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How long looking for unfound cache before leave


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You are looking for a cache and can't find it! You look and look and cannot find it. It really is awful, and you have to go home, on the other hand, it is fun!! and you don't want to leave yet.. just one more look over there.. anyway..

 

How long looking for the unfound, before you leave?

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Hmmm, looks like the polls aren't working for me this morning.

 

But I have to go with the "depends" point of view. If we worked hard to get there and the hike was more than a 1/2 mile, we'll search indefinitely. It also depends on the cache owner's tone on the cache page as well. We love a good challenge. So when the cache owner challenges us by saying something like "if you can find it" or "a mean spirited multi-cache, are you up for it?".........well, it's on!

icon_biggrin.gif

 

worried.gif Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.

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quote:
Originally posted by Geo-Johnson's:

We love a good challenge. So when the cache owner challenges us by saying something like "if you can find it" or "a mean spirited multi-cache, are you up for it?".........well, it's on!


 

We did a few of those, and the caches were invariably nothing out of the ordinary. So now we avoid caches when the cache description has "an attitude." If the cache were any good, the bluster wouldn't be necessary.

 

I noticed from checking profiles that the guys writing these wiseguy cache descriptions usually have few finds, all of low difficulty.

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quote:
Originally posted by GeoPrincess:

 

We did a few of those, and the caches were invariably nothing out of the ordinary. So now we avoid caches when the cache description has "an attitude." If the cache were any good, the bluster wouldn't be necessary.

 

I noticed from checking profiles that the guys writing these wiseguy cache descriptions usually have few finds, all of low difficulty.


 

For you of, all people, to avoid caches where the hider has an attitude is just to funny. Sorry no offense intended but .... hahahaha. We are supposed to agree with you that wise guys have few finds when you "report" none. Thanks for the morning guffaw. icon_biggrin.gif

 

Yes I have finds, yes I have hides and yes I'm a charter member. My wife will not let me use our account on the forums...don't know why.

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It all depends on how much time I have. I've looked for an hour and a half before giving up and and I've looked for 10 minutes before giving up. Generally, I won't go past an hour though.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" - Abraham Lincoln

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on January 04, 2003 at 08:07 AM.]

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I can't see me hanging on more than an hour if I can't get a cache located, ... this is after I have arrived at the GP and am looking under logs, etc.

 

By then I'm getting concerned that I or the owner may have blown the location, or the cache is plundered.

 

Now, realize my current experinece is only 20, but I know my weakness, I'm going to keep going to the next cache.

 

** The worst suggestion of a life time may be the catalyst to the best idea of the century, don't fail to listen to suggestions.

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The feeling you get when you continually start to walk away from a cache site, turn around and go back, walk away, go back...

 

It is hard to leave! I've left once fairly quickly (10 minutes) at a faily open site at a park. A dad and his kids were staring at me so I got out of there. Another time, I spent 1 1/2 hours looking for a 35mm film cannister on a multi, only to find out later that neighboorhood cats continually move the thing around... icon_mad.gif

 

Still love the game!!!

 

Someone out there... Cache a million bucks please. I've got three weddings to pay for sometime soon...

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It depends on where the cache is located and other factors that are involved.There are some caches in my area where security is involved on or near property.Ive searched a cache for about 45 min near a casino property before I was asked by security what the heck I was doing.The really sad thing was it was a 1-1 cache and the clue said for a 1-1 cache clues arent necessary.The cordinates took me to a place where there was about 5 acres of river stones with a few small bushes and small evergreen trees.Stupid me looks under every frickin stone and doesnt stop to think to look in the trees 20 feet away.I did find it later though but now i know that the gps definitly is NOT pinpoint accurate.

 

You dont have to be afraid of the creatures you hear in the woods.Its the ones that are silently stalking you that you should be concerened about.

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But that's not the worst part. It was my husband's cache. I had the worst time finding it. It was a multi. My son came with me during the first 3 stages but, as soon as we realized that we forgot to write down the clues at the first stage, and had to go back, he jumped ship. We happened to pass another cacher with his kids, and my son went with him. (My husband was with that group too.) Any way, Neither one "offered" to give me those coords!!! How shocking!!! So I went back. It took me An HOUR to find that final cache!!!

 

There was no way I was gonna quit!

 

I know, I know, I usually won't search for my family members' caches (even though I don't know where they are) But this one really intrigued me!

BTW- Is that bad form, finding a family member's cache? My daughter has one that I want to do, but I still feel funny about finding my husband's.

 

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quote:
Originally posted by Freelens:

 

For you of, all people, to avoid caches where the hider has an attitude is just to funny. Sorry no offense intended but .... hahahaha. We are supposed to agree with you that wise guys have few finds when you "report" none. Thanks for the morning guffaw.


 

Glad you had a laugh. We decide not to look for caches by certain usernames after having been disappointed doing other caches they had placed.

 

If you had done any of the caches we placed under our team name and they had fallen short of your expectations, you would be wise to avoid our (team name's) other caches.

 

Since we're sharing things that amuse us, I think it's funny that most the the forum posters with big personalities or attitudes write very placid, user friendly, "vanilla" cache pages.

 

Incidentally, how does one conjugate "to funny?" icon_wink.gif

 

[This message was edited by GeoPrincess on January 04, 2003 at 07:29 PM.]

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As most everyone has said, it depends. I've gone back several times and spend several hours looking for one that I knew was there and was intended to be a very big challenge. Others, most recently today, I've given up after ten minutes or so because it was in a location that was too urban and had a high probability of being MIA. Oh, and the hint sucked!

 

After having a few hundred finds under my belt, I find that the preparation and the journey often are more pleasurable than the find.

 

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

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It depends on the cache and my schedule. A 1/1 ammo box in a place with a well-worn social trail leading to an empty hollow tree with no other potential hiding places nearby get about 1 minute and a half; I once spent about eight hours spread out over six visits looking for a 35mm film canister at the first stage of a multi-cache.

 

I usually won't spend more than an hour or so before I go home, log a "not found," and either email the owner or sit back and see if someone else finds it.

 

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I agree with those who said it depends on the difficulty rating of the cache.

 

I found this thread interesting; based on the amount of time most cachers say they allow for a find, it seems to me that most cachers ignore the cache difficulty ratings, or they only do easy caches. (Alternatively, it could be that most caches are easy to find regardless of rating, or that most cachers are really good.) icon_wink.gif

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Most of our caching this year involved multiple cache hunts so we usually don't plan to get caught up in long searches. The problem is, that once we are at the cache location it's hard to abandon the search without finding the cache. Some days we have bagged the idea of finding more caches in lieu of continuing the hunt that we are on.

 

Our group usally consists of five people and someone usally finds the cache within 5 minutes, but there are still thoses caches that take us an hour or so.

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I just hate to give up. I’ve hunted for better than two hours before giving up on this cache. It’s about a quarter mile hike to the cache area and after giving up, went back to the parking area, reread the cache page looking for hidden clues, thought I found one then went back in and hunted for another half hour. Well, to make a short story long I checked the cache on the web site that night and found it’s gone missing.

 

That’s what happens if you print all the web pages way ahead and don’t check them on the website before going out. Now I use a pda and pocket queries and stay up to the minuet.

 

BTW. I emailed the cache owner with no response then contacted Groundspeak and Jeremy archived it. He told me I could have checked ‘Cache should be archived’ when I logged it and next time I will. Lets just hope there isn’t a next time because I’d rather be shot in both kneecaps at sunup on a full moon before giving up on a cache hunt

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I will look until all possible hiding spots have been checked. That doesn't mean I'll find it, but it does mean that the more locations there are the longer the search will be.

 

As for cache attitude. I'm about to archive a difficult one due to people tearing up the area. Turns out they destroyed about everything in their search except the cache spot. They didn't even log their skunk. (I had decided to email clues directly to people that logged a skunk)

 

Wherever you go there you are.

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I find myself going back. I walk a little ways away and think, just one more quick look, which usually isn't quick. But I usually cache alone. I have not had problems when I have companions on the hunt. More eyes and more thinking caps helps. But then If I was solo, I go back for another look on a different day. There is one that I have not gone back to the third time but I will sooner or later. I can't help it.

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We are kind of different than the average Cacher. I am retired and my wife is soon to be. We do it for the exercise and to get out. Having just started we choose the easier ones, but are now trying more difficult finds. If it is a nice day and getting to the find was hard we spend 30 mins or so, depends on our backs and how we feel. Longest we spent was an hour. Getting out in the woods or parks is a lot better than walking for 2-3 miles up and down the same road. We are thinking of placing one in the spring......What do you think makes a cache worth doing ?

 

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It depends on how long the wife and kids last at the cache site without finding it, about 30 minutes. Even if we don't find the cache we try to make sure it's still a nice hike in the woods for the kids. They start for the car and then I search for as long as I can while still arriving back at the car at the same time they do. It usually requires jogging since I always stay longer than I should. icon_wink.gif

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I didn't vote.

Depends on:

who is with me, and their patience level/weather/temperature/terrain/time of day/length of hike in and out/preparedness/food and water supply/battery power/cache rating/hints/did I forget the cache page?/property owner and surrounding properties/stealth factor. You get the picture?

Tough question

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

"To err is human, to forgive....$5.00"

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Here in Kentucky as well as Michigan where my folks live, weather is a big influence on how long we look. If it's 10 degrees out and the winds blowing, probably 20-30 minutes is tops. If it's Spring or Summer and the weather is nice, I might spend closer to an hour depending on the rating, and I'm not afraid to come back at a different time for a fresh perspective. icon_wink.gif

 

-Mixster

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We spent a total of 8 or 9 hours looking for this cache. This was spread out over three days. We normally wouldn't have spent as much time, but this was relatively close to home, and was bugging us on our 'nearest caches' page. icon_wink.gif

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

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I've only given up on 3 caches... (and mostly b/c of hubby). Because of circumstances, I've given up on them in under 20 mins.

 

1 was supposed to be an easy find, in Frankenmuth. We were on our way up north on vacation, and had alot of driving to do that day, not to mention setting up camp. We gave up after 15 mins, even with the clue we couldn't find it. From the slew of 'no finds' clumped around the date we looked for it, I wondered if someone took it and later replaced it. Might try it next time we're up there.

 

The other was almost a mile hike (1 way) in hot weather. Searched for over 20 mins. There was a ball game on TV that my husband didn't want to miss, so we decided to return another time. I've since returned and found it.

 

The 3rd was UMC's 2nd cache, I gave up on it a bit early after finding his lures on the ground (thought it was plundered). Hadn't read the log saying that the cache was ok, but the lures were missing. Will probably return sometime in the next few months to look for again.

 

I walk the Maze of Moments, but everywhere I turn to, begins a new beginning, but never finds a finish... -Enya, Anywhere Is

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