I’ve logged over 170 DNF’s--about 20% of my logs, and some of my DNF’s have been epic! I always learn something from them, and more often than not, I enjoy the hunt anyway. There are some caches, like 4D, that I visited many many times without a find.
This is not one of those caches. This cache is a chance for you to say proudly I have found "What I'm Looking For."
DNF's are an important part of the game--they tell other cachers and the cache owner that the container may be more difficult to find than they thought or may be missing completely. DNF’s can also lead to helpful hints and subsequent Finds of creative and difficult caches. Several of my “Favorite” finds are ones where I posted a DNF first.
So enjoy this quick grab, but take a minute to share an epic DNF in your log. For bonus points--share a DNF based on the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”: one on a mountain, one in a field (or where you ran through a field), one where you ran on your way to GZ (to find a First to Find, for example, or because you were just in a hurry), one DNF where you had to crawl, or one where you had to look in or climb a city wall.
My own U2-inspired DNF's:
The Frog (“I have climbed highest mountains”) - Hiked over 10 miles total, got within about 200 yards of the cache and had to turn around due to dangerous weather. Avoided a flood, did an emergency escape with rappels, hiked out in the rain with a gash in my leg, and took weeks to recover from the scratches and bruises earned along the way. It’s not a First to Find anymore, but it's still on my list to find.
Labyrinth Entrance (“I have run through the fields”) - This was a fun puzzle and one of my first DNF’s back in 2008. The clues lead me to a lamp post, which made no sense to me at the time. The clue, “familiar location” was no help at all. The cache owner explained the dynamics of lamppost skirts to me, and I was able to go back and make the find.
Rememberance (“I have run”) - A very creative cache that stumped me at first. I ran to the site and was the first to arrive on the scene, but I couldn’t make the find--came back later and made the find.
Sign of the Times (“I have crawled”) - A Diff 1.5 / Terr 1.5 multi-cache by fam2go in the NE Heights. The first stage was right in front of my face, but no matter how long I looked and from how many directions I looked, I couldn't spot it until they told me exactly where it was. S2 was quick.
Paddler’s Cache #1 (“I have scaled these city walls”) - This was an old structure at the head of the Narragansett Bay Providence, RI. I paddled out to the decaying building in my kayak, and I definitely climbed all over the walls, but couldn’t spot the cache the first time around. I went back and made the grab--the first person to find it (other than the cache owner) in almost 3 years. This was a long-term project, and it felt so good to finally knock it off my list!
Unless this cache container is muggled, this cache should be very easy to find. It's a small container with room for very small trade items. There is no need to cross the fence. Please remain on the South side of the fence. There is a is a nice Junior Ranger pin for the FTF. As always, when caching in New Mexico, watch out for critters and prickly things. Please use stealth and replace the cache exactly as you found it.
I averaged several readings to get the coords for this one, but based on the first log--if you're using a smart phone or GPS, and it's telling you that the cache several meters away out of reach, look down. It's by the edge of the fence.
Congrats to NMJeep for the FTF!!!