Hiding trackables other than geocoins and travel bugs?

[breakawaystudio]

I'm wondering if this is a possibility or if anyone has tried it? I'm asking if it's possible to hide an item (i.e. a small child's toy, etc.) that you personally want to see travel? I think it would be fun to have it's picture taken in each new location and emailed back so we can see all the places he's been. Also, to give it a goal, such as a town in a specific state, and once it gets there, have it emailed back. Or a tube with a stamp or some momento added from each location it moves to. I realize said items would have to be very small. I'm really new to all this still, but I just think it would be really fun! Or do trackables HAVE to be Groundspeak sanctioned such as geocoins and travel bugs? Thanks in advance!

[+BlueDeuce]

I've known people to simply add a tag saying - email me, and there are other sites that provide free traveler numbers. However, since those travelers can't be logged 'into' and listed on the cache page they tend to go missing.

[+mpilchfamily]

Most people will attache a traveler to a TB, that's what TBs are for. You can fill in the mission of where you want it to go and encourage people to take and post pics of it on the TB page.

 

But you can send out anything you want with a note attached but chances are far greater that people will not move it along or just trade for it as swag and keep it. TBs and coins go missing all the time for the same reasons but at least a good majority of cachers know and respect TB and coins traveling.

[+kunarion]

I realize said items would have to be very small. I'm really new to all this still, but I just think it would be really fun! Or do trackables HAVE to be Groundspeak sanctioned such as geocoins and travel bugs?

If it’s not a Travel Bug or Geocoin, it’s not an official trackable, in which case the item is considered tradeable. But you could securely attach a waterproof tag with your request & info, and some people may move it along. I’ve seen laminated craft items very similar to what you suggest, which have instructions to send an email and place it in a different cache.

 

It’s a little confusing to people when they find an item like that and can’t figure out how to do the tracking (or if they’re allowed to keep it, etc.). So be prepared for some emails from cachers who aren’t quite sure what to do. But if the instructions are simple, and the item’s no great loss if it disappears, you could send out a few and see how it goes. It’s free.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I see you haven't moved (logged) any travel bugs...

 

I'm guessing that you really don't know that a TB is (usually) comprised of two parts -- the Travel Bug® dog tag AND a traveler attached to same (or vice-versa). The traveler can be (just about) anything you want. More often than not, they ARE a toy. Hot Wheels cars are fairly common, Rubber Duckies have a serious group of followers, many are items that seemingly flood the market after each successful movie, particularly animated movies.

 

Not all TB travelers are toys, but a goodly number are -- rather, they were. Now they is a travel bug.

[+Chokecherry]

I found a coin once that wanted to travel cache to cache that was not a geocoin or attached to a travel bug. You were supposed to e-mail the owner and let them know where it was. I didn't take it but I think my friend did and I don't have a clue what happened to it. But i'm fairly sure he didn't e-mail the random person.

[breakawaystudio]

Thank you all for the input! That's pretty much what I was assuming. I did know that official TBs we're generally accompanied by a toy, but when the dog gs themselves are about $6 a pop, I thought I'd be better off trying something different that would cheaper if(when) i went missing. Lol It would just be a psersonal gratification thing to see how far it might go. Lol I mostly wanted to make sure I wasnt breaking any rules or anything trying that on my own. This is such a fun game! And my kids are having an absolute blast with it. I thought it would be fun for therm to help me trck something too. Maybe if we make it clear that there are iffy bitty ones involved, people would be more apt to play along. Haha Thanks so much again!

[+kunarion]

Thank you all for the input! That's pretty much what I was assuming. I did know that official TBs we're generally accompanied by a toy, but when the dog gs themselves are about $6 a pop, I thought I'd be better off trying something different that would cheaper if(when) i went missing.

Instead of requesting an email, request that the retrieve/drop be noted in the cache log. It gives people something to type . But you'd still need to devise a way to track it, or you'll have to research cache logs to know where the item is.

[+KristenSh]

For your purpose, you might look up something like the Flat Stanley Project (based on a kids' book) and find swap partners who happen to be geocachers. Then your Flat Stanley (or toy or whatever) can travel, return to you with photos and souvenirs, and be sent out again to someone else. Likewise, you'd be taking someone else's item, giving it a tour, and returning it. (My kids are doing Flat Stanley swaps right now, actually.)

 

Another option might be to look into hybrid letterbox caches ... there's some flexibility on letterbox travelers.

 

But really, as people said, just about anything can be attached to a Travel Bug tag ... may be tricky to find caches that can accomodate larger items, but not impossible ... we hosted the cutest little stuffed critter from Germany for a long time till we could find a decent-sized cache for it. (Found it in a totally waterlogged cache, so it took time to get the mustiness out anyway ... and then lo and behold it ended up BACK on the same mountain, but in a better place, a few runs later. Go figure. It's moved on now.)

 

As soon as we can all agree on something cute enough to travel that we can bear to part with, my kids and I will be releasing a TB or two of our own. At the moment we just keep a teddy bear (mine, small, from a camp) with a scouting/caching anniversary coin so he can be Discovered when we go to events. Almost as much fun.