sotaman Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Today I found a cache, the comments on my iphone and on the website said there are four trackables in the cache. How do I identify the trackables (no pictures or a failure to ID the trackable)in the cache. I would love to have moved one of them along but I am struggling to figure out what is something I can take to move or a item someone left to say they have been there or an item to share. If you would like to view the cache I am talking about it is GC5EAB called Joint on the Point. It was a really cool one to find and had a ton of items in it, there for causing the confusion. Is it common to post a picture of what a trackable is? Are the trackable numbers supposed to be located on the item? Or is it left to our imagination if it is the trackable leaving a chance we are moving the wrong item and improperly playing by the rules and misleading the orginator that their item is moving. Thank you for the help and I am having so much fun doing this. Also what is the BEST GPS for the money I know I want the paperless feature for under two hundred dollars? Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) The Help Center has a section about travellers, which will hopefully answer most of your questions. http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=10 You would be better off, I think, to ask about a gps in a new thread. Good luck, and happy caching. Edited January 9, 2012 by Pup Patrol Quote Link to comment
+Brooklyn51 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Trackables (or travellers as they are sometimes called) are generally one of two types, a coin or a travel bug. Coins, while often coin-shaped and about the size of an American dollar coin, can also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can be very plain or very artistic. Somewhere on the coin, you will see a small number engraved, either on one of the faces or along the edge. Travel bugs, on the other hand, can be pretty much anything at all, from a small toy to some object the owner found meaningful (sometime they can be quite large) that will fit in the cache you're looking in. They will usually have a metal dogtag with a number attached. In both cases, it is important to the livelihood of the trackable that you log that number into the traveller's page on GC.com so the owner can keep track of it. Please do take time to read through the links Pup Patrol listed above to learn more about taking good care of the trackables you find. They are a lot of fun to find and to move but they do come with a certain responsibility. And of course, please feel free to ask as many questions as you want on here. On a sadder note, it is not uncommon to come across a cache that has travellers or trackables listed that simply aren't there anymore. People pick them up and don't know what to do with them or forget they have them or drop out of the hobby. It's too bad, but it is one of the pitfalls of the game. Just enjoy them while you can. Quote Link to comment
sotaman Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Trackables (or travellers as they are sometimes called) are generally one of two types, a coin or a travel bug. Coins, while often coin-shaped and about the size of an American dollar coin, can also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can be very plain or very artistic. Somewhere on the coin, you will see a small number engraved, either on one of the faces or along the edge. Travel bugs, on the other hand, can be pretty much anything at all, from a small toy to some object the owner found meaningful (sometime they can be quite large) that will fit in the cache you're looking in. They will usually have a metal dogtag with a number attached. In both cases, it is important to the livelihood of the trackable that you log that number into the traveller's page on GC.com so the owner can keep track of it. Please do take time to read through the links Pup Patrol listed above to learn more about taking good care of the trackables you find. They are a lot of fun to find and to move but they do come with a certain responsibility. And of course, please feel free to ask as many questions as you want on here. On a sadder note, it is not uncommon to come across a cache that has travellers or trackables listed that simply aren't there anymore. People pick them up and don't know what to do with them or forget they have them or drop out of the hobby. It's too bad, but it is one of the pitfalls of the game. Just enjoy them while you can. Brooklyn51 Can you look at the GC I spoke about there was supposed to be four of them in there. And I was unable to ID any of them. Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) Current inventory for GC5EAB: Kally travel bug - - notes posted in 2006 and 2008: Found the sheet for this travel bug in the cache but no travel bug. Not in this cache today http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=e96076dd-6882-4a01-b094-cf5d9ebd26e0 Tokageroh travel bug - - note posted 07/04/2010: Not in the cache http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=86126bfc-89b5-4a2e-81d5-4e53caff0770 tomturtle hits 10,000 travel bug - - placed 09/12/2011 - - there's a photo of it on the tb's page: http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=2f178b21-884d-431e-9893-100ca375eb92 Cachekinz travel bug - - placed in cache 08/27/2011, might still be there, but probably not. http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=690fbf2d-6cfd-4811-9666-f5bbcbbfc5f0 A travel bug that is trackable at Groundspeak should have the dog tags attached. The photo in this article shows what the dog tags look like: http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=146 There will also be a tracking number on the tag. Edited January 9, 2012 by Pup Patrol Quote Link to comment
+Brooklyn51 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Well covered, Pup Patrol! Looks like the chances of any of the trackables being in the cache are unfortunately pretty slim. But then again, you never know. We just got a report on a coin we dropped in a cache more than a year and a half ago on vacation. The next people after us, didn't find see it in the cache and consequently the owner marked it missing. There were several more visitors to the cache after that and then the cache wasn't visited for almost a year. Just a few days ago, someone found the coin we dropped in that very cache all that time ago. Everyone else either missed it or didn't look for it until these cachers happened upon it. Love those kind of stories http://coord.info/TB1XEE4 Quote Link to comment
sotaman Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 A travel bug that is trackable at Groundspeak should have the dog tags attached. The photo in this article shows what the dog tags look like: So is it a "rule" to buy one of these tags? Or can you etch something yourself and register it? Quote Link to comment
+Brooklyn51 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 you will need to buy the tag from GC.com, that's the easiest thing to do and yes they have to be activated (registered)in order for the website to properly track them. I understand you can buy just the numbers but you have to purchase a set amount of numbers, like 5 or 10 or something like that. Buying the tag is easier and once bought and activated, there's nothing to say you couldn't engrave that number yourself on your traveller and let it free. Cachers will have an easier time recognizing it as a traveller if you use the tags though. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 The minimum number of tracking codes is 50: http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=332 Quote Link to comment
+Albo21 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I have a question. If I pick up a trackable at a location but want to "check it in" in my hometown before moving it along to it goal, what's the best way to do this? Or if I can log a few more miles on it before drop off. Thanks Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I have a question. If I pick up a trackable at a location but want to "check it in" in my hometown before moving it along to it goal, what's the best way to do this? Or if I can log a few more miles on it before drop off. Thanks Take it along to a cache in your hometown and give it a 'Visit' log to that cache. The log for the TB will say "Albo21 took it to NameofCache". If you take it to a cache that you've previously found, use a Write Note log for the cache, not another Found log. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+Albo21 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks MrsB. Will do Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) Sotaman, A lot of information on missing bugs but was your questioned answered? Edited January 11, 2012 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
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