"Dipping" to track miles

[+Sparky&Squeak]

Hi there! I read the geo lexicon posted here (thanks, it was REALLY helpful!), and I wanted to know if it is considered uber lame to "dip" a new coin into the all of the caches I have logged since starting this hobby a few weeks ago. The coin I have is new and it is not yet activated, and I will be keeping it with me as a traveling one. I started this hobby as a way to work through the sadness of my Mom dying on June 11th, and I would like to have something that I can look at and say "this is how I kept marching." I know it sounds totally lame, but that is the question. Is it ok to dip retro actively? Fortunately for me, har, I have only a few finds as I am slowly getting a geosense :-)

[+MountainRacer]

Nope, it's not tacky or frowned-upon at all; I do it myself, as do many other cachers. Retroactive dips are OK too, and considering you've only found seventeen, it shouldn't take you long, either. Just be sure to log your retroactive dips as notes instead of finds. Fun bonus fact: you can then delete the "bug drop/dip" note from the cache page so it doesn't clutter up the logs, and the note vanishes, but your coin or TB is still credited with the mileage.

[+Sparky&Squeak]

Thanks so much! When I went back to my first log to edit, it wouldn't let me add the coin. Should I do a whole new note and retro date it it?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Thanks so much! When I went back to my first log to edit, it wouldn't let me add the coin. Should I do a whole new note and retro date it it?

 

Yes. You'll actually need two note logs, one to log the coin into the cache, and another to grab it back out. You may want to write down the tracking number a piece of paper and stick it next to your monitor until you have the number memorized. Some people will go back and delete the "retrieve" note after the coin is "back in your possession" but it's not necessary. If you take any photographs while finding caches you can also upload them to your TB tracking page. Since your coin has some real sentimental value that might be especially nice when you find a spot that your mother might have liked. Sorry for your loss.

[+BlueDeuce]

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Edited July 13, 2009 by BlueDeuce

[+Arrow42]

Nope, it's not tacky or frowned-upon at all; I do it myself, as do many other cachers.

 

Well, I find it tacky and I frown upon it! Yes, I frown upon these shenanigans!

 

(Just ignore me, I'm only half serious. )

[+4boehms]

Count me among the people who dip a personal coin as a sequential mileage tracker. I don't mind when people do that in the caches I've hidden, and I got the idea from one of the folks in my area.

 

Interesting info on being able to delete the note without losing the mileage. I may spend a few rainy afternoons doing that as a way to clean up the cache logs for other folks, just in case they do object to this activity.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Count me among the people who dip a personal coin as a sequential mileage tracker. I don't mind when people do that in the caches I've hidden, and I got the idea from one of the folks in my area.

 

I"ve also dipped other peoples coins into caches to increase it's mileage and to take them to interesting places that diverge from their stated mission. For example, I dipped a Lion TB whose mission was to visit many states in the U.S. into the cache at the Colosseum in Rome (a micro). I also took several TBs with me to Africa and rather than leave them in caches where the might never complete their mission I dipped them into a couple of caches and brought them back to the U.S. to complete their mission.