+Dersu Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 I just tried to find my first cache and went in from the worst direction. I started on public property, but maybe ended up going through private woods for about a 1/2 mile! As it turned out the cache was easy to get to 180 degrees from my direction, as it was rated a 1 star. Why don't we have a best compass direction to start the search for the cache? By the way, my sorry batteries ran out at 20 feet from the motherload! Now gotta go back, or maybe I should say, I get to go back. It was fun. Quote Link to comment
+Ducky Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 I allways start with a map recce, this way you get the lay of the land which could result in less errors in the field. I know it has saved my bacon a few times. happy caching Work Smarter, Not Harder! Quote Link to comment
+IV_Warrior Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 I sometimes find myself wishing the cache placer had put directions to the best parking spot in the cache discription. Especially for caches located in cities and towns that I'm not familiar with, or remote areas with just little back roads that don't show up on my GPSr map display..... I'm lost. I've gone to find myself. If I should happen to get back before I return, please ask me to wait. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Getting there is half the fun. The best way in is always obviouse on the way out. Today I got within 500' of a cache and realized the reall access was a third of a mile away. Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
+Darkmoon Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Sometimes it is the hunt for where to start that is fun...I usually start with the maps the night before and go from there , figuring what my best course of attack is, though it is never foolproof! I agree , you always find the easier way after you are already in the thick of things! Darkmoon All you have to do to fly is throw yourself at the ground and miss! Quote Link to comment
mtnsteve Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 I like to tell folks that there are at least 360 different ways to approach a cache. There is one cache down the street from me, that because of high water in a pond, several folks have not been able to get to it....there is a road directly behind it, but folks get caught up in "following the needle" and don't think to walk around to the road. I have one cache that folks were swimming across a creek and climbing up a rock wall to reach the cache before I included a tip..."walk across the creek down low, then walk up the other side" Like others have said, getting there is half the fun...check your maps! ____________________________________________________________ Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. Quote Link to comment
Dale_Lynn Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 ummm.... Just three words... "Carry spare batteries"... Dale -------------------------------------------------------- I'm Diagonally Parked, In A Parallel Universe. -------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Finding where to park and planning your approach is half the fun! Personally, I usually include parking coordinates in the encrypted hint and label them as such. This way those who'd rather not search for the best place to park have an alternative. But they should careful, because I choose the parking spot for the most intersting route, rather than the easiest. A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away. -Barry Goldwater Quote Link to comment
+georgeandmary Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Dersu:Why don't we have a best compass direction to start the search for the cache? By the way, my sorry batteries ran out at 20 feet from the motherload! Now gotta go back, or maybe I should say, I get to go back. It was fun. Well, for one it would ruin half the fun, and second you wouldn't have ended up with the funny story. george Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more. Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Don't forget to mark your car's location and/or the trailhead you started at so you can find your way back and out. That's assuming your batteries don't go dead first! Alan Quote Link to comment
+Darkmoon Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 As everyone has been saying, extra batteries is a good thing, not just to make sure you have enough juice to find the cache but to get out and find the car! It may seem silly but it is so easy to get turned around in the woods when you are looking for a cache and your head is down watching the GPS and not paying attention to your surroundings! The back track feature has saved my butt on occasion! Darkmoon All you have to do to fly is throw yourself at the ground and miss! Quote Link to comment
+Geo-Johnson's Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Yep, we've found that finding a parking place is 1/2 the fun. Check out the All Alonecache. We spent a couple of hours driving nearly all the way around it. We posted a picture of our bread crumb trail too. Turned out to be one of the best caches we've ever found. We've spent lots of time driving around unfamiliar neighborhoods trying to find a parking lot to a park the car. It can be frustrating, and is not gas tank friendly, but actually ads excitement to the hunt. Full gas tank, fresh batteries and you're off for day of fun!!! Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners. Quote Link to comment
+Hiemdahl Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Particularly if you use the Garmin Roads and Recreation. I decided to do a couple of caches while I was at Fort Hood last month. As it turned out none of the residential streets mentioned on the cache page were on the Garmin map. I ended up seeing a lot of pretty homes and met some nice people while wandering around. I thought I owed some of the neighbors an explanation of why I kept driving by and stopping, like I was not casing their house and it was not necessary to call the authorities. Hiemdahl Quote Link to comment
Cape Cod Cacher Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 PDA / Cell-tech / laptop will never replace a good paper map. Every year for XMAS, I ask for a Rand McNally road atlas. And I have to get new navigation charts. Spend some time instead of looking for a quick fix. Following an arrow is stupid. Print the caches out and look at a map. If you can afford a GPS and computer gear, why can't you afford time to print a B/W map of the area? Slackers Invade Geocaching. Film at 11... Quote Link to comment
+Dersu Posted February 6, 2003 Author Share Posted February 6, 2003 CCC, I may have been a slacker in preparation for my first outing and I suppose that you were a expert on your first outing, but I was able to come up with 30 bucks to become a charter member before ever starting this new hobby. How about you, why don't you support the folks that provide you with this forum to deride people you don't even know? Whose the real slacker here? Quote Link to comment
+RangerRick Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Hello Cape Cod Cacher, I have found over 100 caches now and never looked at a map once. I will admit I use the Garmin GPS V that will usually autoroute me as close to the cache as I can get with my car. Then, I switch the V to "offroad" and finish my journey. If you are going to rely on maps all the time, leave your gps home and find the caches like cacher WaldenRun does. He is truly amazing. Over 500 caches and no gps! Quote Link to comment
Seeker BP Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Come on CCC !! At least throw advice not insults!! Your stats are not the greatest on the board. How are people to learn with no help from pro's like yourself!! Quote Link to comment
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