+TheGeoHunters Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I was just wondering how long you hunt for a cache before calling it quits and giving it up for another day? I haven't run into that situation yet but I have felt like I wanted to give up and then we found it. Quote Link to comment
+beejay&esskay Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I don't put a stopwatch to it, but I've noticed that after about 30 minutes I figure I've looked everywhere I can think of. There have been caches that I've spent an hour on, several times, before finally finding them. Quote Link to comment
+Milbank Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I was just wondering how long you hunt for a cache before calling it quits and giving it up for another day? I haven't run into that situation yet but I have felt like I wanted to give up and then we found it. The times I end up calling it quits is when the bugs are just to bad or the people I'm with are tired of it for the day and are not having fun anymore. I have also just run out of time to keep looking because I had to be someplace else later that same day, but then I just go back when I have the chance. Quote Link to comment
+LaughingTerry Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Depending on the area I will normally hang it up after 30 to 45 minutes. I have searched for over an hour before though when I was absolutely sure it is there and just couldn't seem to find it. Quote Link to comment
bogleman Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I worked a multi with 12 micros - 20 miles of riding the shoe leather express, 6 DNF logs and about 8-9 total hours. A single micro I know should be there there - 1 hour. Regular cache - numbers were off - 45 minutes. If I don't want it that bad - common PUBLIC micro less than 5 minutes and I'm gone. Regular to small 20 minutes max. Quote Link to comment
+k9dan Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I've been working on Seeking Delta for a long time and am about to give up now! Quote Link to comment
+Kit Fox Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I've been working on Seeking Delta for a long time and am about to give up now! I worked on this cache for a month. Now I need to go find it As for physical caches, I give up on micros when I'm in full view of GP, or get tired of looking for a needle in a haystack. Their has only been two caches that required more than two trips for me. One was a matchholder 7 feet up in a very dense bush, and the other was buried on the ground. Quote Link to comment
+Bear_Left Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I'm usually prepared to give up about 20 minutes before my wife is. She's usually just about ready to pack it in..... then finds it. I think she should have a quick look, _then_ decide to give up. It'd save us HOURS! Quote Link to comment
+robert Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I'll usually stop when I'm not having fun anymore. Some caches it might be a few minutes, sometimes an hour or more. Quote Link to comment
+fireman121 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I would have to say at least 30 minutes for me; also it depends on what the weather condition. Quote Link to comment
Oliver1869 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Being a newbee (23), I have been pretty lucky in that I have not had to search more then 15 - 20 minutes or so. However I have had one that I returned to a forth time with a clue from the owner before finding. It was in January and didn't spend a lot of time searching each time. With good weather I would not want to give up very easily. Quote Link to comment
+olbluesguy Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 usually when my right eye gets blurry,and the ringing in my ears wont stop. then the voices in my head say that's it,Were out of here. Quote Link to comment
+ThePropers Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Usually when I get paranoid that they're going to start missing me at work. Quote Link to comment
+geognerd Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I don't put a stopwatch to it, but I've noticed that after about 30 minutes I figure I've looked everywhere I can think of. There have been caches that I've spent an hour on, several times, before finally finding them. Same here. But there are easily a dozen caches I have stumbled upon (literally and figuratively) while walking back to the trail or to the next cache after giving up around 30 mins. While in search mode, I didn't see the cache. But in walk away mode, I was at the right angle to see the cache. Quote Link to comment
+Pablo Mac Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 When I mentally give up and start to walk away from a cache, I often find it as I'm leaving. When I can't find a cache within ten or fifteen minutes I intentionally try to turn my brain away from the hunt to throw the switch and make the find. Quote Link to comment
+viking66 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I find about the time Ive 'covered' the same ground about three times, I start thinking its done for the day. Then I poke around some more. That persistance pays off, but not always. Sometimes that threshold is pretty low, say 20min. Other days, Im too stubborn to leave, and the cell starts ringing... gtg. Quote Link to comment
vagabond Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 It depends on the difficulty of the cache,if its an easy i/i/ or 1 1/2 I'll envoke the VK rule (7minutes) if its a harder cache then I'll stick it out longer. Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 (edited) When I stop having fun, I stop looking. I used to stick it out for a long time before giving up. Now, I give up much quicker, sometimes after only a few minutes. Edited March 15, 2006 by sbell111 Quote Link to comment
+nfa Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 It varies...if Ben starts crying, I've gashed my foot open (again), the rain changes to hail, it's pitch black and my flashlight dies...then I might leave in a couple of minutes...if it's a nice day and a nice location, then I might look for 40-60 minutes before moving on. Jamie Quote Link to comment
+mrmnjewel Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 When I stop having fun, I stop looking. I used to stick it out for a long time before giving up. Now, I give up much quicker, sometimes after only a few minutes. It depends how many caches I have on my agenda for the day. If I am making good progress, I will take additional time on a toughie. If I am having a run of caches that are taking extra time to find then I will tap out fairly quickly (20 mins or so) Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I've been known to search for up to 1.5 hours per visit but average is probably 30 minutes or so before I give up. Quote Link to comment
+Torchbearer Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I have relatively few finds right now and I haven't vetured towards micros as of yet. However, I did tell myself that I would look for at least 20 min and if I didn't find it I would use the hint. I have always found it after having to use the hint but if I still couldn't find it after say another 30 minutes I would probably get away from it and try again another time. Quote Link to comment
+WalruZ Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 In the San Francisco area we go by "Joanie's Rule", which allots 15 minutes per level of difficulty. Quote Link to comment
+TruckerGeorge Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 just 10 more minutes.... just 10 more minutes.... just 10 more minutes..... lol Quote Link to comment
+bottlecap Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 (edited) I stick with it untill it "pi e " (insert your own S's) me off, then it's not fun anymore. However, you must consider how much you hiked to get there. Is it worth taking a break, and trying again? Just today I made my fourth visit to a micro cache. Edited March 16, 2006 by bottlecap Quote Link to comment
+Eye Cacher Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 It definately depends on the cache. I've been known to be a bit stubborn, and I know I've kept others looking for far too long. I need to stop before it stops being fun...but I just can't seem to tear myself away. There is a cache that has gotten under my skin (Muggle Beach). If you read the logs, it sounds like a quick grab, but I've gone there 3 times and I can't seem to locate it. I've thought about emailing the owner for a hint, but I want to find it without one, since everyone else seems to be able to! Last time I was there I spent about an hour- my signal kept jumping back and forth. There is a small stream, and no matter which side I am on, the GPSr tells me I need to be on the other side! Quote Link to comment
+Ellteejak Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 (edited) This is a sensible suggestion!! I would add that if there is leaf cover, and the clues say it was not found in a while, and the log entries imply that it was easy to find (and you have not) then maybe the cache was muggled (taken destroyed, etc.). In the San Francisco area we go by "Joanie's Rule", which allots 15 minutes per level of difficulty. Edited March 16, 2006 by Ellteejak Quote Link to comment
rynd Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 My log from a recent cache Hazards All Around Us Starting in or around September of last year and after three or four tries I finally found the first part. I found the second part twenty minutes later with no problem. The third part took at least five or six tries (there are always muggles here). I finally found it but I swear that wasn't there before. I swear it! I found the location for the fourth part ten minutes later but couldn't get to it because of muggles so I went back today and finally five or six months later I finished this one. I don't know why it gave me so much trouble except I swear that wasn't there before. Anyway took the travel bug and left a dory not quite an even trade I know but it was all I had. Thank for the great if aggravating cache. All of these location were in public places so I didn't spend much time each trip out. Quote Link to comment
+TotemLake Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 For me it depends on the level of effort it took to get there. I remember one cache I did, I wasn't paperless yet, but forgetting the cache page made me that way unintentionally. It was a 2 hour hike in and I didn't feel like giving up without an attempt. I put down the GPS and walked out the distance of the EPE and started working my way back in. Fortunately I found it in quick order, but I had decided I'd stay there for the length it took to go through a 35' EPE radius. Another 2 hour hike netted about 1 1/2 hours worth of effort on a really bad signal before I gave up with a DNF. I wasn't willing to hike out in the dark. Sometimes you win and sometimes you DNF, but it's all good fun. Quote Link to comment
+4leafclover Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I'll usually stop when I'm not having fun anymore. Some caches it might be a few minutes, sometimes an hour or more. this is pretty much verbatim what I would offer. Quote Link to comment
rynd Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I'll usually stop when I'm not having fun anymore. Some caches it might be a few minutes, sometimes an hour or more. this is pretty much verbatim what I would offer. Me too. Quote Link to comment
+reveritt Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 It depends on how far I hiked to get there (among other factors), and whether there will be a significantly improved chance of a find if I come back another time (like after the snow melts). Quote Link to comment
+VO2WW Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I stop looking when I stop having fun, but often that depends on how far I hiked to get there. I do generally return, again and again if I think it is still there but if I feel it is not there after one attempt I am gone in about 30 minutes to an hour. Quote Link to comment
+Cracker in the Hat Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I'll search until the cows come home if it is worth it (purely subjective I know). I have never given up without coming back another day to search aain. I have one that I will have to look for again, as I missed it the first time. Weather and daylight have no bearing on how long I spend. I am kind of sick that way. -Cracker Quote Link to comment
+wimseyguy Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I'll usually stop when I'm not having fun anymore. Some caches it might be a few minutes, sometimes an hour or more. Ditto! When it's not fun anymore it's time to stop looking and move on. I spent 3+ hours looking for Wildlife. It wasn't exactly fun after the first 90 minutes, but we were determined to find it, and not have to return another day. Other times, I've bailed after five minutes. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.