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How long do you normally search before you admit defeat? I know this varies with the local of a cache, woods, park, out in the open whatever. I have gone back to the car, looked at my notes again and re attacked before to find the prize. I really hate knowing I am soooo close and can't get it. My son gives up way before I do.
The amount of time I look depends mostly on the amount of time I have (needing to get back to work, get home, get to an appointment, etc.). Sometimes I will limit the length of my search depending on the locale (outside of or across the street from a business or home). I will also review the cache page and the last few logs before deciding to try again later.
The longest I've spent looking, before decidng to try again later, is about 20-30 minutes. After that I feel I need to attempt it later to be able view the area with a different perspective and idea of where to look and what to look for.
It all depends on the difficulty, the most is 1 1/2 hours. Usually 30 minutes or so. Sometimes persistance pays off, not always. The weather also is another factor, I just usually look until I get digusted and finally submit defeat. If I don't find it in the first 20 minutes I proably will not find it.
It depends on what I had to go through to get to the cache sometimes. I went after one in Clarksville that sould have been easy to get to, but of course, I came in from the bottom of a near verticle hill and had to scramble through lots of brush and fallen logs. It was difficult to get to from the bottom so I stayed on it till I found it. I refused to leave without the find. I think it took me about 30 minutes before I finally spotted it. There is one at Two Rivers, way out on the point, that I spent about 30 minutes looking for before biking back to the truck to get the PDA, then back out to the cache site to hunt for another 30 before logging the DNF. Some urban micros, or high traffic area caches, I'll only spend 5-15 minutes on. I get uncomfortable if I go much longer than that. I will log an DNF if I have had enough of an oppertunity to actually look for the cache.
Assuming the cache is in a place where we can make an exhaustive search (that is, no muggles can see us), I'd say we probably average about 20 minutes before logging the DNF.
Wayne
Like others who replied, it mostly depends on time and place. I really hate to give up on a cache that we have spent lots of time (not to mention gas). So I guess our maximum time for searching is about 30 minutes before giving up :cry:
Another aspect..... What actually is a DNF? There have been several that we have driven to the area but given little or no actual hunting time. Too many folks around, weather, not ready to tackle the hike which looks rougher than we expected or thru too much brush and weeds (bugs ain't fun) are some of the reasons. I do not consider these a DNF. Simply for another time. We never tried to zero in. Is this wrong??
Simply stated, I would say that a DNF should be reserved for those times when you look for a cache, but didn't find it. Our own personal guideline is that if we arrive at the cache location and have made an uninterrupted search for the cache to our own satisfaction without success, we log a DNF. That is to say,
If we never get to the cache site, it's not a DNF.
If we get to the cache site but never begin our physical search, it's not a DNF.
If we get interrupted (for any reason) during our search to the point where we must end our search prematurely, it's not a DNF.
For these cases, we would probably either not log anything at all, or log with a note, depending on whether the situation would have relevance to the owner or to future seekers.
Again, these guidelines are our own, and we don't expect anyone else to use them. How and when you log DNFs are totally up to you.
Wayne
I have logged a DNF on a cache that I found and couldn't sign :x , dang muggles. I try to always log my dnf's but sometimes I forget :oops: . I think posting a note is a good thing if you have a incomplete search.
I use a dnf as a cache owner to check and make sure that the cache is still in place.
Okay, so this is where my ADHD comes in....If I am by myself, I don't look too long before I give up. If I am with my husband or mother...I tend to look a lot longer...but only because they make me!!! :roll:
If I don't find it in my timeline, I DO NOT log a DNF because I know it is just me, not the cache itself. Given enough time, I could find it, I'm sure!!
:wink:
I really only log a DNF if I have exhausted all my means. I am also known to just email the owner for a hint without logging anything!!