Fight over FTF

[+P'ville Lions R Us]

With so many people crazed about getting a FTF, I was curious if anyone has seen or been involved in an argument/fight at the location of a FTF cache? If so, let us know how CRAZY it was!

[+sbell111]

only in the forums

[+briansnat]

No fight. I hit him over the head with a board when he wasn't looking. When he came to, I had my FTF and was long gone.

[+PhxChem]

No fight. I hit him over the head with a board when he wasn't looking. When he came to, I had my FTF and was long gone.

[+Thrak]

I ran into a pair of cachers from waaaaaaaay out of town late one night. They were in town visiting for a holiday and saw a series of caches pop up. I arrived at the spot and found two folks trying to look innocent. Right, they were in front of a closed restaurant at 10:30 at night. I asked if they had found it yet and their flashlights clicked on immediately. We all set to looking and his light hit the obvious spot about .5 seconds before mine. We all signed the log, I congratulated them on the FTF, and we went our separate ways. I may be a FTF freak but anybody who would fight about it is nuts.

 

The other night I was after a FTF and another cacher arrived to look. There were about a zillion places the cache could be and, as it turned out, the coordinates were a good 60 feet off. She was actually the one to find the cache but she insisted we share the FTF and she logged it that way. I asked if she was headed out to the next new cache and she said she was but it would take a little bit to get there since she had walked to this one and had to walk home for her car to go for the second cache. I drove across town and waited a good 15 minutes or more for her to show up and then we logged the cache together for another shared FTF. To me, meeting other cachers at the site and sharing the hunt and gabbing about caching is far more satisfying than the FTF.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Thrak

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

With so many people crazed about getting a FTF, I was curious if anyone has seen or been involved in an argument/fight at the location of a FTF cache? If so, let us know how CRAZY it was!

 

A court case has erupted here in Rhode Island over a recent dispute on FTF! Trial is set for 19 April. I will be presiding as Judge.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

I was once involved in a confrontation when four cachers descended on a site for a FTF. Luckily I had already found and logged it when they all arrived. But then...

 

 

 

 

 

Um... we all exchanged names, talked about other local caches we'd found, commented on the quality of this new hide, talked about meeting up for a future hunt, shook hands and went on our way.

 

Yup... that's how we "throw down" over FTF in my neighborhood!

 

DCC

[+Rasgards]

Looks like fun BBWolf. I hope you hang em high!

 

I've been caching for a couple few years now and have had the opportunity to live and cache in two different areas. My first year and a half was on Oahu, Hawaii. The FTF competition was very competitive, but there seemed to be a very non-competitive agreement that if more than one person showed up to GZ before it was found, that you'd team up and both claim FTF. I've even seen the second person on the scene wait for the first person to invite him to search. I liked this style, because it takes the cutthroat rush out of it and you can still enjoy the hunt.

 

Now that I've moved to Virginia, the story is a little different. I've never had any invites for a team FTF. I was patiently waiting, off the property, on a 8am-5pm new cache, when right at 8am a suspect car pulled up. I decided not to dash for the cache, but go introduce myself (Not in the direction of the cache). When I was getting close to their car and they noticed me, the passenger jumped out the other side and started running for the cache. I continued to the car and introduced myself to his wife.

 

This is only one extreme case, but I'd be interested what others think of Team FTFs.

[miles_vagar]

 

This is only one extreme case, but I'd be interested what others think of Team FTFs.

 

I've seen other people complain about them here on the forums, but personally I think they're a great way to minimize disputes.

[+PhxChem]

Yeah, the only time I've met other cachers in my area was during FTF hunts. We're prettly laid back in our area and joke when the usual suspects AREN'T out looking for it!

 

BTW, in our area, it seems most caches are approved at night during the weekends. Makes for a fun time.

[+NeoAddict]

I've had two FTFs, and the first one I got I actually stumbled upon the Cache Owner, who was out updating the coordinates, which were off for some reason. First person I've actually met, too! Was rather interesting. There are quite a few people in my area that will go out in the dark of night in order to snag that FTF title. Even at all hours of the morning, like 1 or 2 AM.

I think that's a little bit excessive, if you ask me.

 

The other FTF I got just a couple days ago, and hadn't been touched in 2 days, yet was in the middle of a whole slew of other new caches by the same person. I thought something might be amiss, but I tried anyway, and found it.

I felt vindicated.

[+Klatch]

I ran into a pair of cachers from waaaaaaaay out of town late one night. They were in town visiting for a holiday and saw a series of caches pop up. I arrived at the spot and found two folks trying to look innocent. Right, they were in front of a closed restaurant at 10:30 at night. I asked if they had found it yet and their flashlights clicked on immediately. We all set to looking and his light hit the obvious spot about .5 seconds before mine. We all signed the log, I congratulated them on the FTF, and we went our separate ways. I may be a FTF freak but anybody who would fight about it is nuts.

 

The other night I was after a FTF and another cacher arrived to look. There were about a zillion places the cache could be and, as it turned out, the coordinates were a good 60 feet off. She was actually the one to find the cache but she insisted we share the FTF and she logged it that way. I asked if she was headed out to the next new cache and she said she was but it would take a little bit to get there since she had walked to this one and had to walk home for her car to go for the second cache. I drove across town and waited a good 15 minutes or more for her to show up and then we logged the cache together for another shared FTF. To me, meeting other cachers at the site and sharing the hunt and gabbing about caching is far more satisfying than the FTF.

Well done, Thrak.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

Yeah, the only time I've met other cachers in my area was during FTF hunts. We're prettly laid back in our area and joke when the usual suspects AREN'T out looking for it!

 

That's funny... exactly like our area. If a cache isn't found in a very short period of time, people start assuming that the "usual suspects" must be out of town or something.

 

We'll also see notes posted on the new caches from the usual suspects saying things like "I won't be out of work until 6pm, so it's up to you guys".

 

It's all in fun after all.

 

DCC

[+PJPeters]

The general rule around here is that if you're part of the group trying to make the FTF, you're in, as long as someone makes the find. I've seen up to 10 people claim FTF rights. Now, if you're not quick enough to get there before someone finds it...

 

One of our groups:

 

Nah, we're pretty friendly around here about them. It's practically a mini-event.

[Adam-Eve]

With so many people crazed about getting a FTF, I was curious if anyone has seen or been involved in an argument/fight at the location of a FTF cache? If so, let us know how CRAZY it was!

 

A court case has erupted here in Rhode Island over a recent dispute on FTF! Trial is set for 19 April. I will be presiding as Judge.

 

[+frivlas]

I ran into a pair of cachers from waaaaaaaay out of town late one night. They were in town visiting for a holiday and saw a series of caches pop up. I arrived at the spot and found two folks trying to look innocent. Right, they were in front of a closed restaurant at 10:30 at night. I asked if they had found it yet and their flashlights clicked on immediately. We all set to looking and his light hit the obvious spot about .5 seconds before mine. We all signed the log, I congratulated them on the FTF, and we went our separate ways. I may be a FTF freak but anybody who would fight about it is nuts.

 

 

This is still one of my all time favorite encounters.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

In our group whoever actually finds it first, even if there's 10 of us looking, gets the FTF. Some choose to share it, but no one expects them to.

 

The only angst we have over FTFs in this area is a couple of folks who love to FTF a cache, they'll go anywhere anytime to get one... then they'll sign the cache but not log it online to 'surprise' the poor cacher who thinks he's made the FTF, only to find a name already in the log!

 

They've gotten me on several. One cache was published late one night WAY out in the sticks, on a power line 45 miles south of the city. I checked that bugger several times through the morning... no logs, and I didn't think the regular FTFers would drive that far on a workday morning, so off I went.

 

You know the rush of excitement you get when you find that new cache, open it, woohoo FTF... and there's 3Card's name. Signed it at 12:00. I look at my watch, it's 12:03. Dang, he's got to be hiding watching me! No way he got back down the trail without me seeing him. I look all around, call his name, nada.

 

I look back at the log sheet - he found it at midnight, I'm there at noon!

 

I go home. post that I am STF, then he posts his log!

 

argh

[+benh57]

You know the rush of excitement you get when you find that new cache, open it, woohoo FTF... and there's 3Card's name. Signed it at 12:00. I look at my watch, it's 12:03. Dang, he's got to be hiding watching me! No way he got back down the trail without me seeing him. I look all around, call his name, nada.

 

I look back at the log sheet - he found it at midnight, I'm there at noon!

 

I go home. post that I am STF, then he posts his log!

 

argh

 

That's just rude, IMO ( if done on purpose) -- Not funny.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

You know the rush of excitement you get when you find that new cache, open it, woohoo FTF... and there's 3Card's name. Signed it at 12:00. I look at my watch, it's 12:03. Dang, he's got to be hiding watching me! No way he got back down the trail without me seeing him. I look all around, call his name, nada.

 

I look back at the log sheet - he found it at midnight, I'm there at noon!

 

I go home. post that I am STF, then he posts his log!

 

argh

 

That's just rude, IMO ( if done on purpose) -- Not funny.

Yes, they do it on purpose, but most of us get a laugh out of it.

 

Personally I think it's a hoot when it happens to me.

 

At every AGA event there are stories told about somebody triumphantly grabbing the log out of the cache and finding the name of one of our evil FTFers (there are 5 people known for doing this in central AL).

 

Some don't find it amusing, and it's caused some angst... but what hasn't in this game?

[+PhxChem]

then they'll sign the cache but not log it online to 'surprise' the poor cacher who thinks he's made the FTF, only to find a name already in the log!

 

Well, some people can't log until later in the day. But if they found it at midnight, they had time.....

 

That's just rude, IMO ( if done on purpose) -- Not funny.

 

Well anytime you go out to try to get a FTF, there's always a chance it's already found, even if it's not posted online.

 

But even if you're not the FTF, you still found the cache right? No FTF = bum deal? Yes, I know the excitement of getting the FTF, but if it were easy and straightforward, it really wouldn't be that fun anyway. I laugh when I think I'm going to be the FTF and there are THREE NAMES already on the log. It's a game...entertaining.

 

People act as if FTF is some sort of "right." "But it wasn't logged online! They MADE me go all the way out there for a REGULAR cache find. If I wasn't going to be FTF, I wouldn't have gone!"

 

I think that's a bit of a bad attitude. Easy to get burned out that way.

 

And all you have to do to combat that is to...you know....be the FTF!!

Edited March 27, 2008 by PhxChem