So… you can’t find the cache. Here’s some tips…

Your GPS says you are really close to it… just how accurate is your GPS? Unless you can calibrate it against NASA’s satellites (you can’t!) you really have no way of telling. Also the positioning is *seriously* affected by nearby power cables and tree cover. And you can only ever hope to be as accurate as whoever put the cache out. If they made a rush job of taking co-ordinates, or if they were affected by tree cover (the difference in co-ords between winter with no leaves and summer with leaves is amazing) then you may well be out by up to ten yards or more.

We’ll talk about difficulty and terrain in detail later. But look at the D/T. Is it difficulty level five (which means it is a *hard* find)? Is it terrain level five (is it twenty yards up that tree, under that bridge or underwater in that river?)

We’ll talk about cache sizes in detail later, but how big is your target? Some nano-caches can be smaller than your thumbnail

Read the cache description and the hint (if one has been given). Previous “Found It” logs may give you pointers, or seeing “Did Not Find” logs may suggest the thing has gone missing.

But don’t be disillusioned. You are *not* going to see it right away. If you did then the normal people would also see it right away and report it to the police because it is drugs or a bomb or something else equally ridiculous (they do that!). Let’s assume the GPS signal is good (you are very close), the D/T are good (not a hard find, not inaccessible), and that it is actually there. So what give-away signs are we looking for?

“stickoflage” – is there a rather orderly pile of sticks hiding something?	“Magnetic” – stuck to something metal?
In a hole at the base of a tree?	A fake object?
Is there a “cacher’s trail” where previous cachers have been?	“log” your visit ?
Behind an innocuous sign?	Under the obvious target?