+amytincan Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 What kind of things do you look for when looking for a micro. I hunted one yesterday and had no luck. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Use the force. Know the hider. Think tricky. Look for the clever spot. People usually try to keep them dry but... not always. Quote Link to comment
+Thot Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 (edited) My advice is try to avoid them until you've had experience and confidence building finding regular caches. Micros are often marked difficulty one when they are harder than a difficulty 2-3 regular cache. Edited October 23, 2004 by Thot Quote Link to comment
+amytincan Posted October 23, 2004 Author Share Posted October 23, 2004 I looked for a certain Micro that is very close to my house. I had several things going against me. 1. I didn't know it was a micro 2. I didn't have any description 3. Apparently, its small (LOL) in my favor 3. I knew the location well Quote Link to comment
+Night Stalker Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 1. I hate micros 2. I really hate micros in the forest. Keeping that in mind, I spend a lot of time wandering around trying to figure out where I would have hidden the evil thing. Sometimes my guess is actuall right. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I looked for a certain Micro that is very close to my house. I had several things going against me. 1. I didn't know it was a micro 2. I didn't have any description 3. Apparently, its small (LOL) in my favor 3. I knew the location well Not knowing its a micro is a biggie. If you know you're looking for a micro it makes it easier. For micros you often have to use your hands as well as eyes. Feeling behind posts, benches and other things. They very often have magnets to attach them to metal, so if you see beams or metal posts, check those out. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Use the force. Know the hider. Think tricky. Look for the clever spot. People usually try to keep them dry but... not always. Knowing the hidder can be a real help, we have a local who only does micros and he has only two styles of camo, it makes it real easy to find his caches. I always know what to look for. Quote Link to comment
+Robespierre Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Micros can be quite clever. HTGHD, High Tech geocaching hiding divice - can look like a normal utility box. A film canister in the notch of a tree is common. I've seen a pool canister hung inside a hollow tree by a string. magnets under guardrails - use your imagination when hunting. A hollow bolt, a fake nail...etc. Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Micros often imitate or alter repetitive objects. Posts in fences or guardrails, sections of a railing, blocks in a wall -- all of these are fair game. When I get to a spot like that, I sing the Sesame Street song in my head: "Which of these things is not like the other?" Hmmm, that is the only fence post with a loose cap on the top. Perhaps I'd better lift it... Quote Link to comment
+GPSKitty Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I looked for a certain Micro that is very close to my house. I had several things going against me. 1. I didn't know it was a micro 2. I didn't have any description 3. Apparently, its small (LOL) in my favor 3. I knew the location well I cut my caching-teeth on micros because that's what is in my immediate suburban area. It helps to read the prior logs. If people are making comments about how devious it was or how cool the cammo was, then you will have extra difficulty finding it. But for typical micros think Velcro as well as magnets. If there is a bench or a newspaper vending machine at ground zero, take a peek under it. It is hard to find micros when you are first starting out, but some of us don't have much choice. It CAN be done, just cut yourself some slack and realize you will probably log a few DNF's in the early days of hunting. I recently encountered some micros by a cacher known for evil cammo jobs. If I had hunted his micros in my early days of caching, I probably would have given up the game, figuring I'm just not cut out for this. But I had several months experience under my belt and I welcomed the challenge. Some of them took THREE tries, but we had a blast doing them. Most of all, remember to have fun. Quote Link to comment
+kingsting Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Everything the above cachers mentioned. Fishing line or thin thread will lead you to a micro from time to time too. Some micro containers can be the size of a vitamin tablet. While looking for these nasty little things, say to yourself, "If I were to hide something at these coordinates, where would I put it? What container would I use?" This as turned up a number of dastardly little hides for me and gave me some ideas for my own future caches. I really enjoy a creative micro hide, especially when some thought has gone into it. Quote Link to comment
+PilotMan Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 What kind of things do you look for when looking for a micro. My car as I walk angrily away after 30 minutes of fruitless searching. Quote Link to comment
+amytincan Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 update: FOUND IT! Quote Link to comment
Earthdog Patrick Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 What kind of things do you look for when looking for a micro. My car as I walk angrily away after 30 minutes of fruitless searching. We just found a film can in a pile of riff-raff--talk about a needle in a haystack! Sometimes it just takes insane determination. And it's not just micros--we had to find a traditional hidden inside a 40' long pile of firewood once. It helps if you can sniff 'em out! Quote Link to comment
+fly46 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Micros often imitate or alter repetitive objects. Posts in fences or guardrails, sections of a railing, blocks in a wall -- all of these are fair game. When I get to a spot like that, I sing the Sesame Street song in my head: "Which of these things is not like the other?" Hmmm, that is the only fence post with a loose cap on the top. Perhaps I'd better lift it... ROTFLMAO! Or, like one of the local cacher's sons says "God don't grow rocks like that" One tip is to pay close attention to things that look suspicious. Is that rock pointy side down in a crack? Lift it up. Is that rock two inches higher than the rest of them? Lift it up. Is that piece of bark stuffed in unusually? Check under it... etc... Beware of magnets, velcro, and cleverly camoflauged containers. I do agree. Knowing the cache hider is immensely helpful. If you know that one cacher frequently uses silver bullets, you'll know how small a space to check. If you know another cacher avoids them like the plague and commonly uses film canisters, don't check spaces that aren't big enough for a film canister. We learn by trial and error. You will too. Quote Link to comment
4x4van Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 And keep in mind: Every time you think you're finally getting the hang of finding micros...you come across a "new", devilishly tricky one that kicks your ___ for awhile! Quote Link to comment
+Isonzo Karst Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 A rule that often applies to urban micros is Low or High - even cleverly camoed, it's not often at comfortable seeing/feeling height, too easily muggled. Quote Link to comment
+KG7JE Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 And the hints usually only obscure the information more. I really like the hide that says "middle of three things alike". Yup. It was. But there were dozens of three things alike all within the allowed margin of error. The one that had me going for a couple of trips was (paraphrasing slightly) "from on top of the concrete mound you can clearly see the container". So I stood up there and searched the entire inside of the covered shelter. Nadda. They were right about seeing the container though. But, I could also see it very well from just about everyplace in the park!!!! Oh, and did anybody mention the pop-up sprinkler head that always stayed up. Quote Link to comment
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