There are many reasons that geocachers detest micros but the common complaints are most repeated:
1. They’re too small.
2. They’re too hard to find.
3. There is no consistent container/don’t know what to look for.
4. Can’t trade items.
5. They are almost always in a pine tree!!!
There is no doubt that new geocachers have the most trouble with finding micros. Rookies to the game are fuelled by successes, not DNF’s (did not find). A string of undiscovered micros can dampen the most experienced cacher’s spirits.
Since most micros are stuck in our plentiful Calgary pine trees, here’s a guide to getting closer to these elusive tubes of paper:
1. If pine needles make you itchy, bring along gloves. You will be moving branches aside, guaranteed. If you feel more comfortable, you’re apt to keep searching longer.
2. Get a lock on your coordinates to find the right tree, especially when the trees are clumped together.
3. Concentrate on your one tree. Usually, the coordinates will let you know which side of the tree to look on if you aren’t too deep in the woods.
4. Get the kids involved. They’re shorter than you for a reason. Leverage it!
5. Work on one section, or branch, at a time. Search from the bottom up, or the top down. Being systematic can help you from checking areas twice.
6. Remember what you’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to use the hints or read the logs for clues if you become stuck. You can often glean an idea of what the container may look like, whether it be a bison tube or a camo-taped one. Once in awhile, a fellow cacher may post a photo of the container in their logs, too.
7. Use a flashlight. The interior shelter of large pine trees can be as a dark as a cave. Some light may help to reflect the metal on a green bison tube hanging from a nearby branch.
8. Come back another day. You are not ‘failing’ this find, you are choosing to revisit with a fresh perspective.
One last note to new cachers: the hardest micro to find is the first one. Keep on looking!
Happy micro-caching!
Cache-to-Go: Red Rock, GC29JP5. A larger-than-usual green metal bison tube nowhere near the two red rocks. Look up, you may need a step-stool to reach.
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