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Letterboxing What Is It?

Team JSAM

By Team JSAM
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Team JSAM

+Team JSAM

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I am new to geocaching and have seen letter boxing on the gc.com site but I am not sure what it really is I have read the description on gc.om and letterboxing.org, but this has still left unanswered questions. I would like to learn more about letter boxing before I try and do one. From what I can gather its kind of like a muti cache but no coords you have to use clues to find the cache. Also I saw this info on this cache page and did not understand what this ment: "Once parked set your gps to: True North UTM/UPS NAD27 CONUS Metric Then proceed to utm: 11 t 0639745 4767474" Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

:lol:

Edited by JsamFam
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Kit Fox

+Kit Fox

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am new to geocaching and have seen letter boxing on the gc.com site but I am not sure what it really is I have read the description on gc.om and letterboxing.org, but this has still left unanswered questions. I would like to learn more about letter boxing before I try and do one. From what I can gather its kind of like a muti cache but no coords you have to use clues to find the cache. Also I saw this info on this cache page and did not understand what this ment: "Once parked set your gps to: True North UTM/UPS NAD27 CONUS Metric Then proceed to utm: 11 t 0639745 4767474" Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

:lol:

 

It means the compass in your GPS needs to be set to true north, rather than magnetic north. UTM is a different type of coordinates. They are commonly used on TOPO maps. I converted the coords using GeoCalc, and came up with N 43 02.826, W 115 17.053

Edited by Kit Fox
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Monkey Toes

+Monkey Toes

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You're basically right about letterboxing. It's the non-tech version of geocaching. Most clues use landmarks and/or compass readings that you need to follow to find the letterbox. Some are extrememly easy, some not so much.

 

You won't find swag in a letterbox either. You will find a rubber stamp and a logbook. What a letterboxer does is imprint the stamp's image into their own personal logbook as a memento of the find. The letterboxer will also have their own personal 'signature' stamp that they carry with them that they will then use to leave an imprint inside the logbook of the letterbox to show that he was there.

 

Most stamps are handmade, but that isn't a neccesity. I have sen some very beutiful homemade stamps, though.

Edited by Monkey Toes
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Frettchen_2006

+Frettchen_2006

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Letterboxing is a lot of fun. That's what I found first (both are in the Girl Scout badge that brought the hobbies to my attention). It's got more of the "treasure map" feel to it than geocaching (to me anyway), and I love flipping through all the really nice stamps in the logs and looking over the ones I've collected. There are very few in Alabama (no more than 50 boxes), another reason I tried out caching, and while the two are very similar I don't think they can be compared as the methods are just too dissimilar.

 

Letterboxing gives step by step instructions on how to find the box, however, the clues can be vague (and even sometimes that's deliberate!) leading you to restep things out several times in order to find it.

 

Great thanks Monkey Toes its sounds pretty kewl there are only 4 in idaho so I was not sure if they were worth it or not seeing as they dont seem to very popular.

 

Not sure where you're looking, but http://www.atlasquest.com has over 180 boxes listed for Idaho, so you should have some near you!

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