Going Caching: Pathtag Edition

Trading path tags at events is a common activity, and Going Caching was no exception.  Going Caching had a set of 6 different pathtags, however you cannot (as far as I know) just buy the entire set - you have to work for it.

With some registration packages one gets 6 pathtags of the same design.  To complete the set you have to trade tags with folks who got a different set in their registration packets.  I managed to trade for a complete set by the second day.  Here they are: (Please excuse the photo quality - pathtags are annoyingly hard to photograph.)

For the record, I started with six of the top middle pathtag that says "Veni Vidi Cachi".

As mentioned previously, there is always more to Going Caching than meets the eye, as evidenced by this limited edition pathtag given to members of the Going Caching crew.  I was given one by a volunteer at the very end of the event:

I also traded my personal pathtag with many folks, so I came back with a huge collection. It is nice to have these unique souvenirs of the folks you met on the trails, and at events.

This is my final post about Going Caching.  It is such a huge event that I am sure I forgot something, missed something, or got a detail or two wrong.  It is such a fanstastic extra long weekend of events. I am already making plans to go back next year.  It will be in the same place, Rome GA, with a different theme: The Renaissance.

I hope to see you there next year!

Geocaching Australia

I got a pathtag in the mail today from geocaching.com.au to commemorate my first 100 finds on the service.  The service automatically sends out these path tags when milestones, like 100 finds, are logged.

geocaching.com.au is one of many listing services around the world for geocaching.  As you'd expect geocaching.com.au caters to Australia caches.  Frequent readers of this blog may realize that I have not been outside North America in several years, and putting two and two together are wondering how I was able to make 100 finds on an Austrailian geocaching listing site.

The answer is locationless caches.  These are caches that do not have a container, nor do they have specific coordinates. Most of them require a cacher to find an object in the world, and post a picture and coordinates to claim the find.

I came across the idea of logging caches on geocaching.com.au during a discussion on Google Plus about my recent encounters with StreetView Cameras (here and here). During the discussion the fact that a locationless cache deals with encounters with StreetView cars.  I was intrigued so I logged the cache.  While I did I noticed that there were hundreds of locationless caches on the site.

At the same time I had a bike accident so I was off my feet for a few days.  I used that time to go through my archive of pictures and claimed locationless caches.  After a couple days I ended up with 100 finds.

From what I understand from discussions with Geocaching Australia, I am the first person overseas to be sent this pathtag, so it is a unique momento of my caching experiences.  Someday I hope to cache in Australia for real, but for now this pathtag will have to do.

My First Pathtag Trades

As you probably remember, last week I got my first pathtags  in the mail.

Since then I have had several requests from other pathtag owners to trade with them.  The trades are done through pathtags.com.

These are the first 5 tags that I have traded my tag for. Sorry in advance for the bad pics - I haven't mastered pathtag photography yet.

Personal tag for the Tank Hounds:

"Moose on the Loose". The moon glows in the dark.

"I play with satellites"

Dr. Suess tag made by Swamp Teacher

Personal tag for The Mortons.  Tagline reads: Geocaching From Virginia

My First Pathtag

I got my first pathtags in the mail today. This is also my first signature item.

For those not familiar, a signature item is a personalized item that geocachers leave in the caches they find - sort of an "I was here" mark.  These sig items become tradable just like any other swag in the cache.  Often geocachers will trade pathtags with each other when they meet in person, and some have built up impressively extensive collections.

Some popular sig items are wooden nickels, business cards, or a certain item that folks leave - for example a cacher I met called Bells Boys leaves a small bell in each cache they find.

Pathtags (made by pathtags.com) are small metallic tags (slightly larger than a Canadian or US 5 cent coin) that can be highly personalized.  You can design your own, or get a designer to make you one.  The possibilities are almost endless.  They are hand painted at the factory with coloured enamel.

As you can see, for my pathtag I went with a design that seemed to represent me. I self-describe myself as a Canadian Bear (combination of my home country, and pronunciation of my last name), so I put in a sketch of a bear over a Canadian maple leaf.  I am by no means an artist, but I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.  What do you think of the design?

Pathtags are a bit expensive so I won't be dropping these into every cache I find, but I am happy to trade.  If we ever meet in person ask me and I'll be happy to drop a pathtag in your hands.

Do you have a sig item?  Tell me about it in the comments below.