Hidden "too Well"

[+One of the Texas Vikings]

After a long day, Sunday, geocaching with Two of the Texas Vikings and one of Two Other of the Texas Vikings. We found three and DNF three.

I wondering, do you get frustrated when you try your hardest to find them, not knowing if they have been "muggled" or not. Then find out they were there.

Of the three we tried to find. One was "muggled", one is still there, and we haven't heard from the owner on the third.

 

So do you get frustrated when you find out, it wasn't muggled ?

[+reveritt]

No, I just go back later. If I DNF, I usually put the cache on my watch list so I can see if other people have more success than I did. I also study the log entries for clues.

[+Isonzo Karst]

I only hunt into the NHF zone (not having fun) then move on. Yes, it's annoying not find them, but it's part of the game. I'm not a fanatic about "cleaning up" DNFs either. If I enjoyed the location enough to return I'll go and back and hunt again, if not I don't worry about it. Every active ower I've ever encountered will respond to an email after you post a DNF & when the owner is AWOL another user will usually help.

[+Team Cotati]

I only hunt into the NHF zone (not having fun) then move on. Yes, it's annoying not find them, but it's part of the game. I'm not a fanatic about "cleaning up" DNFs either. If I enjoyed the location enough to return I'll go and back and hunt again, if not I don't worry about it. Every active ower I've ever encountered will respond to an email after you post a DNF & when the owner is AWOL another user will usually help.

Perfect. Thank you.

[+wimseyguy]

Ditto IK's thoughts.

I think it's more frustrating to find out that there was nothing to find after all. Then it really seems like a waste of time instead of just my own shortcomings.

Of course the time spent with friends, or in a nice spot isn't ever a waste.

[+Teamhawaii1981 & blueicyrose]

Of course it is frustrating. Especially when the hike to the location is long and you spend upwards of an hour looking everywhere. But that is what the game is all about. If that happens I usually will go back and look through the logs for a hint. If it is worth it to me I go back, if not I don't.

 

There is no such thing as a cache be "too well hidden", IMO.

[+Team Cotati]

Of course it is frustrating. Especially when the hike to the location is long and you spend upwards of an hour looking everywhere. But that is what the game is all about. If that happens I usually will go back and look through the logs for a hint. If it is worth it to me I go back, if not I don't.

 

There is no such thing as a cache be "too well hidden", IMO.

That is not what the game is about.

[+wesleykey]

We're starting to get a lot of those where the container is a part of the terrain, and only a log book is hidden.

[OuttaHand]

you wrote: "That is not what the game is about."

 

???

 

That is EXACTLY what the game is about. You HIDE the cache. You don't lay it out in the middle of an open area.

 

Now -- whether it is hidden TOO WELL is strictly a matter of what difficulty rating it was given.

 

If it is rated 1-star for difficulty, it ought to be laying out in the open with a sign pointing at it.

 

If it's rated 5-stars for difficulty, you'd better figure on several hours searching, and perhaps two or more trips there to find it.

 

So, realistically, the only time a cache is hidden "too well" is when the difficulty rating is too low for the actual hide job. If it's rated a 2-star for difficulty, I expect to be able to find it in about 20 minutes max. If I've been searching on-site for an hour and still haven't found it, then I'm gonna get a little frustrated. But that's simply because I have to believe it was mis-rated.

 

You may also want to check this earlier thread on this subject.

[twjolson & Kay]

a DNF is always frustrating, especially when you aren't sure if it was taken or not. But that is the game, geocaching would be so incredibly boring if all there was was drive up caches. It's the variety, puzzles, camo, multi's, etc that make the game fun.

[+tabulator32]

You don't want'em ALL to be real easy, do ya?!

 

[+deimos444]

I will return to the scene of the crime several times because this is exactly what the game is about and giving up easily is just an excuse for laziness.

I spent 2 hours this morning looking for " a small size container " hidden in " an interesting structure " on a lagoon.

Even though I haven't found it yet I had a great time and got to think up lots of interesting and descriptive words and phrases for the person who hid it.

[+sept1c_tank]

After a long day, Sunday, geocaching with Two of the Texas Vikings and one of Two Other of the Texas Vikings. We found three and DNF three.

I wondering, do you get frustrated when you try your hardest to find them, not knowing if they have been "muggled" or not. Then find out they were there.

  Of the three we tried to find. One was "muggled", one is still there, and we haven't heard from the owner on the third.

 

  So do you get frustrated when you find out, it wasn't muggled ?

Sometimes I wonder if too well hidden is really something else. I’ve noticed my DNFs seem to be grouped together chronologically. Often times, like you may have experienced, I’ll DNF two or three times on the same day, then go for months without one.

 

Do you think it may really have something to do with our frame of mind, our attitude? Seems like when it rains, it pours.

 

I’m not frustrated to find out that a cache has been found after I DNF; I just feel challenged.

[+Miragee]

I started out the day yesterday with two DNFs. One was brand new and even experienced cachers had to call for lifelines.

 

The other one was just frustrating because the coordinates put me in the middle of the parking lot. Other cachers have also had problems with the coordinates. I don't think I'll bother returning to that one.

 

I like the ones that show me unusual things like this awesome Grande Cactus or which take me on a nice long walk. Even if I don't find the cache, if the experience getting to the location was good, it was a successful cache hunt, IMO.

 

If I can't find one that took me to a parking lot . . . I don't see the point of returning to that location

[+Renegade Knight]

Since I've had a lot of 50/50 days and live in an area with a cache maggot we have people placing hard caches and there is a good chance the cache is gone to boot. You never know which it is. The only frustrating part is looking when it's not there and not looking long enough when it is. You just don't know here.

 

On the other hand visiting other towns is a cake walk now. All easy caches and all there.

[+briansnat]

I don't mind as long as the cache is rated properly. What I don't care for is looking for 30 minutes for a cache that is rated 1 star for difficulty. Its even worse when you see multiple DNFs in the cache's log.

 

Rate it appropriately and I know what the expect.

[+Oreo Pony]

I happily obsess over DNFs. Especially if others post finds right around the time I've been searching. It's a fun mental challenge - sometimes. There are some that I refuse to spend any more time searching for, i.e., the prescription bottle in a rosemary bush that's 8 feet in diameter. Now, cleverly cammo'd or deceptively simple ones, they're my favorites.

[+KKTH3]

About a year ago when I was new to caching I went on vacation to New Orleans. Our find rate was pretty close to 40%... maybe 50% at best. Sadly, our documentation at the time wasn't very good - we just plugged a ton of waypoints in the GPSr and whenever we were near one we would look. No hints, no description, no dea what the type of cache it was, no clue to the size difficulty or anything. The best idea we had was on the terrain since I only entered in caches with a terrain of 1, 1.5, or 2.

 

If we found a cache we would write down the waypoint number and a few notes about the event. This way we got to log our finds but we never ended up logging the DNFs. We really had no clue as to what kinds of hides they were in many cases.

 

If we ever went back, I would probably make sure we try a few caches I specifically remember spending HOURS looking for to no avail - just to see if my skills (documentation) has improved. For the most part, however, failing so many times didn't bother me too much. Maybe because we were on vacation and I knew I only got one shot at these caches anyway, but at least I didn't get the feeling that the cache was mocking me like a couple of the DNFs I have had locally have done.

 

Which reminds me - I still have one unresolved DNF within 20 miles of my house. I wonder if I have time to go back this weekend and try again?

[+Harry Dolphin]

Of course it is frustrating. Especially when the hike to the location is long and you spend upwards of an hour looking everywhere. But that is what the game is all about. If that happens I usually will go back and look through the logs for a hint. If it is worth it to me I go back, if not I don't.

 

There is no such thing as a cache be "too well hidden", IMO.

I've developed in my mind a difference between an 'evil' cache and a 'nasty' cache. 'Evil' caches are tough, challenging, and worth the effort to find! And I've done a few of them. And DNFed a number too. They are not 'hidden too well'.

On the other hand, I've also run into some caches that I define as 'nasty'. I've run in to far too many of these. A bison tube hanging in a very prickly evergreen in a small park is not hidden well. Especially when the original coordinates were seventy feet off. That part has been corrected, and new hints added (and a cheater picture). The park will suffer. Not a good hide, and certainly not hidden too well.

[+fly46]

If it is rated 1-star for difficulty, it ought to be laying out in the open with a sign pointing at it.

I wish they had signs pointing at them... The 1/1 caches seem to be what I have the most trouble with... lol!

[+budd-rdc]

I haven't encountered caches that are hidden "too well." Difficult hides I've enjoyed require out-of-the-box thinking and keen observation. I have to be in the right frame of mind, and sometimes, that means multiple visits and/or spending a long time. They are simply "hidden very well."

 

If your "too well" refers to "too mean" hides, for example, needle in the haystack style hides, then I agree that they are frustrating. Hopefully, the ones you DNF'd weren't those - I'd hate to hear about it in the forums later when you'd need to vent your anger.

[+One of the Texas Vikings]

After a long day, Sunday, geocaching with Two of the Texas Vikings and one of Two Other of the Texas Vikings. We found three and DNF three.

Of course, my daughter, one of " Two of the Texas Vikings" went out this morning and found one of the one's that were DNF on Sunday.

When I got up, in the afternoon (I work nights) There was a "na-na-na, I found it !" on my answering machine...

Now I have to go back out and find it, or I will never hear the end of it...

[+sept1c_tank]

Go in with a fresh frame of mind.

 

"na-na-na, I found it !"

[+deimos444]

I went to a cache that I spent almost an hour looking for yesterday and found it in 5 minutes today.

Like my prof for maze running 101 in school said " at first you think the rat is brain damaged and then you find out who the real dummy is and it ain't the rat".

Yesterday was brain damaged.

Today I used my failure to build on and found the darn thing.

The key...don't give up.

[+sept1c_tank]

What's funny is, you always find it in the last place you look (even if you looked there before).

[+Hoppingcrow]

A quote from "Galaxy Quest" sums it up for me:

 

"Never give up! Never surrender!"

[+One of the Texas Vikings]

Thanks for all the encouragement.

 

Even we, who live in paradise, (Texas!) get down-hearted once in awhile...