Finding 4-5 star caches easier than many 1-2 star caches

[+gururyan]

I can't count how many 1-2 star caches take me 20+ minutes to find or even force a DNF. I have a whole sheet of ones that I have attempted several times, with successful logs from others in between my attempts. The problem is a consistent one, I give the hide way too much credit. I make it way harder than it is. This theory carries over to the more difficult caches. I find those quickly and easily because they are more in tune with the way I think. Anybody else give way too much credit to the easy hides, thus making them extremely difficult? Are you also much better at the harder finds? Maybe it has a lot to do with my extreme attention to detail in certain avenues of my life, verging on obsessive compulsive.

[+niraD]

You aren't alone. It doesn't happen to me every time, but I've literally* tripped over 2-star hides after searching for more than half an hour, and I've found 4-star hides after searching only 5 minutes.

 

I find that a lot of 4-star hides are relatively easy for me because I know it's a clever hide, so I can ignore all the easy hiding places and concentrate on finding something more interesting.

 

* Note that this is the correct use of the word "literally".

[+secretagentbill]

I've had it happen to me. A couple of weeks ago, a friend hid a cache and talked it up like it was tough and revenge for someone else's evil hide, etc. that I approached it like it was going to be impossible. I had it in my hand in under 30 seconds.

 

But I also find a lot that are just not rated correctly. Just the weekend before last, I found a difficulty 4 cache that I had on my to-do list for quite some time. It was an ammo can behind a rock in the first place I looked. It was such an obvious hiding spot, I can't imagine why the D4.

 

But yeah, I've DNF'd a lot of 1.5's.

[AZcachemeister]

Most experienced cachers will have the same story...

 

'DNFed the 1D, 2T at 1230 hrs., found the 3.5d, 3T at 1345 hrs. after a 3 minute search.'

 

Of course the next log on the one you DNFed states the cache was found by a four-year-old child!

[+fizzymagic]

It happens to me a lot. In fact, I kind of avoid 1* caches because I often can't find them and when I don't find one it bugs me more than when I don't find a 4* cache.

[+Isonzo Karst]

more in line with my way of thought

 

A prolific hider of caches higher difficulty caches was driving people nuts. Most of the time, I was finding his caches easily, through a tendency to see the area in the same way. I love his write ups too, and they annoy folks as well - a loose stream of consciousness punny monologue.

 

He has since amended his hides to be "more like everything else" - ie, he suits his audience. I rarely hunt his stuff anymore. His "D 1.5" kill me.

[+DragonsWest]

I have a couple caches, one of which lays on the open ground, which I've given 1.5 stars to and thought that was that.

 

Some DNFS later I got to considering ...

 

It's not the placement, but the approach these geocachers have - what are they looking for first, when the get to GZ?

 

I know I've made hard work of some 1 and 2 star caches, but its cautioned me to step back and question what I assume. Some are right there in the open, when I find them, just not fitting that "90% of caches look like this..." mould.

[+jomouse]

Years ago I had a 1.5/1.5 that was driving me nuts. Couldn't find after three tries. Brought my newest foster kid at the time who had maybe been with me to find about 4 at that point and he found it almost immediately. It was so obvious, I was looking right past it. Boy did I feel like a dunce!

[+hukilaulau]

I'll never forget the first hanging-in-a-pine-tree cache I found. I searched on the ground under the tree for 15 minutes and then stood up in frustration and it bonked me on the head!

[+hukilaulau]

Years ago I had a 1.5/1.5 that was driving me nuts. Couldn't find after three tries. Brought my newest foster kid at the time who had maybe been with me to find about 4 at that point and he found it almost immediately. It was so obvious, I was looking right past it. Boy did I feel like a dunce!

Often when I have trouble with the easy ones it's because I get my mind set on one type of cache and can't see anything else. There was one on a highway overpass that I must have spent hours on over several tries. I was convinced that it was in a guardrail. I covered every inch on both sides of the bridge. Finally I saw it. It was a bison tube in plain sight on the fence above eye level. I'd like to say I learned my lesson but I STILL make that mistake from time to time.

[+trodman]

Same here as others. Mostly I make some easy finds harder based on who the cache owner is. There was one easy P&G that I took a couple of tries to get because I was looking in more devious locations rather than at the base of the bush at my feet.

[+popokiiti]

You're definitely not alone! We frequently take what seems forever to find so-called "easy" caches, yet ones that are more tricky and others have DNF'd on we find quickly. Our logs often state that we have "overthunk" or "had an extra bowl of stupid for breakfast." When we return we cannot believe how we missed the cache the first time. Thank goodness we can laugh at ourselves....

[+scout_toujours]

I've had this one, closest to home, went looking for it about 6 times. Every time i've looked for it i've stepped on it. Litteraly! Looked high, looked low... just not low enough. It's frustrating, but i love it!