trackable items

3 Must-Know Pages on Geocaching.com

Geocaching.com Home Page

Don’t you just hate it when you KNOW that Geocaching.com does FILL IN THE BLANK but you can’t remember where you saw the link? That happened to me the first time I was hiding a geocache; I wanted to print out that cool sheet that appears in the caches. You know the one I’m talking about, right? The printout that says “Congratulations, You’ve Found It!” and then goes on to explain what geocaching is.

I knew that printout had to exist. Somewhere. After all, I’d seen it in caches around Northern Arizona. I just didn’t know how to navigate the geocaching.com website in order to find what I was looking for!

This article is actually a reader’s request and addresses just that issue: What ARE the parts of geocaching.com?

Since this website is HUGE and offers a ton of information, I’m giving my top three pages you need to know the anatomy of! If you have a section of geocaching.com that you feel everybody should know about, then let me know!

The Home Page

We all know the homepage of geocaching.com — that’s where you can log into your account!

Well, have you ever scrolled DOWN the page a bit? There’s a ton of really neat links hidden towards the bottom of the page.

So, starting on the top left and heading down the page:

  1. You can search for a geocache from this page using a zip code or a GC code
  2. A section for interesting products and services
  3. Upcoming geocaching events around the world

Keep Reading!

13 years ago • • Tags: , ,

5 Tips About Trackables

Last post, I gave a basic run down on what a trackable is. I covered travel bugs, trackable geocoins, and “dog tags”. This post, I wanted to go into what you actually are supposed to DO with a trackable item.

My father, ESP Boss, has a routine that he goes through every time he starts something new: buy a book and learn all about it! Taking up geocaching was no different. We’d heard about geocaching in a very simple sense but really didn’t know much about it. Before we headed out that first day in June 2008, ESP Boss had learned (and shared with me and The Queen Mother) all about log books and trackables.

ESP Boss read this book cover to cover in one weekend!

Of course, it would be another 4 months before we actually FOUND our first trackable!

What I didn’t realize at the time was that, like geocaching, trackable items have their own “rules” and etiquette.

Geocaching.com explains it as: “Most owners would rather see their travel bugs do a lot of travelling, so try not to hold on to a travel bug for too long. If you plan on holding onto the bug for more than 2 weeks, make sure to send a courtesy email to the owner letting them know.”

But, I think there are a few other things that should also be considered “best practices” when it comes to travel bugs:

1. Log that you’ve picked up the trackable right away.

There’s nothing worse than visiting a cache thinking there’s a travel bug there only to not find it. Often times, people will mention that in the log: “TFTC. Didn’t see the TB.”

If you’re going to be responsible for a travel bug, be sure to log on geocaching.com right away that you have it. That keeps other cachers from being frustrated that it isn’t there AND lets the owner know that the travel bug hasn’t been lost, stolen or muggled!

2. Try to place the trackable as soon as possible.

The whole point of traveling items is to TRAVEL!

Keep Reading!

13 years ago • • Tags: ,

The Truth About Trackables

Ah, trackables! Trackable items can be the Holy Grail for some geocachers. But, what exactly are they? This article is about that a trackable IS; next week’s will be about what to do with one once you find it.

Put simply, a trackable is an item that is moved from cache to cache, around the world, and its movements are recorded on geocaching.com.

But, if you’ve ever tried to explain that concept to a Muggle, then you know the most common question is: “Where does it keep the tracking chip?”

The first time I was asked this, I honestly didn’t understand. I mean you TRACK it at geocaching.com… Then I realized that with GPS technology, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the trackable item itself can be read and registered from a satellite. While that’d be really cool, it’s not the case.

(Although, if they can microchip a dog, it does make a next-step type of logic!)

Trackables, also called travel bugs, TBs, or hitchhikers can be a variety of items. Each trackable has a unique code that has been registered with geocaching.com.

So, just what IS a trackable item?

A travel bug is a “dogtag” imprinted with the image of a bug made from a barcode and a unique tracking code. These are produced by geocaching.com and available from the website directly or a variety of retailers. These “dogtags” are typically attached to an item like a small toy.

Image courtesy of geocaching.com; travel bug dog tags

Trackables can also be trackable geocoins. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes but are typically metal. They also have a unique code that is registered with geocaching.com.

Keep Reading!

13 years ago • • Tags: