Can't follow map

[+NYSearchers]

I went on my first hunt today and could not follow the map on my GPS (Oregon 400). I picked a cache that my GPS said was less than 1/2 mile away and it showed a pink line, but I couldn't follow it because there was no road but the pink line was still going on as if there was road. Wht do you think I am doing wrong?

[+StarBrand]

Unless you are using a routable map on the unit and are using the car navigation screens - the pink line is not a road.

 

Rather it is a straight line from you to where the cache is located.

 

Don't use that screen for finding caches - switch to the compass screen where you will see the direction to go and a count down of the distance to the cache.

 

Use your head and eyes to find the nearest road and parking and then walk from there.

[+skullsoup432]

Remember that "less than a 1/2 mile" is the way a bird flies, as the old saying goes.

 

If there is a major highway, river or some other obstacle between you and that direct line (the way a bird flies), you could travel a few miles before you are at the cache site.

 

Sometimes driving to the cache is more fun than finding it.

[Frosty Jack]

Like others said, it's just a straight line to where the cache is: usually you have t find your own route around. Look on Google Maps or something to see nearby roads to get you closer to the cache.

 

Mind you, sometimes when I've been in the "wild", I've had the next cache on my list half a mile from my current location, but walking there the conventional way would involve a 4 mile trip around various roads/paths. However, I could just climb my way up the 100m high overgrown nearly vertical hill, and then walk straight to the cache.

 

Option 2 is often a lot more fun!!! (doesn't work in towns and cities though!)

[+burtsbodgers]

Like others have said it depends on what profile you are using and what maps you are using.

 

To get close to the cache by vehicle use the Automotive mode with your cursor set to Lock on road, but have a look at the map as this is often just the closest road position to the cache not parking!

Then when you have parked switch profiles to Geocaching with the lock on road switched off, or it will keep telling you to go back to the road edge.

This will project an as the bird flies line to the cache, This is not the route you take!But follow the closest paths to get you closer to the cache, then go cross country from there. Most caches will have some sort of path leading to the location, especially if it has been out a while, commonly known as a cachers path its always best to try and find this as following it will do less damage to the environment and easier to follow.

 

The map is the all important bit as the detail will vary depending on which map you have installed, and how your GPSr will use it.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Others have kind of told you what you are/aren't going.

 

I see you just started and you have no "finds" as of yet. I am going to guess that the GPSr is new to you also.

If such is the case, my best advice is to read the manual, read it again, and... well you guessed it.

 

NEXT, take the unit out and play with it -- not geocaching -- just to see what it will and can do. Have your manual with you while doing it. Experiment with it as most manuals are written in a "different" language. Generally, they tell you how to do this and how to do that, but fail to tell you WHY and don't usually connect the "dots".

 

Best thing is to play with it (practice, practice, practice).

[+NYSearchers]

Thanks for all the great advice. I thought the pink line was the way to go just like on my car. Now I understand that I need to figure out where that line ends and find a way to get there. This is going to be even more of an adventure. I have played around with my GPS Oregon 450 and have downloaded the topo map from Groundspeak. My manual is pretty limited. I don't find an automotive or road option on my GPS, but switching to map helps. If I switch to compass, is that pointing to the direction I need to go? I turned it on and it pointed up which indicated E. I set the compass to go according to search as I didn't understand the different kinds of North.

 

Will take everyone's advice and try again tomorrow. Thank you all.

[+NYSearchers]

Thanks to your help, I was able to find the cache site today. I was so excited when my gps announced that I was there. It was marked easy find and terrain, but I couldn't find it The name referred to a low bridge and it also said "duh". I searched all over, under and around the bridge. How far away from the bridge should I have searched? Being easy terrain rating,didn't think it would be down in the shallow but rapidly moving river that goes under the bridge. Any thoughts?

[+StarBrand]

Thanks to your help, I was able to find the cache site today. I was so excited when my gps announced that I was there. It was marked easy find and terrain, but I couldn't find it The name referred to a low bridge and it also said "duh". I searched all over, under and around the bridge. How far away from the bridge should I have searched? Being easy terrain rating,didn't think it would be down in the shallow but rapidly moving river that goes under the bridge. Any thoughts?

What cache code??

[+Chief301]

Thanks to your help, I was able to find the cache site today. I was so excited when my gps announced that I was there. It was marked easy find and terrain, but I couldn't find it The name referred to a low bridge and it also said "duh". I searched all over, under and around the bridge. How far away from the bridge should I have searched? Being easy terrain rating,didn't think it would be down in the shallow but rapidly moving river that goes under the bridge. Any thoughts?

 

If your GPS is telling you that you're there, you can probably expect the cache to be anywhere within about a 20' radius of that spot, generally speaking. What is the GC code of the cache you're seeking, perhaps we can give some advice based on the description.

 

If the terrain is listed a 1 or 2 (easy), then you are correct to assume that you shouldn't have to go climbing down the bank or wading in the river to find it. Shouldn't be under the bridge, either, assuming the terrain listing is accurate.

 

Lots of bridge caches are magnetic and stuck to the bridge structure somewhere. What is the listed size of the cache? If it's a micro then it's probably a small magnetic container, maybe about the size of a matchbox or a 35mm film canister. Feel around under the bridge railings, guard rails, etc. Start from "Ground Zero" (when your GPS is telling you you're right on top of it) and expand your search from there. When your GPS zeroes out (or is showing 10' or less) put it away and start searching with your eyes and hands.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Chief301

[+BCandMsKitty]

Unless you are using a routable map on the unit and are using the car navigation screens - the pink line is not a road.

 

Rather it is a straight line from you to where the cache is located.

 

Don't use that screen for finding caches - switch to the compass screen where you will see the direction to go and a count down of the distance to the cache.

 

Use your head and eyes to find the nearest road and parking and then walk from there.

 

This is the best advice.

I only use the map to give me a general layout of the area I'm in, but never use it to go to a cache. Just use the arrow screen and try to find your way around the roads by "intuition"

The map will certainly help you know if the road you're on is on the wrong side of the river with no bridge, and such, but the arrow is the best way to go.

[+NeecesandNephews]

I know on my Delorme PN40 I have a choice when asking it to display the route to the cache whether I want to "Hike" or "Drive". The "hike" option does exactly as you describe, takes the straightest path. The "Drive" option keeps me on roads, althought I must say, it has led me down some 4-wheel drive goat paths in doing so.

I don't know anything about the Oregon but perhaps it has such an option in the "settings".

[+rockhoundbmw]

Thanks to your help, I was able to find the cache site today. I was so excited when my gps announced that I was there. It was marked easy find and terrain, but I couldn't find it The name referred to a low bridge and it also said "duh". I searched all over, under and around the bridge. How far away from the bridge should I have searched? Being easy terrain rating,didn't think it would be down in the shallow but rapidly moving river that goes under the bridge. Any thoughts?

 

Depending on the setting, your GPS saying "you have arrived" could just be a warning that you are approaching the coordinates you are going to, but you are really still 100-200 feet or so from the cache hiding spot. My dad's GPS (a Dakota 20) does that, and it helps when we are driving to a cache so we know we need to find a parking spot, but when we are hiking it is a little annoying because we are going much slower. If what I am describing is the case with your GPS, then be sure to clear the warning message and continue following the compass arrow or map (depending on whichever screen you are most comfortable using) until your GPS gets as close to the given coordinates of the cache ("ground zero") as possible (there may be times when you won't get to "0 feet" due to signal bounce or accuracy issues that any GPS will occasionally have). Also, as you get closer to the cache, make sure you keep zooming in on the map if you are using the map screen, because it may look like you are on top of the cache when the map scale is at 200 feet, but you may be off the screen when zoomed in to 20 feet. This map scaling issue is one of the reasons I prefer using the compass screen.