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DNF OCD


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I haven't logged any DNF's, but my main reason for that is because the ones I haven't found are close to my house and the main reason I didn't find them was because I was running out of time, and it was super muddy. I will be back for them. If I think they're actually lost, or I don't have an intention to come back for them, I'd log it, just to show I made an effort.

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It depends on why I DNFed a cache. If it's a cache that is most likely there and I just can't find it, and is found after I DNF it, then yes, I really want to avenge that DNF. Other times I'll DNF a cache that I'm pretty sure is missing, in which case I'm usually not as obsessed about going back to find it (some of these never get replaced anyway).

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I'll DNF it, put it on a watchlist to see if any maintenance or finds occur for the cache.

 

Once I see some positive life for the cache, I go looking for it again.

 

It depends on why I DNFed a cache. If it's a cache that is most likely there and I just can't find it, and is found after I DNF it, then yes, I really want to avenge that DNF. Other times I'll DNF a cache that I'm pretty sure is missing, in which case I'm usually not as obsessed about going back to find it (some of these never get replaced anyway).

 

Both of these ^^^.

 

There is one that is driving me nutso, though. It's near my home and I've been there three times (although the first time was actually without my GPS...but I thought I knew where it would be)...and still have not found it. In the meantime people keep finding it and saying stuff like "easy find" or "quick grab"...just to rub salt in my wound, I think. I even emailed the CO to see if she could narrow my search (not give me the answer, mind you...just tell me if I'm in the right area since there is a lot of landscaping and terracing there) but she has not responded. This one really is getting to me.

Edited by J Grouchy
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Most of the time I don't bother going back. If it's in a nice spot I already saw what the CO brought me there to see. If it's not in a nice spot I have no interest in returning.

 

If I was alone when I DNFed it and I want my wife or a friend to see the location, that's probably the only time I will go back and hunt again

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I'll DNF it, put it on a watchlist to see if any maintenance or finds occur for the cache.

 

Once I see some positive life for the cache, I go looking for it again.

 

It depends on why I DNFed a cache. If it's a cache that is most likely there and I just can't find it, and is found after I DNF it, then yes, I really want to avenge that DNF. Other times I'll DNF a cache that I'm pretty sure is missing, in which case I'm usually not as obsessed about going back to find it (some of these never get replaced anyway).

 

Both of these ^^^.

 

There is one that is driving me nutso, though. It's near my home and I've been there three times (although the first time was actually without my GPS...but I thought I knew where it would be)...and still have not found it. In the meantime people keep finding it and saying stuff like "easy find" or "quick grab"...just to rub salt in my wound, I think. I even emailed the CO to see if she could narrow my search (not give me the answer, mind you...just tell me if I'm in the right area since there is a lot of landscaping and terracing there) but she has not responded. This one really is getting to me.

 

Yeah, I know that feeling. There was a cache exactly like that for me too and looking at the cache page there were only 3 DNFs and I was all 3. I eventually found it - not knowing how I missed it.

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I'll buck the trend and say no. I DNF 'em and move on. I don't put them on watch and I rarely look back at the page to see what happened next.

 

I expect to miss caches that are comparatively easy and absolutely present from time to time. And find the difficulty 4 hide with ease on occasion (not that I hunt for many in that higher difficulty range).

 

This may well be because I'm not as interested in the hunt part of the game, it's more about the journey than the find for me. If the coords got me to the spot, then that may be all that really matters much to me.

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I've posted lots of DNFs for caches I didn't find while on vacation. I'm unlikely to ever find most of those.

 

I've also DNFed closer caches that I certainly won't go out of my way to visit again. For example, I could discover a cache is a pointless needle-in-a-haystack type. I might give it a few minutes of searching then move on without any intention of ever returning.

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I haven't logged any DNF's, but my main reason for that is because the ones I haven't found are close to my house and the main reason I didn't find them was because I was running out of time, and it was super muddy. I will be back for them. If I think they're actually lost, or I don't have an intention to come back for them, I'd log it, just to show I made an effort.

 

DNF only means that you didn't find the cache. I am way more likely to log my DNFs than my finds. First of all they are almost always more interesting. Second they add up. One DNF means someone din not find it. Six or seven means it probably isn't there. Information that other cachers could find useful.

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There's a CO around me who has evil, evil hides. His are about the only ones I go back to, because he's great at maintenance, and I am sure they're not missing...just...really hard. Otherwise, if I feel I didn't give a search much effort, I'll usually log the DNF and put it on the list for later, especially if (like recently) I am sure it was buried under snow and I just didn't want to dig. I figure it might save someone else the trouble. Then every once in a while I'll bring up my list of DNFs and check for recent logs on some of them.

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Most of the time I don't bother going back. If it's in a nice spot I already saw what the CO brought me there to see. If it's not in a nice spot I have no interest in returning.

 

If I was alone when I DNFed it and I want my wife or a friend to see the location, that's probably the only time I will go back and hunt again

 

Basically.

 

If I'm in the area again, I do enjoy 'reconciling' a DNF.

I hardly ever go out of my way to do so.

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You're all wrong. If it's a nice place that's exactly where I want to go caching. I'll even spread a multi over several lunch hours.

 

Any DNF that I don't want to return to means I shouldn't have been brought there in the first place.

 

Why would I pass up a second chance on a nice place to visit?

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Most of the time I don't bother going back. If it's in a nice spot I already saw what the CO brought me there to see. If it's not in a nice spot I have no interest in returning.

 

If I was alone when I DNFed it and I want my wife or a friend to see the location, that's probably the only time I will go back and hunt again

 

^^THIS. Been there, saw that. That's why the cache was placed, right? (unless the cache has a rare D/T combo:ph34r:, then......)

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Most of the time I don't bother going back. If it's in a nice spot I already saw what the CO brought me there to see. If it's not in a nice spot I have no interest in returning.

 

If I was alone when I DNFed it and I want my wife or a friend to see the location, that's probably the only time I will go back and hunt again

 

^^THIS. Been there, saw that. That's why the cache was placed, right? (unless the cache has a rare D/T combo:ph34r:, then......)

 

I don't get this apparent absence of curiousity and willingness to take on the challenge. If the entire point is the location, perhaps you should just be Waymarking instead. To me, that's only half of what geocaching is about...the other half being the hunt for a well-hidden container. To me, not bothering to try again would be the Waymarking equivalent of the famous "Griswolds visit the Grand Canyon" scene from Vacation.

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I don't get this apparent absence of curiousity and willingness to take on the challenge. If the entire point is the location, perhaps you should just be Waymarking instead. To me, that's only half of what geocaching is about...the other half being the hunt for a well-hidden container. To me, not bothering to try again would be the Waymarking equivalent of the famous "Griswolds visit the Grand Canyon" scene from Vacation.

 

For some, it is because they cache so often all over the place that they have no need, or even ability, to come back to a DNF in the future.

 

For me, if it is within my hometown and somewhere that I go by, I will keep coming back until I find it, if I have a belief that it is there.

 

I enjoy caches that take me interesting places but I don't geocache for that reason. To me, that is called hiking.

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Completely depends on the cache. Some I want to go back and find, others I feel compelled to, others I could not possibly care less about....and for a number of reasons.

^^

This.

 

And if I DNF cache #14 out of 20 in a series, and it's in the middle of the countryside, I'm not likely to go back.

 

On the other hand, I've been back to some places four or five times and then found it in the end.

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If it's in my normal caching territory I'll go back eventually and look again, but won't be OCD about it. Too many other new ones to look for. If it's out of town where I tend to do 50% of my caching these days I won't think about it again until the next time I am back in that area. If it's been found since my DNF, I'll probably stop for another look.

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If it's local, it depends on where it is. There are too many caches these days and too many demands on my schedule. If I DNF something, I might be back next year or whenever I notice it on the map again. One time, a cache owner maintained a cache that was missing and emailed me to let me know. This reminded me about the cache and, later, I went back and found it.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, is the cache ...Merrily, Merrily, Merrily..., placed in 2007. I tried to FTF it as a kayaked down the river, but the coordinates were more than 200 feet off. I returned a year and a half later and waded across the river to the spot someone told me to look for the cache. It wasn't there. Two and a half years later, some "younger" (find/experience-wise) cachers replaced the cache and gave some encouragement to me in the log. Nine months later, I remembered the log and was in the area. I noticed the cachers didn't mention wading across the river in their log, so I decided to keep on the easy side (I had the waders in the car just in case) and look there for the cache. This time, I found it. To add a little closure, I recalled my history with that cache and posted pictures.

 

This is one of the reasons I don't like returning to DNFs: there's a chance I might DNF it again (or the cache might turn up missing again). I have enough email as it is, so I don't put DNFs on my watchlist.

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Just last night, after work, went home grabbed dog and went back to a DNF. Well it is a DNF again. CO last checked in a year ago, 3 hides, 2 active, one archived 9 finds in total, I went back , and I will go back again just so I will feel right asking the reviewer to archive. I think there is more to just going back to eliminate a DNF , here we have a bag load of inactive owners, caches that have overstayed their welcome and not much happening. I am also not shy about putting up a DNF.

But the other night I got a note on my cache which said , cache not found in 6 month wonder if it still there?

so I deleted the note. A new note comes in and it says could not find access with a needs maintenance log. I delete the note and grab dog and out we go 45 minutes later I am at cache and all is good. I write to the person and ask them why they put up a needs maintenance log on a cache they never touched, and get smart response, but I am convinced that they either had a DNF and did not want to post it, or they wanted me to verify before they went to find it.

Later correspondence showed they hadn't even gone they just wanted me to so they put up a needs maintenance note. So now they will go look for it that they know I put my hands on it.

Thankfully I don't mind walking the dog, but putting up a needs maint so you can have you cache hunting per screened seems a bit much. And then to get abusive response when I asked why they needs maint on a cache they never looked for was a little much. Seemed like a change from when we actually went out and looked and hiked. So a tring of returning cachers with DNFs can serve another purpose other than just scratching the OCD itch.

Edited by Packanack
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I've posted lots of DNFs for caches I didn't find while on vacation. I'm unlikely to ever find most of those.

 

I've also DNFed closer caches that I certainly won't go out of my way to visit again. For example, I could discover a cache is a pointless needle-in-a-haystack type. I might give it a few minutes of searching then move on without any intention of ever returning.

 

100' of wrought iron fence, set back 20' from the street. GPS is pointing to the center of the street but the hint says "fence". I might give it a minute, but I usually just walk away and I have no desire to return. In these cases, it seems like the CO wants DNFs as opposed to finds so I don't give them the satisfaction of posting one.

 

On the other hand, I spent over six years trying to find a hanging film can in an orange grove. It was a pleasant place to spend some extra time.

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Most of the time I don't bother going back. If it's in a nice spot I already saw what the CO brought me there to see. If it's not in a nice spot I have no interest in returning.

 

If I was alone when I DNFed it and I want my wife or a friend to see the location, that's probably the only time I will go back and hunt again

 

^^THIS. Been there, saw that. That's why the cache was placed, right? (unless the cache has a rare D/T combo:ph34r:, then......)

 

I don't get this apparent absence of curiousity and willingness to take on the challenge. If the entire point is the location, perhaps you should just be Waymarking instead. To me, that's only half of what geocaching is about...the other half being the hunt for a well-hidden container. To me, not bothering to try again would be the Waymarking equivalent of the famous "Griswolds visit the Grand Canyon" scene from Vacation.

 

I cache for the challenge of reaching the cache location and/or to see a cool or interesting location. The actual finding of the cache, though enjoyable, is a distant secondary reason to me. I would waymark more if that site had pocket queries. However I prefer geocaching and hunting real caches because I enjoy ah hah! moment of finding the cache and the ritual of signing of the logbook, but not enough to make a special trip back when I've already accomplished 90 percent of what I was out there for. There are too many other places out there to discover.

Edited by briansnat
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I do try to get back out to caches I've attempted before and "turn that frown upside down." Unfortunately, I usually approach caches the same exact way, so unless the cache was actually missing the first time, it seems more common to walk away with a second DNF than to find it on the second (or third) attempt. My success rate definitely goes up when I take the other half of hzoi with me as a second pair of eyes.

 

But my world doesn't come to a halt because of a DNF, and I'm glad it doesn't, because I cache on travels too much to be too obsessive about it. Although I would not complain if I had the opportunity, I don't think I'm going to be in a position to reattempt my DNFs in, say, Scotland or Slovakia any time soon.

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I have a bookmark list specifically for any cache I've DNF'd. I set it to email me when there's a log. I like watching the smileys pop up on the list, as I get better at the game. :anicute: And for that reason I never remove ones from there once they're found, just add a note saying I found it and when. And yes, I've gone back 3,4, even 5 times to find a cache. There's one near home that's a nano, although it should not have been hard. It took me (and two caching friends to boot) 4 months before I could find it. It felt like a better victory then a 5/5, let me tell ya.

Edited by Annawashere
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so far only one couldn't find (and as I explained to the kids I thought it was because there had obviously just been maintenence work on what I was sure was GZ (and clue was magnetic - they'd painted the metal gate - the wet paint sign was still there) so told the kids it had probably been moved(or destroyed) during the painting, plan was I'd put DNF and note to the owners.

 

Did two others before getting home and on line - to a note from the owner saying it had just been replaced that morning (after we'd looked) as someone had dropped it in to them the night before - covered in paint!

 

Kids were adamant that we not record a DNF as we will go back and find it now it's back

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I guess the challenge in many cases gets the best of me. I guess I do have a DNF OCD on some. Puzzle caches (after making the effort to solve the cache puzzle) I can't let it go unfound. I have gone back to one a couple of times before finding it. Others just are some that beg to be found and I can't let them go. Ha! You know, the ones you know have to be there, but just see you coming and duck out of sight. Ha! Others just don't need a second look, unless I am in the area and have time to look. Saying all of this, I do periodically go back and check out my DNF's and sometimes go back to get the frown turned upside down. :mad::rolleyes::lol:

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I don't have a lot of patience for insanely difficult micros that could be hidden anywhere. If I'm passing by an area where one is hidden I might go look but I won't waste a long time searching. If I DNF those I usually just forget about them unless I happen to be nearby some other time. Usually there are enough other interesting caches that there is no point wasting time and being frustrated. This is supposed to be fun.

 

If I DNF a cache that has recently been found (so I'm fairly sure it is still there) and is not rated too difficult, and it is somewhere that I might be near again, I will probably go back and try again. I might watch it and see if anyone else finds it to be sure it is still there.

 

There is one cache I've tried to find a couple of times and DNF. Some people log it as a relatively easy find, some say 'ingenious hide' but most seem to find it. It is about 30 miles away but I pass by the location once in a while. Im not obsessing about it but I'll probably look until I find it.

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so far only one couldn't find (and as I explained to the kids I thought it was because there had obviously just been maintenence work on what I was sure was GZ (and clue was magnetic - they'd painted the metal gate - the wet paint sign was still there) so told the kids it had probably been moved(or destroyed) during the painting, plan was I'd put DNF and note to the owners.

 

Did two others before getting home and on line - to a note from the owner saying it had just been replaced that morning (after we'd looked) as someone had dropped it in to them the night before - covered in paint!

 

Kids were adamant that we not record a DNF as we will go back and find it now it's back

 

There is nothing wrong with posting a DNF if you didn't find it. After you go back and find it, proudly post a find. I have posted 448 DNFs on 433 caches. I later found 172 of those caches. 2 of them were FTFs

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Does anyone else have a little but of OCD when it comes to DNFing a cache? Once I DNF a cache I feel like I now MUST find it eventually. Should I just get over this? :)

 

Depends on the cache and the location.

 

I think my most stubborn found-it-eventually was a cache 3500 miles away from home that I found on something like my 8th attempt and my 3rd trip to the area, my find coming nearly four years after my first DNF. The reason I kept going back was because it was a place where I could combine hunting the cache with watching migrating raptors and the views were amazing. When I finally logged my find I soon got a note from a guy who lived within about 5 miles of it saying how encouraged he had been by my logs, as his children were thinking they'd never find it and he could point to my logs to show them that if I could find it despite living so far away they could find it given they could walk up the mountain any time they wanted.

 

Some caches I DNF and promptly put on my ignore list.

 

If it's a place I'd want to go back to I'll go back; if it's the kind of hide like a film pot in a pile of junk behind an urban junction box I see no need to go back.

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Like a few others, if I am hunting in a location I enjoy, and I DNF, and I happen to find myself back at that same spot again, I might hunt for the cache again. Mostly, it depends on my perceptions of the cache. If I think it's a crappy cache, I'll just enjoy the area. If I think it might be a good cache, I'll likely look again. As a general rule, I will not return to a cache just to clear a DNF.

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Like a few others, if I am hunting in a location I enjoy, and I DNF, and I happen to find myself back at that same spot again, I might hunt for the cache again. Mostly, it depends on my perceptions of the cache. If I think it's a crappy cache, I'll just enjoy the area. If I think it might be a good cache, I'll likely look again. As a general rule, I will not return to a cache just to clear a DNF.

 

If I return to an area to revisit a DNF chances are it's an area I'll revisit once the cache is found.

 

One of the enduring benefits of geocaching, for me, is finding new places I can revisit later regardless of what happens regarding a sandwich box.

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It depends whether it intrigues me or it irritates me. Four tries to find the nano glued to the bottom of a piece of ballast rock under a lamp post. Because it intrigued us! Ignore list for the one with the terrible coords where cachers got questioned by neighbors and police.

My DNFs in North Carolina will always remain DNFs. I doubt I'll ever make it back there. So, yes, I can be OCD. But not for the one 20 milea away. Gave it a try. Ain't going back. Not my usual area.

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Does anyone else have a little but of OCD when it comes to DNFing a cache? Once I DNF a cache I feel like I now MUST find it eventually. Should I just get over this? :)

Can't really say what you should do - I guess it's your call! :)

 

When driving, it's like caches are my landmarks! ("Oh, over there's one I found." "Great one in that guardrail!" etc.) Naturally, whenever I'm near a DNF, I may think of it. There's no strong urge to search again, but there's some. And I've gone back and found some DNF's, as well as re-searched for some and NOT found 'em. So there's motivation to find one if I'm close to it while out driving and it's convenient that day, mostly because I want to see what type of hide it is and how I missed it. But I won't go out of my way to seek a DNF unless it's exceptional (many favorites, etc.).

Edited by wmpastor
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