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finally tried geocaching today


Justin Of Terrytown

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I finally tried Geocaching today. Got a new GPS for Christmas (an etrek 10).

 

Nothing went right. It took me over four hours finally get the GPS to allow me to download geocaches and it takes me four attempts to download one cache. I finally went to try to find a few geocaches and could not even find one.

 

I am sure that geocaching is a great hobby for a lot of people. I thought it would be great for me since I was raise outdoors (I mean, I been hunting and fishing since I was five years old which means I been fishing and hunting for 25 years). But I was wrong. This hobby will not become my new hobby. I regret even trying this hobby right now.

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I don't have an eTrex, so I really can't help with the particulars of your device. But since you're a premium member, you can use pocket queries. I always use pocket queries to download geocache data to my device. I download the pocket query data, plug in my device via USB, drag-and-drop the pocket query data to the device folder, unmount the device, and go. But pocket queries add another level of complexity to the game. Still, if you're interested in them, there's a good FAQ available here: http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm

 

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.

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I just ordered The Complete Idiot's Guide To Geocaching to help me learn about geocaching.

 

You can learn a lot for free by checking out the Help Center:

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php

 

Some more free help:

 

Geocaching 101

http://www.geocaching.com/guide/

 

Of course, you can also ask for help and advice here on the forum, also free.

 

The full owner's manual for the etrex 10:

 

http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/eTrex_10-20-30_OM_EN.pdf

 

Ignore the bit in the Geocaching section about a geocaching site that is not Groundspeak.

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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Don't get too discouraged too fast....it can take a few tries to figure out how to look. It can be interesting to mark your attempts that didn't work out as "Did Not Find". In a few weeks, go back and you might get a laugh out of how hard you were making it on yourself!

 

Always read the hints...some cache owners are kinder than others when it comes to hints and for me that was very important in the early finds. Oh, who am I kidding - I still check the hints. As much as I love this game, I'm not really very good at finding things and I need the hints.

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I finally tried Geocaching today. Got a new GPS for Christmas (an etrek 10).

 

Nothing went right. It took me over four hours finally get the GPS to allow me to download geocaches and it takes me four attempts to download one cache. I finally went to try to find a few geocaches and could not even find one.

 

I am sure that geocaching is a great hobby for a lot of people. I thought it would be great for me since I was raise outdoors (I mean, I been hunting and fishing since I was five years old which means I been fishing and hunting for 25 years). But I was wrong. This hobby will not become my new hobby. I regret even trying this hobby right now.

Many of us new to geocaching also had a similar, frustrating beginning. With me, it was trying to figure out my new GPS receiver and finally getting to GZ and expecting the cache to be right there by my feet. You'll soon learn that the cache is rarely where the coordinates put you and that you need to hone your geo-senses in order to grab the prize. Having read your other post, I think by now you've sorted out the "compatibility issues" with Internet Explorer. Download the manual for your device from the Garmin website and start reading about how to use it. Most importantly, believe that geocaching really is a fun and rewarding activity. I guarantee you'll visit trails and parks you never new existed in your town, and you definitely will discover caches along the way that are clever, deceiving, and downright evil but always rewarding. Relax, give it another try and share some of your stories with the rest of us.

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Hey Justin, Some great advice from other posters here. My suggestion is to find an experienced cacher to take you out for a day to help you find a few caches. That is how most of us got started and it certainly helps to have their guidance. Before you know it, you will be the experienced one helping newbies.

 

Most of all, just keep at it and enjoy. If you don't find a cache, just take a few moments to enjoy the area that the cache has taken you to anyway.

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I went geocaching at Brechtel Park (tried finding four geocaches) and near my church in Algiers Point (tried to find two). No luck. And now the two near my church, it appears that I am the only one that could not find them (I even look for one for over 45 minutes). Now I feel like an idiot for not evening finding one of them.

 

I am beginning to doubt myself again about if geocaching is the hobby for me.

Edited by Justin Of Terrytown
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Don't get discouraged, I can't always find them either. But it makes them more of a challenge. What I enjoy about this hobby is finding places that you would not have normally ever found. I travel for work so I make it a point to cache wherever I am at. And have found some beautiful places by doing so.

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Have you checked the past logs for DNF's? I know sometimes I will be in a area where many are missing. If not just keep trying or find someone who caches to go with you. After a few finds you kind of get the idea of where to possibly look. There will always be ones you can't find but if they are rated easy and you have seen a few they get easier.

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Yeah Geocaching is impossible...

 

Nah I am joking. I am fairly new to this sport as well but I am having a blast with it. I am somewhat like you, I love the outdoors and spend a good amount of time outside either fishing or camping (but now Geocaching takes up some of it).

 

I think you will love this activity as well. I just wanted to say I agree with everything said above and want to share and echo what I do.

 

The issue with getting the caches to your GPS is just a simple learning curve, I had the same curve but after a few tries I now have over 8 thousand Geocaches on my GPS and I have a system that I am very comfortable with.

 

Before selecting a Geocache to find I ALWAYS check out when it was last found, this gives me an indication of how hard it is to find or if it shows any signs of being stolen or damaged. You can do this on your GPS or the site. You have to remember these caches are in public and can easily be stolen or moved to a different location. So instead of wasting your time on a cache that has not been found in over 6 months, try to find a cache that has been found this week or this month first (don't get me wrong, finding a cache that has not been found in over is a great feeling but just be ready for a challenge).

 

Since you are new I would stick to 1 star, 1.5 star, or 2 star caches but even better: In your searches the beginner caches are highlighted. Stick to those until you get a good feeling for Geocaching. If you don't know what I mean, in any search, you can see that beginner caches are highlighted in this greenish yellow (baby crap) highlight. For example, if you click on the link I gave you, you will see two beginner caches at the very bottom (or on page two if they have moved due to new caching being added).

 

So selecting beginner caches and making sure they have been found recently and checking the hints and find caches that are regular or large in size, you should have a much better time starting out.

 

It might not sound right at first but after a few dozen times you will have a much better understanding and a good system down.

 

I took my brother the first time Geocaching and we were looking for a small magnet cache. He looked under one spot for a few minutes, I looked under the same spot for abut 7 seconds and got the cache. It will come.

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I went geocaching at Brechtel Park (tried finding four geocaches) and near my church in Algiers Point (tried to find two). No luck. And now the two near my church, it appears that I am the only one that could not find them (I even look for one for over 45 minutes). Now I feel like an idiot for not evening finding one of them.
To me, this sounds like you might be searching for caches that are hidden "in the usual places", and therefore they are easy for experienced geocachers to find. For novices who don't know where "the usual places" are, such caches can be a significant challenge. When I was new, several caches like this took me quite a while to spot the first time or three. But eventually I learned what "the usual places" are, and I learned to check them early in my search, rather than later in my search.
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I am going to treat this new hobby like a brand new restaurant. If I see potential in a new brand restaurant, I give it a few months before I decide if it is great, good or bad. Give the restaurant a few months to work out the bugs.

 

Since I see potential that I will enjoy this hobby, I am going to give it a few months for me to work out the bugs.

 

Two of the caches are near my church. So I will look for them again on Thursday (Holy Day of Obligation for us Catholics) and if I don't find them on Thursday, I will look for them again on Sunday.

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hi Justin,

Welcome to the world of Geocaching. I am a little new to this myself. I have a few in my area that I have been to three or four times and still can't find them. What I do is look around and find something that is a little easier and when I have some extra time I go back to those ones I can not find. There is one in particular I have been to three times and it still proves elusive, I know in time I will find it.

 

I had a look on your profile to see if there is anything near you that may be easy to get you started.

I congratulate you on the one you found, I would have left that till I had a bit more experience, due to its size and rating.

 

I would try these to get you started..

 

Papa Bear

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2M6KW_papa-bear

 

Parrot Pete's Deux

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3A0XG_parrot-petes-deux

 

How Smart is Your Pet?

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1JCYB_how-smart-is-your-pet

 

They are within a couple of miles of the first one you found.

 

Keep us updated on how you go.

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Those first few finds get you hooked.

 

I have a few hides that are not for beginners, yet beginners (< 10 finds) always try and fail to find them. On one, I've added a bit on the cache description saying that if you're just starting out, go find some other caches first and then try this one again.

 

Everyone has their share of DNFs. Even experienced cachers show up at the posted coordinates and fail to find the container. Sometimes it's legitimately missing, sometimes the container has been moved from its original hiding spot, and sometimes you just don't find it. Just record it as DNF and move along.

 

For some DNFs, I'll watch the listing and get notifications if other people find it (or don't find it) after me, and get notified when the owner maintains it so I can go looking for it again.

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Those first few finds get you hooked.

 

I have a few hides that are not for beginners, yet beginners (< 10 finds) always try and fail to find them. On one, I've added a bit on the cache description saying that if you're just starting out, go find some other caches first and then try this one again.

 

Everyone has their share of DNFs. Even experienced cachers show up at the posted coordinates and fail to find the container. Sometimes it's legitimately missing, sometimes the container has been moved from its original hiding spot, and sometimes you just don't find it. Just record it as DNF and move along.

For some DNFs, I'll watch the listing and get notifications if other people find it (or don't find it) after me, and get notified when the owner maintains it so I can go looking for it again.

 

This

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When I started caching I had a Garmin Nuvi 1300. A Nuvi! my gosh. I didn't try to upload the cache to the GPSR but manually entered the coordinates.It's a thing to get used to but I now do it pretty fast. I was lucky and found the cache on the first try.I was HOOKED! I still use the Nuvi and will have it for a while. It's got some weird bugs but it's a nice GPSR. I must say though that I wouldn't recommend it.

Edited by GrayHawk613
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When I started caching I had a Garmin Nuvi 1300. A Nuvi! my gosh. I didn't try to upload the cache to the GPSR but manually entered the coordinates.It's a thing to get used to but I now do it pretty fast. I was lucky and found the cache on the first try.I was HOOKED! I still use the Nuvi and will have it for a while. It's got some weird bugs but it's a nice GPSR. I must say though that I wouldn't recommend it.

I tried to use my Nuvi for two caches one day. It refused to stray from the roads, so I couldn't follow the map to the icon. I had to just walk and watch the coordinates count down. I discovered I need a whole lot more digital assistance than that. :laughing:

Edited by kunarion
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When I started caching I had a Garmin Nuvi 1300. A Nuvi! my gosh. I didn't try to upload the cache to the GPSR but manually entered the coordinates.It's a thing to get used to but I now do it pretty fast. I was lucky and found the cache on the first try.I was HOOKED! I still use the Nuvi and will have it for a while. It's got some weird bugs but it's a nice GPSR. I must say though that I wouldn't recommend it.

I tried to use my Nuvi for two caches one day. It refused to stray from the roads, so I couldn't follow the map to the icon. I had to just walk and watch the coordinates count down. I discovered I need a whole lot more digital assistance than that. :laughing:

Oh I don't route to it. I just start walking toward it.

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Well you will have good days and bad... Last month I did 45 in a day - no mean feat considering I'm in the UK and it gets dark before 5pm at this time of year. Today... I had 11 DNF. Out of 11. I really wanted to get 100 by end of this year and only had 6 to go when I went out this morning. I still have 6 to go. BUT I have walked miles, have a healthy glow in my cheeks and saw lots of great sights. I look at geocaching as golf really... a way to ruin a good walk ;)

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Well you will have good days and bad... Last month I did 45 in a day - no mean feat considering I'm in the UK and it gets dark before 5pm at this time of year. Today... I had 11 DNF. Out of 11. I really wanted to get 100 by end of this year and only had 6 to go when I went out this morning. I still have 6 to go. BUT I have walked miles, have a healthy glow in my cheeks and saw lots of great sights. I look at geocaching as golf really... a way to ruin a good walk ;)

 

You only need 6? Go out now and get 6 virtuals and earthcaches to meet your goal. They count.

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Well you will have good days and bad... Last month I did 45 in a day - no mean feat considering I'm in the UK and it gets dark before 5pm at this time of year. Today... I had 11 DNF. Out of 11. I really wanted to get 100 by end of this year and only had 6 to go when I went out this morning. I still have 6 to go. BUT I have walked miles, have a healthy glow in my cheeks and saw lots of great sights. I look at geocaching as golf really... a way to ruin a good walk ;)

 

You only need 6? Go out now and get 6 virtuals and earthcaches to meet your goal. They count.

 

I'm in the UK, so it's already night time and below freezing - we are having a quick look at our options for the 3 remaining hours of the year. Or we might base it on the US time zone for the website and go out again at first light :D

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I'm in the UK, so it's already night time and below freezing - we are having a quick look at our options for the 3 remaining hours of the year. Or we might base it on the US time zone for the website and go out again at first light :D

 

The server is based in PST (GMT -8) so your still good :)

 

Tried and failed - ended 2014 on 98 caches. Thought we might be able to do it when we located two earthcaches close to where we are staying that should have been easier than trying to find a little black box hidden somewhere in the dark, but a hot dinner and copious bottles of wine provided meant we are doing them today - which will kickstart our New Year's Resolution of trying to get to 250 this year. Then TOMORROW, our new GPS (eTrex 20) arrives, which means we'll be caching with proper equipment rather than a combination of mobile phones and a car satnav. So excited!! Happy New Year everyone :D

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There's a cache that I logged DNF for twice, despite everyone else saying how easy it was find.

 

After the second DNF, the cache owner kindly sent me a hint.

 

I managed to convince my husband to try again, figuring with that extra hint, it would be "easy" for us to find as well.

 

ha, ha....nope, nope, nope. The extra hint made no sense once we were at the location, and more fumbling around try to match the hint resulted in yet another DNF.

 

Unless we go with someone who has found it, and that's very unlikely, we won't be searching for that one again.

 

 

 

B.

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We have been caching almost 8 years, and still have problems finding some caches. They are usually the ones that other folk say were easy, quick, etc. What I like best about caching is the journey, the trips (I mean that literally and figuratively!) and having a purpose to a walk. I have been to places in my own area that I didn't know existed, met some neat people and got exercise.

One hint is to try thinking like a hider - where would YOU hide it - which sometimes helps. Please don't give up too soon, if you have questions, we will all try to help!

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There's a cache that I logged DNF for twice, despite everyone else saying how easy it was find.

 

After the second DNF, the cache owner kindly sent me a hint.

 

B.

 

That reminds me, Justin...don't be afraid to log your DNF's (Did Not Find) as well as your finds...many times a helpful cache owner will contact you with a hint, especially if you're new.

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There's a cache that I logged DNF for twice, despite everyone else saying how easy it was find.

 

After the second DNF, the cache owner kindly sent me a hint.

 

B.

 

That reminds me, Justin...don't be afraid to log your DNF's (Did Not Find) as well as your finds...many times a helpful cache owner will contact you with a hint, especially if you're new.

 

Whilst I might not contact you, I am more likely to respond with a hint if you HAVE posted a DNF log and then ask me for help.

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Wow 9 Caches. That's pretty good Justin!

 

About 5 hours after you made this post, I found two more Caches so my total is now 11. I tried finding four today but I found two. One of those I did not find is near my church, so I will try again this weekend.

 

Justin, I live in your area and we have a meeting at the CDM on Vets every other month....there is one Jan 14 as per this link

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5GG06_janurary-cdm-monthly-meet-and-greet

 

Several cachers live on the west bank and some routinely attend.....its a good place to learn about the game and meet other area cachers.

Welcome to the game and look forward to meeting you.

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So far, I found 20 caches.

 

I almost met another person that was geocaching. I saw a guy walking away from a geocache while I was walking towards it. He log the cache in about the same time I was also logging it in.

 

That's great. If that happens again, you should say "hi." You never know, you might just make a geocaching buddy. It's kinda rare to meet others at the same cache these days given the volume of caches available. Sometimes it can happen on a new listing if there's first to find competition.

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