Did You Find Your First Cache Or Get Skunked?

[+Renegade Knight]

My first cach was a skunk. I had no GPS and thought I knew the location and ended up in the wrong pile of rocks about 100 feet away.

 

A friend at work had a husband with a GPS so I asked her if she could call him and have him go find the dang cache and send a photo of the area. An hour later tons of photo's arrived in the email. Photos of the cinder cone, the road in, the cache container, his Bronco, and pretty much everything except a shot of the cache vicintiy. I had to throw myself on his mercy to get a shot where he said "It's in this photo somewhere".

 

We went back with that shot. It narrowed down the search to about 50' by 50' and finally after about an hour my daughter found it. The entire family was immediatly hooked. I learned a lot about rock piles. The husband got hooked also and went on to start up Idahogeocachers which is still going strong. A pretty good skunk all in all. My log for the cache wasn't very good.

[mortonfox]

On my first cache, I tried to enter from the wrong park and that didn't work.

 

Came back another day using the correct trail through the park next door and was successful.

 

In retrospect, I don't think it would have been such a tough bushwhack even from the wrong park but I was new to this at the time.

[GeoVet]

My 1st was a find, seemed simple enough. Been skunked often enough though. It's like fishing. You don't have to catch fish to be fishing.

[+Gazza&Girls]

Found it.

A six part multi that just turned out to be a series of fortunate events. I think for all but two stages we looked at the right thing at the right time. Since we were searching directly from church, we weren't planning on tackling the final in the woods but we were having so much fun we went for it.

At that point I knew it was the best $100 I ever spent.

[+hikemeister]

My first one was an easy virtual. The second, a real cache, was a difficult search, but after about 20 minutes, I did find it. I generally do not give up, and try a second, third, fourth time before finally leaving a site.

[+GPSKitty]

My very first try was a DNF. Urban micro hidden in a newspaper vending machine. I KNEW it was in there, but I was real worried about being seen by muggles so I couldn't give it all the effort I wanted to . I went back a few nights later and found it. But I had already found another virtual or two and a micro in the meantime.

 

And I learned a bit about how newspaper machines are built. Who knew you could tuck a micro in a cubby hole that most people don't even know is there?

 

I was hooked from the beginning. It's like deciphering clues in a mystery novel and putting together a puzzle all at the same time.

 

GPSKitty

 

edit:fix spelling

Edited March 19, 2004 by GPSKitty

[+CYBret]

I found my first one fairly easy, though it was hidden in a tricky location. Later that afternoon I went after my second cache and was skunked. I couldn't understand why I couldn't find it when I was a mere 30 feet away from it!

 

Ummm...turns out I was .30 of a mile from it.

 

Gettin' better.

 

Bret

[+Sparky-Watts]

The first two I looked for had been destroyed and/or muggled shortly before I searched for them. The first one I looked for that was actually there, I found with no problem.

[+Jamie Z]

My first two hunts were DNFs.

 

My logs are here:

 

Mt. Zion's Valentine

Three Monkey's #3

 

I didn't get my first find until 10 days later.

 

Jamie

[+JamesJM]

I found it after two attempts.

 

The guy who introduced me to geocaching had told me about his finds, 3 of them - 2 ammo cans and 1 bucket.

 

I went expecting a bucket, or ammo can, or something similar, but the cache was a micro.

 

there happened to be a Highway Patrolman at the scene, (measuring skid marks from an accident the night previously), who joined me in the search that first time.

 

"What are you looking for?" - "I'm not really sure" - "Then why are you looking?" - "I'm not really sure" - "Can you give me a hint" - "ummm, an ammo can, maybe, a bucket, a tackle box with treasure in it" -

 

Believe it or not he did NOT make me blow up a balloon. - JamesJM

[+UncleRMC]

For my first find I chose a virtual. I found it and I was AMAZED that this place existed just a couple of miles where I lived.

[Radman Forever]

I tried hunting MIDDLE OF THE MITTEN after I had just bought my GPS. It is a small micro and I didn't fully understand how to look for it. Four months and 50 cache finds later I went back and found it after 2 minutes!

[+Gizmo & Brazin]

We found our first. But it was really easy. We have a cache hidden right behind a REI store called REI Lynnwood - First Find. It's for those new to the game. It was a big help in showing us how to look and find something small and hidden and helpful to figuring out the GPSr.. I am very thankful someone in our area took the time to set something so easy up, just for the first find.

[+Maeglin]

My first was nearly a DNF, because I was missing a compass at the time. The fact that the "goto" function in my old GPSr flipped around when I got close to the cache and tried to take me back to the parking lot didn't help. I did eventually find it, though...

[+Monkey Toes]

First, second and third caches were found. Number four threw me for a loop. it was actualy the first set of coordinates I put into my GPSr. After I put it in I changed the display format and that screwed up the numbers. I was looking in the wrong place. After realizing my mistake, I entered the right coords and found it right away.

 

Newbie mistake.

[+briansnat]

My first was a find, but it was mostly luck. I had no idea how to use the GPS and walked around trying to match the cordinates on the GPS to those on the page. I couldn't understand why the numbers were changing while I was not moving.

 

I discovered the navigation screen a little later and that certainly made life a lot easier.

Edited March 20, 2004 by briansnat

[+Mastifflover]

I struck gold on my first hunt. The cache was hidden by a friend from work. I had my cell phone with me in case I got confused but the gps led me right to it. I was hooked before I even started.

[+sept1c_tank]

I found my first cache, Are you up to the Challenge? I had only learned about geocaching an hour earlier from a stranger I met while hiking the rugged Knobstone Trail in southern Indiana.

 

By chance, I met Quiddler (who now has at least 747 finds) and the discussion turned to geocaching. I had a GPSr with me. We started comparing the receivers and Quiddler realized that his batteries were dead. I gave hime some of my spares and he invited me to accompany him in search of the cache which was only about 1/2 mile from where we were standing. I actually discovered the cache before he did. Here is his account of the adventure and my introduction to geocaching.

 

My first DNF was logged on May 6, 2003 searching for what would have been my 8th find. After 4 attempts (and nearly 8 hours of searching), I logged the find on Oct. 16, more than 5 months later!

[McKenzie Clan]

First one was easy... followed the arrow all they way, lifted some bushes and there it was!

 

Second one, almost skunked us, we searched for 30 min before finding it. Almost gave up, but was too stubborn.

 

Scott

[+2qwerqE]

Found the first attempt easily; it's since been archived. For a time, I seemed to DNF about every other one. I was sure I'd try them all again, so in the beginning I didn't log the DNF's most of the time because I chalked them up to lack of experience, and not any problem with the cache itself. But I did come back and find them later (days later, weeks, on one case 5 months later) all save one. It's a Listerine strip container, and it's skunked me over and over. It's 'Water by Henry' and there's nothing there but a bench and grass. I swear there's no place there to hide it, but others have found it...

 

I log all my DNFs now, since it helps me find them again, to try again later.

[+Butano]

It took me three tries to find the first one I searched for End of the Road, though I did find some other ones before I finally found it. I didn't realize that the topo maps were a different datum, so I was on the wrong side of the slough, or at least kept trying to get to the wrong side. It was exciting when I did finally find it. The first one I actually did find, Questa Quest was a pretty easy one. Both of those are still active and have been found in the last few days, even though it has been just about 3 years since I found them Still remember those with great fondness!

[+JayFredMuggs]

I got skunked on my first, but I didn't give myself enough time. I went after work one day and only had about a half hour of daylight left. I went back the next afternoon and found it.

Also, I knew the area pretty well and thought I knew where it was (or should be) before actually hunting for it. I wasted a lot of time looking where I thought it should be instead of where the GPSR was telling me it was.

[+Imajika]

I had a GPS on my first cache. I just went and bought my Legend that morning and I was dying to find a cache.

 

I picked a 1/1 near my house and hit the road. I parked a little far away but I made it there. I looked around and around for about 30 minutes. Right when I was about to walk away, I accidentally kicked the can. I found it! I signed the log and left an item.

 

After that, I was hooked!

[+JMBella]

I did my fisrt cache without a GPS also. I didn't read the cache page very well and ended up looking in the WRONG TOWN at first. Finally read the cache page and the hint better and found it pretty quicky. Not really a skunk since it was all part of the same search.

[+rover-r-us]

it took me 2 try to find my first cache.i was on the wrong side of a hill.

[+MarcB]

My first ever cache was a find. On retrospect this was amazing as it was on Maderia (we were on holiday) which only has one cache, we didn't have a GPS and we just worked with the maps and pictures.

We ended up walking in to the back of beyond (run down hotels, shanty houses) and I really didn't think we had a hope in hell's chance of finding it.

Incredibly, we did! Unfortuantly, it wasn't in the nicest of places and is now archived.

(Good idea for a topic btw)

MarcB

[+JeepCachr]

I found the first, well the experienced cacher I was with found the one we were searching for on my first trip out. It it was under 3' of snow and after randomly digging out the bases of unusual trees and tree formations in a 30' circle we found it.

 

I did find the secound one on my own. It was supposedly a really easy multi-stage but I didn't think it was that easy.

Here's my map of both of my finds-

When the weather gets warmer I'm hoping to add more dots.

[fallout4x4]

My first one (just last week) was a find, second one was a find. 3rd one was gone, I should have read the logs better but I was afraid I would read a spoiler so I didn't read them. 4th was a dnf that I went back to the next day(today) and found after I read the clue.

[+TeamK-9]

My first attempt was a DNF, but I now know that even if I would have found it, it would have been frozen in the ground. After that, I had three more DNFs all in one day, but then I finally found a 1/1 cache and I was happy...

[+wildearth2001]

It took me 4or 5 tries to find my first one, I had a crappy GPS and the wrong coords but I knew where it was supposed to be so I went anyway. I thought I read "near the entrance" but that was in a different sentence. NooB inexperiance made me not bother to recheck the coords before my next (and next) outings thinking it was just a bad sat lock.

[+TeamK-9]

I guess I could tell my story a little better. My first find, not my first DNF, I wasn't quite sure how exact the GPS was so I relied on the hint. I got to a sign that the hint said I was supposed to see, and the hint also said x marks the spot....

 

Well, me being the idiot that I am, saw an X carved into the sign, and some small xes made by little trees in the area. I was going crazy looking around for it, until I even checked that I had entered the coordinates in coorectly several times. Me being such an idiot though, I didn't actually check to see if the GPS said I was close to the cache, it was 300 feet in the opposite direction. DOH!

[OuttaHand]

My first hunt was a dismal failure. Had heard about caching from my boss so I dug out my old Garmin 45 that I'd had for quite some time. Entered the coords for a cache up near our cabin in Northern Wisconsin. Memorial Day weekend of '02 the family tried to find that cache.

Parked the car and were doing fine -- until we walked into the woods. That old GPS lost lock under the slightest tree canopy. I had to walk to clearings to get lock, then try to figure out how far and in what direction. Then it started raining. We quit on it. Twe weeks later, after checking these forums and hitting eBay, I had a new GPS (Garmin76) in hand.

A year later, Memorial Day weekend of '03, we were back up to the cabin and we found that cache. It was nowhere NEAR where we were looking the first time--a good 150' away.

[+Rattlehead]

I borrowed a coworker's GPSr for our first hunt. We got to the general area of the cache easy enough. Like briansnat, we tried matching up the coordinates displayed on the GPSr with the coordinates on the printout. We walked a N-S line trying to match up the N coordinate and then turned to an E-W line trying to match up the W coordinate. Eventually, we gave up on the coordinates and just scoured the area until we found the cache.

[+wray_clan]

We got our first. It was a micro cache by a hider in the area that's notorious for hard caches, as we would soon learn. Not really the best choice.

 

We didn't get our second, however. Turns out it was on the other side of the fence. Oh, well.

[+Otter and Lemur]

We found ours, more or less. Unfortunately, circumstances surrounding our first find sort of soured us on caching for a while.

 

The "Stimson Ledges" cache had been placed months earlier by someone who I don't think ever came back online, and by the time we got to it, crows dwelling on the ledges had pecked the container to pieces to see if there was any food inside it.

 

But, obviously, we didn't know what we were in for when we set out. We were new to caching and headed valiantly off for the cache even though it was on top of a mountain... and the trails weren't what you could call easy to follow. Bushwhacking up a mountain when you expected to find logging roads to follow is now old hat for us (well, sort of) but it wasn't what I'd led my wife to expect. Bad things happen when you mislead my wife into doing something that turns out to be far more than she was let in for.

 

When we finally reached the ledges in question, there was no container per se. Just shards of plastic, a few random pieces of weather-worn cache bait, and a signature item (a painted rock) from earlier visitors. We took the rock and left stuff we hoped wouldn't blow away; we kind of piled everything back into a heap and put a branch or something on top of it all (later on someone replaced the container). Then we turned and trudged back down the mountain, and were pretty hot and tired by the time we got back to our car.

 

Unfortunately for our continued pursuit of the hobby, my having picked such a difficult cache for our first cache, not to mention finding the container in the condition it was in (obliterated) kept the experience from positively impressing my wife and we didn't go caching again for over a year. Had we picked a neat little local cache in a park or something it'd probably have struck my wife as more of a worthwhile pursuit, but in May of '02, there really weren't that many local caches at all in our neck of the woods.

 

C'est la vie.

Edited March 20, 2004 by furrs

[+TotemLake]

My first cache was almost a skunk. I had only 90 minutes to sundown and I didn't have any gear with me with exception to the GPSr. With 10 minutes to go before the sun was completely past the horizon, I saw my trusty dog, Snickers! sniffing around some very oddly stacked sticks - almost like it was placed by an organized human and took a look. There it was!

 

My 2nd one was a skunk and took me two tries to find it.

[Happy Boy]

On Thanksgiving of 2002, my uncle and cousin came to town, and we went geocaching together for the first time. We did not have a GPS at that time. We used clues and a Mapquest printout to show the location of the cache compared to the lake and streets. On our first attempt in the morning, we could not find it. Then we came back after lunch and found it. Now my uncle has 231 finds, and I have 239.

[+Cache Viking]

I almost gave up on my first. The area was obviously a remote hang out for kids and I was beggining to think it had been muggled. After 20 minutes of looking and even using the clues I started to leave when I spotted it out of the corner of my eye. What was annoying was how obvious it was once it was found.

[+JohnnyVegas]

My first I found at night in about 30 seconds, Yes it was a Virtual, It was fighter jet in front of a vetrans hospital and an air force base, I think it took us about 6 before we got skunked.

[+DustyJacket]

I found it, but I started with a few virtuals to "train up".

[Major Catastrophe]

My first attempt was a find, after waiting for the snow to melt (it was a multi that requires the searcher to read info from an item on the ground, and I didn't feel like shoveling the entire plaza!)

[+Brian - Team A.I.]

Yes/No. On my first ever attempt, I found the first half, but not the second. I went back the next day in daylight and found quickly. Lately, the first cache of the day has been stumping me, but the rest are found quickly.

[+Naefearjustbeer]

So far I have never had a DNF, But I have spent over 2 hours searching for a cache and even used my mobile to phone someone to look at the cache page and read all the previous logs for any extra clues. Now I have a pda so I save the cache info on it it and can travel paperless. I guess I am too stubborn to go home empty handed. I dont know what will happen when I go and try to find a cache that is missing!! I might be out all night pulling out waht is left of my hair!

[Cruz1n4Cache]

I found my first one very easily. In fact, I almost walked past 'cause my gps said 75 feet to go! It was an easy find.

[+soupster]

Now it works cheese whiz!

Any way you can see on the left Im still a Tadpole(cant seem to change that silly title)I was skunked my first time as well. It was a concrete cache in a parking lot. I pulled up all excited to find a cop in the parking lot giving me suspicious looks.Any way found the second one with more soon on the way....

[+El Diablo]

Found my first, it wasn't easy though. I borrowed an ancient gps unit from a friend, that thing wouldn't hold a lock in the middle of a forty acre field on a clear day. My wife and I spent 2 hours tearing up about 5 acres of woods, finally set down on a log to rest, and there it was!

 

El Diablo

[+sledgehampster]

Got skunked first time out. Found my second though. Come to think of it, still haven't found that first one. Time for some payback I think.

[+Tprints]

My buddy and I found our very first cache and considering how did, it was kinda amazing. We didn't even know how to use the GO-TO function so we just wandered around in the woods until the coords kinda matched up and then looked for it. Took awhile but we found the sucker.

 

We then got skunked on another cache right after that in the same area but it got dark and we didn't have a flashlight. Still, I got hooked that day and went back later in the week to find that second cache.

[uperdooper]

found my first, but it was an easy one.

[+QuickKarl]

Been lucky found my first fairly fast, and i stay till i find them or get run off. my longest non multi was way off coords and took me 1.5 hrs, but i got it.