Another day, another DNF

[Andbabymakesthree]

It's been a bit discouraging. Only 2 finds and now a total of FOUR DNFs..including two I went back to try and find.

 

Late yesterday afternoon, DH, the kidlet and I went out looking for two (GC1KAHT and GC1KAHF). DH was incredibly frustrated that we didn't find either one of them. I decided to go back this morning, by myself and look again.

 

I spent..oh..I dunno..maybe 20 min poking around for GC1KAHT where the clue said it would be but I didn't find it. Found a lot of leaf clutter and some sticks and a few bugs. But no cache.

 

The second one (GC1KAHF) was supposed to be near a tree next to a fence. Unfortunately, behind that fence were some rather large, rather unhappy dogs and I doubted the fence could contain them, should they get mad enough. It looked like they could jump over if they'd wanted to (it only came up to about my chest, so it wasn't but maybe 4 ft high???). I looked visually, but I didn't go poking around the way I probably should have because of the dogs.

 

I'm getting discouraged..FOUR DNFs now. I don't know if I should just keep plugging along, hoping to find one eventually or if I should just give up.

 

AB3

[+DiamondDaveG]

Not being specifically familiar with either the best I can offer is a 'way to go' on your two so far a hearty 'hang in there' on the DNFs.

 

Just doing a quick look at 'Rocky' I would say you shouldn't feel bad. There are only 3 Finds and 5 DNFs. One of the DNFs is by someone with over 9k finds.

 

For 'Ethan' it looks like you were on the right track, just not seeing it. Based on the other logs, you are correct to stay on the side of the fence you are on & leave the dogs alone.

 

Stick with it, you will enjoy it.

 

-edit to correct a text burp-

Edited February 24, 2009 by DiamondDaveG

[+WatchDog2020]

On GC1KAHT there are 5 DNF’s and only 3 finds. The 1.5 difficulty rating may be too low.

 

IMHO – the logs for GC1KAHF seem just like a bad spot

 

I looked at you area and there seems to be several caches that are larger then the micros you have been looking for. Try some of them.

[+sbell111]

It's been a bit discouraging. Only 2 finds and now a total of FOUR DNFs..including two I went back to try and find.

 

Late yesterday afternoon, DH, the kidlet and I went out looking for two (GC1KAHT and GC1KAHF). DH was incredibly frustrated that we didn't find either one of them. I decided to go back this morning, by myself and look again.

 

I spent..oh..I dunno..maybe 20 min poking around for GC1KAHT where the clue said it would be but I didn't find it. Found a lot of leaf clutter and some sticks and a few bugs. But no cache.

 

The second one (GC1KAHF) was supposed to be near a tree next to a fence. Unfortunately, behind that fence were some rather large, rather unhappy dogs and I doubted the fence could contain them, should they get mad enough. It looked like they could jump over if they'd wanted to (it only came up to about my chest, so it wasn't but maybe 4 ft high???). I looked visually, but I didn't go poking around the way I probably should have because of the dogs.

 

I'm getting discouraged..FOUR DNFs now. I don't know if I should just keep plugging along, hoping to find one eventually or if I should just give up.

 

AB3

I wouldn't get too discouraged by those two DNFs. The first one has other DNFs, so it's possible that it is mis-rated. The second has other issues. With the distraction caused by the dogs, you no doubt couldn't search as well as you would have been able to if you were given some peace. Also, the previous log suggests a confrontation with the nearby property owner. This may have resulted in the individual removing the cache after the seeker left.

 

Both of those caches were also micros. Micros can be especially difficult to find, especially those that are in non-urban areas. I would suggest that you target some larger caches for now. Perhaps GC1KEDW or GC1MJ9D would be the ticket.

[+Maingray]

I would have completely walked on by that last DNF'd cache based on the logs... I detest dogs going crazy at me while searching. No-one is happy.

 

Spend more time looking for larger containers.

[+BAPMAN CREW]

I agree with the keep at it line. My family has only been caching for 3 months. But with only 200 finds we still have alot to learn,ecspecialy with Micro. Give yourself a chance by staring out with bigger cashes. Look for the cache size listed near coords. Besides when you find the smalls on up You get to look at and trade items. you seem to have a fair number a caches in your area, though I didn't look to see if your a premier member or how many caches in your area are PM only.

 

Keep at it and you will be hooked.

[+Vater_Araignee]

It's been a bit discouraging. Only 2 finds and now a total of FOUR DNFs..including two I went back to try and find.

 

Late yesterday afternoon, DH, the kidlet and I went out looking for two (GC1KAHT and GC1KAHF). DH was incredibly frustrated that we didn't find either one of them. I decided to go back this morning, by myself and look again.

 

I spent..oh..I dunno..maybe 20 min poking around for GC1KAHT where the clue said it would be but I didn't find it. Found a lot of leaf clutter and some sticks and a few bugs. But no cache.

 

The second one (GC1KAHF) was supposed to be near a tree next to a fence. Unfortunately, behind that fence were some rather large, rather unhappy dogs and I doubted the fence could contain them, should they get mad enough. It looked like they could jump over if they'd wanted to (it only came up to about my chest, so it wasn't but maybe 4 ft high???). I looked visually, but I didn't go poking around the way I probably should have because of the dogs.

 

I'm getting discouraged..FOUR DNFs now. I don't know if I should just keep plugging along, hoping to find one eventually or if I should just give up.

 

AB3

Go after GC1KAH5 and GC1KEDW, they are near where you are seeking and both are small, one should have a TB in it.

[+StarBrand]

It happens. I've been doing this for over 7 years now and I still have bad days. Just last Sunday I found 9 and logged a DNF on 4.

 

I stopped getting stressed about that long ago.

[Andbabymakesthree]

I've actually managed to find several near where I was hunting this morning, larger caches that I might actually be able to find.

 

The thing that really bugged me about this morning though was the one near the fence with the dogs. It made me wonder if the homeowner was onto the deal. Also, I think if you have large dogs (these were both German Shepard-sized), having a fence that is not large enough to contain them should they decide to be stupid and try to jump over is just..well..foolish. If the dogs escaped their fence and bit somebody or worse, it would be on the homeowner's head I would think.

 

AB3

Edited February 24, 2009 by Andbabymakesthree

[+sbell111]

I've actually managed to find several near where I was hunting this morning, larger caches that I might actually be able to find.

 

The thing that really bugged me about this morning though was the one near the fence with the dogs. It made me wonder if the homeowner was onto the deal.

Based on the Feb 17 log, I wonder of the homeowner didn't remove the cache.

Also, I think if you have large dogs (these were both German Shepard-sized), having a fence that is not large enough to contain them should they decide to be stupid and try to jump over is just..well..foolish. If the dogs escaped their fence and bit somebody or worse, it would be on the homeowner's head I would think.

 

AB3

Agreed. Several years ago, my wife and I rented a home that which had a yard surrounded by a four foot fence. It took about five minutes for Darby the Wonder Pup to discover that she could easily hurtle it. That same five minutes was all it took for me to decide not to allow her to be in teh yard unsupervised.

[+Hrethgir]

I agree, stop looking for micros, go for bigger prey. I run a PQ for the town around me, and I have it filter out micros, I just don't really enjoy them most of the time, they can just be frustrating sometimes, as you've found. Maybe once you get your geosenses tuned, then start looking for those micros, but make it easy on yourself as you start. And really, don't sweat DNFs, the hunt and travel is at least half the fun, so even if you log a DNF, you can still have fun. Heck, I probably have 1 DNF for every 2-3 finds, but it's all good!

[+Hrethgir]

Just looked at my stats:

 

34 finds

15 DNFs

 

It is what it is, and it's fun!

[knowschad]

Doe Branch Lakeside (GCYYFV) looks like an easy one.

[+Barnacle Bear]

If you found every geocache would you still be caching?

Could it be that you like the thrill of the hunt?

Can you possibly have fun on a DNF?

What do you care, if you have fun?

 

bb

The Dr. DNF of NWOgeo.

[vagabond]

I really hate hints like it's in the rocks or it's in the bushes.

Try some easier cacher and like some of the others have said larger caches.

good luck

[+Stargazer22]

Don't let DNFs on micros get you down. Micros can be really hard to find sometimes.

Although they can also be very rewarding.

 

A while back, when I only had around 200 finds, my wife and I went searching for a particularly difficult series of micros, hoping to hone our finding skills. We visited one of the micros that had just about as many DNFs as finds. The last group of cachers to seek it were all finders with very high find counts, and totaled over 20,000 finds for a group of 6 of them. They DNFed the cache. We arrived with low hopes of finding it. What chance did we have if that really experienced group couldn't find it?

We looked for about 45 minutes and managed to find it just as it was getting dark and we were running out of time. Finding that one really made us feel good.

Looking for micros can be very time consuming if you really want to find them and they are hard ones. We made 3 trips (90 minute drive each way) and put in about 10 hours of search time to find one particularly evil micro. So don't feel bad if you look for a half hour and have to DNF a micro.

Just think about how good you might feel if you find one that more experienced cachers than yourself can't find.

 

To get some more certain positive results, look for regular sized caches with low difficulty ratings. Check out the number of finds and DNFs on the cache. If you see one with 75 finds and no DNFs, you will probably have a good chance of finding that one. If you see 30 finds and 30 DNFs, keep in mind that your odds of finding that one will be lower.

 

Don't give up. Keep shooting for that good feeling. Eventually you will be rewarded.

[AZcachemeister]

I DNFed an ammo can yesterday.

The DNFs never go away...there is no guarantee.

Make the DNF your friend...your mentor.

An easy find will not teach you very much...

[Andbabymakesthree]

The Squirt is out of the house and DH is at work so I decided to head to a local park where I'd found some GCs.

One DNF, one find and one Didn't Even Attempt it.

 

The first one (GC1KAH5) I got to easily enough. Poked around in this rock pile, then in that one then in another one. Even though it's a coffee can cache, I still didn't find it. Oh well. Moved on to #2 on my list (GC1KEDW) which I did find.

This one had me a bit worried. The clue says it is in a burrow on the ground. I didn't know how far into the ground it would be, so I grabbed a stick so I could poke around. Fortunately, it was pretty obvious as the previous finder didn't hide it too well when they were done. Logged my visit, left my swag and took a small bat. I did my best to rehide it and moved on to #3GC1MJ93). I got a wee bit worried when the GPS started pointing across a very busy road, so I gave that one up for later.

 

Even though I only found one out of the three I'd been looking for, it was still worth it for the exercise.

 

AB3

[+sbell111]

The Squirt is out of the house and DH is at work so I decided to head to a local park where I'd found some GCs.

One DNF, one find and one Didn't Even Attempt it.

 

The first one (GC1KAH5) I got to easily enough. Poked around in this rock pile, then in that one then in another one. Even though it's a coffee can cache, I still didn't find it. Oh well. Moved on to #2 on my list (GC1KEDW) which I did find.

This one had me a bit worried. The clue says it is in a burrow on the ground. I didn't know how far into the ground it would be, so I grabbed a stick so I could poke around. Fortunately, it was pretty obvious as the previous finder didn't hide it too well when they were done. Logged my visit, left my swag and took a small bat. I did my best to rehide it and moved on to #3GC1MJ93). I got a wee bit worried when the GPS started pointing across a very busy road, so I gave that one up for later.

 

Even though I only found one out of the three I'd been looking for, it was still worth it for the exercise.

 

AB3

Rock pile caches can be really hard. I can't think of how many that I've DNFd over the years.

 

I'm glad that you're having fun.

[Andbabymakesthree]

Next time I decide to go out, if I look for some caches and come upon one that says "rock pile" I'm going to avoid it. Ugh.

 

AB3