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first time and prob last


debschneller

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

 

A lot of people start out this way. If you publish what cache you were looking for some people on here might be able to help. There are ways of picking caches that are easier to find.

 

But just as an example, we logged 12 DNFs(did not finds) out of our first 40 finds. We recently went out to try those 12 again and have found 10 out of the 12 with out much of a problem. There is a certain amount of experience that you need but gain very quickly.

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

When looking for caches, keep in mind the size rating. Most people recommend sticking with Regular or Large sizes to start with since Smalls can get get rather tricky to find and Micro/Nano's can give even experienced cachers fits. The Difficulty rating is also something to pay attention to, anything over 3 is probably to hard for a novice to find since you won't be familiar with the various tricks that can be used to hide.

 

If you scroll down the forum index you can find regional boards where you can ask for recommended caches in the area or even an experienced cacher to tag along if you want to put a bit more help. If there's an event near by that's often a good way to meet with experienced cachers without dealing with that whole "wander around the woods alone with a stranger from the internet" aspect ;)

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After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me

 

A half-hour looking and not finding is great, but I'm guessing there is more to the story...

 

Did you find out anything about geocaching? Do you know how to use a GPSr or smartphone as a GPSr? You signed on to geocaching.com six hours ago... did you read all there is to read? Do you know what to look for (the actual container(s), or Earthcaches)?

 

Sure, you can jump in with both feet, but to do so blindly and expect great things... well... it usually doesn't work that way.

 

Now that you have found the forums, you have found (at least some) help. There are many well-seasoned and experienced cachers that reside (you would think) in here. Most are very happy to help you.

 

So to answer your actual question... Yes, it can be frustrating. But it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.

 

The geocaching.com website also supplies a LOT of links to help starters. Mostly reading material, but there are also video links.

 

In the forums, you most likely need to ask specific questions in order to get the help. As we don't know just what you are/aren't doing right. Likewise, we don't know your ability with the device -- in your case a smartphone. We will assume that you read things like provided in these links:

http://www.geocaching.com/guide/default.aspx

http://www.geocaching.com/tools/default.aspx

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php

 

This is a recreation that can be enjoyed by all. Not all will enjoy it though. If you like being outdoors, and enjoy a challenge (easy, medium, or difficult -- your choice) this probably is for you.

 

I will add that you probably aren't blind, you just don't know what you are doing -- yet!

 

Welcome to the world of geocaching. Sit back, take a breath, relax and let the discoveries begin! You are going to find places/things basically in your own back yard that you had no idea existed, even though you may well have lived there for years and years.

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

 

Wow! Been there done that! But I stuck it out and after about four or five failed attempts I found my first. Trust me, it is SO much more fun once you start finding them. After you get some finds under your belt even the ones you don't find can be fun.

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A common recommendation for beginners is to stick with small small.gif size, regular regular.gif size, and large large.gif size caches. Until you're more experienced, avoid micro micro.gif size caches, some of which are smaller than most beginners can imagine (sometimes called "nanos"). Save those for later, after you have some experience.

 

Also, stick with caches that have a difficulty rating of no more than 2 stars stars2.gif. Save the more difficult ones for later. You may also want to choose caches with easy terrain ratings. (The difficulty rating tells you how hard it is to find the cache once you get there. The terrain rating tells you how hard it is to get there.) And it is often best to start with traditional 2.gif caches, which will be at the published coordinates. Multi-caches 3.gif or mystery/puzzle caches 8.gif or other cache types can require more work just to figure out where the container is located.

 

Under ideal conditions, a consumer GPSr will be accurate to about 3m (10'). That applies both to your device, and to the cache owner’s device, so you may find the container 15-20' from ground zero under ideal conditions. Under less than ideal conditions, both GPSr readings can be much less accurate. Once you get within that distance of ground zero, put your device away and look around for places where a container could be hidden.

 

Go ahead and read the cache's additional hints (if provided), and read the past logs and look at any photos in the cache's image gallery. They may help you understand what you're looking for, and how/where it may be hidden. It may also help to look at some of the cache containers available online. For example, check out the cache containers sold by Groundspeak. Also, take a look at the Pictures - Cool Cache Containers (CCC's) thread in the forums.

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Also, a smartphone makes things that much harder....I cache with my Garmin Etrex but also have my Motorola droid with me and often my Droid is off by as much as 50 or 60 more than my GPS. That can make finding anything other than a large cache a bit challenging. My best advice that I've learned so far is don't think like your finding, think like you are hiding. Look for places that make good hiding spots.

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

 

Just to make sure, you aren't using a 1st generation iPhone are you? Because those aren't really suitable for Geocaching. (They don't have an actual GPS.) iPhone 3G or newer works.

 

Cache hiders can be very tricky in hiding caches, especially urban caches, which can be hidden out of sight or camouflaged to look like something else. Regular size caches in wooded areas (say parks) would probably be easier to find.

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Well thanks for the encouragement! I am kinda wondering how far off my phone is, you are only as good as the tools you use. I think we'll try a few more and see if we can catch the bug.

 

I have been looking at this for the past 6 months. I didn't walk into it totally blind. We had to get through band season before I felt like we had the time to take a breath and try this all out. I am a person that jumps in with both feet.... gotta live in the time you have! We do travel and I thought this would be a great to do to add to our trips as well as get us up and out around our town.

 

I choose our first one because it has 1 1/2 stars, very close by and I figure I know this area. Apparently not as well as I thought :)

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I have the newest I phone and purchased the geocaching app.

When I first started I thought I knew what I was doing and I thought it was going to be "easy". Boy was I way off base. I got some advice from caching friends and tried again, looking for something larger. It was "easier". I'm glad I stuck with it.

 

As for your phone.... and app..... some are fairly accurate, others are sometimes accurate... others are off constantly. I saw two people run up to a cache I had just found and then take off and go 50 feet away and start looking all over. I watched them for about 10 minutes and then asked if they were caching, to which they said yes. Then I told them the cache was over where I was when they first came up. As the one guy said.... "Darn smartphone isn't as smart as I thought."

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debschneller, your next trick is to look for a HIDING SPOT -- not the cache itself. The cache will more than likely be hidden from plain view, so look for where it could be hidden. You did right by looking for a 1½ but, in this case size DOES matter. If it is a micro it could be very small (a nano, really, but there is no distinction in geocaching.com). If it is a nano, it could be as small as the eraser on a pencil -- pretty tough to find usually, especially for a beginner. Read the first para in niraD's post.

 

Now, when you are at Ground Zero (as close as the phone will get you to it), put it away. Look for the cache, or it's hiding spot. If you are busy looking at the phone, you're looking in the wrong spot, look for the cache! If the phone is leading you in circles, you are there, put it away. It will only put you in the vicinity of the cache. It most likely will not take you to it.

 

Look at everything from every direction (angles of sight are important). Oh yeah, don't forget to look UP. If you see anything that doesn't look quite right, look closer at it. Some caches are intentionally tricky. Remember, part of the idea is to secrete them from regular passers-by. They may have made it to look as though it belongs there. A nut or bolt on a sign or guardrail for example (it's really a cache and not a bolt at all!). Hey, it's all part of the "fun".

 

Do read the logs of cachers that have AND have not found it. They can tell you a lot. Watch for clues in the body of the write-up (though many are just plain nearly blank any more).

 

That's your starter hints. There's more, but don't fret, 'cuz you are gonna succeed! :) I'm positive of that.

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

 

My first experience was a failure as well. That was several months ago. Today some experienced geocachers took my sister and I out to show us the ropes. I'm hooked now! My 4 1/2 year old loves it was well. He calls it treasure hunting.

 

Don't give up! :D

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

Those "growing pains' are the discipline you need to make yourself into a serious geocacher, one who really appreciates the outdoors and the opportunity to discover a hidden treasure. And what's wrong with bird watching? I've been a birder all my life and finding a cache while birding...pure heaven!!

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After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind...

 

The third cache I looked for was a 4.5/4.5 difficulty (GC2TZN8). It still gets almost as many Did Not Finds as finds. Some hiders will actually try to trick you into missing it. I have spent nearly three hours searching for this cache only to come up empty...Sometimes the trip to find a cache is better than the cache itself. In the case of my cache it took me to a part of town I would have never seen and I will keep going back until I find it. I usually find more with my partner than I do on my own. It's easier when someone else is looking too. Also walk in circles around where your GPSr says is zero. I can't tell you how many times I have walked around and seen it from another angle and had walked by it many times. Most GPSr and phones (I use a blackberry sometimes) will tell you how far off it may be. If my GPSr has a good signal its 22ft. The phone is usally 5-7feet. If the area is in an area with a valley with trees, magectic rocks, cloudy, or powerlines the numbers can be way off...Good luck!

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It can be frustrating, the learning curve is steep to begin with. But - if I can do it, anyone can. Have patience, log your DNFs and try again another day. We still miss caches...that cachers with a lot less experience find easily. That's part of the fun. Some containers are very well camouflaged - go to Geocaching Topics and have a look at the thread Cool Cache Containers.

If a search stops being fun - go on to the next cache on your list, or the nearest coffee shop. Check out events in your area where you can meet up with other cachers. You may be able to hook up with someone who will show you the ropes.

Good Luck, and welcome!!

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Howdy,

 

I have read all other answers to your post. As all those answering gave good responses, I still feel I should post this, even though I am newer than you at this.

 

Today is my first day as well. I did not locate the cache either. I did not follow advice and wear long pants. Therefore the thorns ate me alive. I was 29 feet from the cache but could not break through. I will go back tommorrow and find it (with....LONG PANTS)! Was this non-gratifiable? Did I feel cheated? Yes, at the time, but I did have this happen: I saw foot prints of another individual (Is this someone looking for the cache like me?)and I saw two HUGE FRESH PILES of bear feces (The bear could be right next to me!). Blood was pumping!!

 

This is exactly why I will not quit. You should not quit either. You may not be where bears could jump out and get you but I can almost guarantee you this: If You are not out there looking, You won't see anything!!!! Feel free to contact me if you wish.

 

geo-warren

(Someone had Warren, warren and every other way you could say Warren)

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One other thought... Some caches listed as 1.5 or 2 stars are hidden in very common hiding spots. They have low difficulty ratings because they're hidden in one of the first places that an experienced geocacher would look.

 

Of course, an inexperienced geocacher may not even think to look there, so it's going to be a lot harder for them than the low difficulty rating might indicate.

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One other thought... Some caches listed as 1.5 or 2 stars are hidden in very common hiding spots. They have low difficulty ratings because they're hidden in one of the first places that an experienced geocacher would look.

 

Of course, an inexperienced geocacher may not even think to look there, so it's going to be a lot harder for them than the low difficulty rating might indicate.

 

...but enough about LPC's....:)

 

Last week I logged one that I DNF'd a year ago when I was brand new...had no idea....

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

 

I usually cache in rural areas. I think those areas seem to be way easier to find caches. I went to one of the largest cities in our province this weekend. I attempted to find a bunch of caches. I chose ones that were bigger too. I never found a single one. If I started out caching in that city, I would have quit long ago. I am heading back into the country/rural areas. Those caches are way easier to find out there...and the bird watching is pretty good. You just have to drive and hike a long ways, but at least I can find them.

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

Those "growing pains' are the discipline you need to make yourself into a serious geocacher, one who really appreciates the outdoors and the opportunity to discover a hidden treasure. And what's wrong with bird watching? I've been a birder all my life and finding a cache while birding...pure heaven!!

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My friend and I jumped in with a smart phone blindly and stood around for like an hour discussing what we were actually looking for. Found the conundrum of you'll know when you find it.

 

I agree with what the person said about looking for hiding spots once you get to ground zero. Read the hints as well. Here the hiders all have unique styles of how they prefer to hide things and which containers they use. Once you get a groove with how a hider does things you'll also do better as well.

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I thought.. Hey! this is a great hobby! Looks like fun, gets me out and I finally have a use for this phone my husband paid way too much for. After half an hour looking I think I am either totally blind or this is not the hobby for me. It almost feels like I have been cheated.

 

So... has anyone else started out with frustration and learned to love it or is it pretty much a sign that I need to take up bird watching?

Those "growing pains' are the discipline you need to make yourself into a serious geocacher, one who really appreciates the outdoors and the opportunity to discover a hidden treasure. And what's wrong with bird watching? I've been a birder all my life and finding a cache while birding...pure heaven!!

I had a few epic let-downs at the beginning but the joy of caching has made them a distant memory. Stay with it and in no time you'll be encouraging others to do the same. Good luck!

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