Trackable.

[Duke of Advil]

I have been considering geocaching for a while and I have a cache I am considering to check because I feel it will be very easy to find for my boys.....

..but it has a trackable cache.

1) What do I do with the trinket?

2) Is there a special way to log them?

3) Am I supposed to move them to another cache?

4) Do I need to have my own trackable to do a swap?

Thanks

[+NanCycle]

I have been considering geocaching for a while and I have a cache I am considering to check because I feel it will be very easy to find for my boys.....

..but it has a trackable cache.

1) What do I do with the trinket?

2) Is there a special way to log them?

3) Am I supposed to move them to another cache?

4) Do I need to have my own trackable to do a swap?

Thanks

 

1) It is perfectly okay to leave it in the cache until you get comfortable with the how-to's involving trackables.

2) Yes, and parts of it are not very intuitive.

3) That is the idea of trackables, but . . . see 1)

4) No, trackables are not trade items.

 

Thanks for asking, rather than just blundering forward.

[+niraD]

1) What do I do with the trinket?

Leave the trinket attached to the Travel Bug tag. (Although I've found a few TBs where the owner asked people to add additional trinkets, but that's an exception to the rule.)

 

2) Is there a special way to log them?

Yes. From the Help Center:

Logging a Geocoin or a Travel Bug

 

Also:

Frequently Asked Questions About Trackables

 

3) Am I supposed to move them to another cache?

Yes, if you want to. It is never required. You can leave the trackable where you found it if you don't feel comfortable logging it.

 

Ideally, you should help the trackable with its goal, whatever its goal is (and assuming it has a goal). For example, if it started in Miami and its goal is to reach San Francisco, and you found it on a business trip to Los Angeles, then it wouldn't be a good idea to take it home with you to Atlanta. It would be better to just leave it where you found it in that case.

 

4) Do I need to have my own trackable to do a swap?

No.

 

Trackables are not trade items. They are other players' toys, and they're letting the rest of us play with them.

 

You cannot trade something else for them and keep them. You do not need to trade something else to take them and move them along.

[+SageTracey]

The inventory may say it has a trackable or travel bug in it, but you may find that the item is no longer there when you arrive at the cache. This is common so don't count on finding the trackable.

 

But if you do.....check the trackable's goal on the app or website and determine whether you can help it reach its goal. If not, then best to leave it there.

Yes, there is a special way to log them. If you are using the phone app, then log a trackable option is available when you are logging your find for the cache.

 

Yes, you are supposed to move them to another cache. Again, look at the item's goal and try to move it to a cache which helps it achieve that goal. If you are going to hold onto the trackable for more than a week or two, it is nice to drop a note to the owner and let them know so that they don't think it has just gone missing.

 

And no, you do not need your own trackable for a swap.

 

So, the big takeaways are:

1. There may or may not be a trackable in the cache
   
2. You should check the goal
   
3. Log the trackable
   
4. Move it to a new cache that helps it towards its goal
   
5. ENJOY!
   

[Duke of Advil]

Thanks for the info all. All I need to do now is wait for the snow to melt and head out with the boys.

[+Lost.Boy.Ramblur]

If a trackable is listed at a cache but it is not there is there anyway to log that or have it removed from the cache?

[+Bear and Ragged]

If a trackable is listed at a cache but it is not there is there anyway to log that or have it removed from the cache?

 

Make a note of the fact in your log for the cache.

 

Leave a Note log on the trackables page.

[Keystone]

... because if you note that fact in your logs, then the cache owner or the trackable owner or a Community Volunteer Reviewer can mark the trackable missing. This removes the trackable from the cache's inventory and places it in "an unknown location."