GeoNav

I'm coming late to this discussion,so I'm sure it's all been said. However I would prefer the metal tags. Plastic just doesn't seem to hold up well in a physical world, and in tracking some caches, things get a little physical. Would hate to pull a TB out of my pocket and find it busted in half. The other thing about a cheaper ($) version of the TB, as others have mentioned, is that more of them would proliferate. I see no real problem of this other than the need for more and more server space to accomadate them. I have no idea how the Groundspeak gurus operate this terrific site, but it seems to me that more people who cache and the more cache sites that are established and the more travelbugs that are released all lead up to more and more cost in one way or another, including time. So if Jeremy and Co. can handle it, Via Con Dios. GeoNav So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

This just happened to me. I released a TB while on vacation, stopping on a drive just long enough to drop it in a cache and continuing with our trip. That night I found a computer to log the drop and someone had already grabbed it! I contacted the Geocaching gurus (Erik is a wealth of good info) and he suggested I just log the drop a day earlier. I did that, and then contacted the Geocacher who grabbed it. He simply updated his grab log again, and all the moves are there. You can see an example of that if you view the page for my "Red Tag Zephyr." http://www.geocaching.com/track/track_detail.asp?ID=2652 Good luck GeoNav So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

I have several that have stalled for months. One was picked up on someone's first cache, and they never went caching again. Not much you can do. Every month or so, I do an check on where they are, and send gentle reminders to those that have been caching but have not dropped the bug off that I'd appreciate them moving it along. Sometimes they forget they have the TB in the bottom of a pack somewhere in a closet. I had one TB that the guy forgot to log. In fact he created a cache while in French Polynesia and forgot to log the cache when he got home. After several e-mails he perked up and logged both. Turns out the travel bug moved 6000 miles. A week later someone actually grabbed it. TBs are funny that way. GeoNav So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

I would review the logs for the cache site and try to determine who left it. Contact them and see if it is a drop off item for a cacher to claim as their own, or if they in fact forgot to register the tags GeoNav So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

I have around 13 TBs in the system, with various goals, because there was a section in the TB registration to write one down. However, once I release the travelbug, it is left to fate, karma, kismet, serendipity, and the various idiosyncracies of the Geocaching public that determines the ultimate destiny of that bug. To my mind, the purpose of releasing a bug into the wild is to sit back and enjoy the journey. Anywhere and everywhere is possible and nothing is pre-ordained. Think of it as a giant experiment in Chaos theory. The more you try to control it from afar, the far greater chance you have of disrupting the natural forces of random movement, and ultimately having the traveler do the exact opposite of what you intend. It seems to me, if you want perfect control over a travel bug, say having it travel in some uninspiring straight line between Moscow, Idaho, and Cartegena, Columbia, then you should carry it yourself, logging it as you find caches, but only the ones that will go the direction you intend the bug to travel. You won't have to rely on winsome geocachers without reference or histories of conformity to the demands of a consumed, vocal minority. What I would like to see happen, and I've passed this on to the Geocaching Commisars, is establishment of an "Amber Alert" page. When a TB is found to be missing, the owner can log onto the page with the registration number, log the bug, its description and last known location and date of sighting, and have this info flashed to all the registered users. No other info allowed. That way people can help find these lost items, remind people to log them, and get them moving again. 'nuff said. So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

Just a quick note to congratulate you on the Hot 100! Way to go! GeoNav So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

I think these are great things to find and SHOULD be logged. It takes work to find these things, and some are not there when you get there, due to new construction, periodic maintenance, neglect, whatever. The advantage is they don't require introducing anything into the environment, yet retain the challenge of the search. The search is enhanced because the accuracy of marking the location was much less back in the 1940s or 1950s or even earlier when some of these were established. Finding them is like going back in history. Some are still there, silent sentinels to the march of time. Finding them has its own rewards and can certainly benefit society, especially if the finders submit a report. On my cache for Pennsylvania, I allow every find to be logged, as long as it is a unique find and in the State. So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

I think these are great things to find and SHOULD be logged. It takes work to find these things, and some are not there when you get there, due to new construction, periodic maintenance, neglect, whatever. The advantage is they don't require introducing anything into the environment, yet retain the challenge of the search. The search is enhanced because the accuracy of marking the location was much less back in the 1940s or 1950s or even earlier when some of these were established. Finding them is like going back in history. Some are still there, silent sentinels to the march of time. Finding them has its own rewards and can certainly benefit society, especially if the finders submit a report. On my cache for Pennsylvania, I allow every find to be logged, as long as it is a unique find and in the State. So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

The staff seems surrealy overprotective of any cache that hints at some form of commercial tie-in, even if its a good place to get something to eat (something all us cache-hounds need to sustain us on the long, unending hunt!). YET! They have no problem allowing a proliferation of locationless caches crop up demanding nothing of us other than to stop the car and take a picture of something or some place. Watertowers, airports, Bridges, disc-golfing, churches, etc... where's the challenge in that? No research involved, no venturing off into the great unknown. You stop, you mark your position and then log a find. No wonder some folks can log hundreds of caches. I did see where they denied a cache for rusted-farm equipment, but what separates that from the cache where you log the local international airport? I admit I have logged a couple of locationless caches, but quite frankly wondered why I bothered. Any comments? So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

The staff seems surrealy overprotective of any cache that hints at some form of commercial tie-in, even if its a good place to get something to eat (something all us cache-hounds need to sustain us on the long, unending hunt!). YET! They have no problem allowing a proliferation of locationless caches crop up demanding nothing of us other than to stop the car and take a picture of something or some place. Watertowers, airports, Bridges, disc-golfing, churches, etc... where's the challenge in that? No research involved, no venturing off into the great unknown. You stop, you mark your position and then log a find. No wonder some folks can log hundreds of caches. I did see where they denied a cache for rusted-farm equipment, but what separates that from the cache where you log the local international airport? I admit I have logged a couple of locationless caches, but quite frankly wondered why I bothered. Any comments? So many caches, so little time! The forest awaits!

This is not a hobbie where "experience" counts other than learning some tricks to make your hunts more successful. As for Travelbugs, there's ettiquette. You learn that after you release a few travel bugs and watch in frustration as they are picked up and just "held" for weeks and months on end. I have six out right now, and none are on the move. One has gone 600 miles and then stopped. The rest have been picked up out of local caches and never moved on. I assume their retrievers are all busy with life, but after a couple of weeks I would think most people would go out and find a cache and drop them off, even if its the one they took it from. Newbies, veterans alike - let's keep those bugs amovin'! Life goes fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you might miss it. Cache ON!

Due to the nature of Parks, and the desire to keep people from tearing up the terrain off the paths, what I've done is find a National Geodetic System Benchmark in a Park, and have that as the object of the GPS search. That way the "cache" is already stashed, as it were, and no one is tearing up the land, or digging holes. The challenge of finding these little survey markers is a lot of fun, and quite the challenge as they were usually placed well before GPS technology. The stated location can be +/- 150' or more. The best part is the Rangers can't complain because you've added nothing to what's already there. to find out how to find these survey markers and log caches to boot, just use "NGS" as a keyword search for cache sites. Theres a number of cache sites that log these across the country, and they all have instructions on how to find them. GeoNav Life goes fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you might miss it. Cache ON!

Due to the nature of Parks, and the desire to keep people from tearing up the terrain off the paths, what I've done is find a National Geodetic System Benchmark in a Park, and have that as the object of the GPS search. That way the "cache" is already stashed, as it were, and no one is tearing up the land, or digging holes. The challenge of finding these little survey markers is a lot of fun, and quite the challenge as they were usually placed well before GPS technology. The stated location can be +/- 150' or more. The best part is the Rangers can't complain because you've added nothing to what's already there. to find out how to find these survey markers and log caches to boot, just use "NGS" as a keyword search for cache sites. Theres a number of cache sites that log these across the country, and they all have instructions on how to find them. GeoNav Life goes fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you might miss it. Cache ON!