me vs. a cache

[+crazypig88]

So, there is this one cache that has a highish difficulty and terrain near my house, and I have been there only once, but for 45 minutes and I dnfed it. I will most likely be back. But If I continue to not find it, should I still keep posting dnf even after about 4 times? I just think that it might clutter the cache page and annoy the co.

[+Uncle Alaska]

I have been to a very difficult cache about 5-6 times. I dnf'd the first attempt, then put up a couple of notes since. There is no need for me to put another dnf as I know the co and know the cache is in place. The note just lets them know I am still searching. Still haven't found it yet, but I will...

[+Viajero Perdido]

Tell your story! People will be interested. Laugh with you, cry with you, the whole nine yards.

[+NanCycle]

Do what feels right to you. I generally don't post more than 2 DNFs on the same cache, at least not in the same year.

[Pup Patrol]

So, there is this one cache that has a highish difficulty and terrain near my house, and I have been there only once, but for 45 minutes and I dnfed it. I will most likely be back. But If I continue to not find it, should I still keep posting dnf even after about 4 times? I just think that it might clutter the cache page and annoy the co.

 

If people had posted all their DNF's, we would have known sooner that our cache was gone.

 

When someone finally posted a DNF, we went out to check it. Found out it was gone. We replaced it.

 

When we posted that the cache was in place again, someone posted a "found it" log that said that they had looked for it and not found it previously. Something like 5 times they looked for it.

 

If at least one or two of those searches had been posted as "dnf", we would have been out to check on the cache much, much sooner.

 

 

B.

[+Manville Possum]

I log my DNF and put the cache on my watch list. I may revisit, but I don't log a DNF or post a note everytime.

[+Rainbow Spirit]

I log EVERY DNF for the reasons expressed by others, it alerts the CO to the fact that there may be something wrong with the cache.

[+wmpastor]

Do what feels right to you. I generally don't post more than 2 DNFs on the same cache, at least not in the same year.

Aha! So there's a cache you've DNF year after year (me too!). As the previous post says:

 

Tell your story! People will be interested. Laugh with you, cry with you, the whole nine yards.

I watch the finds of one that gives me trouble. A recent log said "glad i'm tall." Well, well, my search area just narrowed by 75%!

[+colleda]

I log EVERY DNF for the reasons expressed by others, it alerts the CO to the fact that there may be something wrong with the cache.

Ditto

[+Gill & Tony]

If I search and cannot find I log a DNF. Three times so far for one cache.

 

If I don't search I log a note.

[+Bear and Ragged]

... should I still keep posting dnf even after about 4 times? I just think that it might clutter the cache page and annoy the co.

 

If the CO thinks DNFs clutter up the cache page, they shouldn't make high D/T rated caches!

 

Log them!

[+oldsoldier]

I log my DNF and put the cache on my watch list. I may revisit, but I don't log a DNF or post a note everytime.

 

This is what I do too. I will log the DNF. If I suspect it is missing, I will certainly make note of that. But, its important to log an initial DNF, so that the CO at least has an idea. Then, if the CO wants to reach out, to double check (I have had a couple do so), and, if I WAS in the wrong area, they will let me know. I dont generally log more than one DNF, unless others log it as found in between. But, I WILL log a note if I go back there and there has been no activity, or no finds, since my last visit. We had a local one like that, where I couldnt find a stage of the puzzle. I tried for 2 years. NO ONE ELSE logged DNFs for the stage. I learned that lesson the hard way.

[+K13]

Log a DNF for each search. The CO will see the logs and either enjoy your adventures or may take pity on you and offer some extra hints to help ease your frustration. As a CO, I have reached out to cachers who DNF my caches to offer encouragement and assistance.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I seldom log more than one DNF per cache. Keeps evil COs from gloating. And, quite frankly, there is no reason to log more than one.

[+narcissa]

Write your logs for yourself first - in the long run, you're the one who will want to look back at your experiences whether they're finds or DNFs. Getting logs is part of cache ownership, and a cache owner who feels their cache page is being "cluttered" by legitimate DNF logs is beneath your regard.

[4wheelin_fool]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

[+Uncle Alaska]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

 

If so, then why is this cache still active?

Edited January 8, 2015 by Uncle Alaska

[+Mudfrog]

I seldom log more than one DNF per cache. Keeps evil COs from gloating. And, quite frankly, there is no reason to log more than one.

 

There are evil COs out there who hide caches that are almost impossible to find. I do like challenging caches but these types are not what i'm interested in. Anyone can hide a cache that's impossible to find. As far as them gloating, i don't care one bit,,, they can have at it.

 

For me, DNFs are part of my caching history. Whether i find or DNF, every trip i make out to search for a cache is important to me. There have been many times when i've gone back to a cache page to read my notes, find, and DNFs. My geocaching history would not be complete if i didn't log all of my DNFs.

 

Of course i don't mind if someone logs multiple DNFs on any of our caches either. For the most part, multiple logs from one cacher don't end up telling me much, but it does tell me that a cacher is interested in our cache. That's what i was hoping for when i placed the cache in the first place!

[+Ladybug Kids]

I log EVERY DNF for the reasons expressed by others, it alerts the CO to the fact that there may be something wrong with the cache.

Ditto

+1. we log every cache attempt. Our record for DNFs is four, about once per week over the period of a month before we were successful.

 

DNF logs keep a history of the cache and are the first hint to the Cache Owner and the community there may be a problem with the cache. Not logging a DNF for a missing cache assures future cachers will similarly waste their time hunting and the Cache Owner will never know the difference.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Ladybug Kids

[+Ladybug Kids]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

 

If so, then why is this cache still active?

Not found since August 2013 after more than 200 finds and a Cache Owner who has not been online since May 2014? In my opinion, since a Reviewer hasn't sniffed it out yet, it's past time to drop an NA log on it to get the Reviewer's and the Cache Owner's attention. Edited January 9, 2015 by Ladybug Kids

[+lamoracke]

I log every single DNF unless its multiple visits on the same day.

[+niraD]

If I get to GZ and search for the cache, then I log either a DNF or a Find. My record so far is 6 DNFs for a single cache before finally finding it on the 7th attempt.

[+wmpastor]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

 

If so, then why is this cache still active?

Head-scratching inconsistency. That one needs attention. The one cited by 4wf gets found 1.5x per year, and the reviewer demands a response in 2 weeks??! Get outta town!

[+redsox_mark]

In general I would log a DNF each time I looked (but not more than 1 per day). Though I see no issue with the subsequent logs being notes if you prefer that.

 

If there was an extreme case - say a cache near me which I looked for every day for 2 weeks and didn't find - while meanwhile everyone else is finding it... I might take a different approach. Not out of embarrassment but I may feel people are tired of reading why I can't find it. But I've never had such a case yet.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I seldom log more than one DNF per cache. Keeps evil COs from gloating. And, quite frankly, there is no reason to log more than one.

 

There are evil COs out there who hide caches that are almost impossible to find. I do like challenging caches but these types are not what i'm interested in. Anyone can hide a cache that's impossible to find. As far as them gloating, i don't care one bit,,, they can have at it.

 

For me, DNFs are part of my caching history. Whether i find or DNF, every trip i make out to search for a cache is important to me. There have been many times when i've gone back to a cache page to read my notes, find, and DNFs. My geocaching history would not be complete if i didn't log all of my DNFs.

 

Of course i don't mind if someone logs multiple DNFs on any of our caches either. For the most part, multiple logs from one cacher don't end up telling me much, but it does tell me that a cacher is interested in our cache. That's what i was hoping for when i placed the cache in the first place!

 

I'm not going to tell you or anyone else that they should be interested in extremely difficult caches (I have a general aversion about people telling others what they should or should not like) but have you ever looked at the Shelter caches by IndianaMagicMan? When I last looked one of them had well over 200 DNFs and only 4 finds. Reading the logs, I could see that DNFs were posted almost as a badge of honor to be included amongst those that tried to find it and failed. There were lots of organized group searches, events held at the location to try and find it, and at least one video made. It's pretty obvious that the local community has enjoyed the challenges and IMM continues to remain engages, and checks on the cache frequently. People do seem to be interested in the cache even though, and maybe especially because very few people actually find it.

 

 

[+-CJ-]

Answering the initial question: to me it's important whether my DNF adds anything to the history of the cache, any different experience, or not. If I failed to find a cache and returned next day ("I was too tired yesterday, perhaps some fresh idea will appear in my mind today") but no idea came and I gave up - I would not add the second DNF log to the listing. If much time passed, or the owner changed the cache's location, or some friends joined me in my second attempt, I will log DNF for the second time.

[+humboldt flier]

Log a DNF for each search. The CO will see the logs and either enjoy your adventures or may take pity on you and offer some extra hints to help ease your frustration. As a CO, I have reached out to cachers who DNF my caches to offer encouragement and assistance.

 

DITTO

[+humboldt flier]

DNF PRIDE: For the strong and fearless LOL, LOL or in my case a whimper in the darkness hoping for a nod and enlightenment from a sympathetic CO

[+Team Hugs]

I'll log each visit. Usually, though, I'll only log the first visit as a DNF; I'll log succeeding visits as notes.

 

For me, that at least conveys the sense of what's happened (through the text of the log, where I'll note that this is my 14th visit to the same cache), without distorting the overall DNF count. People monitoring the cache listing can gather the information they need.

 

But that's just me; YMMV.

[+colleda]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

I reckon the reviewer has made the right call here considering the CO's past maintenace history and the information in the DNF log.

[4wheelin_fool]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

I reckon the reviewer has made the right call here considering the CO's past maintenace history and the information in the DNF log.

 

Heavy scotch bloom in the area taking over so it may be covered.

 

Don't think so at all.

 

Edited January 11, 2015 by 4wheelin_fool

[+TheDirectionalidiots]

GC4MZ8P this cache must be a record for one person posting DNFs

[+crazypig88]

GC4MZ8P this cache must be a record for one person posting DNFs

That is a very interesting cache page!

[+Ambrosia]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

I reckon the reviewer has made the right call here considering the CO's past maintenace history and the information in the DNF log.

 

Heavy scotch bloom in the area taking over so it may be covered.

 

Don't think so at all.

 

Weird, that picture looks more like mustard than scotch broom.

[+crazypig88]

I don't think logging DNFs is a good idea anymore, due to the willingness to archive a cache over them, such as this one:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY3ZG_johnny-cache

 

Post a note to keep it out of the reviewers PQs.

I reckon the reviewer has made the right call here considering the CO's past maintenace history and the information in the DNF log.

 

Heavy scotch bloom in the area taking over so it may be covered.

 

Don't think so at all.

 

The spring allergists worst nightmare

[+funkymunkyzone]

I post all my DNFs. I appreciate that COs benefit from DNF logs (to a point) but really, selfishly, I write DNFs for me, as a record of my adventures while out caching.