What To Do About Dnf?

[Octagon]

I'm a clueless newbie. Recently I had the frustrating experience of being unable to find a simple, 1 star cache. Yes, I double checked the coordinates. Yes, I searched three different times, totalling over an hour at the site. No, it hasn't been muggled, someone else logged it yesterday. I'm just not getting it! At this point, my options would seem to be:

 

1) Get on with my life. Some things will be mysteries forever.

 

2) Email the hider of the cache, confess my stupidity, and beg for more hints. Is this considered being a nuisance, or just part of the joy of owning the cache?

 

3) Email someone else who recently found, confess my stupidity, etc. Again, I'm not sure if this considered annoying or not.

 

4) Post to the cache's logging area with a note or DNF indication, confess, beg, etc., and hope someone replies.

 

Being new, I'm not sure what the accepted route to take is.

 

Also, if someone offers particularly useful advice (try looking inside the big knothole...) that allows me to find a cache I wouldn't have otherwise have found, do I then log it, or is that cheating?

 

Thanks,

 

Octagon

Edited May 3, 2005 by Octagon

[+tls11823]

First of all, don't sweat it. I have several DNFs for caches that others thought were easy. I suggest that you put that one on hold and move on to another cache. Chances are you'll find it. Then, try another one or two. After a while, go back to your first one. Don't be surprised if you walk right up to it and grab it. Maybe you'll be in a different frame of mind, or you'll notice something that you didn't the first time, or you'll just be a bit more experienced after your successful finds.

 

Also, don't be shy about posting a DNF for the cache. Often, even if you don't ask the cache owner for help, you'll get an email with a nudge in the right direction. He or she put it there for other people to have fun, and wants you to find it. I wouldn't worry about "annoying" the cache holder with an email (if you haven't had any luck by waiting and trying again). I've never had anything but pleasant exchanges with other cachers. Well, here on the boards it can be a different story sometimes.

 

Then, even if you get help, proudly post your find! Everybody needs help sometimes. The important thing is that you stuck it out and ended up signing the log.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Well, I personally would go on and do others and come back to this one later.

 

The hardest one I've done was a 1/1, and it wasn't actually hard at all. I just couldn't find it. I had twenty or so finds to my credit and I thought I was doing pretty well, but this stupid cache eluded me...3, 4 times...whenever I was in the area I gave it a shot.

 

In the end, I found it, right on the path. The coords were good. It was an easy hide. The only thing I can say in my own defense is that there were many good hidey-holes inside the margin of error.

 

I actually DNF more often now than when I was new, at least in part because I'm no longer embarrassed to fail from time to time. Make sure you post DNF's, it's sort of a Frowny Badge of Honor. And if you're lucky, someone will write and tip you a hint.

[+pwcorg]

First, Hello. Now then. Don't give up. I would go back and take a good objective look at the area. Try and forget any preconceived ideas you have about possible spots for the cache as well as your previous attempts. Now, take a deep breath and think...."If I were a cache, where would I hide. Look for something that dosen't belong there like the ever present UPS (Unnatural Pile of Stones/Sticks) a perfectly cut piece of "deadfall" lying in the woods. An extra bolt or anything unusual. Since I don't know what you are looking for (micro, regular, etc) I don't really know what else to suggest. If this new search fails to turn up the cache, by all means post the DNF and email the owner for a hint. Caches are hidden to be found so most owners will gladly supply a little extra "direction" if asked. Generally, if I actually look for thr cadche and can't find it I post the DNF. Sometimes I will move on and return later for a frech perspective and a second search first. Logging a DNF is not anything to be ashamed of and it's not the end of the search. Good luck. Oh yea, HAVE FUN......

 

pwc

[+M-T-P]

I just logged two DNFs two days in a row for one particular cache in my area. Then, on the third day, I found it in about 15 seconds. It suddenly just jumped out at me like a sore thumb and I saw it! A good rule of thumb of urban micros is that if there is a place to stick a magnet, look there first. I'm not an expert or anything (46 finds), but every single urban micro I've looked for so far has been magnetic. After the magnetic search, look for something out of place (a sign that doesn't belong, an extra bolt in an unlikely spot, any sort of debris up against a tree trunk, a sprinkler head where other heads don't exist, rocks placed on their side, etc.) When that doesn't work, look up! Literally, look up. I've logged a DNF before when I was searching the ground all over only to return the next trip and see the cache hanging from a nearby branch. For 30cal ammo cans, cachers in our area like to put them in the middle of a cedar tree, so if I see a full growth cedar near the coords, I look there first. These tend to be propped on several of the branches about 4-5 feet up against the trunk.

[+Night Stalker]

I have found that the longer I cache the more DNF's I get. I think it is because I have acquired preconceived ideas of where the cache should be and forget to look in other places. I especially have problems these days with 1/1's, so don't get discouraged and by all means log your DNF's. Sometimes you didn't find it because it was not longer there. The cache owner needs to see these so he can go check on it.

[vfrpilot]

Hi & welcome.

I'm just a little older [at this] than you are , on last sunday's hunt I thought I was going to have my 1st DNF - I read the logs, it was a simple 1.5 with only a few thorns to contend with but the closest I got bounced between 26 - 60ft (heavy tree cover). I avoided using the hint (although I knew it).

Then I remembered a few things I read in these posts & [i beleive] they help.

• Take your time

• Imagine where you would hide it

• Look for un-natural, unsettled spots

• Walk back & start in to ground zero again

 

I read in one of these posts that a geocacher puts down their GPS when they get within 100 feet.

 

Try it - once at ground zero, turn on the observation

• Squat down & canvas the terrain

•• Remember to look UP too

When you're close, remember the margin of error - Whoever hid the cache had one too so when you think you're right on it maybe you're not?!?

Get as close as you can and Let The Force Take Over

 

You'll suddenly SEE it

I hope this helped

Edited May 3, 2005 by vfrpilot

[+Miragee]

When I was new, actually I still am, I couldn't find four caches placed by the same couple.

 

They took pity on me and sent me some "spoiler pictures."

 

However, when I see their names on a cache now, I still proceed with hesitation because I know how good they are at devious hides.

 

Don't give up, just try to find easier caches to get the feeling of success in your brain, then a DNF won't feel like such a defeat.

[+M-T-P]

One more tip. Do a search on eBay for geocache and you'll get a good glimpse of the types of things you could be facing! There are only a few that I've found so far that I haven't seen for sale on eBay.

[+Team Snoopy]

Don't feel shy about emailing the owner or other finder for a hint. I have done that on 2 occassions and they have all been so nice about it! I tell them I don't want them to tell me where it is at, but maybe another small hint. Or I tell them where I looked or some other specific about my hunt and ask if I was close, or at the right area, lol.

[+Thot]

Here's my article on DNFs -- actually it's mostly briansnat's

 

http://factsfacts.com/LoggingDNFs.htm

[nobby.nobbs]

log your dnf it's no shame and lets the cache owner know someones tried. if another couple can't find it then it's worth the owner checking out if it's been muggled.

 

don't worry that it's a 1/1 i've failed to find some of those yet walked straight to a 3/3 sometimes it just doesn't click you just don't look in the right spot. that's half the fun.

 

if you want a clue ask.....the worst reply you'll get is "no".

[+reveritt]

I am the King of DNF. Some days, I can't find my a** with both hands and a map.

 

When I can't find a cache, I put it on my watchlist, so I am notified of how other cachers do. If others are able to find it, I will try again. I will usually find it on the second attempt--sometimes the third.

[+briansnat]

Also, if someone offers particularly useful advice (try looking inside the big knothole...) that allows me to find a cache I wouldn't have otherwise have found, do I then log it, or is that cheating?

 

If you found it, log it.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Also, if someone offers particularly useful advice (try looking inside the big knothole...) that allows me to find a cache I wouldn't have otherwise have found, do I then log it, or is that cheating?

You bet it counts! One of my favorite finds, I rounded the corner to find two other cachers standing on the trail holding the cache. If they were all so easy, I'd take it. Shoot, if the owner showed up in person, shoved the cache into my hands and said, "here's the Tupperware, fool!" I'd take my smiley.

[+PeachyPA]

I logged four DNFs on one micro and three on another before I found them. On the first one, I emailed the cache owner after the fourth try. I had zeroed out where there was NO place to hide a cache. The clue I got from the owner took me to the same place. So the last time I visited the site, I looked around and thought where I had looked and where I hadn't. It was hiding where I hadn't looked before.

 

On the second one, I had to approach the cache from a different side before I could find the clue that said "here it is". The clue was a dangling black thread that lead to the micro cache container; it could only be seen from one side and was camoflaged from the other.

 

Sometimes by leaving a cache go and letting others find it, you may get clues to its location from other finders. Good luck!

[+cache_test_dummies]

When all else fails, here's a technique which has worked for at least one other person.

[ImpalaBob]

Just like on the TV show CSI ..... using a flashlight helps in checking all those hiding nooks. Don't do quick peeks as you will be missing something!

 

That's exactly the mistakes I have made and I am still learning.

 

ImpalaBob

[+M-T-P]

When all else fails, here's a technique which has worked for at least one other person.

But for noobs, I would not recommend the p***-on-it method. It can get extremely messy if you don't know what you are aiming for. Plus, if a cache is near an electric fence....

[Octagon]

Thanks to all who responded. My summary of what everybody said is:

 

It's cool to pester the owner after making a good faith effort to find it, waiting a while, and coming back to try again with a fresh eye.

 

Post DNFs. Not only do they help identify lost caches, but they can help determine if the difficulty rating should be adjusted. I had no clue how or who determined the ratings. I have posted DNFs when I thought that something was amiss with the cache, but hadn't considered the difficulty rating angle.

 

It's OK to log a find you needed hints on.

 

For those who were interested in the DNF which prompted my first note, I now think it is an example of a misrated one. It is a five stage multi. I am having problems with stage 1, which is supposed to be an altoids tin size container. It is located very near a path through a park. On one side of the path is native plants (a mix of tall grasses, wildflowers, etc.) which haven't really come up yet this spring. No trees, rocks, etc., just bare ground, so it isn't there. On the other side is a mowed lawn. No trees, nothing. Not there either. However, running next to the path is a low (1-2') retaining wall of native stone. There are a LOT of nooks and crannies, loose stones it could be behind, etc. I've checked all of them thoroughly, except, of course, the right one. I'm guessing this is worth more than one star. I'll try one more time, then email the owner.

 

Thanks again.

Octagon