HELP! I lost a bag of travel bugs and geocoins, in west Seattle or Renton

[+Highpointer]

Note: I posted this on the discussion forum of the Washington State Geocaching Association, http://www.wsgaonline.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1105&pid=6258&st=0entry6258:

 

On either Sunday or Monday earlier this week, I apparently lost a Ziploc bag containing approximately 20 travel bugs that I had been collecting from caches. I feel very bad about this, and I returned to the sites of the caches that I visited on Sunday and Monday to see if I left the bag near those sites. I did not attempt to put a travel bug in any of those caches.

 

I can't figure out where I could have left this bag of important trackable items. I visited the following caches on Sunday, May 24, in the southeast part of the Renton area:

 

Blueberry Leftovers (final location of a multi-cache, not found)

NCIS Series - Timothy McGee (puzzle cache)

Stepping up through time

Just another neighborhood park (not found)

Mamacats' Spring Cache

Home Town Oddity: Forgotten Transportation (multi-cache, not found)

 

On May 25, I visited West Seattle to meet some non-geocachers at a cookout on Alki Beach. En route to that site, I drove along the east side of the West Seattle peninsula, and found these two caches:

 

The Kid Is Back !

A City View

 

The closest cache to the location of the cookout was Whale Tale, located in a tree in a small park, and I don't believe I had any travel bugs with me at that site.

 

Therefore, how can I find these travel bugs and geocoins? I have posted an advertisement in the Lost & Found section of Craigslist:

 

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/laf/5048968675.html

 

Do you know what I can do to replace those travel bugs and geocoins? I feel very bad about this, because I am a strong advocate of properly moving and logging travel bugs, and never losing travel bugs.

 

I am willing to spend a full cost of replacement to replace all of these travel bugs, with the same item attached and same tracking number.

 

Please call me at 480-628-5575 or 303-800-4545 to let me know what I can do to make things right. Thank you.

 

Ken (a.k.a. Highpointer)

[+cerberus1]

Curious, what were you "collecting" so many of them for?

[+Highpointer]

Curious, what were you "collecting" so many of them for?

I do not "collect" travel bugs. I was intending to move every one of these travel bugs to a distinct cache. I also wanted to move these travel bugs to quality caches, leaving only one travel bug or geocoin in each cache.

[+cerberus1]

Note: I posted this on the discussion forum of the Washington State Geocaching Association, http://www.wsgaonline.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1105&pid=6258&st=0entry6258:

 

On either Sunday or Monday earlier this week, I apparently lost a Ziploc bag containing approximately 20 travel bugs that I had been collecting from caches. I feel very bad about this, and I returned to the sites of the caches that I visited on Sunday and Monday to see if I left the bag near those sites. I did not attempt to put a travel bug in any of those caches.

 

I can't figure out where I could have left this bag of important trackable items. I visited the following caches on Sunday, May 24, in the southeast part of the Renton area:

 

Blueberry Leftovers (final location of a multi-cache, not found)

NCIS Series - Timothy McGee (puzzle cache)

Stepping up through time

Just another neighborhood park (not found)

Mamacats' Spring Cache

Home Town Oddity: Forgotten Transportation (multi-cache, not found)

 

On May 25, I visited West Seattle to meet some non-geocachers at a cookout on Alki Beach. En route to that site, I drove along the east side of the West Seattle peninsula, and found these two caches:

 

The Kid Is Back !

A City View

 

The closest cache to the location of the cookout was Whale Tale, located in a tree in a small park, and I don't believe I had any travel bugs with me at that site.

 

Therefore, how can I find these travel bugs and geocoins? I have posted an advertisement in the Lost & Found section of Craigslist:

 

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/laf/5048968675.html

 

Do you know what I can do to replace those travel bugs and geocoins? I feel very bad about this, because I am a strong advocate of properly moving and logging travel bugs, and never losing travel bugs.

 

I am willing to spend a full cost of replacement to replace all of these travel bugs, with the same item attached and same tracking number.

 

Please call me at 480-628-5575 or 303-800-4545 to let me know what I can do to make things right. Thank you.

 

Ken (a.k.a. Highpointer)

Bolded your exact words...

 

No wonder no one can find trackables, folks are walking around with Ziplocs full.

[+wmpastor]

Note: I posted this on the discussion forum of the Washington State Geocaching Association, http://www.wsgaonline.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1105&pid=6258&st=0entry6258:

 

On either Sunday or Monday earlier this week, I apparently lost a Ziploc bag containing approximately 20 travel bugs that I had been collecting from caches. I feel very bad about this, and I returned to the sites of the caches that I visited on Sunday and Monday to see if I left the bag near those sites. I did not attempt to put a travel bug in any of those caches.

 

I can't figure out where I could have left this bag of important trackable items. I visited the following caches on Sunday, May 24, in the southeast part of the Renton area:

 

Blueberry Leftovers (final location of a multi-cache, not found)

NCIS Series - Timothy McGee (puzzle cache)

Stepping up through time

Just another neighborhood park (not found)

Mamacats' Spring Cache

Home Town Oddity: Forgotten Transportation (multi-cache, not found)

 

On May 25, I visited West Seattle to meet some non-geocachers at a cookout on Alki Beach. En route to that site, I drove along the east side of the West Seattle peninsula, and found these two caches:

 

The Kid Is Back !

A City View

 

The closest cache to the location of the cookout was Whale Tale, located in a tree in a small park, and I don't believe I had any travel bugs with me at that site.

 

Therefore, how can I find these travel bugs and geocoins? I have posted an advertisement in the Lost & Found section of Craigslist:

 

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/laf/5048968675.html

 

Do you know what I can do to replace those travel bugs and geocoins? I feel very bad about this, because I am a strong advocate of properly moving and logging travel bugs, and never losing travel bugs.

 

I am willing to spend a full cost of replacement to replace all of these travel bugs, with the same item attached and same tracking number.

 

Please call me at 480-628-5575 or 303-800-4545 to let me know what I can do to make things right. Thank you.

 

Ken (a.k.a. Highpointer)

Bolded your exact words...

 

No wonder no one can find trackables, folks are walking around with Ziplocs full.

 

Um, this cacher is trying hard to make things right, he's sweating bullets, and you're turning up the heat.

[+cerberus1]

Um, this cacher is trying hard to make things right, he's sweating bullets, and you're turning up the heat.

I asked a simple question on what the OP said.

Rather than respond, he changed his post.

[+cerberus1]

Curious, what were you "collecting" so many of them for?

I do not "collect" travel bugs. I was intending to move every one of these travel bugs to a distinct cache. I also wanted to move these travel bugs to quality caches, leaving only one travel bug or geocoin in each cache.

Thank you for that explanation.

[+wmpastor]

Curious, what were you "collecting" so many of them for?

I do not "collect" travel bugs. I was intending to move every one of these travel bugs to a distinct cache. I also wanted to move these travel bugs to quality caches, leaving only one travel bug or geocoin in each cache.

Thank you for that explanation.

 

So the OP has been cleared of all charges of hoarding TBs.

 

The major TB "collection" activity of some cachers takes place before events, I hear. You're *expected* to bring a bag-full of TBs, it seems.

 

Anyway, let's hope the ads cause the lost stuff to be found.

[+Coldnosed]

Someone posted in his found it log scolding previous finders.

 

It is my opinion that if you have two or more travel bugs, then it is better to place each of those travel bugs in caches one travel bug at time, so that travel bugs are dropped in different caches. This reduces the overall risk to travel bugs, because if a cache that has multiple travel bugs in it is muggled, then all travel bugs in the cache at that time become lost.

 

Maybe it is time to expand that opinion to travelbugs on hand? I hope they get found by someone who knows what they are.

[+wmpastor]

Curious, what were you "collecting" so many of them for?

I do not "collect" travel bugs. I was intending to move every one of these travel bugs to a distinct cache. I also wanted to move these travel bugs to quality caches, leaving only one travel bug or geocoin in each cache.

Thank you for that explanation.

 

So the OP has been cleared of all charges of hoarding TBs.

 

The major TB "collection" activity of some cachers takes place before events, I hear. You're *expected* to bring a bag-full of TBs, it seems.

 

Anyway, let's hope the ads cause the lost stuff to be found.

I didn't go there. You did...

 

I wasn't saying the OP was "collecting" TBs for an event - I was saying that happens pretty regularly and seems to be an accepted practice - even though it may go too far in some (many?) cases.

 

Can anyone suggest anything additional that the OP can do? Or is it pretty well covered in post #1?

[+kunarion]

Do you know what I can do to replace those travel bugs and geocoins? I feel very bad about this, because I am a strong advocate of properly moving and logging travel bugs, and never losing travel bugs.

 

I am willing to spend a full cost of replacement to replace all of these travel bugs, with the same item attached and same tracking number.

It would be good to place a note on each Trackable's page. Each owner can decide what to do. Maybe they'll take you up on an offer of a new version of the item. But you don't know they're forever lost, and Trackables have plenty of inscribed information that may return them to the game. It's too soon to replace the Trackables, if the originals could turn up. If someone finds the bag, they can contact Geocaching.com or some of the owners.

[+Highpointer]

Do you know what I can do to replace those travel bugs and geocoins? I feel very bad about this, because I am a strong advocate of properly moving and logging travel bugs, and never losing travel bugs.

 

But you don't know they're forever lost, and Trackables have plenty of inscribed information that may return them to the game. It's too soon to replace the Trackables, if the originals could turn up. If someone finds the bag, they can contact Geocaching.com or some of the owners.

Unfortunately, geocaching is still not widely known or understood by people who are not geocachers. Therefore, most people won't know what to do with the bag if they found it.

[+Auld Pharrrt]

First of all, full marks to the OP for having the courage to admit his mistake publicly and for offering to replace all the missing items if necessary.

 

As an owner of TB's myself, I know I'd appreciate his offer if any of them were mine, though personally, I wouldn't hold him to it as I accept that the loss of any TB's I release is the chance I take when I release them in the wild.

 

Since the very first geocoin I released was apparently kidnapped by the first person who found it I have made plans to re-release it in the form of a proxy or copy if it doesn't come back into circulation after 12 months. I have made multiple attempts to get it released into a cache and although the person says they will do so, they never have, and having watched how many she has in her possession they never seem to re-appear in most cases, I know the conclusion I have come to, but I'll leave you all to form your own opinions.

 

So good luck to the OP on your endeavours to get this problem sorted and full respect to you from me for trying in the first place.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Auld Pharrrt