Frustrated newbie

[+tiniundheinz]

Today I was trying to find my first 3 caches - and boy, was I a loser!!!! The first one we thought we found, but could not open it to sign the logbook/sheet (micro cache), the second one we only found a set of boules balls (which we thoroughly enjoyed), but could not locate the cache (although my cell phone told me, I was 40 cm to 2.5 m away from the cache...) and the third one was near a brewery, so we sat down to have a beer before looking for the cache - and service was so slow, we left after a considerable time withoug a beer - and without finding the cache.....

 

You might imagine that I was rather frustrated.....

 

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Heute wollte ich meine ersten 3 Caches finden - aber Mensch, war das ein Reinfall! Den ersten meinen wir gefunden zu haben, konnten aber den Zugang zum Logbuch nicht finden! (Kann es sein, daß man eventuell dann doch Werkzeug mitbringen muß???). Der 2. war witzig: wir haben das Boule Set gefunden und auch die Angel zum Herausholen des Caches, nur haben wir den nicht gefunden (obwohl mein Handy mir immer anzeigte, daß es ganz heiß war!!!! Der 3. Cache war in der Nähe einer Brauerei, also wollten wir uns erst mal stärken - nur der Service war sooooooooooo langsam, daß wir gingen, bevor wir überhaupt ein Bier bekommen hatten! Und den Cache haben wir auch nicht gefunden!

 

Ihr könnt Euch vorstellen, daß wir ziemlich frustriert waren!

[+T.D.M.22]

Don't feel bad. We all have issues-I went on a three day trip with a couple dozen caches on my list. I was only able to find one. I also spent probably 30-45 minutes looking for a 3 or 4 foot long tube, that wasn't camo'd.

 

At least you found the micro and got a beer out of the trip. It really isn't about finding the cache, but about looking for it. I have never heard any caching story that was "I found it, and opened the container up. Then, you'll never guess what I did. I SIGNED THE LOG!!" It's all about looking for it, not finding it, falling down hills, flat tires-the trip to and from the cache.

 

And some of these caches are very well camo'd- the look like part of the tree, or fence, or signpost. And the can be very tiny. Think anything from a 55 gallon barrel, down to a container the size of a pencil eraser. I've even found one that was a fake berry, on a tree.

Edited March 10, 2014 by T.D.M.22

[+popokiiti]

We have also seen fake pine cones, and I have heard of a nano in an acorn on an oak tree. Don't give up - I enjoyed your post about the beer, but hope you got one somewhere else! We have been caching for a while, and on one outing recently, started our day with 3 DNFs. It happens. Don't give up, it WILL come.

[+Chief301]

OK, I had to Google "boules balls" 😄.

 

You say you found nothing at that site but the balls. What, just a set of balls abandoned in the middle of nowhere? Are you sure they were just regular old boules balls and not something else? 😉

 

What was the GC number of the cache? Maybe we can help you figure out what it is you're looking for.

 

Also, the micro you did find....why couldn't you open it? Rusted shut or something like that? If so, I think most folks would log the find. It's not your fault the container hasn't been maintained properly and can't be opened. You DID find it 😎

 

One last thought.....don't be afraid to log your DNF's (Did Not Find) as well! A lot of cache owners will give you a hint if you're new at this and couldn't find their cache, but they won't know you're having trouble if you don't log it!

 

Some of my best logs are DNF logs, because sometimes the funniest or most interesting stuff happens on caches you DIDN'T find. Like your discovering the brewery, even though you didn't find the cache. That's a good story!

[+tiniundheinz]

Thanks, everybody, for your supportive words! Made me feel good! And yes, I will hang in there - it was good fun after all!

[+keylev]

Don't get too frustrated with yourself just keep on going... you will find them but they can sometimes be very tricky. Go back another day and you never know you might spot it - not by doing anything different then you did today but sometimes you just see it and sometimes not.

[+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.

[+tiniundheinz]

We did it!!!!! We went back to the first location again, looked some more and - FOUND IT!!!! Our very first ever geocache!!!! After last weekend's frustration we were about to give up before even really having started, but your support and advice made us look at it from a slightly different angle - and it feels good!!!!

 

 

So thanks again! Greetings from Germany!

 

tiniundheinz

[+niraD]

Congratulations! And welcome to geocaching!

[+davehi1]

Awesome. Keep at it, it will get easier. I remember feeling frustrated when I first started. I went with my son and the conversation went something like this: son: what are we looking for? Me: I don't know, some type of container. Son: where is it hiding? me: I don't know. We did this for at least three different caches until finally we started finding caches.

[+mackbrad]

I totally feel you pain - so glad you were able to find one and sign the log. So about a week ago I was trying to find something different to do while my family came to visit. I remembered hearing something about geo-caching and started doing my research. I loved everything about it, I signed up, made "signature" swag for both myself and my three year old daughter to put in the caches. I came up with a plan of attack......fast forward to yesterday. Everyone is all set to go. We grabbed our gear and head to an environmental center that has many caches of all different varieties and skill levels. We start with the "easiest" recommended one. We searched for probably an hour....nothing. We move on to 4 other ones......nothing!!! We felt defeated - I didn't log them as DNF's because I wasn't sure what we were even looking for so I didn't want it to come across as "not there" when I have zero idea what I am doing. We weren't giving up though - there were two nano caches in an area near by where I felt confident we would be able to find them. Spot number one FAIL!!! Still not giving up we went to the last spot and finally found our first cache. It was good to log a find, but I really wanted to find a big container to add my items to.......I want to go out and try again and I will. I also will start locating things as DNF's since I have one under my belt lol!!!

[+tiniundheinz]

Awesome. Keep at it, it will get easier. I remember feeling frustrated when I first started. I went with my son and the conversation went something like this: son: what are we looking for? Me: I don't know, some type of container. Son: where is it hiding? me: I don't know. We did this for at least three different caches until finally we started finding caches.

 

I can soooooo relate.....

[+TheHarleyRebel]

Welcome to geocaching! Have fun!

[Jan_777]

Lol, right, same here!

 

Just started geocaching 3 weeks ago and loving it. Now my wife and son are already much more fanatic than i am!!

[+.Flo.]

Moin tiniundheinz! Glückwunsch zu den ersten Caches! Ihr habt ja hier schon super Tipps bekommen! Noch eine Idee wäre, mal zu einem Event zu gehen oder die Cacheowner oder Vorfinder anzuschreiben. So lernt Ihr andere Cacher aus der Gegend kennen und könnt evtl. mal mit erfahrenen Cachern auf Tour gehen! So lernt man viel dazu! Und früher oder später bekommt man dann den "Cacherblick" und wünscht sich kompliziertere und raffiniertere Verstecke!

 

Gruß aus Kiel und noch viel Erfolg!