Time to DNF?

[+Ibar]

Hey,

 

Yesterday I had a bad geocaching day, 0 F & 2 DNF. On the way back to the hotel I was thinking about which would be the average time to DNF, I mean how long would you spend trying to find a cache before giving up? And I'm talking about caches, let's say, D<=3,5 and T<=4

 

Personally I think (let's see what your feedback is like) I'm a "quick quitter". I hardly ever spend more than 10-15 min looking for a cache and I believe my absolute record is 30-35 min, but there are a few reasons:

 

- I'm a "georunner", I run almost daily and try to get some caches along the way. Of course the idea is a quick find and keep moving, rather than freeze with my sweaty running clothes on trying to find that *@"!! canister. I may have found over half of my caches while running

 

- I travel very often, so if you are, let's say, 3 days somewhere in Russia, you focus on the easy wins, because you may never get back there again, and if a theoretically easy one takes longer than expected ... I just move on to the next theoretically easy one, rather than spending one hour on the first one.

 

- And when it's not one of the earlier cases, I've learnt that if I don't find a cache in 10-15 min, the chances for me to find it in the next 30 min are considerably lower than the chances to call it a day, and get back tomorrow. A night of sleep can really open my eyes on a second visit.

 

Anyway, I'm talking too much about myself, and I'm really curious to know whether I'm a "quick quitter" or maybe I'm an "average quitter", so what's your "Time to DNF"??

(Remember D<=3,5, and yes I know that D=3 is theoretically supposed to "take up a good portion of an afternoon." .. but still)

 

Thanks in advance

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

If we look for it and don't find it, it is a DNF. Time spent on-scene is immaterial.

 

Pretty simple as there is no qualification required!

[+JesandTodd]

Depends on location and my personal timing. If it's the only cache I care to look for, and it's a d3.5 or greater, and out of sight from muggles, then I'll spend as much time as I can. After a while, if my search tactics aren't changing, then I'll leave. For me? I've spent hours at one cache location.

 

Hours

 

But if it's a really high muggle area? I might log my DNF in <2mins

[+J Grouchy]

If we look for it and don't find it, it is a DNF. Time spent on-scene is immaterial.

 

Pretty simple as there is no qualification required!

 

You didn't really answer. How long do you actually look for it before deciding to stop? I think it's a reasonable question to ask.

 

Myself, I'm pretty much like the OP...rarely spend more than 10 to 15 minutes looking. Often it's dependent on the weather - it's just no fun spending 30 minutes out in 90+ F heat with 90% humidity...and mosquitoes can really make it even more miserable. Once Autumn really kicks in, I may be more inclined to spend time looking.

[+narcissa]

It really depends on the cache and the circumstances.

 

If it's a 1/1 and it's not in the immediately obvious spots, I might not be inclined to conduct a thorough grid search - I'll log it as DNF and maybe put a watch on it if it's one I'm likely to go back to.

 

If it's a high difficulty cache that many people have had trouble finding, I might look for half an hour or longer.

[+Isonzo Karst]

I'll quit the instant I hit "not having fun". Time doesn't seem to be related to the cache as much as on my mood. I'd say generally I'm more inclined to move on than to spend much time going over any ground I've already gone over.

 

I logged this DNF recently, "I'm an increasingly lazy hunter, if I can't find a cache in a very few minutes, I lose interest and wander off. Shiny leaves, sparkly water, fancy spider webs. It doesn't take much to distract me."

[Andronicus]

I vote for veriable. A typical cache, maybe 5 min. There are, however, some that I have looked for 40 min. multiple times. These I usualy never do find. To difficult for me.

 

Personaly, the search is not the fun part of geocaching. I like the trip, the view, or the new place I have never been more than the actual searching part. I think that that is the most significant contributing factor for my short hunt time.

[+BlackRose67]

It depends, but usually no more than 15 minutes, unless it has a D/T combo that's a grid filler, then I'll spend more time on it.

[+NanCycle]

As long as I feel like it. When I don't feel like looking anymore, it's a DNF. Usually that's about 15-20 minutes tops, but it can vary depending on who I'm with, what the weather's like, if I'm likely to ever get back to the location for another try, etc.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I'll quit the instant I hit "not having fun". Time doesn't seem to be related to the cache as much as on my mood. I'd say generally I'm more inclined to move on than to spend much time going over any ground I've already gone over.

 

I agree with Isonzo Karst. I quit when I stop having fun. Lots of muggles around? Maybe five minutes. Spent a half hour Sunday (well, it would have been an FTF. Got nine DNFs now...) Might have spent forty-five minutes on occasion, but that's rare. If it's a nasty cache (glued to one of two-hundred rocks?), then probably not even a minute.

[+dprovan]

As you mention, there are lots of variables, but when there aren't any other constraints, my limit is about a half hour before I decide there's no way I'm going to find it.

 

Some of the things that can reduce that time are not having any fun, as others have mentioned, and running out of ideas (which can also be seen as "there are only so many possibilities and I've checked them all"). On the other hand, if there's some reason I really, really want that one, a few times I've searched for nearly an hour, and sometimes with success!

 

- I'm a "georunner", I run almost daily and try to get some caches along the way. Of course the idea is a quick find and keep moving, rather than freeze with my sweaty running clothes on trying to find that *@"!! canister. I may have found over half of my caches while running

Look with more energy. I can work up quite a sweat jumping around GZ checking all the possibilities, and I'm lazy. Treat it as part of your workout, not as some kind of cerebral break from your workout.

[+wmpastor]

If we look for it and don't find it, it is a DNF. Time spent on-scene is immaterial.

 

Pretty simple as there is no qualification required!

This is the purists view & I don't disagree.

 

However, if it's a nearby cache that is easy to get to, I may do "preliminary scouting" one or more times before actually searching. That could be as little as a slow driveby. It could be limited by schedule, the wrong clothes, etc. These are not searches for me - I only view GZ from a distance.

[+wmpastor]

As you mention, there are lots of variables, but when there aren't any other constraints, my limit is about a half hour before I decide there's no way I'm going to find it.

 

Some of the things that can reduce that time are not having any fun, as others have mentioned, and running out of ideas (which can also be seen as "there are only so many possibilities and I've checked them all"). On the other hand, if there's some reason I really, really want that one, a few times I've searched for nearly an hour, and sometimes with success!

 

- I'm a "georunner", I run almost daily and try to get some caches along the way. Of course the idea is a quick find and keep moving, rather than freeze with my sweaty running clothes on trying to find that *@"!! canister. I may have found over half of my caches while running

Look with more energy. I can work up quite a sweat jumping around GZ checking all the possibilities, and I'm lazy. Treat it as part of your workout, not as some kind of cerebral break from your workout.

 

Yes - terrain in the 3.0 - 4.0 range will do that.

[+mrreet]

I quit when I have thoroughly searched every possible location (in both my and Wifey's mind) unless we do not feel comfortable with the situation. Time really has nothing to do with when we quit nor do we time it. That being said, for a high D an hour isn't out of the question. We had a D5 that we spent ~1.5 hours (over 3 trips) before we called the CO. As for a high T? That should not be relevant to search time after you reach GZ.

Edited July 29, 2014 by mrreet

[+dprovan]

I quit when I have thoroughly searched every possible location (in both my and Wifey's mind)...

Quitting "when I have thoroughly searched every possible location" would seem logical, but I almost always check "every possible location" multiple times, and frequently find the cache the 2nd or 3rd time I look. And I always swear I searched "thoroughly" the first 2 times. So it almost always comes down to having spent enough time there that I feel I want to move on.

[+Pontiac_CZ]

Depends on the terrain at ground zero. I search all possible hides and eventually give up in case of no success. Or when I don't have enough time and have to move on.

 

Sometimes it's even 0 min search. That happens when for instance I approach a bench where the cache is apparently hidden but that bench is occupied by a couple. So what now? They might be there for another hour looking into each other's eyes. So I leave the place and log DNF with precise information about what happened. It's also valuable information for owner that his cache is at times unreacheable and he might even decide to move it to a more quiet place.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Pontiac_CZ

[+CardsFlyinHigh]

If I think theres a good chance cache is missing, I'll give up a bit quicker. If its a relatively lower D&T, and maybe the last log or two was a DNF, i probably wouldn't spend more than 5 minutes. Higher D&T I'll spend quite a bit of time on. Half hour at least. Enough time to make sure I check every possible spot. But other factors do sometimes come into play. Weather, darkness, etc...

[+niraD]

I stop searching (and log a DNF) when it stops being fun. Sometimes that's about 5 minutes. Sometimes that's about an hour.

[+Sealand Rovers]

If I start thinking "I can't find it" I usually log a DNF

[+TerraViators]

Like others have said, it depends on the geocache. I usually won't spend more than a few minutes unless I feel the reward will be worth it.

[+redsox_mark]

I never time myself or make a note of the time taken. I'm in the "look until I don't feel like looking any longer" camp. But I would guess the amount of time searching at GZ on a typical cache is usually 15 minutes or less. For a cache which is known to be more difficult, or a cache which I have already put a lot of time into (e.g a long multi-stage cache) I'll spend longer.

[+Mudfrog]

Hey,

 

Yesterday I had a bad geocaching day, 0 F & 2 DNF. On the way back to the hotel I was thinking about which would be the average time to DNF, I mean how long would you spend trying to find a cache before giving up? And I'm talking about caches, let's say, D<=3,5 and T<=4

 

Personally I think (let's see what your feedback is like) I'm a "quick quitter". I hardly ever spend more than 10-15 min looking for a cache and I believe my absolute record is 30-35 min, but there are a few reasons:

 

- I'm a "georunner", I run almost daily and try to get some caches along the way. Of course the idea is a quick find and keep moving, rather than freeze with my sweaty running clothes on trying to find that *@"!! canister. I may have found over half of my caches while running

 

- I travel very often, so if you are, let's say, 3 days somewhere in Russia, you focus on the easy wins, because you may never get back there again, and if a theoretically easy one takes longer than expected ... I just move on to the next theoretically easy one, rather than spending one hour on the first one.

 

- And when it's not one of the earlier cases, I've learnt that if I don't find a cache in 10-15 min, the chances for me to find it in the next 30 min are considerably lower than the chances to call it a day, and get back tomorrow. A night of sleep can really open my eyes on a second visit.

 

Anyway, I'm talking too much about myself, and I'm really curious to know whether I'm a "quick quitter" or maybe I'm an "average quitter", so what's your "Time to DNF"??

(Remember D<=3,5, and yes I know that D=3 is theoretically supposed to "take up a good portion of an afternoon." .. but still)

 

Thanks in advance

 

As others have stated,, it depends on the circumstances. The majority of caches that come out now days are easy to find and hidden pretty much the same. If i do end up going for them, they only get a few minutes of my time. A cache that is supposed to be hidden a bit differently or that is supposed to be challenging gets my attention. Because i enjoy the challenge, i'll spend time, effort, and even money to make the grab. There have been some that took two or more trips and/or hours to find. Those are usually more memorable and are what make geocaching fun for me.

[+BaylorGrad]

I think a lot of folks have said it perfectly already, but I'll add my two cents--I most definitely stop searching when I stop having fun. I have searched for 4.5 hours over the course of 5 trips for a single cache--of course, this was in a sparsely-populated park in the rather beautiful months of October/November in Indiana (GCRR30). See my post from 10/17/2010 and my found log on 11/19/2010.

 

But I have also DNFed after searching for just a few minutes. For instance, just a few nights ago I DNFed a cache due to heavy foliage and the rustle of large critters in the tall grass in the immediate vicinity of the cache. I got spooked, and didn't find the cache, so that was that. The fact that it was 92 degrees outside didn't help.

 

Now, with that said, I make absolutely certain to mention in my DNF log if I haven't given the cache what I feel to be a fair search based on its Difficulty rating. If I search for a D1 cache for 15 minutes, I will probably log a DNF without any caveats. But if I search for a D3 cache for 5 minutes, I will almost definitely say something like, "To be fair, I only searched for 15 minutes, but I just couldn't make the find today. Not saying the cache isn't here, but I had trouble." Or, often, when I'm the first to DNF, I will say, "Here I am with the dubious honor of first-to-DNF! I have little doubt that it's still here, but I sure couldn't find it."

Edited July 31, 2014 by BaylorGrad

[+Ibar]

@All, thanks for your feedback. Now I believe I am an "average quitter"

[team tisri]

Another vote for "when it's not fun any more"

 

If the cache is a nano on a hugely long metal railing with spiky plants growing through the rails the chances are I won't even slow down to look for the cache.

 

The most elusive cache I found (now sadly archived) was on a mountaintop in the US that I finally found on my eighth attempt during three different trips spanning four years. Even having found the cache and it now being archived I still visit the same spot whenever we're in that area because it's just such a nice place to be. Just the kind of place that a geocache can help people to find.

[+2tall1s]

If I can't see it from the truck window, I don't even get out and look, it gets an instant DNF... it's hot down here in Miami...

[+The_Incredibles_]

Generally 20 minutes or until it gets annoying. Sometimes 45 minutes. I really depends on the hide and how much time I have. If the hint says 'stump' and there's only 1 stump around, I'll give up pretty quick. I spent 3 hours searching for a cache once. Coords were off.

[+Walts Hunting]

Micros in bushes 120 seconds then move it to the ignore list.

[+WarriorScholar]

I am all over the board when it comes to time before I call it quits. I would say I average about 20 minutes before I give up, but several factor affect that:

 

~Weather - I hate being cold so I spend much less time during the winter

~If I'm cranky - the moment I start feeling flustered I walk away

~Muggle Presence - More Muggles equal less time

[+GeoLog81]

D1 - 1 minute is enough (otherwise, it's not D1)

 

Places with many muggles even 30 seconds, even look-only (I think it's inappropriate to place a cache in such place without a strong hint). With the exceptions of caches thought to be tricky, described so and having favourites.

 

Generally, I don't count the time, but a few minutes, up to 5, for traditional with T/D not above 2 is more that enough.

 

I'm not sure if I ever spent more than 15-20 minutes looking for a single cache. If I want it such hard, I try to find some info at home or from other cachers. That was with 'Telekom-Dosen', a German standard, which is trivial once you get the idea that you can hide something in the place that I even didn't know what is it meant for

[+eightwednesday]

My usual rule is about 15 minutes, unless I have some information that suggests that it is a very difficult or tricky cache. But also, sometimes it's less when I'm on the side of the road and the cache isn't on the guard rail and there are no other reasonable or safe locations for a cache to be in.

 

For me, I'll log a DNF if I get to the ground-zero coordinates and am able to actually look for the cache. Sometimes I'll get near a cache location and realize that for some reason the conditions today preclude the ability to find the cache and I'll move along before launching a search.

[+DragonsWest]

I keep searching until it dawns on me I'm not finding it, I'm getting seriously po'd, the sun is now at a different angle and I still haven't found it. Depending upon the cache (older ones have an increased coolness factor) I may extend my search, but for recent ones without so much as a hint I usually spend too much.

[+MI_CO]

Like others said, depends on the difficulty of the cache. The higher the difficulty, the longer I will search, and may take a couple trips -- BUT only if the cache piques my interest.

 

If it is a low difficulty cache and I cannot find it, I will check the Geocaching app and see if it has not been found in a while, or if the most recent posts are several DNFs. I will add my own to alert to CO to check on the cache in case it is truly missing and quickly move on. If the cache has been found a lot recently, I will spend about another 10 minutes on it, and then move on.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

At times we've spent an hour or so looking for the cache at GZ......if you count hiking to GZ and driving to parking it could be considerably more.

[+BulldogBlitz]

Hey,

 

Yesterday I had a bad geocaching day, 0 F & 2 DNF. On the way back to the hotel I was thinking about which would be the average time to DNF, I mean how long would you spend trying to find a cache before giving up? And I'm talking about caches, let's say, D<=3,5 and T<=4

 

Personally I think (let's see what your feedback is like) I'm a "quick quitter". I hardly ever spend more than 10-15 min looking for a cache and I believe my absolute record is 30-35 min, but there are a few reasons:

 

- I'm a "georunner", I run almost daily and try to get some caches along the way. Of course the idea is a quick find and keep moving, rather than freeze with my sweaty running clothes on trying to find that *@"!! canister. I may have found over half of my caches while running

 

- I travel very often, so if you are, let's say, 3 days somewhere in Russia, you focus on the easy wins, because you may never get back there again, and if a theoretically easy one takes longer than expected ... I just move on to the next theoretically easy one, rather than spending one hour on the first one.

 

- And when it's not one of the earlier cases, I've learnt that if I don't find a cache in 10-15 min, the chances for me to find it in the next 30 min are considerably lower than the chances to call it a day, and get back tomorrow. A night of sleep can really open my eyes on a second visit.

 

Anyway, I'm talking too much about myself, and I'm really curious to know whether I'm a "quick quitter" or maybe I'm an "average quitter", so what's your "Time to DNF"??

(Remember D<=3,5, and yes I know that D=3 is theoretically supposed to "take up a good portion of an afternoon." .. but still)

 

Thanks in advance

 

14 hours.

 

of course, i also have a rule of not looking for a D1.5 cache more than 5 minutes. this equates to many, many trips to some caches before there is even an online peep out of me.

[+Great Scott!]

7 seconds.

If I search for less than 7 seconds, I log a note.

More than 7 seconds, it's a DNF or another note.

[+cerberus1]

7 seconds.

If I search for less than 7 seconds, I log a note.

More than 7 seconds, it's a DNF or another note.

Stopwatch?

I'm so dyslexic, trying to concentrate while, "one-one thousand, two-one thousand..." to seven just wouldn't work.

[+JPreto]

I have a protocol:

 

1) Approach GZ and look for about 10min.

2) After 10min I look at the logs and pictures.

3) Another 10 minutes of search.

4) If I still can´t find it I look at hint and spoiler

5) Now it all depends on how much I want to find the cache... sometimes I look for 10min, sometimes 1h!