New to the game

[BervieBabe]

Hello everyone. I have just joined, after hearing about you on Radio 2 on my way home from work. Logged in when I got home, and was delighted to see a cache hidden just a 5 minute walk from my house. Have been down twice, and despite the description and logs saying it was a fairly easy find, I cannot see it. It's either very well hidden or gone altogether.

 

Anyway, looking forward to finding my first cache. All hints welcome!

[+BCandMsKitty]

Fairly easy may be aimed at folks that have geocached for a while

People develop what's called "Geosense" (being able to figure out where a cache is hidden based on past experiences) and what's easy to the hider (and other experienced cachers) may not be easy to a beginner.

 

Generally, for a beginner it is best to look for caches that are rated 1.5 star terrain, and 1.5 star difficulty. If they're rated correctly, they should truly be easy to find.

Also, try to look for caches that are larger (listed as medium, or large). All that info can be found in the top 2 or 3 lines of the cache page right under the cache name.

 

Welcome to the game, and above all, have fun.

Edited April 19, 2017 by BC & MsKitty

[+GeePa]

What was the name of the cache you were looking for?

[+niraD]

A common recommendation for beginners is to stick with small size, regular size, and large size caches. Until you're more experienced, avoid micro 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 . 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 caches, which will be at the published coordinates. Multi-caches or mystery/puzzle caches 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.

[BervieBabe]

What was the name of the cache you were looking for?

 

Hi there

 

It is Clan McGillvray - Glenbervie Church near Drumlithie in Scotland

[+colleda]

What was the name of the cache you were looking for?

 

Hi there

 

It is Clan McGillvray - Glenbervie Church near Drumlithie in Scotland

This one.

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC65WHA_clan-mcgillivary-glenbervie-church

[+colleda]

What was the name of the cache you were looking for?

 

Hi there

 

It is Clan McGillvray - Glenbervie Church near Drumlithie in Scotland

This one.

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC65WHA_clan-mcgillivary-glenbervie-church

From logs, difficulty/terrain seems abouut right as well as size category. Put it on a 'watch' list to see if the next seeker finds it. Meanwhile, chase some others of similar D/T and size.

[+hzoi]

It took us a while to find the first cache we set out for. It did not end up being the first one we actually found, though we did track it down eventually. Ten years and over 7,000 finds later, I find myself perfectly capable of missing caches. For instance, recently I have missed one particular stage of a multi cache three times now, even though it is supposed to be a large piece of slate propped against a tree.

 

For now, consider putting this one on the shelf and looking for another cache. Once you have a few more finds under your belt, try again; you may have a better sense of what you are looking for.

 

Good luck, and welcome to geocaching. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Edited April 21, 2017 by hzoi

[+NanCycle]

There is a cache that I have DNF'd 3 times, although other people are able to find it. Best advice I have is: go find a different one.

[BervieBabe]

A common recommendation for beginners is to stick with small size, regular size, and large size caches. Until you're more experienced, avoid micro 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 . 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 caches, which will be at the published coordinates. Multi-caches or mystery/puzzle caches 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.

 

Thanks, this is helpful. I think that I will just put it on the back burner for now, and try others in the area

[+CTheExplorer]

I started geocaching in june/july last year and only recently achieved a find on the first one I ever tried.

 

4 visits and I just want looking in the right spot. Though it's possible I did in the beginning and misunderstood something I saw before deciding it wasn't there.

 

Either way, I got about 34 finds in the interim. Some really fun and interesting ones too.

 

Enjoy