First To Finds

[+DARKSIDEDAN]

First To Finds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's everyone's thoughts on First To Finds? Did you know that First to Finds are not officially recognized by Geocaching HQ? In fact the chasing and Logging of First to Finds is a Sub-Game created by Geocachers themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personally I do not actively chase First to Finds any more. In the first few years when I started Geocaching I chased them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by DARKSIDEDAN

[+lee737]

We chase them when we can.... it's a fun side game. Yes, we have always been aware they aren't officially recognised by GS....

[+Goldenwattle]

I used to try for FTF, but there are now too many people who are so fast you could think they magically transported there. So unless the cache is very close to where I live I don't bother. I still occasionally get a FTF with caches when travelling. My last FTF was in Broome, WA. I was sorting out caches on my laptop to find before venturing out, and noticed a newly published cache. I didn't jump in my car immediately, but just made that my first cache on my list for that morning, and I got FTF. Other logs for that cache followed later in the day. I once got a FTF on a cache in a country area (only realised it was a FTF when I found it), drove down the road, got another FTF. In fact, eight FTFs with a small series. They had been sitting there for a week unlogged, before I came along.

[+Team Canary]

They are still listed on Project-GC.

 

This leads to races to find them, with associated speeding as self-reported by too many cachers.

 

It leads to nasty logs about other people who don't log quickly enough for other people's liking.

 

I take them when I get them. I have no count of my total.

[+barefootjeff]

FTF races on the Central Coast these days happen at a snail's pace. On one cache back in April (GC9QR5W at Somersby), I went out mid-morning the day after publication, uncertain if I'd beat the notorious FTF hounds from northern Sydney, but found an empty logbook. I needn't have hurried, though, for the second finder was six months behind me and there haven't been any others since. My own recent hides haven't fared much better, like GCA3Q55 at Kincumber, published a month ago, which had FTF and 2TF five days apart and no more finders since.

 

I don't keep track of my own FTFs, either manually or through Project GC, but on the rare occasion that a new cache appears locally I'll usually have a go at it if I'm not otherwise occupied. My most recent attempt at a FTF ended in a DNF, with everyone who came after me saying it was an easy find. There have been a few occasions when I've been joint FTF several weeks after publication, where we just both happened to arrive at GZ at the same time.

[+cerberus1]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:23 PM, DARKSIDEDAN said:

What's everyone's thoughts on First To Finds? Did you know that First to Finds are not officially recognized by Geocaching HQ? In fact the chasing and Logging of First to Finds is a Sub-Game created by Geocachers themselves.

Personally I do not actively chase First to Finds any more. In the first few years of Geocaching I did. 

Guessing you meant your first few years... 

 

We were night-shifters when we found out about this hobby.  Back then, we used to have "newest" caches on our profile page.

 - All the fun stuff's gone now...

We liked "newest" and FTFs because it presented the cache as the CO intended, and we went to many after work in the morning.

It turns out a local "FTF hound" started talking about "those new people..." at events. Apparently, we were beating him to FTFs.

This was when there were few cachers as well as caches, so often FTF prizes (money, hiking gear, or lottery tickets) were inside.

He whined to the point that locals started emailing, giggling, asking for us to beat this guy who turned out to be a bit of a braggart.  

For quite a few years the other 2/3rds became a FTF monster, meeting others late at night in PJs for cryin' out loud. I'd get the long walks/hikes.

I finally stopped around eight years later. Just not interested anymore.

Burned out, she stopped a couple years ago, tired of being a beta-tester for newbs. Her last cache was from a no hides/finds newb.

It turned out to be 400 feet off.  She found it and hasn't cached since.  We stopped counting FTFs after 350.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by cerberus1
spllelling

[+DARKSIDEDAN]

7 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Guessing you meant your first few years... 

 

We were night-shifters when we found out about this hobby.  Back then, we used to have "newest" caches on our profile page.

 - All the fun stuff's gone now...

We liked "newest" and FTFs because it presented the cache as the CO intended, and we went to many after work in the morning.

It turns out a local "FTF hound" started talking about "those new people..." at events. Apparently, we were beating him to FTFs.

This was when there were few cachers as well as caches, so often FTF prizes (money, hiking gear, or lottery tickets) were inside.

He whined to the point that locals started emailing, giggling, asking for us to beat this guy who turned out to be a bit of a braggart.  

For quite a few years the other 2/3rds became a FTF monster, meeting others late at night in PJs for cryin' out loud. I'd get the long walks/hikes.

I finally stopped around eight years later. Just not interested anymore.

Burned out, she stopped a couple years ago, tired of being a beta-tester for newbs. Her last cache was from a no hides/finds newb.

It turned out to be 400 feet off.  She found it and hasn't cached since.  We stopped counting FTFs after 350.

 

 

350 is about when I stopped chasing the FTFs for the same reason.

[+cerberus1]

16 hours ago, DARKSIDEDAN said:

350 is about when I stopped chasing the FTFs for the same reason.

 

Odd, I didn't say why we no longer counted FTFs, but I will now. 

Pre project-gc (created in 2014 IIRC...), it was a pain in the can and simply lost interest in keeping count. 

We had a few hundred afterwards that we no longer mentioned in our online Found It logs...

[+vw_k]

I've got a handful of FTFs in my time but I won't go out of my way to get them any more. Perhaps if one appeared locally or if there was an unfound cache in a place I was going to (as happened on a small island I was visiting on holiday once) I might be tempted.

 

I think it's kind of nice that they are an unofficial thing that's accepted amongst the community. After all it's usually our local caching peers that we are in competition with for a FTF. Making it an official part of the game might encourage some people to get too serious about it!

[+Goldenwattle]

6 hours ago, vw_k said:

Perhaps if one appeared locally or if there was an unfound cache in a place I was going to (as happened on a small island I was visiting on holiday once) I might be tempted.

Some years ago I had planned a trip to the Chatham Islands; one and a half hours flying east off New Zealand (three flights (erratic/laid back airline) a week from different places in NZ; it used to be a boat a week that took four days sailing), and a couple of caches were there waiting, after eight  months for a FTF. I thought I would get them , but then another cacher visited two weeks before me. Boo hoo ! I did though, while there, look one morning (hotel* wi-fi, no mobile on the island) and saw an Earth cache was published that day . Rushed out and got the information for that and the FTF. Needn't have hurried though.

 

Sadly, The Chatham Island finds are listed with NZ finds (sigh), not as a new country and there is no souvenir for it. I mean, the easier to get to UK Channel Islands I think have their own.

 

* (Rooms of different standards, from clean but basic, to very nice. The passengers of the Learjet, who had come for a weekend away, were in the best rooms. They had brought their church minister with them. A quiet woman; I bet she was surprised to find herself travelling in a learjet and staying in the best rooms. She looked a bit startled (not what she was used to) I thought when sitting in the dining room.) I was satisfied with a basic room. 

 

Plane waiting to leave Wellington for the Chatham Islands.

 

Inside plane. Goods as well as passengers. Later that day I bought in the tiny shop, bananas which had arrived on the plane with me, under the blue cover. Only a few passengers. The woman sitting on the right is the airhostess. She was also the waitress that night in the hotel, and I found her working behind the council front desk too. A woman of many parts. Reminded me of a comedy movie, where the same person keeps turning up.

 

 

Arriving at the islands. A windswept, chilly place.

 

 

 

Waitangi, the biggest town (by far) and my hotel down by the water and out of the wind.

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Goldenwattle

[+barefootjeff]

27 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

Some years ago I had planned a trip to the Chatham Islands; one and a half hours flying east off New Zealand (three flights (erratic/laid back airline) a week from different places in NZ; it used to be a boat a week that took four days sailing), and a couple of caches were there waiting, after eight  months for a FTF. I thought I would get them , but then another cacher visited two weeks before me. Boo hoo ! I did though, while there, look one morning (hotel* wi-fi, no mobile on the island) and saw an Earth cache was published that day . Rushed out and got the information for that and the FTF. Needn't have hurried though.

 

A nice story which reminds me of my two visits to Lord Howe Island in 2016 and 2017. No FTFs for me, but there were about a dozen very enjoyable caches that don't get many finders. About a year ago, lee737 visited the island and created an EarthCache there (GC9K56P) which went for almost a year before getting its FTF; it's since had two more finds, the most recent a week ago. I hope to make another visit there once the weather is a bit more settled to do both that and the Balls Pyramid EC, as well as revisit some of the other ones I enjoyed like the Goat House (if the track is reopened after the 2021 landslip), Mt Eliza, Transit Hill and Little Island.

[+Gill & Tony]

I would still try for FTFs but now that the only other serious cacher within 50 Km has given it away, I stand no chance against the locals in the two 50 Km away towns.  I do have 39 FTFs, the most recent in Nov 2020.

 

I'm more interested in lonely (unfound for at least 6 months) caches, these days.  I have 107 of those, totalling over 86 years.

Edited February 17, 2023 by Gill & Tony

[+Goldenwattle]

8 minutes ago, Gill & Tony said:

I'm more interested in lonely (unfound for at least 6 months) caches, these days.  I have 107 of those, totalling over 86 years.

I have about 50 years.

[+cerberus1]

9 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:

I'm more interested in lonely (unfound for at least 6 months) caches, these days.  I have 107 of those, totaling over 86 years.

 

Same here, though I don't go for the stat or challenge...   Simply by terrain and distance makes many "lonely" here. FTFs now too...

Every once in a while, I'll get a mail saying after getting one untouched a while, "^$*&, I was heading to that one next week!", and if not too bad I'll try to be polite and say, "there's six more in this area, what timeframe should I wait for you?"  

Most other cachers, quantity is still the thing I guess...

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by cerberus1

[+Harry Dolphin]

16 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:

I would still try for FTFs but now that the only other serious cacher within 50 Km has given it away, I stand no chance against the locals in the two 50 Km away towns.  I do have 39 FTFs, the most recent in Nov 2020.

 

I'm more interested in lonely (unfound for at least 6 months) caches, these days.  I have 107 of those, totalling over 86 years.

 

I've found 163 caches that had not been found in a year.  Including 6 that had not been found in 4 years.

[+Team Canary]

On 2/17/2023 at 7:35 PM, Goldenwattle said:

I have about 50 years.

Me too. 
 

Will hit 400 soon!?!

[+DARKSIDEDAN]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:01 PM, Team Canary said:

Me too. 
 

Will hit 400 soon!?!

That's is crazy 🤪

[+Viajero Perdido]

I love FTFs when they're well-aged.  This will always be one of my favourites.

 

This will always be one of my favourites DNFTFs.  Would've been 5½ years.

 

Edited May 22 by Viajero Perdido

[+Team Canary]

21 hours ago, DARKSIDEDAN said:

That's is crazy 🤪

 

Over 500 now.

 

Western NSW has lots of unloved. 

[+barefootjeff]

1 hour ago, Team Canary said:

 

Over 500 now.

 

Western NSW has lots of unloved. 

 

I've managed 48. All the recent ones have been on Newcastle caches (lee737/Samuel737 hides) usually several days after publication.

[+Goldenwattle]

I have 177 years now.

 

Re FTF: My last one was one I shared with two others. The old boat was GZ.

End of The Journey -Half Moon Island Virtual Cache

GCAJJ1B

[+DARKSIDEDAN]

On 5/23/2024 at 12:54 PM, Goldenwattle said:

I have 177 years now.

 

Re FTF: My last one was one I shared with two others. The old boat was GZ.

End of The Journey -Half Moon Island Virtual Cache

GCAJJ1B

Very nice FTF spot, well done