Assuming the cache is missing?

[azog]

This is just out of curiousity. I am not pointing the finger at anyone. As a matter of fact, I have no particular person in mind while asking this.

 

I like to read the latest cache logs. It's fun to see postings from other states, and even other countries (even if I can't read the language).

 

But I notice a very common occurance in the no-find logs, in that the searcher seems to be under the automatic assumption that the cache is gone. For example (from my own mind) "Looked EVERYWHERE, cache must be gone".

 

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"Wan't" and "differen't" are not words.

[+briansnat]

I see a lot of this too. I also page through the latest logs when I'm bored at work. Whenever I see an "archive the cache" notification I always check that out. Sometimes people ask to have it archived for the strangest reasons!

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[+mikemtn]

I would never make that assumption. If we could find them all it wouldn't be much of a game.

 

_______________________________

Mike

 

Never forget, It's just a game.

[+welch]

seems normal that a seeker would assume if they cant find it they think its gone. would you rather think, "i cant find it, its not there", or "i couldnt find, im dumb?"

i would rather think im not dumb

 

[+welch]

seems normal that a seeker would assume if they cant find it they think its gone. would you rather think, "i cant find it, its not there", or "i couldnt find, im dumb?"

i would rather think im not dumb

 

[+Runaround]

I got an e-mail from a cacher explaining that they thought one of my caches was missing. They did not post a "not found". The guy in his e-mail, we'll call him Bob, explained how he took his 6 year old son, 4 year old daughter, and golden retriever out but couln't find the cache. A little research showed Bob only had 2 finds. He also mentions the name of his kids and dog in his posts. This happened on a Sunday.

 

Monday - After work I went to check on the cache. All was well. I e-mailed Bob.

 

Tuesday - Bob e-mailed back late in the evening that something was wrong. He still couldn't find the cache.

 

Wednesday - I stopped at K-Mart and picked up some special prizes for Bob's kids. I gift-wrapped the items for Bob's kids including name tags. I put them in a ziploc bag and labeled everything so another cacher wouldn't take it. I then dropped these items off in the cache and e-mailed Bob.

 

Thursday - Bob was skunked again.

 

Friday - I agreed to meet Bob at the parking lot to help him figure out what he was doing wrong.

 

Saturday - Bob shows up with his wife, kids, and dog. They pull out their GPS, bring up the waypoint, hit GO TO, and head off........... in the wrong direction. Bob had accidentally transposed two numbers while entering the co-ords. I tagged along with Bob and crew and got to enjoy the kid's reaction to finding the special items with their name on them waiting for them in the cache.

 

The Moral of the Story

Just because you can't find a cache doesn't mean it's gone.

 

I only post a missing cache note if several of the previous posters have also gotten skunked. Otherwise, I assume it's me who has the problem. I spent 45 minutes looking for one today that was right under my nose.

 

Now where did I park my car???????

[+MartyFouts]

If I get close enough to the coordinates to search for the cache, I always post a log, whether I find the cache or not.

 

I've just gone back and looked. I've posted 6 "couldn't find logs", 3 of which I was later able to change to finds. Of these, only once did I suggest that the cache might not be there, and that time I asked, rather than declaring it to be missing.

 

Turns out I was wrong (by 3 feet) and the cache was there. Fortunately, the cache hider knew that, gave me some encouragement, and I went back and found it.

 

I think we should log not-founds, but that we should be careful not to jump to the conclusion that it wasn't there, unless we have evidence, like finding the plundered bits of the cache.

 

Even though I've now found all but two of the caches I've looked for, I'm still not willing to claim a cache isn't there just because I couldn't find it.

[+brdad]

I did one the other day where I would have suspected was missing had I read the notes (which I left in the truck) because it mentioned being under some paticular trees. Somehow my son found the cache anyway, 40 feet away. I just placed it back where we found it and posted the offset in my find log and emailed the owner since it seems either the coordinates or the clue was off.

 

Either way, I'd love to think I'm so good it'd have to be missing if I could not find it, but I know that's not where the odds are...

 

There are a lot of judgemental people in the world, and I think all those people are worthless dirtballs.

[+Rusty & Libby]

I think sometimes the more experience you have the more likely you think "well, I can't find it and I'm an expert. It must be gone!"

I know I've done it a couple times myself and it usually just turns out that I didn't look well enough. I think I've finally learned my lesson though and now I just blame it on bad coordinates instead of assuming it's missing

 

Rusty...

 

Rusty & Libby's Geocache Page

[+Rusty & Libby]

I think sometimes the more experience you have the more likely you think "well, I can't find it and I'm an expert. It must be gone!"

I know I've done it a couple times myself and it usually just turns out that I didn't look well enough. I think I've finally learned my lesson though and now I just blame it on bad coordinates instead of assuming it's missing

 

Rusty...

 

Rusty & Libby's Geocache Page

[+jonboy]

There are times when I assume that the cache is missing, and I confess that I have been wrong on more than one occasion when I could not find the cache after an hour of searching.

 

There is a different kind of case though, where I will sometimes make that assesment before I go out and hunt the cache. I see some caches with multiple no finds , on a cache that is rated 1/1, I will check the cachers profile and see the cacher only made a few finds and hides, and those were over a year ago and has had no recent geocaching activity. Based on these factors, I may decide not to waste my time hunting a drive and dump cache that is boring anyway. I will assume that it has either gone missing, or has lousy coordinates, in either case I will not be missing much if I am wrong in my assumption.

[+The Cheeseheads]

quote:

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The Moral of the Story

Just because you can't find a cache doesn't mean it's gone.

---

 

That, and Always bring a printout of the cache page with you so you can double check the coordinates and have the hint available if you get stumped!

 

[+sbell111]

I'm not the most prolific cacher out there, but I have found a few caches. I agree that you should not assume that the box is missing, even if you think you know exactly where and how it was hidden.

 

I have posted many logs that start out, 'I am an idiot, I searched the world over and couldn't find it.' I then return in a day, week, or month and find the little sucker almost immediately.

[+Kite and Hawkeye]

We once searched for ages for a cache noted for its cleverness and difficulty (difficulty 5, terrain 1.5). After searching carefully and reading every last log, we thought we'd figured out the gimmick, and if we were right the cache was indeed gone. There was a no-find immediately before us, but the cacher didn't have a lot of finds so we weren't sure if that was significant.

 

I posted a simple not-found, and emailed the hider privately with my description of what we'd been looking for. He archived the cache immediately, because we'd been right. (This is a cache that would have been fairly obvious once you caught on to the trick.) Disappointing, because we'd really wanted to find it. Even though we were 99% sure the cache was missing, we didn't post a 'should be archived.' I think contacting the owner is the way to go; s/he will know right away if you were looking in the right spot, or for the right thing. Though if the owner hasn't logged in for months, a should-be-archived note might have its place.

[solohiker]

I have recorded three non-finds. One was verified missing. One was when the approach was deemed too risky. One was never verified as missing by the cache owner. I sent the cache owner an email and they said they would check the cache. Never heard anything so I sent another email that went unanswered.

[+cruiser]

Just had one of my caches go MIA. I was going to check on this weekend, but when two people failed to find it, I checked today and it was missing.

One cacher e-mailed me that he could not find it but found the indentation of the ammo box in the dirt and he was sure it was gone. He was correct. I archived the cache.

[+Byron & Anne]

Well not that funny. Here goes;

We went after a cache that required about a mile or so walk. Found the cache after about 20 min. of hard looking. On the way to the next one we ran into a couple heading for the one we just left. After talking to those folks for a bit they informed me that another group had told them not to bother looking the cache was gone. It appears that this "cache gone" idea was being told at about the same time we were rummaging through the cache.

 

Byron

[+Byron & Anne]

oops

[+briansnat]

I had one just the other day. Someone told me my cache was missing. He said he found the empty container without the lid and sent me photos. That was nice of him, because he had to make another trip to the site to take the photos.

 

The photos weren't clear, but did show a plastic container about the size and color of my cache container. There also was a stump in the photo that that could have been the stump that I had hidden my cache in.

 

I checked it out yesterday and found the container and stump shown in the photo and I was releived to find out they weren't part of my cache. I found my cache intact and well hidden about 30 feet away.

 

I was very close to disabling the cache when I received the "not found" message. The only thing that prevented me from doing so was that I noticed the cacher was a new one and this was apparently his first attempt at a find and I knew that this cache gave some very experienced Geocachers a hard time.

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[azog]

quote:

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Originally posted by BrianSnat:

I had one just the other day. Someone told me my cache was missing.

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I am glad to hear that the cache is not missing. I was the last finder on that particular cache, and I always feel a sense of personal responsibility until the next finder. "Did I hide it well enough?", etc...

 

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"Wan't" and "differen't" are not words.

[+KYtrex]

quote:

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I always feel a sense of personal responsibility until the next finder. "Did I hide it well enough?", etc...

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I always keep caches I've found on my watch list at least until someone else has found them(or not ).

 

KYtrex

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A "Buckeye" is just a "Hillbilly" that ran out of money on the way to Michigan

[+KYtrex]

quote:

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I always feel a sense of personal responsibility until the next finder. "Did I hide it well enough?", etc...

---

 

I always keep caches I've found on my watch list at least until someone else has found them(or not ).

 

KYtrex

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A "Buckeye" is just a "Hillbilly" that ran out of money on the way to Michigan