FTF and Caching in your town.

[+firestars]

I have access to regular caching in 2 parts of the country, Cambridge and Reading and it amazes me how different caching is undertaken dependant on where in the country you are.

 

For example, a friend got a 'go-live' email yesterday evening at 18:33 and was at the GZ in Southampton, signing the log by 18:45. A couple of minutes later 3 other caching parties showed up, looking for the FTF. Zoom over to Cambridge and I have a cache that has sat for 5 days with only three DNFs and a complaint that 'its too hard to get to' - (its a 4/4 and my 5yr old daughter came with me to set it!)

 

Are FTFs a big thing in your part of the country? In Reading, they seem to last an hour. In Southampton, its 15 minutes but seemingly, in Cambridge/Suffolk its days!

[+jgc3]

Yes FTF's go quickly normally over here.. Mount Gambier SA Australia... so I don't get too many myself.. but it's fun to try.. and the last few I thought I'd get.. I got there.. and they'd been logged but not online.. so it was in the log book for days.. but no finder logged it until after us online... drat!

[+NattyBooshka]

FTF race pretty swift up here (North Derbyshire) most of the time... occasionally one published in the evening still isn't found by 6am!

[+eusty]

It depends here...sometimes they are gone in a flash other times not.

 

I set one and it was published about 10pm and found at 6am the next day...then a few more near to that one weren't found until a couple of days later??

[+dfx]

There's a few distinct FTF hounds in our area, one of them is especially notorious for it. We're always joking when a "publish" email comes in, that he's already out the door.

[+AbbieK]

They tend to go the same day here - I've only got one FTF in Hampshire, which I got at 8.30, the listing was published at about 7.30pm. Three others found it that night.

 

My other FTF was in Cheshire, where there were 4 of us vying for the FTF at various sites. I met a cacher at one site, who'd met two other cachers, one of whom had met another cacher! That was a busy day!

[team tisri]

In my area (SW London) there are a few people who are quite keen FTF hounds. Depending on the day I'm often among them.

 

If a new cache goes live it's usually found within a short time, especially if it's the kind of cache where the hint tells you exactly where the cache is. One local cache setter often doesn't give any additional hints until the first few people have found it, which makes for a more interesting hunt for FTF.

 

It doesn't seem uncommon for the first finder to be signing the log within half an hour of the email going out.

[+Fianccetto]

It depends here (Gloucester) too. Some set by well known hiders in dog walking or cycling country go within minutes, with the same names cropping up as FTF, STF, TTF, etc Other caches (especially micros) placed by little known cachers in less interesting or less accessible places can sometimes not go until the following weekend or sometimes even longer. We don't get many hides above 3 difficulty around here, I would guess that might have an affect too.

[+me N u]

A bit off topic here - we`re from Cornwall and woking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 

FTFs are definately not a big thing here - we recently had a FTF on a cache that was placed 4 years and 3 months before! (GC113B1) and we have claimed a FTF for GCHYKN 5 years 9 months and 27 days after placing (we did have to replace it though - 100% certain of its location) and that cache was less than 1 mile from tarmac!

[+The_Street_Searchers]

Brighton has quite a few FTF addicts (myself included)

 

I used to pretty much be guaranteed to get it every time but there are quite a few new cachers intent of spoiling my day

 

How quick they go really depends on the time they are published - anything past 10pm will generally last till the next morning but anything before 10 is usually gone within the hour. The last two FTF races have been lost by 3 minutes (my mate got one but lost the other )

 

Add to that the arrival of mini street searcher and I have not been quite as prolific in recent months. Going to have to crank it up a notch and keep the new boys and girls on their toes!

Edited June 27, 2011 by The_Street_Searchers

[+Mallah]

There is a bit of a FTF thing in S Yorks as well, however I have exactly Zero

[+Geocass&Andy750x]

For example, a friend got a 'go-live' email yesterday evening at 18:33 and was at the GZ in Southampton, signing the log by 18:45. A couple of minutes later 3 other caching parties showed up, looking for the FTF. Zoom over to Cambridge and I have a cache that has sat for 5 days with only three DNFs and a complaint that 'its too hard to get to' - (its a 4/4 and my 5yr old daughter came with me to set it!)

 

Where your cache that you're talking of is hidden would actually come under our FTF area, although we don't often venture out quite that far. I saw the notification pop up actually, but with the word "nightmare" in the title and it looking like it's possibly a nano (might not be, just would be my assumption) means that we wouldn't dash for an FTF on it. If it were a Large cache and I'd seen in the description that it was full of swag or something that fascinated us then we probably would have rushed out. I suppose I'm just a lazy FTF'er. We will dash out for FTF's if it's a big trail close to home (as we did in the pitch black on New Years Day!) but for the odd one it has to be close to my route where I'm travelling home/work, really close to home, a puzzle, or something really special.

 

I'd say if I really wanted an FTF however, there would only be two others I'd worry about beating me to it! Don't think it's much of a craze around our part (South/East Cambridgeshire)

[+FantasyRaider]

Here in North Wales I would never go out of my way for an FTF, i leave that to the experts: Mold Monsters & Lost n wet!

[+Micky Two Pints]

I live in the Southampton area and if you're not at a new cache within 15 minutes, forget it!!

 

I placed a new cache a few weeks ago and I said to my Mother In Law that someone would find it within an hour ... 15 minutes after it was published, the first find was logged.

 

However, I work in Basingstoke and a couple of new caches were published last week at about 3pm. After I left work at 5pm, I went searching for them. I got a DNF on the first one as the heavens opened and I was getting soaked. Got a FTF on the next one though, about 3 hours after it was published. I went back the following day in my lunch hour for the other one but was beaten to it by two hours so that one had not been found until the following day.

 

I guess it depends on how active the geocaching community is in a particular area.

 

Micky Two Pints

[+Original A1]

There are such keen FTFers in the Edinburgh area that there's absolutely no point in going for any which aren't my side of town (i.e. almost all of them!). One went out last week and was found just over 10 minutes later by some cachers who had driven 4 miles to get it!!

 

Other cachers appear to have noticed this too and I'm seeing a few "please give someone less experienced a chance to FTF this" kind of requests on new caches now. The last FTF I went for in Edinburgh which was quite close to me had about 10 DNFs before it was eventually found!

 

That said, I had a glut of FTFs in May when I was heading up to Perthshire and did a PQ of unfounds. They'd been part of masses set for an event which I couldn't attend, and had been out for 3-4 days before I came along. So it is possible.

 

[+gazooks]

Certainly to the West of Cambridge a cache would not last that long ....

 

There are at least 2 or 3 eager FTF'rs that I know of over this way. I for one don't really rush out for FTF's anymore unless its a reasonable hour and close by. I leave all the midnight hits to the 'nutters'

 

Maybe the DNF's have put other off of your cache