I think that's the key...we all know that the information given about bugs
may not be current.  You have to figure that if at least one cacher has
visited the cache since the bug was put in it, then the bug is probably not
there anymore.  It isn't often that bugs are passed over for other trinkets.
You can't run to a cache specifically for the travelbug that is supposed to
be contained within, especially if it has 'been there' for a while.  
 
It's very similar to when a cache goes missing but hasn't been archived yet.
In the back of your mind, you know that every cache hunt could be a wild
goose chase but you still take your chances, especially if the cache hasn't
been found for a while.  It just happens much more often with travelbugs.
Knowing all the problems that are inherent in their 'being', we can't always
expect them to be where they say they are.  
 
I consider travelbugs to be a "luxury item", something that is nicer than
the standard junk that one finds in some (most?) caches.  They're a nice
surprise to find when you open up the container.  Sure, travelbugs have
their issues and many do get lost.  But I say just do your part and play by
the 'rules'.  Take them if you want them; just make sure to log them as
picked up and place them within a reasonable amount of time.  They're a fun
part of the 'game', but you can't focus on them...right CHUMP?
 
LazyK - Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: RAND HARDIN [mailto:RHrdn8@msn.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 5:58 PM
To: listserv@azgeocaching.com
Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] RE: Travel Bugs revisited (Ken Akerman)


One of my biggest gripes with Travel Bugs is when someone stops by a cache,
picks it up and doesn't add a note, the date, and the time in the log book
when they took it - then doesn't get to a computer to record the information
for several days.  How many of us have gone to a cache to pick up a TB only
to find it missing - and then watch the cache page for several days
wondering what happened to the bug?  I'm sure many of us have burned a lot
of gas chasing these missing TBs.
 
Rand  
 

----- Original Message -----
From: RAND HARDIN
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 5:12 PM
To: listserv@azgeocaching.com
Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] RE: Travel Bugs revisited (Ken Akerman)
 
Ken, 
 
About the only way to solve this problem is not placing a Travel Bug in a
cache unless you know that you can get to a computer to log it within a
reasonable time.
 
Rand 
 

----- Original Message -----
From: ken@highpointer.com
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 5:03 PM
To: az-geocaching@listserv.azgeocaching.com
Subject: [Az-Geocaching] RE: Travel Bugs revisited (Ken Akerman)
 

I wish there was a way to immediately log a cache finding and a travel bug
as soon as you find a cache.  When I travel, I like to find caches, and
particularly I like to move travel bugs that I find in caches near my home
to caches as far away as possible, to put more miles on them.  However, when
I am on the road I may not be able to get to a computer for several days.
This poses a problem for travel bugs, because someone may find the travel
bug before I get a chance to enter it at home or at the office. 


For example, while in Utah I put a travel bug in a cache, and while hiking
out I encountered the next group of local geocachers en route to the cache.
I told them about the travel bug that I had put in it, and they agreed not
to log their travel bug finding until I had a chance to enter the travel bug
when I got home, which was two days later.  However, if I had not
encountered those geocachers on the way out, they would have picked up the
travel bug and likely would have tried to enter it before I had a chance to
enter it at home. 


What can you do about delayed updates to travel bug logs, when you are on
the road and are away from computer access for several days or more?  This
appears to be a flaw in the travel bug system. 


Ken