How is it...?

How is it that people get FTF's so quickly?? do you force your kids to sit in front of the computer refreshing the query page every 5 minutes to look for new caches? I went to bed last night around 12am and see no new caches... i wake up this morning around 9am and no new caches... 12pm A NEW CACHE ONLY 1.8 MILES AWAY!! I grab the cache bag and rain gear, throw the wife in the jeep and I'm standing over top of the cache no more than 17 minutes after I saw the posting of the cache. So slowly I open the cache anticipating a first FTF, my pulse racing, my eyes swelling up with tears of joy....
Haffy got it first, along with about 4 other people... :confused: Is there a secret society of geocaching I do not know about?? Where coords of yet to be hidden caches are discussed? (I thought this would make an interesting rainy day forum topic :) )

I learned from the King of FTF's, YOP, that if one wants to increase their numbers in this arena, that you must check frequently. I check, but that is the depth of my effort - LOL - I can't get out there fast enough to focus on that. I have bookmarked this page in my favorites - perhaps it will help you.............. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?state_id=20

Haffy's the king of FTF's in central Maine - you have to get up REAL early to beat him.

I once got a "heads up" email from a cache owner 2 hours after a
his new cache had been approved. The first point of the multi was less than 2 miles from my house, so we departed immediately. Upon getting the final coordinates, I knew exactly where the cache was (a further 6 miles north), and the best route to get there. We were FTF, but on the way back out to the car, who should we meet but Haffy6 (nearly 40 miles from and obviously unfamiliar with the area!) LOL!

We don't even bother trying to get FTF's! LOL! :D :D

(And I note that the owner of that new cache in Waterville has NEVEr found a cache, and has placed one. Begs the queastion, how was the cache? LOL!)

A good rainy day question Hiram? As a premium member I get notification immediately upon GPSfun approving the cache page. When I got up this morning, just before exiting the house around 8:30, I saw the notice had just come up, so I went over to the cache site. I live here in Fairfield so it took me about 10 minutes to get there. I figured I wasn't going to be the FTF cause lately there have been a lot of others who seem to like to get up at the crack of dawn for the FTF's but today I wasn't disappointed. And also for almost a year I was not employed so that gave me the ability to get around during the work week too. Now I am on the workforce and work 4 -10 hour days, so Friday and the weekends will be available for me now. So that's the rest of the story!!!!:D And oh yeah, the cache coordinates were right on and the cache itself was filled to the brim with some nice cache swag. A very good cache and hide from some newbies who have yet to find a single cache themselves as of yet. Great job!!!

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Originally Posted by Haffy6

A good rainy day question Hiram? As a premium member I get notification immediately upon GPSfun approving the cache page. When I got up this morning, just before exiting the house around 8:30, I saw the notice had just come up, so I went over to the cache site. I live here in Fairfield so it took me about 10 minutes to get there. I figured I wasn't going to be the FTF cause lately there have been a lot of others who seem to like to get up at the crack of dawn for the FTF's but today I wasn't disappointed. And also for almost a year I was not employed so that gave me the ability to get around during the work week too. Now I am on the workforce and work 4 -10 hour days, so Friday and the weekends will be available for me now. So that's the rest of the story!!!!:D And oh yeah, the cache coordinates were right on and the cache itself was filled to the brim with some nice cache swag. A very good cache and hide from some newbies who have yet to find a single cache themselves as of yet. Great job!!!

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Yeah, I've been a premium member for a while and I just figured out how to get the instant notification (after many disapointments for FTFs I figured there had to be a way) That Teepee cache was a very nice swag cache, I didn't go through it all because it was pouring rain and I didn't wan't to soak the cache, (maybe I'll go back another time) but it did remind me of a very good joke....

Did you hear about the indian that drank 50 gallons of tea!?!?!


they later found him dead in his tea pee!!!!! :D

9 am? If you sleep all day, you'll never be ftf! :)

Seriously, being ftf is litterally a mater of being in the right place at the right time. There are several in the county, if you leave now, you just might be at least stf!

This past summer, a bunch of us went to a very remote cache that had not been found when we left home. When we got there, we were all sure it was a race between the three of us. Sure enough, someone beat us by a day.

Good luck!

We got a FTF on a cache that had been placed 1 1/2 years before (it IS remote!) And I just see that someone has just got STF - 2 1/2 years after it was placed! LOL! (And hey - this is a VIRTUAL!) :D :D

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Originally Posted by Haffy6

As a premium member I get notification immediately upon GPSfun approving the cache page.

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How do you set this up? I have looked and didn't see where, how, etc.

Hey Beachie, on your account page at the top it has member features,click on that and then scroll down til you see a heading for instant notification and that will bring you to the page to set it up.

Yeah, the instant notify is probably a usefull tool in getting FTFs, but my question is, who is this GPSfun guy.... and does he take bribes? ;)