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Post by SSO JOAT on Jun 4, 2011 21:28:10 GMT -9
I just went through my "released into the wild" Travel Bug list. Had to move one to missing based on notes on the cache listing and 2 others are pending responses from messages sent to find out where they are.
As part of my Spring cache maintenance, I've been clearing the inventory of any TB's which are not in the caches by moving them to "missing". I know of many of TB's listed in caches around Alaska that are not in the caches (and haven't been for quite some time), which can be frustrating for cachers who are looking to find and move them.
I've only released 5 into the wild and only 2 of them have recent activity. All of my GeoCoins are in my personal inventory and I let them "visit" during cache finds and get discovered by other cachers and at Events.
My highest mileage coins (a set of 5) have 15,092 miles on them.
So, chime in...
1- Do you check your trackables periodically to see what they're up to and move them to missing as appropriate to remove them them from a cache inventory when they are obviously not in there?
2- Do you cache owners check on your caches periodically and move any TB's listed in your cache inventory to missing when they are not in there?
3- How many TB's have you released into the wild and how many are still actively moving?
4- What's the highest mileage of any of your owned TB's?
Curious cachers want to know! ;D
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 5, 2011 8:52:04 GMT -9
1- Do you check your trackables periodically to see what they're up to and move them to missing as appropriate to remove them them from a cache inventory when they are obviously not in there? I do periodically check on my trackables to see what they've been up to. The "View in Google Earth" function makes it fun to see where the bugs have been. I do not "Mark Item Missing" because I can't personally verify the traveler is no longer in the cache or in a cacher's possessoin. More than once I have had a traveler reappear more than a year after it's "disappeared." Yes. I periodically visit most of my caches, log "Owner Maintenance," and "Mark Item Missing" for travelers that have been showing in the cache's inventory for several months. My family and I have released approximately sixty travel bugs and geocoins since September 2004. Of that group, twelve have moved in the past six months and fourteen have moved in the past year. 1. LBKids' 2006 Alaska Coinament (Matte) has traveled 29,395 miles. 2. LB Kids' Alaska Mosquito Racer: Billie has traveled 19.421 miles. 3. Mini-V Ladybug's Ladybug Travel Bug has traveled 14,852 miles despite being out of circulation for more than 3.5 years during 2007-2010. Geocoins I've dropped in Europe or that others have moved to Europe or Austrailia/New Zealand do better than geocoins I release in the United States.
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Post by tomanoble on Jun 14, 2011 23:02:58 GMT -9
I have 7 travel bugs and coins that I have released into the wild.
4 are currently missing, 1 never made it out of the first cache it was put into to so it is also probably missing and the last 2 are in the hands of cachers who have not logged into geocaching.com for at least 10 months.
The most miles collected by one of my coins/tbs is 14,280 and the lest is 0.
The most successful of "my" geocaches is one I brought home from Geocoinfest 2009 and launched for its owner. It recently made its way back to the US after touring the British Isles and the Netherlands. It has over 17,000 miles traveled.
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powmia
Silver Cacher
Caches Found/Hidden xxxx/x
Posts: 208
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Post by powmia on Jun 15, 2011 5:13:16 GMT -9
My highest mileage item is Alaska Mosquito Racer: Mr Tahoe at 86037. I believe it does not realize the race ended a couple years back.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Jun 15, 2011 9:10:26 GMT -9
Don't tell it the race is over! Well, I'm back up to 3 active TB's with 2 missing. The one that had been "in hands" for many months was released to a new cache the day after sending the cacher a very polite note asking about the TB. Approach dictates response, as they say. I haven't released many, but I've handled 239 trackables along the way. I have 5 traveling with me right now. I tend to pick up nearly every trackable I find, try to log them through a number of caches, move them toward their goal as I can, and then I'm very picky about where I drop them off. Not too remote so as to strand them, but not too urban as to risk being stolen. In viewing other trackables and seeing those that tend to disappear, I've concluded that the best way to build and release trackables is to go through the following: 1- Make sure the item has no intrinsic or sentimental value. Expect that the released item will never return and may be stolen within minutes of you dropping it off. Permanently alter the item by drilling holes, engraving your caching nickname into it, etc. Basically make sure the item is not usable. The TB item should also be waterproof! The TB is going to get wet. Make sure it's not something that will absorb water and turn to a nasty-smelling mold incubator. 2- Give it a goal. Items with a clearly stated, but fairly general goal give cachers a mission to accomplish. TBs with no stated goal don't provide the incentive to actually "do something" with it. 3- Make sure the goal travels with the TB. Print and laminate a small card to attach to the dog tag chain. It's important that this card be laminated, attached, and small enough to allow the TB with card to fit in caches. A loose printout of GC's TB Info Sheet is not adequate. These get ruined and lost quickly. 4- Permanently attach the item, goal card, and tag together. If you use the included dog tag chain, crimp the connector or fill it with epoxy or hot-melt after getting everything on the chain. 5- Place the TB inside of its own small Ziploc bag. Traveling with its own bag separates the TB from other SWAG that might be in the cache. New cachers often don't know the difference, so having the TB bagged separately helps folks to tell the difference (most of the time). Any other experiences and ideas for TB longevity?
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 15, 2011 16:09:25 GMT -9
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