Too many DNFs, bad cacher or bad luck?

[+jessief423]

So my boyfriend and I started geocaching to get out of the house. We were fishing a lot but haven't had much luck with that. We figured we could have better luck hunting these down. Anyways, we've gone to maybe 10 or 12 sites and have 6 or 7 finds so far? At first we were using an iPhone 3gs with the geocaching.com app and then today we were so frustrated we went out an bought the Magellan Explorist GC. Is it common for "newbies" to not find them as easily at first? Some of the places we've been are in parks where everythingggg seems to look brown and some in parking lots?! Anyways, would it be innappropriate to log them as DNF and put in there that we're new and no good? Or that it really can't be there? Do we need to get a different GPS? Or someone in the area to show us the ropes? : / feeling discouraged... Thanks for the help!

[+Chokecherry]

It's normal to have some DNF's. I'll have days where I won't find over half of the ones I look for and others that I do ok with. I watched my friend struggle with his phone the other day for what was supposed to be a quickie. Decided in short order to whip out the GPSr when I lost patience for his noodling around with that (I used to use my phone and got sick of noodling myself... just use the app to locate nearby caches now).

 

When we started using the GPSr there was a little learning curve about how to use it and use it well.

 

Then we've had the on going learning about how people hide stuff. And which local cachers hide which way...

 

It's all about practice. Keep working at it.

 

I log DNF's on any find I put honest effort into.

[+TerraViators]

After you've cached for a while, you become better. You are more observant and prepared for the different camo techniques and containers. You also begin to think outside the box on possible hiding spots. In the beginning, I was constantly fixated on one spot of just looking in a tree, rather than under the rocks and leaves at the base, etc. Magnetic nano's threw me off, at first, also.

 

You will get better. Sometimes, you will see hides that you've seen before and instantly know where to search. It's all part of the fun. I've found fake sprinkler heads, magnetic card holders attached to the underside of rain gutters, tree logs with hidden cutouts, and so on. I still will have days where I might find 50% or less. Just recently, I DNF'd 4 easy hides on my lunch hour. I've found caches on the 4th trip to GZ.

 

Hang in there, and just enjoy the hunt rather than the kill.

[+briansnat]

I've been at this game for a while and have close to 200 DNFs. It happens and is part of the game. Most of my DNFs brought me to a cool place that I enjoyed thoroughly, so actually finding the cache was a mere formality that does not affect my enjoyment of the game one way or another.

 

I see geocaching as more about the cool places that it brings me rather than how many finds I can rack up. If you look at it that way then DNFs become irrelevant.

[+Borst68]

Remember that a GPSr is merely a tool to get you to where a cache is hidden. A GPSr does not find caches, YOU find the caches. Sometimes it takes a while to develop the skill to find a cache. All of a sudden the light will go on and the caches you had trouble finding will become quite easily. Tips for searching for a cache:

1. Think like a hider rather than a seeker. Ask yourself "Where would I hide a cache here?"

2. Look for things that are naturally out of place. Would nature put that pile of rocks or sticks there?

3. Look for hiding places created by nature (hollow tree, gap between rocks...)

4. Start out looking for easy caches (difficulty <2).

5. Check the logs before you go. If the last 5 cacher couldn't find it, you will probably not find it either. The cache may be missing altogether. Focus on caches that have been found recently.

 

Once you get a few finds under you belt, you skill and confidence at finding will grow tremendously. Then you can branch out atry harder ones. And many won't seem that hard.

 

Good luck!

[+Ike 13]

Don't get too discouraged. The first cache I looked for took 3 trips and at least 90 minutes to find. Things get somewhat easier with experience. You will become familiar with the common hides, and even see that one hider may have a common style with most their cache hides. You'll also get better at using your GPS to find GZ, and then using your brain and eyes (and sometimes a good pokey stick) to find the cache. I have over 1000 finds, and I still have days where my finding average is under .500. Sometimes I can't find 1.5/1.5, but the 3/3 is easy. That's just part of the game, and if it wasn't challenging at some point it wouldn't be much fun after awhile.

 

And yes please log a DNF for any cache you spent some time looking for. You may get a hint from the owner. And go to meetings and meet fellow cachers. Most are happy to show you the ropes if need be.

[+tango501]

my first 100 or so finds were with a car gps

alot of DNFs but it sure taught me how to search

 

I still get DNFs and log em too so as to keep the

cache owner notified in case there is a problem

with cache

some might have been missing, some I just plain

didnt find

 

as many have said before, start with the larger

containers with difficulty of a star or two

then as you gain more 'Geosense' you will go

after the harder ones

 

have fun, be safe and happy hunting

[+kunarion]

would it be innappropriate to log them as DNF and put in there that we're new and no good?

Do a DNF, but don't suggest the container's gone, maybe just list a couple of spots you searched. After a string of DNFs for a cache, then the Cache Owner can see a trend. There's no shame in DNF or not finding, I've done plenty of those.

 

No need to mention that you're new and no good. They already know. <== (I'm kidding about that!)

 

Some towns I visit have caches that are just plain impossible. In the whole town. Some days are better than others, too. Brush up on the finding tips, check the satellite map, read the cache description, a few recent logs and the hint. And now you can go find them!

[+jessief423]

Thanks for all the tips! I've got a few DNFs to go log now : )

[+Dragery]

Also, actually SEEING all the different types of caches will eventually open your mind, I've only found like 376 so far, and unless I've *seen* a certain cache before it's really hard to expect it. But once you've seen it, you add it to your "what to expect" part of your brain haha. When I first started, I spent about 30 minutes on this one hide, going down into a drainage ditch, lifting up all sorts of rocks, climbing trees, turned out it was in the top of a fence pole.. Now that'll be the first place I look most times walking up to a situation like that.

[+Panther&Pine]

Also, actually SEEING all the different types of caches will eventually open your mind, I've only found like 376 so far, and unless I've *seen* a certain cache before it's really hard to expect it. But once you've seen it, you add it to your "what to expect" part of your brain haha. When I first started, I spent about 30 minutes on this one hide, going down into a drainage ditch, lifting up all sorts of rocks, climbing trees, turned out it was in the top of a fence pole.. Now that'll be the first place I look most times walking up to a situation like that.

Hee hee, one time I broke a rock because "M" equaled Medium not Micro in my brain.

I've also set my GPS down, hunted for a cache- logged at DNF and then come back to hunt the cache, set my GPS down in the same place and then found out that my GPS was sitting right on top of the cache.

[+The Seeker League]

We've got just over 1,000 cache finds under our belts and some days we log DNF's until my fingers are just plain tired of typing!! After reading the other replies, we agree with what has been suggested. We would add a few other points tho.

 

1. Be prepared to touch ANYTHING not nailed down (even some things that are). We have cache containers that were made in our garage wood and metal shop. Just because it looks like it belongs there, touch it anyway! Twist it, turn it, look under it for string that holds the container down in a hole, look inside it (but be prepared for bees) but be careful not to break anything.

 

2. Go to events and ask that question! Local events might just get you to meeting those cache owners and you can ask for a hint (doesn't mean you'll get one or even a good one but you can ask ). You will also get a sense of the kind of person the owner is and where they might hide things. Hints from other members of the group about the toughest hides in the area are also possible.

 

3. As a cache owner of some pretty difficult hides, we have to grit our teeth when someone with under 10 finds tells me my 4 difficulty is missing. Not that it might be, not that they couldn't find it but that it's missing! For example, we have a 1/1 in our backyard. We were watching the cachers from our window and they couldn't find it after 30 seconds. They walked off before we could get out there to help and posted that it was missing. They had 2 finds!! We wouldn't have minded if they'd said "Hint please?" or just "Nada on the find" but missing..aargh!! It's better to just state "Didn't find it after so many minutes of looking" or just ask for hints. Always check the difficulty level. You might find a 4 or 5 and DNF on a 1 or 2 but it's always nice to know the number.

 

4. Don't give up and don't take the hobby too seriously. There are so many reasons to cache. You will enjoy the hobby a lot more if you figure out what your reason is! We cache because the hobby takes us to parks, lakes, historical areas and railroad overpasses that we would NEVER have found on our own. Getting exercise looking under light pole skirts doesn't hurt either!

 

Good luck and keep caching!!

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

.... and some in parking lots?!

 

Don't do what I have done more than once and set the GPS to a parking waypoint and start hunting in the recommended parking area rather than the cache location half a mile away

[+kd7ctv]

I never worry. I mean if I don't find it today, I will find it next time. Sometimes I just get tired, and things that might stand out just aren't. Doesn't mean its not there, just means I'm aren't picking it out.

Just go look again another time, different light or time of day.

There are times when my girlfriend finds things that I normally would, then there are plenty of times where she looks right at it, and I am the one who finds it.

Keep at it its a fun time.

[+Mark+Karen]

some in parking lots?!

 

Quite common. In the UK we call these ones "Off Your Trolley!" when they are in the car parks of supermarkets. I'm the owner of one of them myself! They can be quite devious hides! You stand there looking at the trolley bay and think - I know it's here somewhere!

 

The trick, I find, is to learn the techniques for hiding the caches. I was at the seaside the other day and the clue was that the cache was under a rock, there were hundreds and hundreds of rocks! But there was that one rock which was sitting underneath another one which just didn't look right somehow, and sure enough the cache was hiding behind it!

 

Sometimes it's obvious, in the forest when you have a big pile of sticks and rocks it couldn't be anything other than a cache hide!

 

Personally, I find about 2/3rds of the caches I look for.

Edited July 20, 2010 by markhewitt1978

[+Quossum]

Also, actually SEEING all the different types of caches will eventually open your mind, I've only found like 376 so far, and unless I've *seen* a certain cache before it's really hard to expect it. But once you've seen it, you add it to your "what to expect" part of your brain haha. When I first started, I spent about 30 minutes on this one hide, going down into a drainage ditch, lifting up all sorts of rocks, climbing trees, turned out it was in the top of a fence pole.. Now that'll be the first place I look most times walking up to a situation like that.

 

This can backfire, too, though. In my first 190 caches, I've found exactly ONE that was in a fake sprinkler head.

 

I have now tugged at and sometimes unscrewed at least five sprinkler heads that were real!

 

But seriously, don't worry about DNF's. I've avoided some by checking caches before heading out and not even looking if there's a string of DNF's, and I've gotten DNF's that I realized upon getting home how I could've solved them. It's no big deal, and they do often make for the best stories!

 

--Q

[+Mike_NJ]

The Head Zombie told me that, if you put in an honest effort to finding the cache, and you're relatively sure you have been thorough, log a single DNF. (And that it might be best if you try to find it more than once, just on the off chance you're having an off day.)

 

If you can't find it even with hints from the logs of the cache's page or even a note to the cache owner, and someone has successfully found it within the last 30-60 days, you're probably doing it wrong.

If it has been more than six months since the last find (especially if you're conscious of the area's weather - ie in NJ we had a pretty rough winter, and a few caches have gone missing/needed maintenance) contact the CO and give them a few days to try to rectify/verify.

 

I have only 5 finds under my belt. (So Far! )

The first two in MD were "this looks like a good place to hide... - HEY I FOUND IT" sort of thing.

My next three in NJ... One was a quick'n'easy find in my hometown, but the other two (very close to my office) were multiple-trips-without-a-find.

One DNF and 3-4 trips later, the Find Me Lightbulb went off and the rest is Log History

[+Athryn and Peri]

In my (so far limited) experience, I usually wait around to see if someone else does a find after I report a DNF. If someone else has found it, then it's more likely that I'll be able to. I also took the advice of following a specific person's set of caches. Here in my part of Virginia, there's a set of theme caches by a couple of people called the "Old Roads" caches. I've found that these are a pretty good beginning set of caches for me, and have been working my way through them.

[+ssterling]

a few comments to add, but looks like tons of good advise already...

 

1. Always log a DNF. IF it is missing it is the only way the Cache owner would know without going to check. It is also expected on more difficult hides. It seems many caches don't want to log them, and it is really unfortunate if they don't.

 

2. When starting out go for the low difficulty larger finds. This is a great way to get some finds under your belt. get to GZ and look around in a 10-20 foot range from there and think 'where would I hide a container that is sixe X'... the description and hint, and previous logs always help while there if you need them!

 

Have fun!!!

[g_o_caching]

If the cache is somewhere I might not be back to, I search as long as I can and then mark it DNF.

 

If it is likely I will be through that area again, I don't put a DNF until I have tried a few times. It may take a few trips before you "found it" or give up. If you gave it an honest effort more than a few times and didn't find it mark it DNF.

 

I read past logs and judge by last date found, if it was in a high muggle area, the condition it was in, or if others found it after I was there. I may go back again if others are finding it. Look for spoilers hints in the ones that found it.

 

I also go for the easier ones until I have a better understanding of where to look. My eyes don't always identify what I am seeing is a cache sometimes, and I scan past it. They talk about "geo-sense", and mine needs more experience.

 

I am always glad to find another "type" of container to file away in my memory banks. Go to Google, and do a search for geocaching containers. You will be amazed at what they are able to cache.

 

Remember, this is a hobby for your enjoyment and if you don't find it.....big deal. Move on to another one, there's plenty out there. Getting out in nature, and away from the television or computer, is a good thing.