Those who have known me for a decent amount of time, will likely know of my love of Geocaching. It’s a worldwide treasure hunt for caches (boxes) hidden around the world, that you can use clues (and/or GPS if the clues are terrible), to track down hidden messages, information, and history about a locale. Sometimes, even ‘swappables’ (items you can swap to collect treasure, usually trinkets). Caching should all be done out of the gaze of ‘Muggles’ by the way (the unaware public).
This is all great fun, and while we have not managed as many as we would like over the years (I think I have a total of 23 finds so far), we have actually found an even more fun, and passive niche way to enjoy the Geocaching world.
That niche is ‘Trackables’.
Trackables are items with a unique code, known only to yourself and the finders of the code. You buy a ‘Geocoin’, or a ‘TravelBug’, and you place them in one of the aforementioned caches. Preferably, one that’s large enough to take the item. Some caches are even designated ‘Travel Bug Hotels’, and are an ideal place to drop one off.
When you do, anyone who finds that cache can then log that they have found the item, by inputting that unique code into their geocache app, and this then registers their find on the dedicated page for that Trackable. All interesting so far, but by far the most interesting aspect is when those people Geocaching, don’t just log your trackable, but register that they have taken it, and then deposit it in another cache, in another location.
Therein lies the reason for naming them ‘Trackables’ then, but how much fun is this, really? Well, it’s passive, obviously, and it can take a long time to get going. We have had Trackables sit in Travel Bug Hotels for months, however when they get going, perhaps to more populated areas where people Cache a lot more, things can get really captivating. This is something that is especially useful when I am not feeling able to be out adventuring myself.
We have a number of Trackables moving across the world right now, and they vary in their activity. Some are moving slowly, some are at the top of mountains. Some have been lost, and then recovered only to have been at the bottom of someone’s bag, and some have never stopped being active. We made up stories and pages for all our Trackables, just to give them a fighting chance of being interesting, and subsequently moved along.
How are our trackables doing?
My daughter has a couple of trackables:
• One is named ‘Gwen, the North Wales Smiley’. It was released on the 5th January 2023, and it’s currently sat in Germany. It currently has eight gallery images from places it’s visited (which is superb), and has travelled 1983.2 km in total, with 34 interactions.
Gwen the North Wales Smiley Trackable
• The other is ‘Rhys, the North Wales Frown’. Rather telling that this one is a frown and not a smiley perhaps, this trackable has only managed two gallery images from its trip, and 917.2 km with 10 interactions. It was, however, last seen in Norway.
Rhys the North Wales Frown Trackable
My trackables:
• My first is ‘Shiny the Spectre’. It’s been to England mostly, and has only travelled 901.1 km with a mere 29 interactions. It has a measly one gallery image, which was the one we used to send it on its way.
• My second one is ‘Sausage, the Silly Sloth’. It’s travelled all the way around the coast of Scotland, and seems to have found its way back to Wales, and is currently at Aber Falls. It also suffers from one meagre image in its gallery, but it has travelled a total of 1422.8 km with 64 interactions.
Sausage the Silly Sloth Trackable
• My third is my favourite, and is named ‘Bailey the Robot’. It’s a big (for Geocoins), heavy cast Trackable., with a little wheel and is pictured in the featured imaged for this blog. It was last seen in Limburg, Belgium, and has travelled a combined total so far of 6369.8 km with 299 interactions. Furthermore, it has only two gallery images.
My son, and his trackables:
• His first would be ‘Grendel the Misunderstood Troll’. Grendel appears to still be in Scotland, but has also racked up eight interesting images of where it’s been (including Culloden Battlefield). It has travelled 977 km so far, with 62 interactions.
Grendel the Misunderstood Troll Trackable
• His second Trackable, has done the best out of any other we have sent out into the wild. Rather aptly, he named his ‘Star the Wonder Dog’, after his favourite childhood teddy (he also loves dogs), and so far her journey has been as follows. She (Star), has only four gallery images, but she has travelled a combined total of 23,112.2 km, with 802 interactions. Last seen in Norway.
Family Trackables:
We also have a family trackable, for our website, ‘Baileys Int’ Wild’. It’s a joint effort, that we have not fully realised yet, however it’s a bit of a game for us as well. Instead of sending the trackable code around the world, we have employed the tactic of placing the code on our cars, and at strategic points in our YouTube videos. For those who happen to not just see it, but who know what it is, they can use the code to register on the dedicated page. It will not travel anywhere really, but we have a top ten ranking for the first ten people to log it.
Baileys Int’ Wild Trackable Page
Ultimately, it’s about geography, learning, and the chaos and randomness of other people’s actions. We cannot possibly influence where any of our trackables go, how far they travel, or whether they will even be picked up, lost or stolen (often children like to keep them apparently). It’s a game of chance, and we put them out into the world, only to see what happens to them.
Some get images, so do not. Some travel far, some do not. None of us are responsible for any of their achievements, but it’s still very interesting. Perhaps we’ll get them back as keepsakes one day, but perhaps not. Until then, we may launch more. :)
Emma.