NorthWest Arkansas Cachers

So, I Found a Travel Bug or Geocoin. Now What Do I Do?

The first thing you need to know is that the TB or geocoin belongs to somebody who is watching it as it travels around the county and the world. Therefore, it’s important that you report your find as soon as possible. For the purpose of this tutorial, the term TB applies to both travel bugs and geocoins.

A travel bug usually has a dog tag that is attached to a “hitchhiker,” or an item that travels from place to place. A Geocoin has a number engraved on it. Both usually have goals – where they want to go, or what they want to see. If you find a TB, you need to go online to add your story to its journey.

Step 1. Get the tracking number.
In order to log your find and “grab” the bug, you first need to locate the bug’s tracking number. The number is usually on the dog tag that is attached to the hitchhiker, or engraved on the geocoin. Make sure you write this number down before dropping the item in another cache. You’ll need the number to locate and “grab” the bug online.

Step 2. Visit the TB’s page.
Each TB has it’s own web page. To visit the page, either visit the cache listing where you found the cache, or click on “Trackable Items” on the geocaching.com webpage. Then, enter the number you’ve written down in the appropriate box and click the search button to reach the bug’s web page.

Step 3. Found it!! Log It!!
Once you reach the TB’s web page, you’ll need to write a log to let the owner know you found it. When you log the TB you have several options. If you’ve taken the TB out of the cache to travel elsewhere you’ll need to either “retrieve” it, or “grab” it. This will put the TB in your online inventory. This will ultimately allow you to drop the TB in another cache.

If the TB is listed as being in the cache you found it in, simply select “Retrieve xxx from xxx” and write your log. Where it becomes tricky is when the TB is not logged into the cache in which you found it. If this happens, we try to discern what the story is. Has a traveling cacher placed it there and just not had the chance to log it yet? Or, maybe if it was placed there by somebody who simply didn’t know how to log it properly. In the first case, we usually let a week or so pass by to give the traveling cacher time to enter their logs and will usually email the cacher to remind them. If a reasonable period of time goes by and it still hasn’t been logged, you have the option, as long as you still have the tracking number, of “grabbing” it from wherever it is. Simply select “Grab it” from the drop down menu and proceed as before. Both of these options places the TB in your online inventory.

On the other hand, if you see the TB in a cache or at an event, but don’t want to or can’t take it with you, you can “Discover” it. You will still need the tracking number to do this, but the TB will stay where it was for the next person. The “discover” option will give you the icon for the TB on your profile page.

Dropping off a TB
Once you have logged a TB as “retrieved” or “grabbed”, you can now drop it off in a cache. Like the real world, a cache listing serves as a virtual container allowing you to “drop off” the TB into it. You should remember that if a TB has a mission, you should try to follow the mission as closely as possible. If the TB wants to go east, don’t place it in a cache to the west, etc.

Step 1. Visit the cache listing.
Since you “found” or “visited” the cache you placed the TB into, you may as well kill two birds with one stone. Visit the cache listing as you would if you were preparing to log your find. If you have already logged it, don’t worry – you can always post a “note” and accomplish the same thing.

Step 2. Visit the “log a cache” page.
Select the “log a cache” link at the top of the page, selecting “found it”, or “write note” as appropriate. Of course, you’ll need to be logged into geocaching.com to do this.

Step 3. Drop off the TB
After entering the text for your log, scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see a text box listing all the trackable items in your inventory. Simply click on the TB you’ve left in the cache. If you left more than one, hold down the control key and click on all the ones you dropped in the cache. Once you’re ready, click on the button to submit your log. The TBs will now transfer from your inventory to the cache listing.

Pretty easy, huh??