Step 2: Picking Out Your First Cache to Hunt

What we want to do here is find a cache that will be as fun and rewarding as possible. As you find more and more caches you'll encounter micros (very small containers) and multi-caches (that take you to multiple locations) and mystery caches (which might require solving puzzles before you find the correct coordinates). For your first cache let's keep it basic. You'll be looking for a traditional box hidden in a wooded area.

However, we want to make sure the first hunt isn't too frustrating, so we'll try to find one with as low a terrain/Difficulty Rating as possible. These ratings range from 1-5 stars. A 1 star terrain should be accessible with a wheelchair. A 5 star terrain will require some specialized gear (anything from a 4x4 vehicle to snorkeling or rapelling equipment).

Open up your computer's browser and go to www.geocaching.com/my. If you're not yet logged in you'll need to be. This is your personal account page. As you find caches and perform other activities on the website they will be recorded here. On the right side of the page you will see a series of links. The top ones are your Search Options. Click the link for "Search for nearest caches from your home coordinates."

The next screen will show you the results of your search: caches near your home zip code or coordinates (which you entered during the account setup). They are listed from nearest to your home to farthest away—up to 100 miles.

You will also see a variety of icons on this page. Since we're keeping this one as simple as possible you're looking for a cache with the following criteria:

A traditional cache icon. This means it's a single box located at the posted coordinates. A low terrain/difficulty rating. These caches will be fairly easy to find. Look for a cache rated between 1 and 2.5 in both terrain and difficulty. A regular to large size container. These will be larger boxes (somewhere around the size of a shoebox) that will contain several trade items. These caches should be especially fun for young children that will enjoy receiving a reward for their hunt.

Once you find a cache that meets these criteria, click on the name of the cache to advance to the cache page.

It's important that we pick a cache that seems trouble free. Very often caches will turn up missing—carried off by people or animals or washed away in bad weather. You don't want to go on your first cache hunt only to be disappointed by a cache that's not there. Scroll down the cache page to look at the recent logs at the bottom.

The cache you've chosen should have a fairly recent date for the last time it was found. Look for a log with a recent date that has a yellow Smiley face icon next to it. If the cache logs instead contain blue frowning faces, this means that the geocachers who recently searched for it couldn't find the cache and there's a good chance it's either missing or simply very difficult to locate.

Carefully read the cache page, looking for any details that might help you in your hunt or any information that might make the trip more enjoyable (the page might mention scenery or wildlife to look out for). You may also wish to decrypt the hint now, or wait and do it by hand later while searching for the cache.

Once you're satisfied that this is the cache you want to search for, scroll back to the top of the cache page and look for a link on the left side middle of the page that says, "make this page print-friendly." When you click this link, a new window will open with a new version of the same page, but with low graphics. After this window opens, look for the "print-friendly" link on the new page and click it again to include the last five logs. Often times reading the logs from recent finds can give you valuable information that will help you if the cache is difficult to find.

Your other option is to open the page as an Adobe PDF document. The format on these pages is excellent for those who prefer to cache with paper (as opposed to paperless, which is a lesson that comes later). The layout on these pages is simple and makes it very easy to organize a day of caching in binder or on a clipboard. PDF's are available with no logs on the page, the five previous logs or the ten previous logs. To use this feature you will need to download and install the free Adobe Reader, but it's such a widely used program that you should have done that already.