Can't find anything

[dencon156]

Both my wife and I started geocaching today and went 0-4. All 4 were within a 1/2 square mile of each other and all we found was trash. We checked all the info, hints, etc but nothing. And after looking at the activity log on each one (everyone else found them), we were frustrated. Were not giving up just yet, but to start out "winless" was pretty sad. Anybody else started out this way?

[+AB&JB]

On our first geocaching adventure at a state part we found 2/3. Over a year later there are days where we still have 3 or 4 DNF's (Did Not Find) in a day. I would start out trying to find easy (less than 2 star) difficulty caches. Once you start finding caches and get experience, it does get easier. During our first week, my wife and I spend about 30 minutes looking for a cache that was under a lamp post skirt. It wasn't until we saw a clip on youtube that we thought to look under the cover.

Another suggestion is to try to find a local event and meet other geocachers in your area. They can give you tips and can usually recommend good beginner caches in you area. I hope this helps and welcome to the hobby.

[+on4bam]

Both my wife and I started geocaching today and went 0-4. All 4 were within a 1/2 square mile of each other and all we found was trash. We checked all the info, hints, etc but nothing. And after looking at the activity log on each one (everyone else found them), we were frustrated. Were not giving up just yet, but to start out "winless" was pretty sad. Anybody else started out this way?

 

We found 1 out of 1 on our first outing but DNF'ed 9 out of 39 on our last caching day. One of those 9 was gone CO gave permission to log a found but I declined) so it was really 8 DNFs. You can't win them all.

[+TriciaG]

You can't win them all.

No, but it would be nice to win at least once.

 

Aim for the larger caches (regular, large) with small difficulty ratings. Stay away from micro size, and try to stay away from smalls, since "size creep" is making smalls actually be micros nowadays. There will be a lot fewer to look for, but they should be easier to find.

[+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.

[ohgood]

Both my wife and I started geocaching today and went 0-4. All 4 were within a 1/2 square mile of each other and all we found was trash. We checked all the info, hints, etc but nothing. And after looking at the activity log on each one (everyone else found them), we were frustrated. Were not giving up just yet, but to start out "winless" was pretty sad. Anybody else started out this way?

 

Opinion warning...

Micros are pointless, you spend the majority of the time looking for a tiny container barely big enough to fit a log, instead of enjoying the hike/view. We skip all the micros now.

 

Its a good idea to read the logs and HINTS beforehand, to establish if the CO put any more effort into the placement than saying "just google it" in the hint/description. If that's the level of effort, bah, keep on moving.

 

After you've found a few, you'll realize there is a huge difference between the type of talent in placed caches, is: the owners efforts. Ignoring the bad placers and concentrating on the really good ones makes for better hikes. ;-)

[+lee737]

niraD's post is on the money.

Also - make a plan for some you want to do - pick regulars/larges, check previous logs/photos for spoilers and to make sure it has been found recently, and go and cache! We still miss completely obvious hides at times, sometimes we do a few in a row, although that has decreased thankfully....

Edited June 20, 2016 by lee737

[+MtnMutt-ProDuckShins]

Additional help ... Attend an event in your area and ask for help from the local cachers as most are a friendly group willing to help you. God luck.

[+pseudoprime]

One thing that has slowly dawned on me is that the difficulty can be very deceptive. There's a type of a hide called a "lamp post cache". (I'll avoid spoiling the details, but honestly they're rather dull.) I recently found one of these with difficulty 1. Now, if this were the first ever lamp post cache, there's no way this would be difficulty 1. Who would think to look *there*? But guess what? To a caching newbie, this is the first LPC.

 

Even though I've now found (by my count) 11 LPCs, this took me way too long, because it differed just enough from the other 10 so it wasn't right where I expected it to be.

 

Anyway, what I'm saying, is don't be discouraged. It's a lot easier to find your 100th geocache than your first. As others have said, that's especially true of urban micros. I would suggest looking for a cache listing that has a picture of someone happily holding up a piece of Tupperware, preferably located just off a path.

[dencon156]

Thanks to all the responses. We will be trying again this coming weekend and if we find anything, we'll let you know!

[+Lellynelly]

Hiya. NiraDs reply is pretty much what I would say. but from me the best piece of advice is to do what I did when I first started out. spent a whole day geocaching with a friend who is experienced at it. you'll soon learn the kind of places to look and finding with a friend, even if they actually found it, will boost your confidence.