worst season to be a newb?

[Jimrabbit]

Is this the worst season to be starting out? There is a geocache that is roughly a four minute walk from my house, and I couldn't find it. there is one in the parking lot at my work, and I couldn't find it. There is one along the side of the road along my route to work. I couldn't find it. From the descriptions and hints, I got the locations right, but they all appear to have been buried by snow or knocked loose by snowplows and buried in the interim period. even the ones listed as "accessible during winter" - I have dug in snow and sifted through the pile in the off chance I dislodged something without noticing. So, my question is this: Should I keep digging through tons of snow or do I wait for spring to start searching?

[+Panther&Pine]

Well winter isn't super easy to be caching.

But if you give us a general idea of where you are we could be of more specific help.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Do you think that not 'knowing' what you are looking for just might have a bearing?

Season has little, if anything, to do with it.

 

"Accessible during winter" generally means it isn't on the ground, and that digging in the snow isn't necessary.

Did you look up -- like over your head? How about in a knothole or tree crotch? Caches are generally hidden so the casual passers-by don't notice them. You usually have to hunt it up, snow or no.

 

You say nothing of a GPSr unit, so I am wondering if you truly "got the locations right".

 

I can tell you where the parking lot cache is (99% probability) -- but I won't. Yes I will, go to the nearest lamppost... I'll say no more.

 

Winter caching is some of the best caching times, and winter hasn't truly started, yet. Leastwise it hasn't in this 'lake-effect' area -- we are currently about 80" below average.

[+Michaelcycle]

Is this the worst season to be starting out? There is a geocache that is roughly a four minute walk from my house, and I couldn't find it. there is one in the parking lot at my work, and I couldn't find it. There is one along the side of the road along my route to work. I couldn't find it. From the descriptions and hints, I got the locations right, but they all appear to have been buried by snow or knocked loose by snowplows and buried in the interim period. even the ones listed as "accessible during winter" - I have dug in snow and sifted through the pile in the off chance I dislodged something without noticing. So, my question is this: Should I keep digging through tons of snow or do I wait for spring to start searching?

 

Depending on where you are in the world, winter is the BEST season of the year to cache if you've ever had Lyme disease

 

Now for a more helpful answer: see if there are any virtuals in your area, most of the time (but not always) they are more snow friendly.

[Jimrabbit]

if you give us a general idea of where you are we could be of more specific help.

 

I'm in Maine. Specifically in Sanford.

 

"Accessible during winter" generally means it isn't on the ground, and that digging in the snow isn't necessary.

Did you look up -- like over your head? How about in a knothole or tree crotch? Caches are generally hidden so the casual passers-by don't notice them. You usually have to hunt it up, snow or no.

 

I did look above me. I'll check back tomorrow with fresh eyes, but if standing on a guard rail and shaking a tree to move branches out of the way of what turned out to be a blac plastic bag doesn't indicate "not there", I'm not sure how harder I can look above me.

 

I can tell you where the parking lot cache is (99% probability) -- but I won't. Yes I will, go to the nearest lamppost... I'll say no more.

 

First place I checked. I felt super clever when I thought "I know where I would hide it!" until I looked for tips and came across that specific one quite a few times

 

Can't find anything specific to quote and respond to Michaelcycle about, but I thank you for giving my post your time and effort in responding to it. made me feel welcome

[+TeamPennyFinder]

"but if standing on a guard rail"

 

You may have been standing on the cache. Was it a metal gaurd rail? If so there are lots of magnetic caches.

[+tweetiepy]

I'm a newbie too and our very first cache I knew where it was, I was probably right there but we couldn't find it (wasn't sure how to work the GPS then) but I returned and we still couldn't find it - turns out it probably fell to the ground and got buried under the snow - it was archived soon after I posted a DNF (there were others who posted a DNF as well)

 

Don't get discouraged - that first find - any find - is worth it!

[+cerberus1]

Winter can be tough, especially for newer folks who haven't gotten a chance to find a few in clear weather beforehand.

Lucky to have "accessible..." attributes in your area, not many in mine have attributes at all.

- Pay attention to caches local to you. Head out that day or the next after someone else finds it. You may have tracks in the snow to help, or have a clear spot showing roughly were to start looking.

Once you find a few, you'll get a better idea of what you might be searching for and can search without the help of "others".

Have fun and cache safe.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Are other people finding those caches? Caching with snow on the ground actually may make things easier in some ways. You can see where people have walked/searched. This can narrow things down for you.

 

I would start by NOT looking for any micros. Look for the larger caches with lower difficulty ratings that have been found recently. Bring a friend. Read the logs before you go.

 

What GPS are you using?

[+The_Incredibles_]

Oh yeah, can you give us some GC codes ie.. which caches you are looking for?

Edited January 11, 2013 by The_Incredibles_

[+FiremanFIFL]

As A fellow newbie all I can say is keep trying. I have been having similar issues, we recently got 2 feet of snow and a lot of the caches are not easily accessible. Personally I have been searching for Park and grabs, as they are usually winter mostly winter friendly and caches that have been found fairly recently.

 

Keep looking around the guardrail, I found a couple of neat ones like that

[+Chief301]

 

Keep looking around the guardrail, I found a couple of neat ones like that

 

"Guardrail" and "neat" are two words that don't seem to belong in the same sentence 😊

[+hzoi]

We started out in late February. It wasn't all that snowy, but we still couldn't find the urban micro we looked for first.

 

Probably didn't help that we were using a 7-year-old Garmin GPS 12 "brick" -- no map, no WAAS/EGNOS capability to help correct the signal, and not the most sensitive antenna. And that although the coordinates were on the north side of the street, the cache was actually on the other side.

 

Keep at it. It gets easier once you start developing an idea ("geosense") for where things might be.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

....Probably didn't help that we were using a 7-year-old Garmin GPS 12 "brick" -- no map, no WAAS/EGNOS...

 

We still have one. Want it? It's darn near an antique.

[+hzoi]

....Probably didn't help that we were using a 7-year-old Garmin GPS 12 "brick" -- no map, no WAAS/EGNOS...

 

We still have one. Want it? It's darn near an antique.

 

Thanks for the kind offer. We're quite happy with the Montana that Santa brought me last month.

[Jimrabbit]

You may have been standing on the cache. Was it a metal gaurd rail? If so there are lots of magnetic caches.

 

Yes it is. I checked behind it, underneath it, between it and the wooden supports. I even tried twisting the bolts on the off chance that one of them was false. but given that it's a park n' grab, that seems unlikely.

 

Are other people finding those caches? Caching with snow on the ground actually may make things easier in some ways. You can see where people have walked/searched. This can narrow things down for you.

 

Nobody has found any of the ones I have earmarked since mid-december.

 

What GPS are you using?

 

The one on my tablet. I'm looking into getting an actual GPS unit because I don't want to damage my expensive tech by falling into a snowdrift, but for right now, that's what 'm using.

 

Oh yeah, can you give us some GC codes ie.. which caches you are looking for?

 

The one less than 200 feet from my front door: GC2HGKX

The one on my route to and from work: GC3Q4TW

the one in the parking lot of my work: GC15DYC

The one next door to that one: GC15DXX

[+hurleyanne]

I would think that the one you should be most likely to find would be the guardrail one...

 

Another trick you can do is to look for caches that were found by other people in the last week (or since the last snow if you remember the date). If you have to dig for caches in the snow I'd recommend regular- or large-sized caches. I like to get down on my hands and knees and dig through the snow with my nicely gloved hands. Sometimes a stick for poking into deep snow helps too. You'll hear a nice hollow thunk, but sometimes I can be fooled because dead branches sound the same. Good luck with your winter caching! Stay warm!

[+Panther&Pine]

on GC2HGKX did you check the STOP sign?

[+The_Incredibles_]

GC2HGKX

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2HGKX&Submit6=Go

Magnetic nano stuck to stop sign. Look for something really tiny, like the eraser on the end of a pencil. May be gray, black, brown. Magnetic. Hasn't been found in a few months so possibly, it's stuck to the base of the sign and is under snow.

 

GC3Q4TW

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC3Q4TW&Submit6=Go

Guardrail cache, stuck to end of guardrail. Should be straight forward. Was found recently too.

 

GC15DYC

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC15DYC&Submit6=Go

Guardrail/LPC? Not sure what this one is. You're looking for a small lock n lock as per one of the gallery photos.

 

GC15DXX

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC15DXX+&Submit6=Go

LPC=lamp post cache, from photo another cacher has uploaded. Lamp post cache. Lift the lamp skirt and look for something the size of a film canister (see gallery).

Check the gallery, there's a photo of a lady right next to the lamp post in question, holding the cache. Should be straight forward if you can identify the right lamp post. Was found recently too.

 

How to check on Google maps to see if your tablet is bringing you to approximately the right spot:

https://maps.google.ca/

Cut and paste coordinates into box, click on blue magnifying glass, then click on the green arrow, then click street view.

 

Also...check the gallery on each cache page for clues as to what the container/hiding spot look like.

Edited January 12, 2013 by The_Incredibles_

[+Ma & Pa]

We have been going out every day to walk a trail and pick up one of the caches on the trail in order to continue our streak. We have a ton of snow so a gps is not really necessary.

 

Around here, most caches in the woods are hanging. Guardrail caches are often a problem this time a year, if a plow has pushed the snow over it. We have two puzzle caches on guardrails and they may be buried till spring