Are You "Smart" Enough for FTF?

With the release of geocaching applications for the iPhone and Droid, the race for First to Find has changed since I began caching. I'm not "smart" enough, anymore. I still have to be home, near my computer, with the DSL actually working in order to receive notification of new caches.

Just a couple of years ago, there was a more level playing field. Everyone needed to be near a computer with internet access if they wanted to have a chance at an FTF. Being "FIRST!" has always carried its own special importance, and it was not unusual to find yourself in an impromptu flash mob of geocachers at the location of the newest cache. I remember sitting quietly at my computer, in my jammies, drinking my coffee, getting a notification and having to make that decision of whether or not to actually put on my jeans and shoes before flying out the door. Getting there before Winini was a big deal, although there was some status in being "First to Find After Winini."

Then came the iPhone and since a noted geocacher just happens to write applications for the thing, soon afterward came the geocaching application for the iPhone. That changed the game. Now, a cacher could be out running errands, receive a notification from the iPhone, pull it up on the website, select it and without even consulting his trusty Garmin handheld, be off to the location within a minute or two of publication. It hasn't taken long for other "smartphones" to join the rush for FTF. But I am not a member of the smartphone crowd. My $20 phone does phone calls and texting of a slow and painful type. Since I'm not "smart" enough, I've changed my email notifications to include only puzzle caches. There's another element to them that create more parity among FTF hunters. Of course, that's a different kind of "smart," and I usually fall short there, too! But once in a while, I get the answer quickly and get the FTF.

Oh, that feels good!