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Why do geocachers pass up travel bugs?


Highpointer

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I'll add my perspctive as a TB owner, a Hotel owner, and a new geocacher (two months)

 

When I first started I though it was expected that if you take a TB you need to leave one. Since I didn't have any I always left them alone. It wasn't until several weeks later that I was talking to a more experienced cacher that I was told that TB's should be moved along and to move them even if you don't have a TB to trade. Since then I've done just that. In fact, everytime I get together with my friend we always have trackables of each other to discover.

 

My logic is that if I can help a TB get ahead in it's mission thats great. But overall I think some owners expect just a wee too much. I had one that wanted to visit the orients. So I took a picture of it next to my samuria swords. I think people taking pictures with TB is nice, but I think it shouldn't be expected.

 

I also try to make sure I visit the local hotels before going on longer trips. Like recently we went to York, PA for a function. I visited the hotels around me area and had about four total TB's to move along. I found a nice TB hotel at our destination and I moved them along.

 

I have three TB's that I've released and two of them are still in the cache and one has been picked up. I don't email the people to yell at them to move it, because I know we all have our lives to live and don't get to geocache every second of the day. It will nice when it gets some mileage on it, but I'm in no hurry.

 

I think TB and GC are part of the fun, but if you don't want to participate in that poriot of the game, you shouldn't be forced to. For me the fun is using million dollar pieces of technlogy to find a piece of rubbermaid in the woods.

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I just started Geocaching , but I was under the assumption that they had to move...not just out of the box, but closer to the Goal...or further...hee hee hee. I am in the military and I usually won't take a TB unless I know I am going away on Tour, or on a Course further than 500km away. Like Monday I am going to New Brunswick(from Campbell River BC, so this weekend is all about picking up as many TB's as possible to place them and play the same game there.

There seems to be a risk that if you do not control the urge to pick up the "big shiny thing", that the TB could end up just bouncing back and forth from the same caches not actually getting anywhere. Some people love to geocache, but only do it in small areas due to lack of travel capabilities. This is just a newbie opinion though.

Airgirl69

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It was a long time from my first find before I tried doing something with a travel bug. I'm not a genius at this and needed to learn how to find a cache that is verrrry well hidden. Then I took a tb and looked on the site to figure out now what. I have done several now with the idea I would move them as far as I could, depending on where I was headed in the next month. One of the ones I took and moved is ow 3000 miles from where I picked it up. I do wish I knew about them when I did a couple of long trips. But for the future I will plan as I can. So many caches I find are micro or smaller. But I do agree it adds to the fun and intrigue to move tbs. Sorry I don't add photos. I need a tutor in working with digital photos so I can post a small enough photo. This is all for fun. Have fun.

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I need a tutor in working with digital photos so I can post a small enough photo.

 

Nothing to it, really. Just open the photo using MS Paint, click on Image and select Stretch/Skew. This will open a dialogue box in which you can choose, by percent, how much to stretch the image. If you wanted make it smaller by half, type in 50% Horizontal, 50% vertical and it will reduce your image by half. Then save the photo and upload it to your log.

 

Bruce

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About 10 days ago, I dropped two travel bugs in two easy caches about 0.2 miles apart in Glendale, AZ. These caches are Rocky and back yard Target practice. Both caches are behind a large shopping center.

 

Since I have dropped these travel bugs in these caches, both of them have been visited frequently - one cache seven times, the other cache eight times. However, in none of these 15 total visits did a geocacher take a travel bug.

 

I firmly believe that geocachers should pick up every travel bug that they see in a cache and not let travel bugs languish in caches. I feel that travel bugs are fun and interesting to find, move, and track.

 

Therefore, why do so many geocachers ignore travel bugs in caches and fail to pick them up, thereby letting them languish in caches and increasing their chances of becoming lost?

 

Ken Akerman (a.k.a. Highpointer)

 

That's strange... personally, I enjoy finding TB's more than anything else.. I love tracking them to see where they have come from and how far they go after I've dropped them off. I have also had the misfortune of finding a TB and wanting to send it on it's way, only to find that it has NOT been logged as being 'dropped' off and I can't seem to enter it so it shows up in my Inventory! Very frustrating. Any idea's how I can log it anyways and move it along???

 

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I pass them up only if they are either HUGE (I had one that took me forever to drop off, because it needed a gallon-sized cache) or if I am going the 'wrong' way (passed up one that wanted to go to Iceland from Chicago, and I was going the other way). I love looking them up and seeing their map. I have two right now that I just picked up in Chicago a couple of days ago, and will drop off very soon near my home in Oklahoma (one wants pictures, one wants temperatures). I am going to get some TBs for myself and not give them a destination, so they will be free to go wherever. . . .

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Didn't read this old bumped thread, but I can answer the title question.

 

#1 Unrealistic expectation on the part of the owner and any creepy interested parties. (Watchers/former holders who can't let go.) the worst part of the trackable game is expectant owners and directive emails. The occasional creep happens along that thinks they can direct a bug they have moved. Creeeepy.

 

#2 The weight of responsibility. Not everyone is up to the task. I'm glad they pass them up. (this one has worked out in my favor for my 2 community TBs)

 

#3 Couldn't care less about trackables. Again, glad these folks pass em bye.

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I'm getting to the point where I don't want to pick up trackables, because I don't want to be the last person to see them "alive". It's much worse with geocoins of course, but so often now it seems that a trackable will be logged into a cache, and then disappear into a black hole never to be seen again. Even though I do my part and log them in, I feel somehow responsible when the next online log says "no TBs or coins in cache" - and then I anxiously wait for it to eventually show up. It's such a relief when you read that the next cacher took the item, so you know it's not your "fault" when it disappears.

 

I feel the same way. I love to find, move and discover TB's and GC's. However with so many disappearing I get a little anxious when the next cacher comes along and says nothing about the TB/GC I had left in the cache.

I've lost three TB's and just recently dropped a new one into a cache. The person who took it was new to the game and even said so in his post. I emailed him, told the new cacher about TB's and GC's. He was grateful and is now moving my new TB along.

 

Groundspeak should require new geocachers to watch two or three videos on how to geocache, basic rules and trackables before they can find their first cache. I had a rough start myself and the videos they have on YouTube now would have been a big help back when I fist started.

 

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I would die to get a travelbug or coin to move...I'm new but this is taking over my life my kids tell me.. I guess I'll land on one one of these days. Did get my First to find FTF and that was so cool...

 

If you want to find caches with a Travel Bug or Geocoin, go to Geocaching.com. After you sign in click on your user name in to top right of the screen. On the right hand side look for "Search Options" and select "near your home location." The caches on this page will have an "Info" bar. If the bar has an icon it means the cache has a Bug or Coin in it. If the icon is a cross it means the cache Needs Maintenance.

Be sure to read the logs on the cache page first. The Travel Bug or Coin may be missing.

 

Hope this helps.

 

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I feel the same way. I love to find, move and discover TB's and GC's. However with so many disappearing I get a little anxious when the next cacher comes along and says nothing about the TB/GC I had left in the cache.

 

Bugs go missing silently. Either they disappear from caches or the current holder never ever responds.

 

Maybe an owner will accuse you but if you respond that you did move the bug to the cache you will have done more than the last thousand who failed to so.

 

Set the example. You did your part and are darn proud of it.

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