A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

travel bug

Geocaching: Move those travelers when you can!

For those of you who have been into geocaching – or even those who are new – the world of trackables in the game is something cool.

Sometimes, though, it’s a pain.

Let me do a quick explanation, though. Trackables are a subculture, of sorts, with geocaching. Basically there’s an item – a coin, a dog tag, something else – with a trackable number. The idea, normally, is to take it out of a cache, note that you picked it up, move it to another cache, and then drop it. Along the way, the item might acquire photos, and miles, and all sorts of fun.

Well, that’s the hope anyway.

Sometimes, you see, things go wrong.

A lot of times these items will go missing – especially geocoins. Somebody drops them into a cache, a person will come along and just snag them and they are gone – just like that.

That’s tough to swallow when you are paying $8 or more for a coin. Even the official travel bugs are in the $4-$5 range. In the past few years, people have been coming up with proxies of their coins and such (either replica coins, or something completely different) to send out instead of the coin. There are different opinions on proxy coins, but that can be left for another time. I’ve actually blogged about proxy travelers before, so feel free to go back and read that.

People can also discover a trackable – basically just saying they saw it etc. Some of you may remember a while ago, I did a social media experiment where I put a geocoin out there just to see how much it would get discovered. I actually may revisit that at some point down the line (spoiler alert!), but the idea was to see how people would react to “finding” a coin virtually.

Anyway, let’s get to the point of today’s post – what to do when you find trackables in a geocache.

Here’s one thing to remember about a trackable – it’s still owned by the person who set it out etc., it’s just out in the woods. That means that another cache owner can’t put limitations on it. That will make more sense in a moment.

What should you do?

If you think you can move the coin and/or help it on its journey to its goal, then grab it. If there are five in a geocache and you think you can move them along, then do so. The reality is owners want things moving – not just being discovered.

Now, if you can’t help move them along, then by all means discover. It’s a nice way for owners to see that the trackable is still out there. But if you can move one (or many), do it. But, if you do so, try and log them as fast as possible so people know the traveler has been picked up.

The reason I say all of this is because I’ve seen some recent talk online about this whole situation. It’s been something people have talked about for many years, but it’s always worth revisiting.

An example: Somebody puts out a new travel bug hotel and places rules on it – basically the “if you take one, leave one.” In theory, it’s a good idea. And when I can, I do try and leave trackables. But this person is the owner of the geocache – not the trackables (unless, of course, they put several trackables of their own in there), therefore that person doesn’t have the right to say whether or not a trackable should be picked up and what one has to do to take one.

So, again, if you can move them all along – do it. Now, I don’t think somebody should wipe out an inventory of like 10 trackables, but if there are a few – don’t feel like you aren’t allowed to grab it if you don’t have something to leave behind.

As a trackable owner, I want to see my trackables moving – not staying in a TB hotel (or jail, as some will call them) because an owner wants to see many trackables in there.

Some things to remember:

  • Try and look at the description of the traveler to see its goals, as you might be taking it in the opposite direction.
  • Move them along as much as you can
  • Add photos to the traveler page as the owners enjoy seeing that
  • Don’t keep the trackable

In the end, trackables should be a lot of fun. Enjoy that part of the game as it’s something that can be shared. The only true rules are to make sure you log said trackable and move it along – don’t fear taking more than one or worrying about leaving one in its place as long as you can move them all. If not, discover away to let the owner know the travelers are safe!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Geocaching history: Getting to see the Original Can of Beans

It’s likely the most famous trackable in geocaching history.

The original can of beans.

For those who aren’t geocachers, the original can of beans is one of the most historical pieces of the game.

The first geocache was placed on May 3, 2000 in Oregon by Dave Ulmer. The original contents included in the black plastic bucket were software, videos, books, food, money and a slingshot. The food included a can of beans.

OCB.

The OCB as it is called among geocachers, is the last remaining piece of that original cache. It was unearthed by Team 360 when the original cache tribute plaque was being installed. According to the travel bug page for the OCB, Ulmer was present during the placing of the plaque and confirmed the item as authentic.

The can was quite damaged as it was partially buried and exposed to the weather, it was carefully straightened out and cleaned. It was also treated with rust stopper and UV-resistant polyurethane, the website notes.

Now, it is taken around to certain events throughout the world so people can see the history. The can is in a clear display case.

I am a pretty big history buff when it comes to hobbies and such I am involved in. Geocaching is no different. I had never had the chance to see the OCB, but it was at the Allegany State Park GeoBash this past weekend and I had the chance to see it, as well as chat with the owner of the item for a bit.

For those of you who aren’t geocachers, it’s understandable to not understand the significance of this item. While it’s true that it’s just an old can of beans – and not in the best shape after the wear and tear of being in the elements of the Pacific Northwest – it’s still a cool piece of history to see.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again, but it’s nice to check it off the “bucket list” of geocaching things to see or do. It’s definitely a cool item to log and to be able to have seen it up close and personal.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Geocaching 101: Trackables

The Travel Bug is a popular traveler inside the geocaching game. (photo courtesy Martyn Wright via Flickr)

Not too long ago, I did a Geocaching 101 blog post for people who had asked for more information about the game.

I wanted to expand on that post with a few others about the game in hopes of giving new geocachers a place to see everything in the eyes of someone other than Groundspeak.

This edition of the 101 is about trackables, which is basically a game within the game of geocaching.

The basic definition of trackables is an item — either a travel bug, geocoin or other traveler — that has a unique number on it. That number is connected to the geocaching.com website. When a geocacher picks it up, he or she logs that they picked it up and will move it along soon. When that geocacher drops it off, they put it in a geocache and then when they log that cache as found, there’s an option to drop the traveler, too.

The traveler can be one of several things, so let’s go over each.

Travelers

The Travel Bug: The most popular is probably the official Groundspeak travel bug. The travel bug is a basic dog tag, attached to a small chain. That chain and dog tag can be sent out on its own, or it can be attached to something. It can be attached to anything — toy cars, key chains, sporting things, homemade crafts — whatever. Just remember that it needs to fit in a cache. Some items might be difficult to place, unless it’s a bigger cache. So keep all that in mind when sending a travel bug out or moving one along. The bonus about travel bugs is that they come with two tags — one to send out with your item and the other as a backup, just in case your traveler goes missing.

Geocoins are sought after, but come up missing more than most items.

Geocoins: Geocoins are more expensive, but more sought after. Geocoins are made by someone and resemble actual coins. They are metal and can differ in sizes. Most are designed and have a limited number made. Coins can range from $5 to more than $20, depending on the coin, its availability and if it’s even in production anymore. Because of their price, geocoins are often purchased new by collectors and never released into the wild. They are collected and the collector often lets other cachers check them out so they can be discovered instead of being moved.

Other travelers: In recent years, companies have come up with things that are basically in the middle of Travel Bugs and geocoins. They are usually the thinness of the Travel Bugs, but are more custom looking, such as in the shape of animals or something else. However, these come one to a package, so if they come up missing, you don’t have a backup. Some companies have, however, surfaced that offer a low-cost replacement for your missing trackable, should it happen.

How you can participate

First, let me give a little dose of reality when it comes to travelers — they don’t always survive. I placed one on my trip to Ireland last year and it disappeared before it ever left the cache I dropped it in. The reality is that people steal travelers (more likely coins than Travel Bugs) to add to their own personal collection. It’s sad, but true.

However, coins and travel bugs can still be found.

If you find them, don’t worry about what a cache description says (many will say to take a trackable, you need to leave one. Don’t believe it. A cache owner has no say over the travel bug. None whatsoever.) If you can help a traveler on it’s mission, take it and move it to another cache. If you can’t, feel free to discover it, which lets the owner know the trackable is still there and in the wild.

The rule of thumb is you should move it within two weeks. Alas, real life gets in the way. And with more and more micros being hidden, sometimes cache size makes it hard to move trackables. So just try and move it within a reasonable time and all should be OK.

When I grab a traveler, I love looking through the history to see where it’s been and see if anyone has added photos. A traveler can really have a history and can be fun to see what it’s done.

For example, I have one I placed in my father’s memory a few years back. It’s traveled more than 17,000 miles and has visited several states and has even been in Iraq.

A traveler page can really show a lot of things.

How to start one

My first time caching, I picked up a geocoin. I didn’t know much about it, but I did a search and learned about it. I realized I was supposed to move the coin within two weeks or so of picking it up. I found what I thought was the perfect cache and let it go back into the wild. For a while, I “watched” the coin as it moved all over. After a while, I didn’t want to watch it anymore. I wanted to set loose one of my own.

So I did.

And I’ve done it many times since.

It’s easy to set one out. Just buy a traveler (which you can do on the Geocaching.com website or buy from many, many geocaching online stores), attach it to something and place it in a cache. Then wait. Sometimes travelers will take a while before they move. Sometimes it will seem like it will never move.

Sometimes they disappear.

But don’t give up hope. There are stories of travelers that seemingly disappeared years ago and resurface.

My 2010 pathtag.

Other “Travelers”

Though not really travelers, Pathtags often get confused as travelers because of their number on the back. Pathtags, however, are signature items. People can register them on the Pathtags website. Pathtags look like small geocoins and are quite detailed. But in the end, they are normal swag one can trade for and keep. People do, however, place them back in caches for others to eventually find.

People also have signature items, which can range from wood coins, to pencils, to custom-made items to many other things. These, too, are swag items and are not travelers, unless of course they are attached to a travel bug or coin!

Final thoughts

Travelers are a great aspect to the game of geocaching. It gives people the chance to travel through something they have set out into the world. Many of these travelers have goals — to reach a different place, to see something, to get to another geocacher or something else. Others just have the goal of traveling.

When you pick them up, do your best to move them along as soon as you can. People love seeing their travelers move often! And when you send them out, have fun with them and realize these things can — and will — disappear. It’s an unfortunate part of the game. When you release them, you’ll likely never see them again, so try not to attach anything valuable. Have fun and see a different side of the game!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!