Strategy for finding trackables?

[+Korichnovui]

I was wondering if anyone out there is proactive in the area of trackables. Do you search them out purposefully to find them and move them along? (or steal them, but you don't have to confess)

It seems that, in my area, trackables get taken and not logged, even the less attractive travel bugs. I've lately been interested in finding some. I have created some pocket queries and sifted through logs, and it seems like essentially 100% of them are missing if they were placed more than a few days ago.

I figure the strategy to finding more trackables would be:

 

1. find lots of caches in general

2. prefer to find larger caches (avoid micros)

3. prefer to find caches with more favorite points

 

any other strategy points?

[+coachstahly]

The easiest way to is to see if there's a TB hotel in your area.  That being said, the TB hotel that gets visited the most in my area is also the one that seems to have coins taken from more often than not.  The aluminum ones are left alone but the coins seem to disappear within a few days, if dropped.  It's gotten to the point where I hand off coins personally so I know they won't get taken and kept.  The others usually move on, regardless of the type they are.

[+CAVinoGal]

2 hours ago, Korichnovui said:

I was wondering if anyone out there is proactive in the area of trackables. Do you search them out purposefully to find them and move them along? ...

I figure the strategy to finding more trackables would be:

 

1. find lots of caches in general

2. prefer to find larger caches (avoid micros)

3. prefer to find caches with more favorite points

 

any other strategy points?

 

As coachstahly said, look for TB hotels nearby and see what the activity level is on those.  Do trackables often get dropped and picked up in a timely manner?  Do local cachers use it as a TB drop spot?

 I like to help trackables move along on their missions, and try to make sure the logs are accurate for as long as they are in my possession.  If I want to keep one a bit in order to help fulfill it's mission, I email the TO to see ifthat would be acceptable, or if they just want it to move sooner.  Either they don't reply (in which case I'll keep the TB to move it as I like) or they have replied to say that I can keep it for the month or so till I can get it closer to its destination.  About 75-80% have responded to me.

 

I don't purposefully seek them out, but I will check to see if there are TB's in caches we are hunting, and look for them if they are supposed to be there.  I won't take them if I can't help with the mission, if it's known.

[+cerberus1]

3 hours ago, coachstahly said:

 the TB hotel that gets visited the most in my area is also the one that seems to have coins taken from more often than not.  

 

We see that as well in a couple states.  "TB hotel" being the target for hoarders mostly it seems. 

 

Many here now appear to be COs planning on something of their own. 

 -  Looking to "fill up"  their new cache for it's beginning, they're grabbing what's left from caches all around them.

[+cerberus1]

4 hours ago, Korichnovui said:

I was wondering if anyone out there is proactive in the area of trackables. Do you search them out purposefully to find them and move them along?

(or steal them, but you don't have to confess)

 

Curious why you even mentioned "steal them", when folks in the forums  represent less than 1 percent of cachers.

 - Guess I've always considered folks here the choir...

 

Wondering how being "proactive" fits with the caching side-hobby as well. 

Once that trackable leaves someone's hands, there is no policy or action that can control what people do.  

 

[+Korichnovui]

10 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 

Curious why you even mentioned "steal them", when folks in the forums  represent less than 1 percent of cachers.

 - Guess I've always considered folks here the choir...

 

Wondering how being "proactive" fits with the caching side-hobby as well. 

Once that trackable leaves someone's hands, there is no policy or action that can control what people do.  

 

The steal comment was sardonic 

 

proactive = actively seek/hunt them, not just randomly come across them

[+Max and 99]

4 hours ago, coachstahly said:

The easiest way to is to see if there's a TB hotel in your area.  That being said, the TB hotel that gets visited the most in my area is also the one that seems to have coins taken from more often than not.  The aluminum ones are left alone but the coins seem to disappear within a few days, if dropped.  It's gotten to the point where I hand off coins personally so I know they won't get taken and kept.  The others usually move on, regardless of the type they are.

We have one fantastic TB hotel nearby! 

 

There is another, at a visitor's center off a major freeway, that you have to ask for from the volunteers at the desk. Everyone assumes it must be safe. It's not. My experience is that bugs left here are never heard from again. 

 

[+hzoi]

You might find this bookmark list helpful: "TB Hotels of America" Award Winners.  I've found some creative and well-stocked TB hotels for swaps using this as a guide.

[+Max and 99]

Yep! And our good one is on there!

[+hzoi]

3 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

Yep! And our good one is on there!

 

Is that Spottypossy's by the OKC airport, or the multi in Stillwater?  Never got to the Stillwater one.

 

For the one you recommend avoiding, was that the (now archived) I-44 TB hotel near GC7F9A, or is there another?

[+cerberus1]

30 minutes ago, Korichnovui said:

proactive = actively seek/hunt them, not just randomly come across them

 

We don't look for trackables only. Trackables aren't the reason we joined.

Since there's really no real way to tell if a trackable's even in a cache anymore, we're just happy when we spot one.

 - It's usually not in the cache's inventory when we do.  

 

We won't stop at any "TB hotels" any longer, as most we've seen were either a prison, with a CO adding a "trade policy" after publish, or not maintained at all.  We have stopped at a couple though who insisted on "leave one, take one", removing as many trackables we can , then notifying the Reviewer for ALR.

 

[+Max and 99]

The one I really like is the multi stage TB Hotel in Stillwater. 

 

The one where everything gets stolen is at the visitor's center at I-35 and 122nd in Edmond by Frontier City. Great cache to find, especially for kids.

Oklahoma a Tale of 2 Territories. GCGCHQ  

 

[+redsox_mark]

While I prefer the experience of finding a trackable in a cache,  attending an event is another way to find trackables.   A lot of cachers find them in the field and take them to events.    I try to take some from events and hide them back in the field.    Some larger trackables tend to move from event to event as cachers have trouble finding any cache large enough to place them.   

[+justintim1999]

I love travel bugs.   I'll often plan a caching excursion around caches that have them.

 

I usually look to see when a TB was dropped and how many people have visited the cache since.     Over time I've developed a mental  list of caches I know are well maintained by cache owners who actively and routinely adjust their cache inventory.  When I see a travel bug listed in one of those caches I know there's a good chance I'll find it.   I also use those caches when I need to drop one off. 

 

It's not 100% fool proof but when it comes to trackables nothing is.    

Edited June 5, 2018 by justintim1999

[+Team Christiansen]

On 6/1/2018 at 2:17 PM, cerberus1 said:

We have stopped at a couple though who insisted on "leave one, take one", removing as many trackables we can , then notifying the Reviewer for ALR.

When traveling, I look forward to rescuing TB's from such prisons. If such a hotel has 12 TBs in, I will take all 12 without putting any others back in. I love moving TBs, but made it a personal policy a long time ago to never place any in a cache that attempts to restrict the TB's movement in any way.

[+Korichnovui]

I’m glad to read these posts. Not too long ago I visited a “hotel” and didn’t realize they had asked for this “rule” of exchange and I took several TB’s. Not long after, someone made a post grumbling about how some people just take take. But I thought that we didn’t trade for TB’s, we just move them along.

[+niraD]

3 hours ago, Korichnovui said:

But I thought that we didn’t trade for TB’s, we just move them along.

You are correct. Trackables are not trade items. If you can help them on their journey and/or help them accomplish their goals, then feel free to do so. There is no need to leave anything in exchange.

[+justintim1999]

8 hours ago, Korichnovui said:

I’m glad to read these posts. Not too long ago I visited a “hotel” and didn’t realize they had asked for this “rule” of exchange and I took several TB’s. Not long after, someone made a post grumbling about how some people just take take. But I thought that we didn’t trade for TB’s, we just move them along.

IMO requesting travel bugs be exchanged is solely to benefit the cache owner and the number of finds their cache gets.   If the goal is to keep travel bugs moving then allowing cachers to pick them up freely and without restrictions makes more sense.      

[+Team Christiansen]

4 hours ago, justintim1999 said:

IMO requesting travel bugs be exchanged is solely to benefit the cache owner and the number of finds their cache gets.   If the goal is to keep travel bugs moving then allowing cachers to pick them up freely and without restrictions makes more sense. 

Exactly!

 

Placing restrictions on taking trackables from a cache is simply nothing more than a cache owner imposing his will over that of the trackable owner.

[+CAVinoGal]

18 hours ago, Team Christiansen said:

When traveling, I look forward to rescuing TB's from such prisons. If such a hotel has 12 TBs in, I will take all 12 without putting any others back in. I love moving TBs, but made it a personal policy a long time ago to never place any in a cache that attempts to restrict the TB's movement in any way.

 

13 hours ago, Korichnovui said:

I’m glad to read these posts. Not too long ago I visited a “hotel” and didn’t realize they had asked for this “rule” of exchange and I took several TB’s. Not long after, someone made a post grumbling about how some people just take take. But I thought that we didn’t trade for TB’s, we just move them along.

 

9 hours ago, niraD said:

You are correct. Trackables are not trade items. If you can help them on their journey and/or help them accomplish their goals, then feel free to do so. There is no need to leave anything in exchange.

 

Lately I've been gathering up trackables in anticipation of a trip to the East Coast - and the gist of these posts is it's OK to take them without dropping off any in return.  That's good, because the ones I'm "collecting" want to go to new places, and none of them have been to the areas I am going.  I don't want to trade them out, at least here locally.  And I want to gather a few more to take with me.  Now I will do so with a clear conscience.

 

I guess I was confusing the SWAG convention to trade up or even with the trackable game and felt I needed to swap TB's, even though I have in most cases just taken those I could help on their journey and only dropped off those that I got closer to their goal.

[+justintim1999]

39 minutes ago, Team Christiansen said:

Exactly!

 

Placing restrictions on taking trackables from a cache is simply nothing more than a cache owner imposing his will over that of the trackable owner.

It would be a shame if I could pick up a travel bug and didn't only because I

 

44 minutes ago, Team Christiansen said:

Exactly!

 

Placing restrictions on taking trackables from a cache is simply nothing more than a cache owner imposing his will over that of the trackable owner.

And the cache finder.   Sadly enough some would pass on grabbing a TB just because they don't have one to swap.

[+cerberus1]

2 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

Lately I've been gathering up trackables in anticipation of a trip to the East Coast - and the gist of these posts is it's OK to take them without dropping off any in return.  That's good, because the ones I'm "collecting" want to go to new places, and none of them have been to the areas I am going.  I don't want to trade them out, at least here locally.  And I want to gather a few more to take with me.  Now I will do so with a clear conscience.

 

The gist of those posts is some "hotel" owners making demands on other people's property with a "trade policy".  It's an ALR and can be ignored.

 - Not whether it's okay to amass them. 

 

[Gabeman26]

Gonna be honest. I got a Trackable Coin but didn't realize it was a Trackable, I thought it was swag. Kept it in my backpack for a week until I was about to exchange it at another geocacheswag  and read the back of it saying it was a trackable. I logged it after that though.

[+CAVinoGal]

1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

 

The gist of those posts is some "hotel" owners making demands on other people's property with a "trade policy".  It's an ALR and can be ignored.

 - Not whether it's okay to amass them. 

 

 

I'm only "amassing" them temporarily, and will drop all or most of them off in either NY or FL, and hopefully pick up a bunch to bring back to CA with me.  I fully intend to drop them off, just not right away.  And I've cleared my plan with about 80% of the TB owners, they are ok with me hanging on to them in order to give them a lot of mileage.

[+coachstahly]

If I plan on holding onto TBs for any extended stretch of time because I know I'm traveling somewhere, I'll contact the owners of the TBs to let them know why I'm holding onto them longer than usual.  If they tell me to release them, I'll release them, but that rarely happens.  Most are fine with the plan I have in place.

 

I rarely go out of my way to find TBs in caches, letting things take their course naturally.  Occasionally I'll swing by the TB hotel on the other side of town to pick and choose TBs that might be going where I'm going, but not so much any more.

[+astrohiker]

I sometimes take trackables to caches I own to encourage  locals to go there a bit more. I had my Travelling Kiwis go all around Europe & South America  and then the person taking them to caches everywhere, put them in a dodgy muggle cache just when they had done 100,000 kilometres. I think she wanted them to keep. I would have made her some if she didn't take them to a bad muggle ridden cache.

[+jellis]

On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 2:59 AM, redsox_mark said:

While I prefer the experience of finding a trackable in a cache,  attending an event is another way to find trackables.   A lot of cachers find them in the field and take them to events.    I try to take some from events and hide them back in the field.    Some larger trackables tend to move from event to event as cachers have trouble finding any cache large enough to place them.   

Yes I more or less trust events. Most are serious cachers who attend smaller events and may find cachers who maybe traveling out of area. Like the events that log them in and out so you know who has them.

[+D-L-B]

On the subject of Trackables; can some one give me a stratagy on how to Post pictures of a travel bug that is travelling to various points of interest?  I can't seem to catch on how to post pictures of where I have been taking it.

[+niraD]

8 minutes ago, D-L-B said:

On the subject of Trackables; can some one give me a stratagy on how to Post pictures of a travel bug that is travelling to various points of interest?  I can't seem to catch on how to post pictures of where I have been taking it.

Does this Help Center article help?

Add an image to your trackable log