mamapjama Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I am getting a bit frustrated. We have gone on about 10-12 hunts now and only found two. I'm still trying to figure out my gps. It is a garmin nuvi and really isn't the perfect gps for geocaching I don't think but it should do the job. I'm finding that my gps keeps changing coordinates ( I was practicing in the yard with ds and the co-ord I had him find changed as he was looking) And then other times when I think I've got the right spot (b/c I used the hint on the geocaching page) I couldn't find it. I am only looking for the park n grabs at this point and two of the ones we looked for today two people found yesterday and said they were easy finds :glare: I looked for their tracks, looked in logs, under rocks, places where I would hide it and nothing :( Past 1/2 hour of looking is loosing it's fun factor, especially for the boys. Any tips?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We have the same issues sometimes with the gps changing coordinates. Be sure you are looking for the right sized object. Many of the park n grabs around here are micros which are only the size of a 1/2 a small marble (if that makes sense). The minis around here are often film canisters sometimes wrapped in camo tape. I don't know how many times I have stuck my hand in a hole in a tree when I know logically that is a bad idea due to critters lol. Hopefully you will find some soon! Once we discovered the patterns of some of the major cachers here it became much easier to find the caches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We have the same issues sometimes with the gps changing coordinates. Be sure you are looking for the right sized object. Many of the park n grabs around here are micros which are only the size of a 1/2 a small marble (if that makes sense). The minis around here are often film canisters sometimes wrapped in camo tape. I don't know how many times I have stuck my hand in a hole in a tree when I know logically that is a bad idea due to critters lol. Hopefully you will find some soon! Once we discovered the patterns of some of the major cachers here it became much easier to find the caches. :iagree: The cache size could be as much (or more) of your problem than the GPS. I, personally, have never ever found a micro or a mini. Dh is better, but some of them are so thoroughly hidden you'd search a month and might never find it! There is one we kept going back to over and over again. We knew it was on the huge camel (statue). We knew it was on the left rear leg. But, try to find that sucker! We did finally locate it after feeling up the poor camel many, many times. It was a micro that was only the width of a pencil eraser and about an inch long. Turns out it was a plug in the leg painted to match and perfectly fitted. Dh only found it because he caught a bit of fingernail in that spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We just got back from our very first geo caching experience! The first one we found, no problem, it was a beautiful location that we'd driven by thousands of times. Although we had to stick our hand into a dark wood crevice of an old bridge, kinda scary! The next one we couldn't find and it was supposed to be easy, it was labeled for kids! Instead my DD found a glass bottle, and thought it was the "treasure" and cut her hand. :( So we had to cut our second hunt short, but honestly, I could not find it! I turned over every rock in the coordinates. Grr... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanda7 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 You really need to get a handheld GPS for better accuracy. It makes a huge difference. When you are first starting out, just go after the 1 or 1.5 rated caches, and check the logs to make sure people have found them recently. You might even want to limit it to the larger sized caches as well, especially if you are caching with kids. Don't get discouraged. It takes a while to learn how the cachers in your area hide things. Attending a local geocache function is a big help as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I agree with starting with the larger caches first - or find an experienced cacher to go with when starting to look for smalls and micros. Once you get the hang of where to look for those, then it becomes fun to try to find them. We absolutely love the hard ones...esp when they're in the woods... and I'm getting hooked on puzzle caches now too. We've always been hooked on moving travel bugs and geocoins. If you can't go with others... for the smalls and micros, often check 'in' things. We've found them inside hollowed out screws, boards, logs, rocks, cracks, tiny nano magnets - even a plastic mushroom that looked real. A handheld GPS is well worth it for geocaching... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Okay, I'm willing to invest in a better hand-held GPS device! I'm so psyched about this new hobby. I was using my Garmin Forerunner 305 watch today. Some of my mom homeschooling friends use their iPhone. Are these devices part of the "inaccurate" group? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanda7 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'm not really familiar with the specs on either of those. You are looking for something that claims to get you within 15-20 feet. I've used cell phones in the past, and they were about as accurate as a car unit. However, the iPhones may be better than what I've used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 We haven't looked at or bought a new GPS in probably 3 years... your best bet would be to look for a geocaching event in your area and ask around there. We have one that meets once a month at a local restaurant - but there's no requirement to eat there if budget is a concern. If you don't want to go to an event, check out an outdoor shop like Gander Mountain or Dick's Sporting Goods and compare units. I know we have a Garmin E-Trex and I THINK it's a Legend. It was a gift, so I didn't do all the research behind it - then hubby's our techno man - I just locate the caches online that I want to find - our whole family takes turns being the lead person on the hunt. We have topo maps since we live and cache in hilly or mountain areas so knowing the final height of the cache and where we're at can save some ups and downs... or getting 3 feet from a cache but it's 30 feet up on a cliff and we need to access it from the top. If you live and cache in a flat area you can live without the topo maps. It still amazes us that we can go on a 12 mile caching hike in Southern Louisiana and only cross one topo line! I think that was a bridge... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wilhelm Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 :iagree: The cache size could be as much (or more) of your problem than the GPS. I, personally, have never ever found a micro or a mini. Dh is better, but some of them are so thoroughly hidden you'd search a month and might never find it! There is one we kept going back to over and over again. We knew it was on the huge camel (statue). We knew it was on the left rear leg. But, try to find that sucker! We did finally locate it after feeling up the poor camel many, many times. It was a micro that was only the width of a pencil eraser and about an inch long. Turns out it was a plug in the leg painted to match and perfectly fitted. Dh only found it because he caught a bit of fingernail in that spot. I can just imagine seeing a family feeling up a camel statue!! :lol: Thanks for the visual! :lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I am now the 4th result for "geocaching" on the Google blog search, lol! I only did it yesterday! You'd think there would be more than 3 other bloggers that were more into geocaching than I... Anyway, with a little research, the Garmin Forerunner watch is very accurate. I use it while running or hiking in the mountains and then map out my hike just for fun (it shows speed, altitude, distance). I like having it on my wrist. However, it lacks some of the handy features that devices made specifically for geocaching have. It got good reviews anyway. Maybe I should also start running again... http://www.geocaching.com/reviews/gps_garmin_forerunner-305 Off to Boulder to look for other options, just to see what I'm missing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 Back we went yesterday with much more success!!! I reread logs and clues etc. One that we have tried at least 4 times I finally got today and was thrilled! It was a tiny little keychain canister hanging in a spruce tree! We found a total of 4 today! We had to give up on three others but they are close by and can get back to them. Now the frustration is gone and the addiction begins :lol: I did a search last night on the Garmin nuvi and geocaching and came up with a great tutorial. It helped to me understand how my gps works with regard to geocaching. The guy that wrote the page is quite positive about using it as a hand held geocaching device. That's great as I don't have the funds to buy another. Some of you also might be interested in these links I found for kids http://www.sciencespot.net/Pages/classgpslsn.html I printed off the GPD Logic challenge on this page but haven't tried it yet with my sleuths! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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