Frustrated

[+jabberwock82]

This is just a simple rant. Hopefully it'll make me feel better. Don't bother reading it unless you want to read about someone in the pit of despair.

 

I've been caching for about two years now, although not avidly. I've only gone three or four times this spring/summer. It's getting harder and harder to get any enjoyment out of it.

 

I like the challenge, and I suppose the exercise is good for me, but it gets so frustrating sometimes. I can generally only dedicate 3-4 hours on a Saturday or Sunday morning, which given travel time and searching time, means I usually set out with just 3-5 caches on my list. When half (or all) of those wind up being DNFs, it just makes me feel like I've blown the whole morning.

 

What I don't understand is how people find some of these caches in just a few minutes (according to their logs), when I search for 20 minutes and don't find anything. Granted, my eyesight has degraded a lot in the last few years, but I'm far from blind. Besides, there are times I've had my wife & kids try to help me with particularly difficult ones (they don't enjoy caching, but sometimes I can talk them into helping if we're driving near the location), and they don't find anything either.

 

Granted, sometimes the DNFs are due to the coords being off. One time, the coords pointed to a really good hiding place (verified with a satellite map), but the cache was actually across the &*#$ street and 50 feet down! I also know, just from talking to cachers, that a lot of people use help without mentioning it in the log. Don't get me wrong - I'm not in competition with anyone but myself on this - but it makes the caches seem easier than they really are if people are asking for hints. Besides, I just can't see the point of caching if you're going to have someone tell you the answer.

 

Sometimes I just feel like hanging up the GPS and quitting.

[+ecanderson]

...

I've been caching for about two years now, although not avidly. I've only gone three or four times this spring/summer. It's getting harder and harder to get any enjoyment out of it.

...

What I don't understand is how people find some of these caches in just a few minutes (according to their logs), when I search for 20 minutes and don't find anything. Granted, my eyesight has degraded a lot in the last few years, but I'm far from blind.

I think the explanation is right there in the second sentence. The less you do it, the less sharp your sensitivity becomes for seeing "something not right" and "something out of place" and "somewhere where a cache really should be. Also, with 102 finds, you may not have run across near the breadth of possibilities that someone with a lot more finds will have seen. The more you find, the easier it tends to get.

 

If you were (or are) a golfer, you know that getting out a couple of times a year does nothing at all to sharpen up your game. Playing regularly makes a difference. Yes, it really does make a difference in geocaching, too, if the hides are any good.

 

When you find a cache off by 50' as you mentioned, I'd suggest you double check, and when comfortable with your numbers, post your preferred ones in your log. That will either get a "huh?" from future finders, or confirmation of your results that may help future finders as well -- sometimes the CO will even clean up the coordinates.

[+Knight2000]

Experience helps. I find it more enjoyable when my wife is with me. Then we have two sets of eyes and we feel like searching longer anyway.

 

Experience is a real plus.

 

Are you contemplating the difficulty of these caches?

[+Wogus!]

Sometimes I just feel like hanging up the GPS and quitting.

A few suggestions...

 

First Suggestion: Your post makes it sound like you're doing a lot of urban caching. Urban caching to me, typically speaking, means hunting for... for... <shudder> Micros. In my opinion, that's a tough combination; especially if your time and/or patience is limited. I think the fun of a Micro is in the hiding, not so much the finding (just my opinion so you Micro lovers can just simmer down). So... That being the case, filter out Micros and go for "Small" caches and larger. Maybe do fewer urban GZ's, if possible where you live, and try to do something more "outdoorsey".

 

Second Suggestion: It's not about how many finds you make, it's about having a good Overall Hunting Expedition (OHE). I did only two finds today, but the real fun was going somewhere new, having a quick little hike and a getting some awesome views. That works for me, but as I've said many times, I'm a primarily a hiker that also geocaches, not a geocacher that also hikes.

 

Third Suggestion: Maybe you do need a break. No harm in that.

[+TheChagnons]

I have to agree with the others. The more you do it, the better you get at it. My hubby likes to try and find a few caches on his way home from work, and we take time as a family to go out twice during the week, and if it is nice on the weekend, we go for 2 or 3 hours. It has helped us sharpen our geocaching skills as a family.

[+slowdownracer]

I feel your pain. I hate DNF's, but I log them all nontheless. I never call for help while I'm out geocaching, but I sometimes e-mail the CO for a subtle hint when I get home.

 

And I avoid micros. Hate the little #$%^&. Stick with the regular size caches or larger. They're fewer in numbers in the metro areas, but much more rewarding.

 

Find something to leave in the caches that represents you, and take something that represents another cacher. That's my game within the game.

[+mfamilee]

Yes, not making the find is definitely a bummer, but don't give up.

 

When we can't find a cache, we log our DNF & when we are back in the area again... we give it another try. There are times when we still can't find it on our 2nd visit & people before us have found it easily. We just keep on going.

[+Rainbow Spirit]

Looked at my stats the other day, and I saw that I have a 5.5/1 FOUND/DNF ratio.

I have found 546 so far, with 98 DNFs, though I have been back to find a lot of these DNFs.

We have to remember that the co ords given for a cache are often inaccurate, and on top of that your GPSr can be off as well, so with a hiders accuracy of 15ft, and the same for you, at a minimum you can be up to 30ft off GZ. If you do find the cache well off its co ords, why not log something along the lines of 'I found these co ords to be better for me today' ------------

I always try the old tried and true method of 'if I was hiding it, where would I hide it?'.I also look for something that is not quite right, some rocks/sticks pushed into a gap that shouldn't be there, scrap and scratch marks on the soil/rocks etc. When looking for a micro, look for something made out of steel, as most are magnetic and will be stuck onto the metal somewhere.

I will use a phone a friend, but only after I have had a real good look around myself, and even then they tend to only give me a vague description on the location of the cache anyway!

Always log your DNFs, this helps the CO and other cachers, I for one will think twice about searching for a cache that has had a series of DNFs, until the CO verifies that it is still there, or someone with more optimism than me finds it!

I have had four DNFs on a micro, where others have said 'easy find, found it in no time!', go figure...

I also suspect that other cachers under estimate how long it takes to find the cache, and even when they say 'it only took five minutes' I bet it was a lot longer!

Please don't be put off by the DNFs, these can be so ego boosting when you go back and finally find them! As a hider, I will always give clues to those who log a DNF on one of my hides. Have you asked the hiders of your DNFs for some extra clues?

Happy caching.

[Clan Riffster]

When I arrive at ground zero, and I reach a point where I decide I can't find a cache, I pause.

I read the cache page, looking for subtle hints, along with any explicit hint given by the hider.

I peruse the past logs, looking to see what kind of experience others have had.

I munch on a granola bar, suck down some water and enjoy the serenity of the area.

Then I dive back in until I am not having fun anymore.

At that point, I go home and log a DNF.

Depending on how enjoyable my hunt was, I may be back later to try again.

[+Walts Hunting]

After a DNF I go home, have two margaritas and click the "Ignore" button.

[+jabberwock82]

Thanks for the support, everyone. I guess the frustration just got to me today.

 

I wouldn't call the caches I'm looking for "urban", although they have mostly been in parks (Terrain 1 or 1.5), but that's because it takes a good half hour or more to drive to anything more secluded. The two DNFs that are really bugging me are micros, with not much in the way of clues. One is well-known to be difficult, but after three thorough searches, I can't believe I still haven't found it. The other is a puzzle cache; I solved the puzzle relatively quickly (even though it depends on a little-known Microsoft bug ), and I figured that was the hard part.

I peruse the past logs, looking to see what kind of experience others have had.

That would have helped in a number of situations. There were times that the cache had gone missing since I'd printed the page. But printing all the logs takes too much paper, and I can't afford to go paperless (esp. when I threaten to give up caching every other outing ).

I have had four DNFs on a micro, where others have said 'easy find, found it in no time!', go figure...

Yeah, that's a real morale-buster.

I find it more enjoyable when my wife is with me. Then we have two sets of eyes and we feel like searching longer anyway.

I wish my wife or daughters (who are both college-age) liked it, but they don't. When we visited my wife's family over the summer, I took some of her sisters and our nieces caching, and we had a ball. Even though they found all of them .

The less you do it, the less sharp your sensitivity becomes for seeing "something not right" and "something out of place" and "somewhere where a cache really should be."

I do agree with that. I have developed something of a sense for the larger caches (e.g., the well-known parallel pile of sticks). I guess the micros give me the most trouble - although it sounds like I'm not alone. But like I said, that's what I have best access to.

 

As for hints...well, I just have a hard time asking. I have a few times, and it always diminished the feeling of success when I finally found it. There are computer games from 25 years ago that I've never finished because I refuse to look up the solution (anyone remember Zork III?).

 

--

John

[+jabberwock82]

After a DNF I go home, have two margaritas and click the "Ignore" button.

Believe me, I've considered it (although I'm more partial to a Jack Daniel's highball).

[+popokiiti]

It seems to us that our DNF's are often on those hides that others have said they found easily and quickly.We have decided that we overthink the issue and make it harder than it needs to be. On the other hand, when we go looking for caches that others have had trouble with, we seem to locate without much trouble. Go figure! Try thinking like the hider, don't be afraid to use the clue and best of all, think "where would I hide it?" That has helped us a lot.

Good Luck!!

[Clan Riffster]

One is well-known to be difficult, but after three thorough searches, I can't believe I still haven't found it.

If it's any consolation, I spent 15 hours searching for one urban micro.

[knowschad]

Sorry, but I seriously don't understand what your post is about. I have no problem posting my DNFs. It sounds to me as though you need to work harder at looking for those caches where the trek is more important than the find. If you do that, then even a DNF will be a positive experience.

[+Vater_Araignee]

Jabberwock82, you think 3 DNFs on one cache is frustrating?

Try 30, I ain't kidding, my gpsr either stops updating when I get in the general area of my nemesis or GZ starts running up to 50 yard circles around me, and yes my map is set to north up.

I walked away when it wasn't fun and came back when in the mood.

Now I have vowed to not return till I can either find my Mio software disk and set it back at factory default to do a new mod or I buy a new gpsr. But I will be back, if it takes one time or a thousand, I will be back. I'll only log DNF 1 in 10 times to keep from muddying up the logs.

[aniyn]

I get a little frustrated too. The keys is to just walk away when it stops being fun. Come back and try another day.

Out of the last few caches I've done, 3 of them were off on the coordinates by 20m. In a forest that can add up to well over 1000 square meters to check. That's almost painful. The new high sensitivity units are helping with this, but frequently the people hiding these things don't have 'em yet.

[+Dnalsi]

Nothing wrong with logging DNF's.

I try to log all mine.

Sometimes its kinda funny. I'll DNF one that lots of people have found, then someone with a grand total of 20 smiley's will find it the next day. Oh well ...lol

I've also found some really tough ones.

Realize that the vast majority of DNF's go unlogged. I've DNF'd caches that have not been found in a long while and then discovered that other caches nearby have lots of "found it" logs during the same time period.

 

It definitely gets easier with experience. My wife will go sometimes, but 95% of the time I solo.

A few days ago she headed for a clever urban one. She was already searching hard as I arrived at GZ.

I spotted the hide while walking up. She almost had her hand on it. No reason for that lamp pole to have TWO outlet boxes. One was the hide

Wife thought it was the best one of the day. It was very well done. Easy for me to find only because I've seen it before.

 

It helps to filter out what you dislike and focus on those you do. I don't care for Mystery or Multi's so I usually filter them out.

 

I really enjoy getting out and seeing all the little hidden parks that I would normally never go to.

When caching stops being fun, I'll just stop doing it.

If I have to stop and think about if I'm having fun...I'm probably not

I you are not having fun, there is nothing wrong with moving on to something else.

[+Harry Dolphin]

As someone said: It's about enjoying what you're doing. If you're not having fun, then something's wrong.

Sometimes I do hit 'ignore' on DNF if I did not have any fun, and it's not an area I would want to revisit.

Spent a half hour yesterday searching for a parking lot micro in downtown Newark, NJ. I'm guessing it disappeared before it was ever found. Probably not an area I'd run back to. Likewise, a five mile hike in the woods with a DNF will probably not draw me back either.

On the other fin, if I'm being challenged, and really want to find it, and enjoying the challenge, I've been known to return many times. Took four tries or so, on a micro hanging in the bushes near Gracei Mansion in NYC.

Then there were the multis that took us ten months, and seven months to finish. Challenging and interesting enough to keep coming back!

It's all about having fun!

[+jabberwock82]

Sorry, but I seriously don't understand what your post is about. I have no problem posting my DNFs.

It's not posting the DNF that's hard. It's accepting it in the first place.

 

I guess it's mainly just my personality. In just about anything, I don't take failure very gracefully, and I can be relentless in my pursuit of success, long after it's stopped being fun (the "I'm going to do this if it kills me" attitude).

It sounds to me as though you need to work harder at looking for those caches where the trek is more important than the find. If you do that, then even a DNF will be a positive experience.

True. Those are often more enjoyable. I've found nice little parks in the area that I never would have known existed. But I've exhausted most of those. There are others that I'd like to get to, but it's hard to carve out the time to drive to them.

 

You all have made me feel much better, though. Thanks.

 

--

John

[+coffee/wired]

Sorry, but I seriously don't understand what your post is about. I have no problem posting my DNFs.

It's not posting the DNF that's hard. It's accepting it in the first place.

 

I guess it's mainly just my personality. In just about anything, I don't take failure very gracefully, and I can be relentless in my pursuit of success, long after it's stopped being fun (the "I'm going to do this if it kills me" attitude).

It sounds to me as though you need to work harder at looking for those caches where the trek is more important than the find. If you do that, then even a DNF will be a positive experience.

True. Those are often more enjoyable. I've found nice little parks in the area that I never would have known existed. But I've exhausted most of those. There are others that I'd like to get to, but it's hard to carve out the time to drive to them.

 

You all have made me feel much better, though. Thanks.

 

--

John

If it makes you feel any better, my husband found our first logged caches, which were both micros. I'm really not a good loser (and I felt like I "lost" since he found them, not me, and geocaching was MY idea), so I was thisclose to saying "Forget it" and going home. But I didn't.

 

Sometimes it's a matter of putting that pride away and enjoying the experience

[+niraD]

The two DNFs that are really bugging me are micros, with not much in the way of clues. One is well-known to be difficult, but after three thorough searches, I can't believe I still haven't found it. The other is a puzzle cache; I solved the puzzle relatively quickly (even though it depends on a little-known Microsoft bug ), and I figured that was the hard part.

Be sure to search online for photos of the camouflaged micro-caches available for purchase. That will give you an idea of the kind of thing you might be looking for.

 

My record is 6 DNFs for an urban micro, with each DNF representing perhaps 30-90 minutes of searching. And others have mentioned posting even more DNFs and spending even more time on other especially challenging hides.

 

And while many puzzle caches are hidden in fairly cliche ways, the hides for some are a real challenge. One of my favorite finds was a puzzle cache where the online puzzle was relatively easy, and the real challenge was the on-site physical puzzle that you had to figure out to retrieve the cache.

[+Sol seaker]

What someone just recommended has helped me a lot: searching ebay for the word geocache.

 

I learned a lot of tricky hides that way when I was around 100 finds. I was geocaching with someone who had been at it a lot longer, and I figured that put me on even ground, although I began finding caches he wouldn't have found because he'd never seen those strange ones.

c

Geocaching with someone else I think is always more enjoyable. Try searching the section of the forums for event in your area (forums sections that is divided into geographical regions). Go to some events and meet some people to cache with. (or around here you just go to a cache that has just been published to meet people).

 

One advantage to caching with others, besides all the obvious, is that you've got two GPSr's to use.

 

This has been a great advantage for us. Turns out my old one was often 80 FEET off!!!!!!!! I would have never found anything if I wasn't caching with a friend.

 

You might double check your GPSr if you can.

 

There are tons of hides that the coordinates are off out there (and if you do have a good GPS it's always nice to leave good coordinates in the logs, or at least how many feet off you judge it to be).

But if you're coming up empty handed a lot, it's good to check your GPS. Maybe it's not you at all.

[AZcachemeister]

As I see it, it's a perception issue.

Are you enjoying an outing, while looking for caches...

or are you

looking for caches while on an outing?

 

It's entirely possible to enjoy the outing, whether or not you find any caches!

 

Change your focus! Enjoy your surroundings!

 

Finding the cache should not be the most important goal of the day.

[+TEAM HARTSOCK]

When I arrive at ground zero, and I reach a point where I decide I can't find a cache, I pause.

I read the cache page, looking for subtle hints, along with any explicit hint given by the hider.

I peruse the past logs, looking to see what kind of experience others have had.

I munch on a granola bar, suck down some water and enjoy the serenity of the area.

Then I dive back in until I am not having fun anymore.

At that point, I go home and log a DNF.

Depending on how enjoyable my hunt was, I may be back later to try again.

 

This begs the question if the type of granola bar adds or detracts from whether it was an enjoyable hunt? You munching on one of those dry hard honey & oat type ones, or those new soft ones with the chocolate drizzled all over them? I personally like the harder dry ones.

 

I have been to several caches numerous times, sometimes finally finding, other times walking away disgusted. Just this past week there was a mirco hanging from a pine in a park nearby. I was third one to log a DNF and it took days before someone found it. That was a case where there was alot ALOT of other hides in rotting logs and other areas which actually would have supported a nice ammo can, but the challenge was different. And eventhough I went back and found it on the second try, I would have still gone back many more times till I found it as long as the cache owner assured me it was there or that others kept posting smileys. That is part of the fun and challenge.

[+Unkle Fester]

When I arrive at ground zero, and I reach a point where I decide I can't find a cache, I pause.

I read the cache page, looking for subtle hints, along with any explicit hint given by the hider.

I peruse the past logs, looking to see what kind of experience others have had.

I munch on a granola bar, suck down some water and enjoy the serenity of the area.

Then I dive back in until I am not having fun anymore.

At that point, I go home and log a DNF.

Depending on how enjoyable my hunt was, I may be back later to try again.

I agree with CR, but hate granola on a personal level.

 

[Skippermark]

I've had a hard time finding caches where people have said it was easy, and I've quickly found caches where others have had trouble. I think a lot has to do with luck, being at the right angle, knowing how the hider thinks...things like that.

 

How we handle DNFs depends on the goal for the day. If it's a numbers run, we'll only look for a few minutes and then move on, but if the goal is a relaxing day outside, then we'll take more time, read the logs, see if anyone has posted updated coords and spend more time searching.

[knowschad]

When I arrive at ground zero, and I reach a point where I decide I can't find a cache, I pause.

I read the cache page, looking for subtle hints, along with any explicit hint given by the hider.

I peruse the past logs, looking to see what kind of experience others have had.

I munch on a granola bar, suck down some water and enjoy the serenity of the area.

Then I dive back in until I am not having fun anymore.

At that point, I go home and log a DNF.

Depending on how enjoyable my hunt was, I may be back later to try again.

 

 

Do you rate your DNFs by the number of granola bars you had to eat before you stopped having fun?

[+Ed56]

I agree with the other responses that practice makes perfect. You've found over 100 caches so by now you should be starting to see patterns in where people hide their caches. There are only so many places to hide something, maybe a dozen or so, and they start to repeat after a while and you will begin recognizing them.

Urban caches can be evil little snots since they are usually micros by definition. Whenever I get burned out on micros I switch to more rural areas where caches are generally much larger and easier to find.

Don't beat yourself up because you can't find every cache on the first attempt. Read the logs for clues and look for patterns but don't get locked into a certain mindset about where a cache "ought to be". I have fewer that 200 finds myself and some of these tiny little nano tube caches have driven me nuts and I finally find them only on the 4th or 5th try.

Don't let DNF's mess with your head (easier said than done). Geocachers with 1000's of finds probably also have more DNFs than you and I have together.... it's all part of the tax you pay on making finds. Happy hunting!

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

January 1, 2010. Despite having 1456 finds to our credit, after a family barbecue we opted to hit a road that had 6 caches on it. We found only 1. I logged 5 DNFs that day. Each one of them has been found a day or so later. Should I be embarrassed? Probably lol, yet we logged them. Ive accepted that there are times when we stink at caching and need to log the DNF. We had fun and met another cacher that day so all is well.

[+hukilaulau]

It's not posting the DNF that's hard. It's accepting it in the first place.

 

--

John

 

I know exactly what you mean! Although I agree with "When it stops being fun, walk away" in theory, in practice it's sometimes very hard to do!

One thing I have learned personally is that I would rather take the 30 minutes to an hour to drive someplace nice than waste my time in a nearby shopping center parking lot. Yesterday I drove 40 minutes to walk through the woods for one cache, and considered it a great day.

I encourage you to find a way to go paperless. I had tons of unnecessary DNF's when I first started out with my explorist 200, no hints, no maps, no logs. I got a cheap pda off eBay, which helped, but even better was getting the cheapest Nuvi on the market and using Pilotsnipe's GSAK macro to get the full cache info on the Nuvi. No matter what it takes, just do it! You'll be glad you did!

another John

[+RobDJr]

...it just makes me feel like I've blown the whole morning...

 

 

On a bad day I might feel many things, frustration, angst, anger, whatever.

 

But I never feel as if I've blown a whole morning if I spent that morning doing something I enjoy.

 

It's all about perspective. To me, a bad day of geocaching is better than a whole lotta other things. To me, a "good" day of geocaching isn't about whether or not I made finds, but whether or not I had fun, went places, did things, met people.

 

Best advice I was ever given is, when it stops being fun, call it a day.

[+frinklabs]

I have spent hours and hours looking for a cache. How do I know that was fun? It didn't SEEM like hours and hours.

 

I believe the level of gratification of the find is proportional to the amount of time spent looking.

[+jabberwock82]

I believe the level of gratification of the find is proportional to the amount of time spent looking.

That's very true. And that's what makes it hard to stop looking, and what makes it frustrating. The most memorable caches are the ones I really had to work for. If it's an easy find, I don't usually remember it unless there's something about the area that's notable (even then I remember the area more than the cache).

 

FWIW, I did find one of the two caches I posted about on my next attempt. It was in a place that I'm pretty sure I'd checked (and sort of a standard hide); however, a previous post had mentioned that the cache was found on the ground and put back in presumably the correct place. So maybe it was in an easier place. Or maybe I overlooked it the first time (it required moving a picnic table to reach, which I usually don't do, and even then I was barely tall enough).

[+jabberwock82]

FWIW, I did find one of the two caches I posted about on my next attempt.

Oh, and I also finally finished Zork III .

[+DragonsWest]

If I think it's definitely missing then I post a DNF.

 

If I think I'm a goober and couldn't find the nose on my face without the hint and don't have the hint, I sometimes put the DNF. I'll usually indicate I'll try, try again.

 

If I couldn't find it with the hint then I post a DNF.

[+lavender5215]

I try to revisit a few times and place the cache on my watch list.

 

If after like 3 or more times i log it as a DNF.

 

I leave it on my watch list for a while even after logging DNF sometimes the owner checks on the cache and says Its fine, I go out and give it another whack. Other times I get a notification that someone found the cache and then also I go out and give it another whack.

 

I know sometimes people contact the cache owner for a few hints, I haven't done this yet.

 

Right now with all the snow I leave the DNF for another time after another try when everything is melted, I kinda go out with the expectation of DNFs. Just the other day I went out we found 2 out of 3.

Another day before that we went out and found nothing, too much snow and the terrain was hard to handle even though it was just a little hill off the side of an old long gone railroad trail. We decided to leave it until spring. From the looks of things we would have had to dig around in the snow.

Edited January 13, 2010 by lavender5215

[+Tempestteapot]

There are computer games from 25 years ago that I've never finished because I refuse to look up the solution (anyone remember Zork III?).

OMG. The Zork series STILL is my favorite game. All my family members call me a waste of a graphics card.

 

I also feel your pain with the DNF's. There is one that is less than a mile from our house and I SWEAR I can hear the thing giggling at me every time I drive by the area. I've been up there FIVE times and nothing. People before and after have logged "got it right away" "too easy" and all that. I think they just taped a micro to the back of a gila monster and it takes off when it sees me.

[+cakmakli]

While I don't like getting a DNF, I don't really mind them either. I'd rather have one that I have to work for then one that it easy. I'll spend hours looking and when I don't find it, it just makes me more determined to go back out again and find it. I'll will though, usually wait until someone logs a find before I go back just to make sure that it's there.

 

Most of my most favorite finds have been ones that I had to go back to look for.

 

Recently I had a DNF due to the snow. I logged it but I'm going to wait to go back after the snow melts. I know I'm in the right area so I'm confident that I'll find it. I have a couple of more that I'm going out to look for, though I'm pretty sure I'll DNF due to the snow. To me it's just nice to get out of the house and into the woods even if I don't find anything.