up and asked what the hell I was doing rooting around in the bushes. Avoided arrest but still stressed about this whole experience. I get down to within 0 feet but then nothing is there but long grass! Please, how do I find these things? Do I need gloves and a strimmer?? Is this game just a joke or is it for real? How much digging do I do? Is a shovel required?? Any tips are much appreciated

 

I've never found a cache yet personally - my children on teh other hand always manage to do so. I get us to the rough area and they do the finesse part and find it.

 

Take heart, it will come to you and rather than stress about the lack of find enjoy the area you're in instaed.

 

Oh, and my children are for hire if you wish

LOL you know it's funny you say that. We've found 27 so far *stands proud* and we took a first time geocacher yesterday, and she found all of them! we were put to shame!

 

We are also pretty new at this and I will admit we have never been able to successfully find a micro. We've tried many times but never found out. Luckily, a lovely lady here on the forum offered a hand so we're going to go out with a pro to learn how to do this. Should be fun!

[+Mosaic55]

Something that really helped when I was getting started was to read all the previous finder's log entries. Sometimes they leave little clues, like "reached up and grabbed the cache" and you know to look somewhere high. Or they might mention "covered it up better than before" and you know there's something covering it, like maybe sticks or leaves or rocks. The hint or the logs may mention what type of container it is. Look at the photos if any are posted on the log page, you may see something that helps. Also, if the previous logs talk about people having bad experiences, with property owners or poor conditions, or whatever I'll know to skip that cache or at least be better prepared for what could happen.

 

And if you're still stuck , you can always ask the cache owner for an extra hint.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Thank you all so very much for all your kind messages! I cant believe you are all so helpful! I think there are a few problems - I am doing this using a special app on my "i phone" and I thought it was precise - it seems there is some flexibility in the location, so when it says 0 feet, I must look wider around the place? I need to upgrade to a proper GPS. I also need to get a walking stick to enable me to rummage around a bit more. Also I will try only the bigger caches, maybe these micro things are two small - hadnt realised you could go for bigger ones. Maybe the wheelie bin sized ones will be easier to find. I will also try and go on a group session as yeah, I think I could do with some help. Do people have to climb right into wooded areas, are the caches hidden in real thick undergrowth? Today I was right in some bushes but wasnt sure whether this was normal? Sara x

Start a thread on the UK side of these forums... Here link

 

I'm sure someone will say when/where the next event is. Good chance to meet some of the locals.

 

(Welcome!)

[+insx]

Sara. Have you tried to find Hop Along's First Cache - GC1X778?

[+EVIL Ninjection]

I'm going to give you some overused, but still great advice. Start out with D/T (difficulty/terrain) ratings of 1/1 to 1.5/1.5 and try to carry a map (satellite preferably) of the cache's general location. Trust me, if you do these two things you will enjoy geocaching in its true glory!

[JudeandSaraJackson]

Thank you very much, all these hints and reassurances are very useful! People are so helpful in the geo caching world! Sara

 

Sometimes GPSr's are right but most times they are not. If your I phone say 20 ft start looking and yea try bigger caches micros can be a pain I have found several but I still have two that are giving me fits. I used a Blackberry with a app when i first started. I found 10-15 caches with that including several micros and a nano. I have realized one thing and that is my 230$ PN-40 can be off as much as my free app for my blackberry. The plus for the PN-40 is that i can now hold thousands of caches on my system and separate them into different files. Remember a bunch depends on how accurate the hider was also, they could have been 20 ft. off and if your 20 ft off that means the cache could be 40ft away.Being new myself too I have been getting better now at putting the GPSr away when I get to GZ and just searching instead doing the drunken bee dance!!!!

[Glyn]

Hiya,

 

despite creating my account here years ago, I only actually started chaching last year, with most of my 15 finds being in the last few months.

 

I was as frustrated as you sound after my first few failed attempts, but stick with it - the tips already mentioned above are great.

 

Remember, it's about the hunt, not the find :-)

 

cheers,

Glyn.