New & Unsure

[+Clangador]

I just did my first geocache of items nearby my house. I found one cache, but failed to find two more. Does this get easier, because it seems pretty hard to find caches and I had three other people with me looking.

[+niraD]

Does this get easier, because it seems pretty hard to find caches and I had three other people with me looking.

Yes, it does get easier as you gain more experience. And some caches are hard to find even for experienced geocachers.

 

But here are some beginners tips that I've posted before:

 

A common recommendation for beginners is to stick with small size, regular size, and large size caches. Until you're more experienced, avoid micro 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 . 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 caches, which will be at the published coordinates. Multi-caches or mystery/puzzle caches 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 (10ft). That applies both to your device, and to the cache owner’s device, so you may find the container 5-6m (16-20ft) 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.

 

Where would you hide something? Do you notice anything unusual? Is anything too new, too old, too organized (e.g., UPS: an Unnatural Pile of Sticks/Stones), too symmetrical, not quite the right color or shape, etc.? Don’t look only on the ground; the cache may be knee-level, waist-level, eye-level, or overhead. How might the container be secured in place? With magnets? With a hook? With string? With fishing line? With something else? Does anything move when you touch it? (Be careful when touching things though.)

 

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, and check out some geocaching videos on YouTube.

[+Clangador]

Thanks for the advice. I will take this to consideration when I go out again to geocache.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Clangador

[Pup Patrol]

I just did my first geocache of items nearby my house. I found one cache, but failed to find two more. Does this get easier, because it seems pretty hard to find caches and I had three other people with me looking.

 

Curious...why has it taken being a member for 14 years before starting to play the game?

 

 

B.

[+JeepFreak81]

It definitely gets easier and niraD offers up some great advice. I remember getting a bit discouraged when I first started because it took so long to find a geocache or I wouldn't find it at all. Now I find myself complaining when it's too easy....haha. Never happy I guess

[+HCompleto]

Curious...why has it taken being a member for 14 years before starting to play the game?

 

I wondered the same

 

EDIT: Apparently Clangador is a premium member aswell.

Edited September 23, 2015 by HCompleto

[+kd0bik]

Yes, it does get easier. You will soon gain geosenses that will kick in and help you.

 

But....the challenge is part of the fun.

 

Jerry