DNF’s

[Mathman]

Let’s Be Honest! Do you log DNF’s or do you let others believe you don’t have any? Post your thoughts here.

Personally, I log my DNF’s. As a cache “hider” I rely on DNF’s to help me monitor my caches.

[Team Deejay]

The whole point of logging (any log) is to record your experiences. If you don’t log your no-finds, you are leaving out that part of the experience.

[Team Honeybunnies]

Yes….sometimes. Usually I do, but to be honest sometimes I just skip it. The further I am from home, the less I bother. For example, when we went to NC a couple weeks ago, we had a very high rate of DNFs. The style was a high percentage of bison tubes in holly bushes in strip malls, roundabouts etc. We’d pull up, give it five minutes and call it. Too much attention, and not really big fun. Just as much as being a record of the experience, it’s a flag to the owner that there is a problem with the cache. In that case, being from well away and having difficulties with the hiding style, my DNFs would be neither instuctive to others or very useful to the owner. I have every faith that they were there.

If I feel the cache is missing, I always log a DNF. Always. Then I feel I’m being helpful.

I also tend to gloss over if I DNFed while night caching or in really adverse conditions. Why should I scare someone away from a cache that’s probably a walk-up in good conditions?

Maybe I get into the pschology of it all too much…

[I M WU]

I do. And I usually get a response back with a hint from the owner. That is how I met sloughfoot, by email and over the phone, not in person yet. I still haven’t gone back to find that one yet… And when I was in the UP, we attempted Wolf Mountain twice, no cache, the owner was there right after we headed for home and emailed me saying that is was missing and now was replaced. I am one of those “it’s about the experience” cachers.

[Lostby7]

I log about 1 in 5 DNF’s. If I don’t feel I gave it my all I wont log them but if I feel like I looked long and hard and the cache isn’t there I will log the DNF. I will also Log a DNF if there is something about the cache or location that gets my dander up (like when I have gone to look 2 or more times).

[Timberline Echoes]

Pretty much echo Seth’s reply… we almost always record a DNF with the exception of times when something prevents us from looking for less than 5 minutes… If we look over 5 minutes or more and DNF we let the owner know.
TE

[Sean Connery]

🙂 I agree!

[RSplash40]

More often than not I do, if I don’t typically its because I’m not going to get back there for a long time if at all.

I also log dnf’s as a way of keeping track of those I need to go back to. If I dnf more than once on a cache I’ll edit the same log, add the additional DNF info as appropriate and change the date. Some people don’t care for it that way but makes it a more efficient process for me. and yes, its all about me 😆

[LightningBugs Mum]

I always log the first DNF on a cache. If I go back and still don’t find it, I may or may not log it depending on the circumstances.

I keep a non-public bookmark of caches I’ve DNFed to keep track of them.

[bnb]

If I actually get to ground zero and don’t find it, I’ll log a DNF (even if 3 feet of snow inhibit my search or I find the cache but can’t retrieve it). If something kept me from getting to GZ, such as safety concerns, I’ll post a note.

[brkster]

At GZ, I will log nearly all of my DNF’s, the only exceptions being when it takes several attempts of futility to find a cache. I will log most of those attempts, but maybe not all. If something prevents me from reaching GZ, I will write a note as to why. For me, I consider getting to GZ, and giving it at least a quick look-around. I feel that since I have found some caches right away, I might as well log DNF’s after brief searches as well. I find many cache owners to be most helpful in giving hints to help narrow my search the next time around. I also check out what others write, which can lead to clues as to where to look.

[djwini]

i tend to log the dnf’s. i figure it helps the next person know that the cache is hard to find. if i like the area, i might go back and look again. if it’s the type of cache that is same old same old, or too public for my tastes, i’ll bookmark it to my ignore list.

[Folk Trakers]

We pretty much agree with most here. We log DNFs mainly for the purpose of letting the owner know there may be a problem. We only log the DNF if we truly made an effort to find it, though. If we got near ground zero but didn’t really “look” (due to snow, wetness, etc.), then we may just post a note.

[Mathman]

Thank you for moving this post to “General” as that is where I thought I WAS putting it in the first place. Thanks.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

If we actually get to the location and hunt—unsuccessfully—we log them. Even “The Mighty Miss” all four times we searched.

There are a couple that we tried to reach, but ran out of time and never got out of the car. Those we don’t count. I agree, logging them is part of your caching “history.”

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