+Lazy Swimmer Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Hi Just starting out and reading up as much up as I can before I get a smart phone next month. I thought that trackable items were left in cachesfor others to move on but I keep seeing the log entry "dipped my trackables" This seems a bit lame carrying around trackables with you, or am I missing something? Quote Link to comment
+Tim2AKAT2 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Some people have a personal travel bug or Geocoin they use to track miles cached. It is personally acceptable most purist actally carry the bug or coin with them. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Welcome As you're very new to geocaching, if you like the idea of tracking your geocaching mileage by visiting (previously known as 'dipping') a trackable in/out of each cache you find now's a good time to start - It's more of a hassle if you decided you want to do it after you've already found 50... 100... 200+ caches because then you have to back-log the trackable through all your previous finds! MrsB Quote Link to comment
+Lazy Swimmer Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 I get it now! And yes it sounds a good idea - off to buy one now. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment
+JeepFreak81 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'm thinking of Getting a Geocoin that I like to do just that! Figure I should do it now while I only have 12 finds instead of when I have 100 Quote Link to comment
+rdub29 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Guess I'm dumb, I dont understand this. Quote Link to comment
Narcosynthesis Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The basic idea behind a trackable is just as you thought - an item that can be left in a cache for someone else to find, who will then take it on to another cache and leave it there for another cacher to find who will pick it up and continue its journeys. Trackables can be logged as 'visiting' a cache though, to record that they have been there in the possession of a geocacher, but not left behind. For example if someone picks up a trackable, takes it to the next cache and finds out that it is too small to leave the trackable there, they can show that the trackable did visit the location, but wasn't dropped off (so just continuing the idea of showing where the item has travelled to), similarly if a trackable has a certain mission that you know you will be able to help with in the near future, you can use 'visiting' as a way to keep the trackable for a temporary period, logging where it has been until you can reach the cache you want to leave it in. Quite a lot of people (myself included) also keep a personal trackable - I have a mascot that comes geocaching with me, so stays in my possession and 'visits' caches with me - this keeps a form of travel log I can view on that trackables page showing the map of where he has travelled (and in which order) and the distance covered overall - perhaps not an essential thing to do geocaching, but an interesting aside. Quote Link to comment
+Brooklyn51 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Just to add to what Narcosynthesis is saying, the mileage a trackable gains is calculated by the distance from the last cache it was in and the current one it is dropped in or visiting. In order to more accurately reflect that mileage, if you're visiting cache A and want to drop the TB in cache B 100 miles south only to find it won't fit and ultimately you drop it in cache C 10 north of cache A, by dipping the TB in cache B the mileage will now be 210 miles rather than just 10 (100 miles from A to B and then 110 miles back to C, rather than just the 10 miles from A to C, which is how it would be calculated without the dip) Also sometimes you might want to dip a TB that is found in a cache it isn't logged into or is logged into the wrong cache. This corrects the mileage as well as the travel record for that particular trackable. Quote Link to comment
+JeepFreak81 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 If a trackable is in your possession and you do not place it in the next cache you visit, will it dip or visit on it's own when you log the find? Or is there something you need to do. I currently have a trackable that I plan to drop off in VT but I may hit a few caches in NH first.....just wondering how that works. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 If a trackable is in your possession and you do not place it in the next cache you visit, will it dip or visit on it's own when you log the find? Or is there something you need to do. I currently have a trackable that I plan to drop off in VT but I may hit a few caches in NH first.....just wondering how that works. When you log each cache, before you submit the log, look underneath where it says "Dropped off any trackables?" You need to select the action 'Visited' next to any trackable that you want to visit that cache. These visits will appear on the trackable's page as "JeepFreak81 took it to (wherever)" but the trackable's owner will not receive notification emails for the visits. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+JeepFreak81 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Cool, I got it now! Headed to do some caching today so I'll have to check it out when I do my logs later! Quote Link to comment
+Lazy Swimmer Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Can this be done retrospectively? I went in to edit my one and only find (get my smartphone next month)but there was no option for "dropped off any trackables?" or is only for premium members? Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) Can this be done retrospectively? I went in to edit my one and only find (get my smartphone next month)but there was no option for "dropped off any trackables?" or is only for premium members? Log with a Note, you will then get the option to Visit. The log can/should be deleted once the deed is done. (Although a recent site update did include the ability to do it with an Edit to your log... I would still suggest Note/Visit/delete note.) Edited October 11, 2011 by Bear and Ragged Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Can this be done retrospectively? I went in to edit my one and only find (get my smartphone next month)but there was no option for "dropped off any trackables?" or is only for premium members? Yes, it can be done retrospectively - and it's not just for PMs. However, looking at your profile, I see your one cache find but I don't see any trackables "in your hands". So there won't be anything showing in that 'Dropped off any trackables?' box. (If you do have a trackable in your possession at the moment then you need to do a correct retrieve from wherever you got it!) You should see the empty box though - Click under your one cache log where it says 'Edit log', then above the log again click 'Edit log' ... Then you should see the comments box ready for editing and, below that, the Trackables box. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+Lazy Swimmer Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks I have bought and activated a TB and successfully "dipped" it! Quote Link to comment
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