trackables

[colefish]

If you are a beginner like me, would it be a good idea to keep more than one trackable at once?

Also if you see a trackable, is it a good idea to always pick it up?

thanks,

cole

[+SirDonB]

The answer to your questions is simple, carry as many as you are comfortable carrying at once. You can pick up/retrieve as many as you like at any point when you see them, but remember Trackables are meant for catch and release. So only pick up those that you can move on in a timely manner. If you are not sure, you can write down the trackable code and log it as discovered. This will do two things, 1 it will let the owner know that it is still out there traveling and in play, and if properly logged it will confirm that, that trackable is indeed in the cache as the inventory list on the cache page says it is. Nothing worse than getting to a cache expecting a trackable to be there just to find out its not there.

 

So carry as many as you feel comfortable carrying and pick up all the trackables you want as long as you can move them on to their goal (if the owner has set one). And remember to practice catch and release with trackables unless the owners says otherwise on the trackables page.

[+dprovan]

Don't worry about the number, but do concentrate on moving them along. I almost never have more than one or two at a time because I drop them as fast as I find them.

 

So similarly, if you find you're already carrying a few, you might want to consider leaving any others you find until you've placed the ones you're already carrying. You don't have to take every one you find. But don't forget the possibility of exchanging: a cache that's already holding a trackable is often a good place to leave a trackable, hence keeping the number you're carrying constant.

 

I rarely run into more than one a week, so it sounds like you're very lucky to have run into so many that you're worried about it.

 

I consider that all general advice. The only thing I would add to you as a newbie is to make sure you understand how to log your finds and drops, but the questions your asking suggest that you've already figured that out.

[colefish]

Thanks. A "tadpole" like me needs to know this kind of stuff so I don't ruin someones day by loosing a trackable.

Thanks,

Cole

[+BlueDeuce]

Feel free to pick up and move as many travel bugs as you can handle. It doesn't matter if that's two or twenty. Best thing you can do is take pictures, tell stories, and have fun. .10 miles in the wrong direction is far better than a Discover "just so I know it's still there" (What a crock)

 

The whole only take one if you leave one is a flat-out deception. You have my permission to pick up my bug regardless of what anyone else says.

[+kunarion]

A "tadpole" like me needs to know this kind of stuff so I don't ruin someones day by loosing a trackable.

Don't lose them. But if you do, log that story.

[+Lieblweb]

Thanks. A "tadpole" like me needs to know this kind of stuff so I don't ruin someones day by loosing a trackable.

Thanks,

Cole

 

Only take as many as you can handle.

 

When I pickup TB's - after I log them on my phone or my computer, they go inside a tupperware container in my geomobile. They stay there until I want to put them in another cache.

 

We all have moments of forgetting 'where did I put that?' - but ultimately, if you organize yourself by putting the TB's in a special place... AND you take those extra seconds to make sure the TB gets to its special place everytime... they'll always be there when you want/need to travel with them and pass them along.

[colefish]

I have a key rack where I put them

[+K13]

I have a key rack where I put them

 

You carry a key rack around while geocaching? Maybe a special box or lock-n-lock would be a better thing for them.

[colefish]

I'll try that too

[+uxorious]

 

Also if you see a trackable, is it a good idea to always pick it up?

 

 

I hope you are not under the impression that you must pick up and move trackables. They are a separate part of this game, and you can take them or leave them as you wish.

 

If you like moving them, then by all means pick up and move those you can. However, do not feel you need to always pick one up.

[+Porrima]

How do you know it is a trackable?

 

Thanks from another newbie.

[+kunarion]

How do you know it is a trackable?

Here's some basic info: Travel Bugs and Geocoins. Sometimes it's hard to tell what you've found, and with a Geocoin, tough to find or read the Tracking Number. So if you find something that may be a Trackable, but can't tell for sure, feel free to ask.

[Pup Patrol]

How do you know it is a trackable?

 

Thanks from another newbie.

 

Geocoins should say "trackable at geocaching.com". The tracking number can be on the flat side or the edge of geocoins.

 

Travel bugs should be attached to the "dog tags", as shown here:

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=146

 

Help Center → Trackables

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=10

 

 

 

B.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Photos posted to the trackables page are always appreciated, but DON'T show the tracking number on the tag, or coin!

[colefish]

why?

[+NanCycle]

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a topic pinned at the top of the Travel bug forum that would explain why not to show the tracking numbers in public?

 

Oh, wait, there is.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=312124

[colefish]

Thanks

[+WHAP]

Currently I have 4 trackables in my possession. Usually I only have one or maybe two, and not for very long. I'm getting ready to leave on vacation and do some caching while I'm there, so I've been taking most of the trackables I've found in local caches lately in preparation for this. They'll (hopefully) all find new cache homes while I'm away. If not, I'll find homes for them up north when I return. I don't like to hold onto them for too long because I don't want to forget about them in the bottom of my backpack and I know how frustrating it is when someone hangs onto one of mine.

[+SirDonB]

Like DR Gravity, I rarely have more than one or two on me at any given time. Currently I have none, and that's mostly cuz I have not seeked out some of the local caches I know to have trackables and I just have not had the time to specifically seek them out. I do try from time to time to target my next find based on if there is a trackable or not. Caches with trackables are, to me, a little bit more worth the time to find. I won't turn down a cache just because there isn't one in it, but I do like trackables like some like to play the FTF game, but that is a whole other subject and I dont want to jack this thread with that one.

 

For example, I might be going to Buffalo in a few weeks, if I do, I will grab as many trackables as I can to take and drop off in caches there. I will do my virtual seeking before hand and have a cache or 2 prepicked out so I know that I will be able to leave them behind in a new home.

[jstain666]

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a topic pinned at the top of the Travel bug forum that would explain why not to show the tracking numbers in public?

 

Oh, wait, there is.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=312124

 

you forgot to add the sarcasm switch... /sarcasm