FTF'ers like hawks

[ashnikes]

The last few caches Ive had published are found within minutes of them being published. I get notifications from my reviewer when my cache is published, and when someone logs they found it online.

 

It's interesting to see al lthe people who log it within the first few hours thinking they would be the FTF, but were beaten,

I generally find the FTF crowd to not necessarily care about the cache, or its location, just being the FTF is all that matters.

And this is fine we all play the game differently, but honestly I dont care about being a FTF,

 

I'm sure this is not necessarily the case with trail caches, but my urban hides get found almost right away.

 

And almost always by the same people.

 

What's the fastest you've ever logged a FTF?

Edited June 24, 2010 by ashnikes

[+roziecakes]

There are FTF hounds in our area. We are not FTF hounds, but we've gotten I dunno, maybe 15 FTFs over the last few years, the most of which were in the last couple of weeks, since the new caches were in our area and not in Eugene.

 

Premium members get notifications sent to their email or phone usually right as the cache gets published, and if they live close, they can usually get to the cache extremely quickly.

 

I think the fastest I've ever logged an FTF was when I lived in Denver, and I lived a five minute drive from the cache I FTF'd. I was already dressed, so I just hopped in the car and was there in five minutes, and found it in another two minutes or so; so I'd say 7 minutes is the fastest time.

[+Panther&Pine]

A few hours. There aren't too many FTF hounds in this area. And I don't like to be stressed out.

 

* I'm not implying that the FTF is a big deal or that is shouldn't be allowed. Just stating an opinion.

**My only post on this topic will be this one.

[ashnikes]

although it would stress me out too, and i would feel like i didnt get a proper chance to find the cache on my own being there with all those people, the group in my area are all pretty much friends or so i gather, so i guess they all enjoy getting there at the same time, and looking together.

 

I really like going by myself at night, its really creepy, probably not the brightest idea, but less people to worry about seeing me, and i get to see all sorts of animals i wouldnt normally see with other people making noise scaring them all away.

 

if its a particularly deep woods cache, i go by myself during the day, to make sure i can see the dangers.

[+dorqie]

although it would stress me out too, and i would feel like i didnt get a proper chance to find the cache on my own being there with all those people, the group in my area are all pretty much friends or so i gather, so i guess they all enjoy getting there at the same time, and looking together.

 

I really like going by myself at night, its really creepy, probably not the brightest idea, but less people to worry about seeing me, and i get to see all sorts of animals i wouldnt normally see with other people making noise scaring them all away.

 

if its a particularly deep woods cache, i go by myself during the day, to make sure i can see the dangers.

 

me too, running into someone at GZ is one of my biggest fears, thus I have never wanted to join in an ftf race.

[+roziecakes]

The FTF hounds around here are all my good friends, so I don't mind seeing them at caches But I thought I might also mention that I LOVE caching at night. I do it all the time.

 

I just make sure that I'm doing it in a place where I won't look suspicious. I've only run into another person once; and that was a Lane County Sheriff. Luckily, they almost all know what caching is because of our local cacher who used to work for the Sheriff's department. It was pretty funny actually.

 

He pulls up, rolls down his window, and says, "Ya caching?" I say, "Yep!" He says, "Cool, have fun!" and drove way... I like Law Enforcement experiences like that.

[+briansnat]

I'm not FTF hound by any measure, but one time I was sitting at the computer when I saw a cache published that was under a mile from my house. I was already dressed for a hike so just walked out the door, hopped in the car had the cache in hand within 20 minutes of it being published (including a 15 minute hike to the cache).

[+Mezgrman]

About 10 minutes after it was published

Igot the notification, it was about 1.2 miles away, so I entered the coords, got on my bike and yeah, I was FTF!

And it was my first (and only till now) FTF ever!

 

Mezgrman

Edited June 24, 2010 by Mezgrman

[+wimseyguy]

I don't care much about FTF either, and my work schedule doesn't really permit me to just run out whenever. Last summer one got published right across the street from my building and I still was third to sign it.

 

But it is a game within the game that seems to excite some cachers.

[+geodarts]

I would not say that I am a hawk. I don't use the three initials. Never add a Wah-hoo. Do not use extra smileys to gloat over my achievement. But I guess I have had my share of blank logs. Last year I started to count them to see if I qualified for a challenge cache and stopped counting after I was 50 over the required number.

 

To me, its a matter of instant gratification. Or because I otherwise am not doing anything particularly noteworthy. Thus, it has more to do with time, energy, geography, and personal circumstances than with anything else. Nothing to get excited about. I have signed blank logs within a few minutes of a cache being published, and I have signed black logs within days (hikes tend to discourage hawks). But I really only pay attention to them if they happen to be near where I work or live.

 

There was one in my town that was published at night and I thought about doing it on the morning dog walk the next day. Actually, I did do it on my morning walk. But somebody had gotten there at 2 am. I don't think my wife would be too happy with me if I did that.

[+IBcrashen]

What's the fastest you've ever logged a FTF?

About 2-3 days.

[ashnikes]

I used to live in Duluth, the cache must have been published in the winter, which is why i assume it was still blank after 2 or 3 days of sitting out,

[+IBcrashen]

I used to live in Duluth, the cache must have been published in the winter, which is why i assume it was still blank after 2 or 3 days of sitting out,

no, just didnt log it for that long.

[+Borst68]

I FINALLY got a FTF. It was a multi and the CO botched the coords for leg one. Several people tried and failed as the cords were off by several hundred feet. I happened to have have some time on my hands when the situation was corrected and managed to beat another cacher by less than an hour. I got my FTF so now I don't have to worry about being first. If you don't have a FTF, you want one bad. Once you get one, the pressure is off. If a cache comes up close to me, I'll hit it ASAP. If I'm busy I'll take 2nd or 3rd or 27th. Some people are noted for FTF. Every area has a few of those people. It adds some friendly competition. Every time someone beats the FTF hounds to the cache they make it known. Friendly trash talking,if you will.

 

My FTF was nice to get but I don't feel the need to be FTF on EVERY cache. Not everyone has the time to dash out at a moments notice. I am married with kids and work a rotating shift. If a FTF fits my schedule, I'm there. If it doesn't, so be it. I don't begrudge anyone for making it a priority in their day.

[+niraD]

I logged one of my FTFs several hours after publication. I was going to be in the area the following morning, and happened to check the nearby caches shortly after it was published. The park was already closed, but I was there the following morning right as it opened. It took me a few hours before I could log the find though, by which time four other finders had already logged it.

 

I logged my other two FTFs a few days after publication. They were puzzle caches, and I was the first to solve the puzzle and find the cache.

[+Bear and Ragged]

If a cache is being found 'within the first few hours' of being published, the FTF'r must be local, and know the area. Doesn't mean that they don't "care about the cache, or its location."

[+DadOf6Furrballs]

8 minutes, maybe 10 tops. I was sitting in my office at work eating lunch when the email notifications popped in for some new caches, and by chance one of them was literally right next door. Zoomed in on the map, saw where it was, and just walked over to it. Didn't even use the GPS, since it was obvious where it was.

[+atmospherium]

I've gotten about 7 or 8 FTFs in the past year. Only on one of them did I go charging out of the house the minute I saw the notification. From Publishing to finding was about 45 minutes. Here's my log for that one:

 

I confess. I succumbed to FTF fever. I wasn't gonna. I was casual. I thought to myself, "This will be a good one to do after work on Friday." Two minutes later I was out the door, GPS and flashlight in hand.

 

The mania wore off rapidly when the police car pulled up. I was about 100ft from the cache at that point. I trudged back out to the road, waving my light and keeping my hands in plain view. He asked me a question or two about my activities, and I said I was looking for a geocache. To my immense relief he relaxed visibly and said, "Oh yeah, I've heard of you guys."

 

It was smooth sailing after that. We chatted a minute or two, he went his way, and I headed back to GZ. Signed the log in a rather shaky hand at about 12:20 AM and took the slow and easy way back to my car.

 

Only 3 other times have I leaped into the car and gone racing to be first...and was beaten each time. All my other FTFs were several hours, and even a couple of days, after the cache was published. But these were all within 14 miles from home. Anything further south than that, and I don't even try. Local cachers know why.

[JohnX]

I have a couple of FTFs under my belt and that is enough for me. I really enjoy finding the locations that I never knew existed, even if it takes me a while to get to them.

[emknowlton]

I've never been FTF but would like to be one day. =)

[+CanDMan47]

I only have one FTF and it was pure coincidence. It was also a couple days after it was published. We were going for a cache close by, and saved the unfound cache on my iPhone as well, figuring we'd give it a quick look, after all the previous DNF's. When we pulled into the parking area, there were a couple people where we suspected it would be. After they left, we walked up for our second to find only to find a blank log. I suspect the CO (who was fairly new at hides) hadn't placed it before it was published, or it could have been muggled before it was published and was placing it now. I have tried for a couple others, but have been always been beat. I don't rush out for FTF's but I do keep track of them it.

[+wolfslady]

I'm not sure. I didn't get notifications for that area. But it was in the city of Houston and just after I got out of my car another car came zooming in to the parking lot to go for it so I'm assuming it was pretty fast after it published. I just happened to luck into that FTF. We were driving down the road and I was looking on my phone for nearby caches. I told my husband there was one right around the corner and asked if we could get it. When I checked the logs I realized that it hadn't been found. I haven't had a new cache come up closer than about an 8 mile drive from my house since I started caching so it's not like going for FTF is easy. Most that I have gotten have been when I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. The latest one is one I got was a couple of days after an event, when the coordinates were corrected and I wanted to redeem myself after a DNF on that one and 1 other.

[+Isonzo Karst]

I assume I've got FTF on something within a couple of hours of publication.

 

I got FTF on a cache published May 15, 2008 - I was the FTF on August /13/2008. No DNFs on this thing, just nobody hunting it. A boat cache, accessible by power boat too, I paddled less then 2 miles for it.

 

I thought I'd get FTF on another boat cache on the same river that day. It had been published May 14 08, but the weather turned really nasty and I gave it up. That cache wasn't found until November.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

FTF on a week old cache is fun! Three months with the coords off 845 feet is fun! I have one that took three months for FTF, and another that is approaching a month!

Yes. I know which four cachers are most likely to be FTF on a new cache...

But, swooping like a vulture is not my idea of fun. OH, well.

[+GrateBear]

In my area, most FTFs are logged fairly quickly after being published, and there are a few names that come up often. What I find amusing is when a new cache is not found for a couple of days (rare, but it happens) and surprisingly, there is no DNF logged. I find it hard to believe that the FTF hounds ignored a cache for a couple of days

[+slukster]

This wasn't my fastest FTF but my most gratifying since I was the only one who could possibly get it. A cache was published in NYC at around 11pm and it was in a small park located behind my office building which closes at 7pm. I just so happen to be the security manager for the building and working the overnight shift so unless one of my security guards was a cacher, I was the only cacher with access to the closed park. Here is my log:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...6d-6be643519b37

 

After the CO saw my log he wrote a note:

 

August 7, 2008 by Autorita (207 found)

 

Congrats to slukster for the FTF early this morning and thanks for finding out what the official open hours were...in a maybe very sketchy way.

Please obey local laws as this cache is in a very well guarded location due to the high terrorist threats. Although we all enjoy a very exciting caching race, let's not give caching a bad rep or ruin a cache for future cachers by going beyond our bounds. There are security guards and cameras at GZ 24/7 so please don't end up in jail or on the news for breaking and entering or looking suspicious. Wait until proper operating hours 6:30am - 7:00pm Mon - Fri and closed on weekends. Let's help this cache last a bit.

 

Of course my log was fabricated but it got a good laugh when I finally met up with the CO.

[+Nitro Blast]

I was real lucky lately (regarding this topic) and was able to log a find, a mere 7 minutes after publication.

I was close, and just happened to be on the computer when the notification came.

 

It was the only time I truly 'raced' to a cache.

 

Later in the day, the CO posted another one, and I let it sit a full 24 hours before going and getting the FTF.

 

But I'm with GrateBear, I have SEEN persons at a Cache, DNF and NOT LOG THEM.

Local 'big shots' too.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Nitro Blast

[+Scubasonic]

 

What's the fastest you've ever logged a FTF?

 

about 5 minutes just today I was at a fast food joint and one popped up less then .10 away even logged from my iPhone on the spot.

 

Scubasonic

[+power69]

the hounds here are BRUTAL.

if its not too far i'll try for it[no cachemobile]

I get lucky every now and then or its a hard one i'll have a chance.

[+Fncnca]

My most recent, (last week) was two days.

Of the 8 I have, most of them were 5 days or more.

There are 4 hides less than 9 miles from my house that have been sitting about a month unfound.

I will not go look for them, I am not going to BETA test the co's coords anymore. I tested his other hides for the FTF.

The unfound hides have a few DNF logs, not going to add to them. Going to let someone else root them out and give the co the correct coords.

FTF means little to me, I have 8 now, the ones I will get from now on, will be accidents.

[Clan Riffster]

I don't make it a point to rush after the FTF, so I couldn't tell you anything regarding timeframe for the few I do have. One exception to this is a cache that a friend placed during a kayaking CITO I hosted. I saw the listing when I got home and figured I would let one of the folks more local to the cache have the honors. 6 months later it was still unfound, so I splashed my 'yak and went hunting it. Recently I hid a cache that sat for a month before it was nabbed.

[Dj Storm]

My fastest FTF was ~40 hours after publishing - beat the next finder by about 3 hours. It was a cache 200 km from my home!

My slowest FTF is 2 years, give or take a couple of months. My last FTF was 8 months after publishing.

[+Ike 13]

I wouldn't call myself a FTF hound mainly because I don't have them sent to my phone. I do have 29 FTF's in the past year. The only way I can get an FTF is if I'm off work and at my computer when the notification comes out. Even then some luck is involved. There's at least 3 other people who I am racing and maybe a couple more depending on the side of town. I find it adds extra fun to the challenge.

 

My fastest was about 10 minutes for a cache .5 miles away (would have been quicker if I was already dressed).

 

I do care about the cache and the location no matter what. Being FTF is just a cherry on top of that.

[+BulldogBlitz]

i'm not fast to log them at all.

 

i'm not rich enough to have one of those fancy phones to log the find from the field. most of the hounds around me do log from the field..... or live so close to a fertile little area that they are logging the find within 15 minutes because they live right there.

[+OienLabs]

My fastest was 10 minutes - beat STF with 5 minutes.

My slowest was 19 days - beat STF with 4 days.

[+BulldogBlitz]

I'm sure this is not necessarily the case with trail caches, but my urban hides get found almost right away.

 

switch to doing puzzle caches.... OR make some harder hides. these guys are eating your stuff up.... or they could care less about you and just want anyone to roll a film can under a dumpster

[+rokito87]

I have a few ftfs, only because a new cacher in my town placed several urban hides very, very close to my home. I was in the middle of studying for finals, and they kept popping up, so I couldn't pass up the chance to procrastinate. The quickest was probably 20 minutes after publication, the longest was over a day, I believe.

 

The only other ftf I have was a coincidence... I had to be up @ 3am to drive down to JFK airport, and received a notification before I left the house. A new cache had been published along the route I needed to take, so I made a quick stop to pick it up. I wouldn't have gone out of the way for the ftf though.

 

When I get a notification for a new cache, yeah, I'll generally go out and look for it as soon as I can. Sometimes that's fairly quickly, sometimes it's days later and in some cases, I still haven't gotten around to them. However, a quick response from me is not based on the urge to be ftf... It's more about my general excitement for caching. Although, if someone wants to be an "ftf hawk", that's cool with me, too. I don't mind how others want to play, I just want to enjoy finding caches.

[knowschad]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

I'm sure there are some FTFers that like vultures, others that prefer hawks, and some that like both or neither bird. I think its silly to debate such things here.

 

[+Team Cotati]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

I'm sure there are some FTFers that like vultures, others that prefer hawks, and some that like both or neither bird. I think its silly to debate such things here.

 

 

Silly 'debates' no longer allowed.

 

Lord help me, please.

[4wheelin_fool]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

I'm sure there are some FTFers that like vultures, others that prefer hawks, and some that like both or neither bird. I think its silly to debate such things here.

 

 

No, they are more like Cattle Egrets.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Prior to going PM, I turned on PC early morning to notice a series of seven new caches that had been published overnight. Being in a very low population area, nearly 100% forest/swamp -- better than 60% state and Federal Forest -- I thought it was worth a try.

 

Hand-entered the coords into my ancient GPS12, dressed and said "see ya later" to the still sleeping wife (ZERO cell reception in most our area) and went out.

 

Well... it was probably the most memorable of my early caching days. I did grab 4 of the 7 for FTF -- but it was the other cachers that I met on those trails, a total of eight others (none were truly "local") that made it so special and fun.

In that I had already grabbed up 4 FTFs, I told the first cacher I ran into what ones were still open for an FTF, in exchange for corrected some of my mis-entered coords.

Traded hints and shared finds with the other cachers that I also met, along with the traditional "war stories".

 

It was almost like an event cache.

Two-tracks and trails that see perhaps a vehicle every two weeks were seemingly crowded with vehicles packed much like I-94 through Chicago that day! (← 'slightly' exaggerated -- but it is difficult to navigate a pair of nose-to-nose F-250's around one another ya know, when you are surrounded by oak, maple and white pine.)

 

It was truly a hoot and I think, a different take on an FTF rush. Upon arrival home at the end of the day -- and the next few days -- received MANY comments on the scars and scrapes from bushwhacking!

 

Fuel - $25.00

New trousers - $39.95

Antiseptic - $12.99

Double-dip ice cream cone - $1.00 (Yes!)

New friends, experience and memories - PRICELESS

[+GeoGeeBee]

I signed up for notifications on new caches within 20 miles of my home coordinates. There have been a couple where it just worked out right for me... one was published in a nearby park and the notification arrived just as I was leaving for my lunch break, so I went over and got it. Another came in at 5:20 and I get off work at 5:30, and it was on my way to the house.

 

Then there was the one in the parking deck. The deck where I park my car. It's a micro, and really not a very difficult one, but for some reason I just couldn't see it. So I was the first at Ground Zero, logged a DNF, and ended up finding it several days later.

 

Anyway, I have a few FTF so I guess that makes me a FTF'er. And I do like hawks.

 

[knowschad]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

I'm sure there are some FTFers that like vultures, others that prefer hawks, and some that like both or neither bird. I think its silly to debate such things here.

 

 

Silly 'debates' no longer allowed.

 

Lord help me, please.

Psstt... I don't think you read my post carefully enough

[+roziecakes]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

I'm sure there are some FTFers that like vultures, others that prefer hawks, and some that like both or neither bird. I think its silly to debate such things here.

 

 

Silly 'debates' no longer allowed.

 

Lord help me, please.

Psstt... I don't think you read my post carefully enough

 

Sunspots again?

[+Team Cotati]

Still think 'Like Vultures' is more appropriate than 'Like Hawks'.

I'm sure there are some FTFers that like vultures, others that prefer hawks, and some that like both or neither bird. I think its silly to debate such things here.

 

 

Silly 'debates' no longer allowed.

 

Lord help me, please.

Psstt... I don't think you read my post carefully enough

 

Sunspots again?

 

If you say so. At this point, I'd believe just about any thing.

[+humboldt flier]

Aren't they more like vultures or " meat bees ".

[+Mosaic55]

I was FTF twice, got to one in about 45 minutes, I think it was the next day before anyone else found it. My other FTF was several hours after publication. I've seen some FTFs around here go in 5 or 10 minutes, so I thought I'd never have a chance, but lately some have been staying out for a day or two before being found.

 

I don't even care so much about ever getting another FTF. I really wanted the first one, just to say I did it, but beyond that first one, it's not such a big deal.

[ashnikes]

I say hawks because they have a birds eye view, but unlike vultures who wait around for something to die, then decend, hawks chase after very fast critters, with intense speed, and agility, they can spot things from very far away, and are just overall cooler than vultures,

Edited June 25, 2010 by ashnikes

[+BulldogBlitz]

I say hawks because they have a birds eye view, but unlike vultures who wait around for something to die, then decend, hawks chase after very fast critters, with intense speed, and agility, they can spot things from very far away, and are just overall cooler than vultures,

 

caches around here don't move... so i'd say the dead meat aspect is more appropriate. swoop in with that overactive sense of smell....

 

vultures!

[Skippermark]

We tried to grab an FTF while on vacation and got there 6 minutes after getting notification on our phone, and we were 5th to find.

 

Editing to add that it was funny because there was no sign of anyone around. Usually around here, people wait a bit to see if others show up then hang out and talk. When we got there, the area was totally empty, which made me think we had a chance at it.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Skippermark