Just Getting Started!

[+edgyhedgie]

Hey, guys! I was introduced to Geocaching yesterday and fell in love with it instantly. I went out with my sister today and looked at a few places. I was kind of getting discouraged at first because the first 4 places we visited, we couldn't find the cache. We finally found 2 later in the evening. My question is, is it normal to not be able to find a cache after some people logged it as found that same day? We searched every possible place that we could think of in the area and no luck.

[Rock Chalk]

Welcome to the game! Yes, it's absolutely normal to not be able to find a cache that someone else has found. As you find more and more caches, and learn about the various kinds of hides, you'll be avenging those DNFs in no time. Have fun!

[+edgyhedgie]

Awesome! Thank you!

[+Pinki24]

I am pretty new to this also but I found that if I was able to, I would walk away and think about the details that were given to me.

I have gone back to two DNF that I have logged and found them on the second go. Sometimes, it needs a bit of thinking space and a fresh set of eyes.

 

There have been a couple where I personally think that the cache has definitely been lifted for whatever reason.

[+Blue_Ranger]

Just got started myself, found my first 2 today, and had 4 DNF's... so it sounds like par for the course. One it looks like the tree crotch has filled with water and frozen solid, I bet it's encased in there. Another, I'm pretty sure it's missing- supposed to be in a hole in a tree, and big enough to keep trackables, but I found zilch. The other 2 DNF's... I need a proper GPS unit, my phone doesn't cut it.

[+T.D.M.22]

Anything in geocaching can happen. Some geocache can be camo'd better than you can imagine. Some geocache cam be small as the eraser on a pencil. Put those together, and it's hard for even experienced caches to find.

 

Word of advice for nooks is to look for larger sized caches, with a lower difficulty rating, and check the logs to see if it's been found lately or it had several DNF's.

 

Of course, there's days when you just can't have any good luck. I was once looking for a cache 3 or 4 feet long, with bright yellow writing on it, for 45 minutes before I found it. I even knew what it looked like. Then I hear that it was found by other people by accident. Then there's the time when I walked right up to the cache and picked it up. And even caches more experienced than me asked me for help after multiple visits.

[+T.D.M.22]

 

SNIP

 

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.

 

 

From forum regular niraD

Edited January 18, 2015 by T.D.M.22

[+Bear and Ragged]

My question is, is it normal to not be able to find a cache after some people logged it as found that same day? We searched every possible place that we could think of in the area and no luck.

 

Welcome!

 

I often find the cache and move away from the location to sign the log.

If you happen to be looking for it while I'm doing the signing (and I don't see you looking, maybe there's a lot of people around) you wont find it!

 

Moving away helps, if someone sees you and asks what you're doing, it doesn't give away where the cache is hidden.

[+edgyhedgie]

 

Welcome!

 

I often find the cache and move away from the location to sign the log.

If you happen to be looking for it while I'm doing the signing (and I don't see you looking, maybe there's a lot of people around) you wont find it!

 

Moving away helps, if someone sees you and asks what you're doing, it doesn't give away where the cache is hidden.

 

 

The places that we were at, we were literally the only ones there, LOL! Unless the person that found it before us left the actual property to sign and then came back. In fact, the places that we had DNF's were all empty. We were the only ones there. The 2 places that we found a cache were in busy parking lots. Haha

[+SageTracey]

Welcome to the obsession! Sounds like you are off to a completely normal start but before you know it, your geo-senses and persistence will kick in.

 

Once you have a little more experience, go back to your DNFs and you will probably be surprised at how easily you find them this time around. I went to one GZ three times without success but on the fourth visit, I literally walked up to the site and put my hand on it.

 

Yesterday my geo-hubby and I went out to pick up a few locals. There was quite a mixture of hides, including some very clever ones, but we found them all fairly quickly. In fact, the one that took us the longest was out in the open but we just failed to look up for a long time!