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stevnated

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Hi, sorry if these questions get asked over and over. I couldn't find answers.

 

I just started today and the first cache was empty (I think). Is it supposed to be pretty obvious? It wouldn't be buried or anything, right? Who maintains them? What kind of container is typically used? How do you know people won't just steal the container? Can you create your own caches?

 

Thank you!

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14 minutes ago, stevnated said:

Hi, sorry if these questions get asked over and over. I couldn't find answers.

 

I just started today and the first cache was empty (I think).

completely empty,  or except for a log sheet? 

 

Is it supposed to be pretty obvious?

could be or not 

 

It wouldn't be buried or anything, right?

caches are not allowed to be buried 

 

Who maintains them?

the person who hid them

 

What kind of container is typically used?

 a lot of different types 

 

How do you know people won't just steal the container?

it happens sometimes 

 

Can you create your own caches?

yes, but it's good to find a variety of caches first 

 

Thank you!

 

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Thank you! No, I didn't find anything at all, but I think I was looking on the wrong side of the road. I'll go back tomorrow!

 

I figured out how to get more information on that particular cache and it looks to be maintained and fairly easy to find.

 

I'm SO excited I found this game!!!!! I can't wait to create one too. Can you make them on your own property?

 

 

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4 minutes ago, stevnated said:

Thank you! No, I didn't find anything at all, but I think I was looking on the wrong side of the road. I'll go back tomorrow!

 

I figured out how to get more information on that particular cache and it looks to be maintained and fairly easy to find.

 

I'm SO excited I found this game!!!!! I can't wait to create one too. Can you make them on your own property?

 

 

You can edit your Found It log and change it to a DNF (Did Not Find).

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50 minutes ago, stevnated said:

I just started today and the first cache was empty (I think). Is it supposed to be pretty obvious? It wouldn't be buried or anything, right? Who maintains them? What kind of container is typically used? How do you know people won't just steal the container? Can you create your own caches?

 

Some helpful info is in Geocaching 101 and the Help Center.   :)

I thought the site made it noticeable for new folks to spot the basics.  

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20 minutes ago, stevnated said:

Hmm, I'm trying to... I added a DNF but I still have it listed as found. I can't change the log. Can you edit the log in a browser or in the app?

 

In browser, the bottom right of your log is    View/Edit Log/Images, and Upload images. 

  1. Select View Log or View / Edit Log / Images.
  2. On the log page, select the Delete Log trashcan.
  3. Select Yes to confirm
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47 minutes ago, stevnated said:

I'm SO excited I found this game!!!!! I can't wait to create one too. Can you make them on your own property?

Welcome to geocaching. Yes, it's a great game with lots of friendly people. Occasionally there is an event which you could attend and meet others with the same interest. Keep an eye out for one in your area.

You can hide a cache on your property, but many people feel nervous entering private land. You would need to let your neighbours know too, or someone might report a stranger hanging around. I have one in a Little Free Library on my land; a furnished (doll's house furniture)Trackable Hotel, but  that's right against the front footpath, so people need take no more than one step inside my land. I would hesitate to have a cache further onto my land than that. However, I have seen them on private property. My favourite was one in NZ on a farm. I had to walk past the dairy cows, who then followed and stood and watched me, to get to the cache. A very nice hobbit themed cache set in the hillside. Somehow, to me, that rural cache didn't worry me as much as entering an urban property to find a cache. The owners gave their permission to enter the land and from memory said their neighbours knew about this. However, I would find some caches before putting one out yourself, to get some experience. I had found about 600 to 800 caches before I placed my first cache. There is LOTS of fun in just finding caches.

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22 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

Welcome to geocaching. Yes, it's a great game with lots of friendly people. Occasionally there is an event which you could attend and meet others with the same interest. Keep an eye out for one in your area.

You can hide a cache on your property, but many people feel nervous entering private land. You would need to let your neighbours know too, or someone might report a stranger hanging around. I have one in a Little Free Library on my land; a furnished (doll's house furniture)Trackable Hotel, but  that's right against the front footpath, so people need take no more than one step inside my land. I would hesitate to have a cache further onto my land than that. However, I have seen them on private property. My favourite was one in NZ on a farm. I had to walk past the dairy cows, who then followed and stood and watched me, to get to the cache. A very nice hobbit themed cache set in the hillside. Somehow, to me, that rural cache didn't worry me as much as entering an urban property to find a cache. The owners gave their permission to enter the land and from memory said their neighbours knew about this. However, I would find some caches before putting one out yourself, to get some experience. I had found about 600 to 800 caches before I placed my first cache. There is LOTS of fun in just finding caches.

 

Thank you! That is a good point, I would have to alert my neighbors.

 

I will definitely find some first, and meanwhile try to think of something really epic for my first cache. Also looking forward to leaving some random nice things for people.

 

I can't wait until morning. :P

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50 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 

In browser, the bottom right of your log is    View/Edit Log/Images, and Upload images. 

  1. Select View Log or View / Edit Log / Images.
  2. On the log page, select the Delete Log trashcan.
  3. Select Yes to confirm

 

Got it. Thank you!

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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 (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.
 

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4 hours ago, stevnated said:

Hi, sorry if these questions get asked over and over. I couldn't find answers.

 

I just started today and the first cache was empty (I think). Is it supposed to be pretty obvious? It wouldn't be buried or anything, right? Who maintains them? What kind of container is typically used? How do you know people won't just steal the container? Can you create your own caches?

 

Thank you!

Your posts brought back memories of our first attempt (a micro). We were able to laugh about it later. The GPS took us to a grassy area and we just kept walking in circles, clueless as to what we were looking for! It wasn't until we actually found our first cache, a regular size, that we had an inkling of what was going on. We returned to the DNF and had a lightbulb moment. We often reminisce that until you find your first one, you don't know what to look for.  Our first skirt lifter was a riot. Around and around and around a little pole! We were all noobs once!

Edited by Max and 99
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On 6/1/2019 at 2:25 AM, Max and 99 said:

Your posts brought back memories of our first attempt (a micro). We were able to laugh about it later. The GPS took us to a grassy area and we just kept walking in circles, clueless as to what we were looking for! It wasn't until we actually found our first cache, a regular size, that we had an inkling of what was going on. We returned to the DNF and had a lightbulb moment. We often reminisce that until you find your first one, you don't know what to look for.  Our first skirt lifter was a riot. Around and around and around a little pole! We were all noobs once!

Omigosh that is SO me, lol. I am still mostly clueless!

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On 6/1/2019 at 1:45 AM, niraD said:

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 (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.
 

Thank you for the advice, it was very useful!  I found three yesterday ( so fun! ) and failed to find two ( bummed! ).  Had to put my hand in a hole full of scorpions (the small ones we have in GA, not dangerous), which was a bit icky. Even walking through tall grass this time of year you will get ticks, had to wear long pants, cinched at the cuffs!

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On 6/4/2019 at 1:29 AM, stevnated said:

Thank you for the advice, it was very useful!  I found three yesterday ( so fun! ) and failed to find two ( bummed! ).  Had to put my hand in a hole full of scorpions (the small ones we have in GA, not dangerous), which was a bit icky. Even walking through tall grass this time of year you will get ticks, had to wear long pants, cinched at the cuffs!

It's time to put together a geocaching kit that includes gloves for reaching into holes! ?

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You asked about placing one on your own property.  You could do this.  But just keep in mind that you will have folks stopping by to find the cache.  While this is obviously the expected results, I personally wouldn't do it unless your property includes a vacant lot or something like that.  The reason I say this is I for one wouldn't feel comfortable walking onto someones property looking for a geocache (even if noted in the profile it was OK to do so).  I (and others) tend to geocache at all hours.  Sometimes early and sometimes late.  While I don't know exactly where you live, I would suspect there are plenty of public open space areas where you could hide a cache and not have to do so on your own property.  

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My son and his wife have had a TB Hotel on their front porch at 4 different homes - often one or the other (or both) is at home to greet the cachers; they have a Nest camera so they can see who is there when they are not at home, and having it on their front porch has not seemed to be a deterrent or an issue.  It's been a gadget (field puzzle), a multi-cache and now a Letterbox Hybrid.  The write up makes it clear that it's OK to come up on the porch, even knock on the door!  Of course, common sense would say that it's not one that you would visit at 2 am.

 

Having it on their porch makes maintenance easy, and it's a TB hotel; my son makes sure the "guests" are well taken care of!  We spent an hour going through all the TB's while visiting this weekend. The current iteration is a Letterbox Hybrid; it's a cache that is intended to have you stop and stay and visit, not just a park and grab.  I think that makes a difference in who is going to visit and what they will expect when they get there.

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4 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

My son and his wife have had a TB Hotel on their front porch at 4 different homes - often one or the other (or both) is at home to greet the cachers; they have a Nest camera so they can see who is there when they are not at home, and having it on their front porch has not seemed to be a deterrent or an issue.  It's been a gadget (field puzzle), a multi-cache and now a Letterbox Hybrid.  The write up makes it clear that it's OK to come up on the porch, even knock on the door!  Of course, common sense would say that it's not one that you would visit at 2 am.

 

Having it on their porch makes maintenance easy, and it's a TB hotel; my son makes sure the "guests" are well taken care of!  We spent an hour going through all the TB's while visiting this weekend. The current iteration is a Letterbox Hybrid; it's a cache that is intended to have you stop and stay and visit, not just a park and grab.  I think that makes a difference in who is going to visit and what they will expect when they get there.

Wow! That sounds amazing! I'm not sure I trust the community so much as to invite strangers onto my porch yet!  But it sounds awesome.

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