Should I log visits when I don't find the cache?

[clincharoo]

I went out looking for a nearby cache this morning while walking my dog. We found the location, but not the cache, so I'd like to go back another day and look a bit harder.

 

Should I log my "not found" visit if I plan on going back again? I'm not sure how the site works, and I fear that if I mark it as "not found" that I won't be able to mark it as "found" later on. I also don't want the cache owner to fear that his cache has gone missing (because it's likely just in a good hiding spot).

 

What's the normal procedure for this? Should I even bother logging it on the site if I haven't found the actual cache?

[+Five Frazers]

I went out looking for a nearby cache this morning while walking my dog. We found the location, but not the cache, so I'd like to go back another day and look a bit harder.

 

Should I log my "not found" visit if I plan on going back again? I'm not sure how the site works, and I fear that if I mark it as "not found" that I won't be able to mark it as "found" later on. I also don't want the cache owner to fear that his cache has gone missing (because it's likely just in a good hiding spot).

 

What's the normal procedure for this? Should I even bother logging it on the site if I haven't found the actual cache?

Its up tp you to log a DNF or not. If you do you can always change it once you find it. Welcome!

[+-CacheMonkey-]

Welcome to the game!!! Don't worry, if you log a DNF, you can still log a Found It if you go back later and actually find it. Logging a DNF I suppose is up to you. If you feel that you looked in every nook and crany and think it's not there, go ahead and log it. The cache owner will see a DNF, but will also see the number of finds you have to help him/her decide to check on it or not. A cacher with a few hundred finds who logs a DNF will draw more attention than a new cacher. Hope that helps and happy caching!

[Neos2]

It's just fine to log a DNF --and most of us do.

 

The owner will not be overly concerned with one DNF.

 

You can make a new log the next time you go to the cache (with a Found it log --another DNF if it comes to that). The old one stays to preserve the cache history.

[+briansnat]

Should I even bother logging it on the site if I haven't found the actual cache?

 

That is the entire point of the didn't found it log.

 

A single DNF, particularly from a novice, won't set alarm bells off with the owner. But if the cache is actually missing and you don't log a DNF, it will take longer for a string of DNFs that the owner looks for to develop, and delay a maintenance trip.

 

Say you you don't log your DNF. Next , Cacher B comes along and doesn't log his. Cacher C comes along and does log a DNF. Now there were 3 DNFs which will tell most owners that there may be a problem, but he only knows about one.

 

Your DNFs can also give the owner a more accurate picture of the cache's difficulty. There are times I hid a cache and expected it to be easy, then I started seeing DNFs logged. So I knew that I had misjudged the difficulty level and raised it a bit. Conversely, if I thought a cache was difficult and people weren't logging their DNFs, I might think it's easier than it is and lower the rating.

[+StarBrand]

No worries - you can have multiple logs on any given cache.

 

I would log a DNF as you Did Not Find the cache. Repeat as necessary.

 

Log a find when you find it.

 

Log any addtional visits as notes.

[+tozainamboku]

The primary purpose of the online logs is for you share your caching experience with the rest of us and especially with the cache owner. Whether you find the cache, don't find the cache, or were just stopping by to check on a cache you have previously found perhaps to take or leave a travel bug, there is an appropriate log type for you to use. You can log the cache (with the appropriate log type) every time you go looking for that cache.

 

A secondary purpose is to help you keep track of your caching experiences. When you log a cache as found it is marked in the list of your found caches. This way the Geocaching.com maps can show which caches you have already found. On some of the searches on Geocaching.com you can ask to exclude the caches you have already found. If you're like me and log a DNF every time you search for a cache and did not find it, you can compute your geocaching average (like a baseball batting average) to see how often you find a cache when you search. My geocaching average is .870

[Spade Cooley]

I found my first cache yesterday. I loged it in and noted there was a DNF just prior to my find on the web site. What I noticed on the web page was there were 8 searchers who found the cache and only two of them prior to my entry had filled out the log at the cache. Is this a common practice, people finding the cache but not logging it?

 

I will log and make an entry on everything even it it's a DNF. It is good information for the person who hid the cache.

[+Markwell]

Its up tp you to log a DNF or not. If you do you can always change it once you find it. Welcome!

Please - don't do that. Preserve the history - let the DNF stand. Also, submitting a NEW log for a later find sends the owner a note that the cache was logged. Editing the existing log doesn't do that.

[+briansnat]

What I noticed on the web page was there were 8 searchers who found the cache and only two of them prior to my entry had filled out the log at the cache. Is this a common practice, people finding the cache but not logging it?

 

You're saying that more people logged online than did in the paper book? I can think of a few reasons.

 

#1 is that the paper logbook replaced an older one that filled up or was damaged.

 

Perhaps some of them found it as a group and just logged it under a team name in the paper log, but have individual accounts online.

 

Could be cheaters who never found the cache but just want to bump their find count (this does happen believe it or not).

 

 

You usually see it the other way, paper logs with no online log. Some people don't want to log online for whatever reasons.

[+Team GeoBlast]

I went out looking for a nearby cache this morning while walking my dog. We found the location, but not the cache, so I'd like to go back another day and look a bit harder.

 

Should I log my "not found" visit if I plan on going back again? I'm not sure how the site works, and I fear that if I mark it as "not found" that I won't be able to mark it as "found" later on. I also don't want the cache owner to fear that his cache has gone missing (because it's likely just in a good hiding spot).

 

What's the normal procedure for this? Should I even bother logging it on the site if I haven't found the actual cache?

 

It looks like you are getting some good help here and there's only a few things that I would like to add. On entries on a cache page.

 

If you go to the drop down "log your visit" menu on a cache page, you have an options of found it, didn't find it, or write note and all of these entries can be deleted or edited later. Your other options, "needs maintenance" and "needs archived" cannot. I suggest you gain a little experience before using the last two options.

 

I will second what Markwell said about both the value of posting and not altering your DNF logs. They are important information about the cache and often they are some of the best logs to look back on when you've been playing for awhile.

[Spade Cooley]

I'm glad I logged in my find on the internet because the previous hunter was a DNF and I let the one who placed the cache know it was still there and in good shape.