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New to Geocaching and having sooo much trouble. :(


HopelessMagic

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My friends and I decided this would be a great way to spend some free time this summer. We joined some sites, watched videos, read tutorials, got the right apps for our Android and iPhones, and still, we have yet to find a single cache. We can find the coordinates on our phones, we decode the hints and we know we're in the right place but we must be missing something. We can't find the cache itself. I know the type of containers and hiding places to expect from watching videos but still no luck. Can anyone give us any advice?? Why aren't we having any luck? 5 different sites and several hours. Nothing.

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The first mistake novices can make is relying too much on their GPS. The cache can be 30, 40 or more feet from where the GPS says it should be. So pay less attention to your GPS and more attention to where you would hide something in that general area. Also, depending on your phones, the GPS in those things can be terribly inaccurate in some cases. If it's a 3G iPhone they are notoriously off and many other models of phones are known for poor GPS accuracy.

 

Stay away from micros at first. They can be difficult for veteran geocachers, so stick with regular and large sized caches at first.

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I tried reading some replies and some people had said their GPS units took them right there. I guess it's luck of the draw so I'll try to remember to spread out more next time.

 

The caches we tried were:

GC22DF7

GC2QCHZ

GC2GGTY

GC2D569

GC10MCZ

 

1 was a playground area, 2 were near the woods and 2 were urban. We got really close with GC2GGTY. It was at a McDonalds and based on the comments we knew we were right on top of it. Three of us searched for about 20 minutes while onlookers wondered why we were next to the trash in the back. XD We searched for GC2D569 for about 30 minutes tonight. The hint was WELL and it was a really big area. We looked everywhere water and hole related before the bitter cold forced us to retreat to our cars.

 

**Oh and they were mostly micros. In hindsight that probably didn't help. LOL

 

I know some caches can be really tricky. Am I not looking hard enough? I know some people put them in fence posts, rocks, trees, etc. Or maybe I'm looking too hard??

Edited by HopelessMagic
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Look for 1 star difficulty caches and regular sizes to start. Check previous logs for the caches. If you see several Didn't Find logs and no Found logs prior to your search it may not necessarily be you. Be willing to stick you hand in little nooks, sometimes the cache is hidden very well. If you are still stuck stop moving, look around and try to think of where you would put a cache if you were hiding one there.

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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!!

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I tried reading some replies and some people had said their GPS units took them right there. I guess it's luck of the draw so I'll try to remember to spread out more next time.

 

The caches we tried were:

GC22DF7

GC2QCHZ

GC2GGTY

GC2D569

GC10MCZ

 

1 was a playground area, 2 were near the woods and 2 were urban. We got really close with GC2GGTY. It was at a McDonalds and based on the comments we knew we were right on top of it. Three of us searched for about 20 minutes while onlookers wondered why we were next to the trash in the back. XD We searched for GC2D569 for about 30 minutes tonight. The hint was WELL and it was a really big area. We looked everywhere water and hole related before the bitter cold forced us to retreat to our cars.

 

**Oh and they were mostly micros. In hindsight that probably didn't help. LOL

 

I know some caches can be really tricky. Am I not looking hard enough? I know some people put them in fence posts, rocks, trees, etc. Or maybe I'm looking too hard??

 

Well, there could be many reasons for not finding a cache. If it is there, it might not be right where the GPS says it is. I checked the cache page for the mcdonalds one you mentioned and there is one DNF followed by a Needs maintenence log stating they think its been muggled (stolen) so it might not even be there..

 

If it IS there, I would check around the enclosure the dumpsters are in.. Remember this is a MICRO cache so it could be tiny.. Maybe as small as a marble. Depending on the material of the walls around the dumpsters, it could be stuck in a hole in the bricks, hanging from a string in nearby shrubs, or even cliped right to a chainlink fence.

 

I had a silver micro bison tube chained in plain sight at eye level on the pole of a chainline fence the other day and took me two trips and a hint from a previous finder before i located it. In my case I was looking TOO hard.. I actually leaned against the hiding place trying to look down some tiny crack between two fences for some cleverly camouflaged container, when the real one was bright silver and right in front of my face.

 

Honestly though.. If someone put a cache next to the mcdonalds dumpster, I wouldn't be wearing myself out looking for it. If i didn't find it in three minutes I'd probably just log it DNF then put the whole cache on ignore, since I am really not interested in sightseeing around fast food trash cans. Spend your effort in places where its scenic, and smells better.

 

Usually, people who put micros at fast food places and chain stores stick them under a lamp post skirt. Then at least they are quick to find. Those kind of places, I would rather not spend much time at, if any.

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On GC2D569 - there is some object there from the online area photos. Look at the base of it - low (hints from previous logs).

 

Also a clue from the logs is that the hint apparently isn't meant to be taken literally, or at least not the obvious definition.

 

For example, if the hint said "Bills" it might refer to a micro stuck under a mailbox (bills in the mail), the cache might be inside a duck decoy floating in the pond (duck bills), or it might be near a large achor monument (bill referring to the point of the anchor fluke).

 

I've just started too and i have about as many DNF's as I have finds, so don't give up. You can't be as bad at this as me.

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I'm not sure how I missed using a tool like Google Maps, but I took your advice and looked at the map for the playground. That building is indeed a Well and we thought we searched all over it. The coordinates on Google Maps go right to that building so I'm going to have to search it again tomorrow. I saw the posted picture of a white bottle so at least now I have an idea of what we're looking for. Wish us luck! We'll be trying again after work tomorrow.

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Well I am by all means a noob at geocaching. I did spend a good 7-8 months of regular geocaching and started to figure out the neat little details of it and how many people "think" when they place a cache. I will tell you that it is a fun activity and it does pay to read all or many of the posted notes, look at the photos if available. I like many others will ask that you please post a DNF if you do not find the cache. Use the resources for contacting the owner for assistance if possible. I became frustrated at first myself. I chose to attempt to find a 5/5 cache as my first. I went back 4-5 times and finally gave up. I spent the next few months searching, discovering and learning how to find easier ones. One thing I learned right away was don't try to get a GPS to plant you on top of the cache. I was using my iPhone GPS and realized it was not accurate enough. I bought a Garmin that is very accurate but it still can lead me astray! I found that 5/5 after several months by using my new geocaching instincts. Get to the area and think of how you would hide the cache, it will make it ten times easier for you. I just realized I have not searched a cache in 6 months now. I became disenchanted by the micros and nanos. Not that they were too difficult to find just not interesting. I like a cache with substance. I found that I had gotten caught up in the numbers game and lost the fun of it. I hope you do well. Another thing you should do is look online at cache containers. Especially the micro/nano ones. Just to get an idea of what they are using to hide them.

 

Have fun and be safe. Remember your surroundings too.

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Don't give up. Keep looking and you will eventually find some of them. Remember that some people have been doing this for 7 or 8 years or more now. Sometimes people hide caches that are going to be a challenge for someone that has been doing this for years, so it's no surprise that there may be some out there that are even a greater challenge for someone who is new. Many micros and nanos can be hidden in ways to challenge the experience cacher, so it's good advice to start out by looking for easy ones with low difficulty ratings and larger sized caches.

When you are looking, be sure to range out a good 40 feet or more from where your GPSr says the cache should be. There is some inherent error in your accuracy as a finder. There was also some error when the cache was placed by the hider. The addition of the errors can mean you need to look in a larger area. Once you get where your GPSr tells you to look, put it away and start looking, thinking about where you would hide a cache there. Looking for larger sizes will eliminate many places to search. You can't hide an ammo can very easily on a chain link fence for example. However, a micro can be hidden several differnt ways on a fence, some of them harder to detect than others. Imagine looking in a 40 foot radius (80 feet diameter) circle for an object the size of a dime. There could be a lot of hiding places. If you are looking for something the size of a shoe box, however, the number of places you can hide that may be more limited.

I am not a big fan of urban hides for exactly the reasons you noted in your post. Looking around a dumpster while you are watched by a dozen soccer moms taking the kids out for happy meals isn't my idea of a fun search. I don't even look for those types because I much prefer looking for a cache in a rural setting with a nice view of a lake or an overlook with no one else around so I don't have to be stealthy and can take my time searching. Even sit down and drink some water or have an apple, watch a deer or a hawk or other wildlife while I think about the search if I can't find it right away. It's a much more relaxed experience for me that way and I can feel that I am getting enjoyment from the search even if I don't find the cache. That's where the true fun is for me, making it more about the journey than the destination.

A couple of years ago we were doing a particularly difficult series of caches hidden in the woods but they were all very hard finds. The last one in the series was a micro. We made 2 trips out to find it, spending about 4 hours looking for it the first time and another 7 or 8 hours the second time. We even had a couple of groups of other cachers come along and help us look for about an hour each but no one could see it. We finally found it. It was in plain open sight the whole time. We were within 10 feet of it from the very beginning but it blended in so well and was placed in a way where it was not terribly easy to spot, so we had continued to overlook it. Sometimes caches are hidden in a way so that you have to be at a particular spot and look at a particular angle to see them. It was a great feeling when we finally found it. This was after we had about 350 finds so we were not new at the game by any means. So don't feel bad if you look for micros and can't find them, even after a considerable amount of time. This is what I meant earlier about some micros being hidden in ways to challenge even experienced finders. After all, if it was really easy to find every cache, after a while there would be no challenge to the find which would become boring.

Keep looking, read hints, move around in the area and look in different directions, look up and down, read past logs for additional hints, look at gallery images on the cache page, and try to think like a hider. All these will be helpful.

Good luck and have fun! :)

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Google maps is awesome for urban caching. When I first got into it and was puzzled by some of the micros in the area, I got the most help consulting the Google map and checking for "obvious" features - lightposts (lift the base, discover a cache), trees/bushes, retaining walls, guardrails, rock formations, etc. The hint or name of the cache may give away a key clue about the container type or its hiding place. If your map takes you next to a tree and the recent logs or hint indicate "eye level" - look for something hanging in the tree or attached to the truck. It may have some very clever camo and may not be apparent at first glance!

 

Some urban hides are sort of evil - take for example the "nano" magnetic container which is smaller than a quarter and contains a tightly wound logbook. These could be stuck inside a stop sign, attached to the underside of a metal fixture on a building or bridge, etc. If you have any caches that lead you to metal sculptures or artwork, I'll bet you money a magnetic nano is what you seek!

 

Another popular micro is the "bison/pill tube" as others have mentioned. These may often be found hanging from fences, bushes, pine trees, or may have a magnet attached and attached to a metallic fixture.

 

The magnetic "hide-a-key" is also a favorite micro. These are very common on metal guardrails.

 

If you have any natural trails or "rails to trails" bike trails in your area, you may want to plan a biking trek or a walk along one of these. Many times there are a lot of caches placed alongside or just off the trail which may be considerably easier to find than urban micros. There may also be some evil micros placed along the trail, but no biggie, if you don't find it, move onto the next cache on the trail.

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When we first started 7 months ago we were very lucky. We signed up for a geocoin challenge in Richland, Wa. We had to find 9 caches. Only one was difficult to find. This challenge was set up to help out newbies like us. It didn't take long to realize I was hooked. Give in to the madness.

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Congratulations on breaking through! That can be tough. The first cache I looked for was a guardrail micro and I didn't find it until 6 months later!

I took a look at your area and you have some fabulous caching opportunities near you. One thing I might suggest is hitting some caches along the Schuylkill River Trail. You might start with a nice historical location like this one and then see what looks good up and down the river from there. This area looks so good I might make a day trip out there once the weather gets nice.

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There are some really nice trails in my area. Right now it's really cold and muddy in the woods but once it warms up, we're going to be all over these woods. :)

 

**I just looked at your profile. My goodness! You have quite the record going. I could only hope to be like that in 5 or 6 years.

Edited by HopelessMagic
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**I just looked at your profile. My goodness! You have quite the record going. I could only hope to be like that in 5 or 6 years.

yeah, well... one taste of the stuff and I was hooked for life. :)

I was really lucky that when I started I got to travel a lot for work.

This winter has been rough, but I'm really looking forward to making a trip down to your area later on...

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i am on my 22 or so find and gps puts me right on everytime. I have thought a few times it was off the 20 or so feet but when i actually find it i was right there at GZ from beginning., My best advice is when you get inside 10 ft put gps up and use your head. what is out place what tree looks different stack of limbs or rocks. usuallly wont be so far off trail cant find anytime of year (which is important in my neck of woods). just relax have fun and think (dont search). If its in city gonna be lamp post or sign or fence (but somewhere not illegal to stand around) at least thats my super noobness thoughts on it :)

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