Geocaching Friday - Confessions of a Geocache Fail

My name is Becky, and I failed at geocaching.

The reason for the fail was not failing to locate the cache itself. That part I did perfectly fine. And boy was I ever excited to see a trackable coin!

For those who are unfamiliar with or new to geocaching, trackable coins are just what they sound like - coins with a special code that, when entered at the appropriate website, allow the owner of the coin to track its whereabouts. It's pretty fun for both parties!

Let the Woes Begin!

Sadly just after I found the coin, I began to have car trouble. I've been in my house for the past 5 weeks. The worst part is this coin that hangs from the key holder by the front door, taunting me.

Adding insult to injury are memories of all the forum posts at www.geocaching.com from disgruntled owners of coins that were picked up never to be seen or heard from again.

And to make matters worse, this trackable has a really awesome story and a request not to hold it for more than 15 days. I have had this coin for going on 15 weeks. OUCH!

Reaching Out with an Apology

Finally I decided that enough misery was enough misery, and it was time to take responsibility for my fail. I decided to man up and email the owner of the trackable.

I told them all my car woes, not to mention that my beloved dog died during the same time frame) and tried to assure them that I am not the type of geocacher who gets into the hobby and then flakes out, coin in hand.

If they respond then I'll post in a future episode of Geocaching Friday. I don't blame them if they don't, though.

Sticking My Trackable Swag on the Line

In the meantime I think it only fair that I plan to put my own trackable swag on the line. After perusing all that Amazon had to offer, I've decided to go with dog tags.

These tags come 4 to a pack which makes them quite the deal from an economic standpoint. And as many as 85% of the reviews give this item a 5-star rating, which was a big factor in my decision.


If you're a geocacher, then you know the value of great swag. And if you're new to geocaching, why not start out by dropping a trackable or two?

Clicking the picture takes you over to the Amazon site where you can order your own trackable swag. The quicker you place an order, the quicker you can track the whereabouts of your tags!

And if you have geocaching adventures - fails or successes - to share then I'd love to hear about it in the comments section. Until next Friday - happy geocaching everyone!

Geocaching - Get Your Swag On!

Geocaching is a game similar to a virtual scavenger hunt that uses GPS coordinates. You find the cache site, sign the log book, and if you're lucky, trade out a bit of swag. When I go geocaching, it's all about the swag. The general guideline regarding swag is, "Trade even, trade up, or don't trade at all."

So far my favorite bit of swag found has been this guy here:

What Trackables Are and Why Geocachers Love Them

However I recently snagged my first trackable coin swag! I have to say, that was a real thrill. Trackables are items people register online. When you find it, you log in and record it. When you drop it somewhere else, you record that, too.

The above trackable coin is the first one that I found. I have found another one since, but that first one is my favorite. These are the gold nuggets of swag, and the people who invest in them enjoy tracking where these bits of swag adventure as much as we geocachers enjoy finding them.

Swag Doesn't Have to Cost a Fortune

But swag doesn't have to be expensive, or even anything big. Swag can be something as trivial as a cheap plastic party favor. As my oldest son's BFF remarked after finding his first bit of swag, "All this work for a plastic stink bug."

Sometimes that is exactly how it feels. But then you look at that plastic stink bug and remember the satisfaction of finding the container, and being able to mark one more location as "FOUND" at the Geocaching website. Here are some things that make excellent swag.

• loose change, even pennies and nickels
• plastic army, cowboy, indian, or any other men
• dice and game tokens from old board games, like Monopoly
• plastic party favors like you'd see at a child's birthday party
• anything made with plastic pony-style beads

The Best Swag for Your Buck


Plastic party favors make great swag because they are weatherproof. Unlike baseball cards, they won't fall apart due to rain or snow that leaks into the container. And unlike the coveted trackables, they are fairly inexpensive.

I personally like the cheap plastic swag because it never fails to put a smile on my face. It takes me right back to the birthday parties of my childhood, and reminds me that even if it is only because I followed the coordinates to the site container, I am still a winner at something.

Click on the picture above now to order swag for your own geocache bag. As always, if you are member of Amazon Prime you will enjoy an additional bonus discount along with free shipping. And if you have other ideas for swag, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section!