Many starting geocachers find different things in a cache and really don’t know the etiquette when it comes to these things so I thought I might start a little discussion about the different things you can find and what you do with each one.
Typical Swag– SWAG stands for Something We All Get. This is the normal “Happy Meal” toy or nondescript items that inhabit a cache. In most cases these are not collectible or trackable.
Signature Items– These are items that certain geocachers place into a cache as a nice way to say they had been there. Some nameless cacher leaves “Magic the Gathering” cards, Cecil-EGCM started leaving little monkey paratroopers, others have been known to create very intricate items to leave in caches. Like “Typical Swag” these are meant to be taken and dropped or kept. There are some cachers who collect signature items.
Travel Bugs– Travel bugs are trackable on geocaching.com. “Bugs” are any item that contains a tracking number which allows you to follow the item as it goes from cache to
A few examples of travel bugs including the infamous “Nametag”
cache. The “bug” is actually a dog tag attached in some way to the item. This can be a stuffed animal, an action figure, a key ring… a transmission from a 1980 Ford truck. Get the idea? The “tag” can actually come in many different shapes now under a few different names “Cachetags” “Cachekinz” etc.
Geocoins– These are shiny things… sometimes the tracking number can be hard to find. While there are many beautiful designs in many shapes & sizes there are few personal geocoins out there since these cost a pretty penny to have made. Actually finding a geocoin in the wild is becoming rarer since many of these go missing. Recently cachers have started making photocopies of coins and sending those out, keeping the coin in their collection.
A small sample of the variety of geocoins out there.
Any of these trackables have two options you can “discover” or you can move the item. Discovering is just that you have seen the item and want to log that you have seen it. Some things (like cars, pets, small children, etc.) are only meant to be discovered. For example this year’s GeoWoodstock t-shirts will be trackable. The other option is to become part of the trackable’s adventure and move it along. When a trackable is created you give it a goal. Some are simple, other are complex. The etiquette is that if you take a trackable you should move it along as soon as you can, but when it comes down to it a few weeks is typical. If you find one in a cache they are NOT collectibles. The only exception would be if an unactivated coin is in a cache as a First To Find prize.
The tracking through geocaching.com is one of the things that make it costly. Besides the cost of design & production each tracking number adds a cost(the last time I checked $3.00 per number)… want a special icon when people log the item? Another added cost. This makes personalized trackable signature items unique.
Pathtags– These confuse people… especially if you have never seen one before. They look like a small geocoin, with a hole in the top (about the size of a quarter). Consider pathtags a strange combination between a signature item and a pseudo-trackable.
A few Pathtags… “mint in the bag”
Instead of tracking them on geocaching.com these are logged on pathtags.com. What do you do if you find a pathtag? You will need to create an account on pathtags.com and then log your find. If you like it, keep it. Start collecting them. That’s what they are for. There is an entire community built around pathtags.
Pathtags, by not being trackable in the same manner, are a cheaper solution to geocoins and the design process is easier also. They cost around $2.20 each and take about 4-6 weeks to produce.
Usually you can find various trackables at events. Some cachers will bring their collections, or latest acquisition to share. There will usually be a spot for ones to get picked up and for those that are only there to be discovered. If you check a cache or event’s page there will be a list of what trackable items are in it’s inventory.
So what do think about trackables? Have you found a trackable that was really unique or memorable? Did I miss some valuable bit of information?