how can i do a letterbox hybrid with this.

[+Bells Angels]

I have an idea for a suburban cache near me. There is a street where the government bought all the houses and bulldozed them (because of a new airport runway the houses were in the flight path.) They turned it into a park but left all the old brick fences. Some have letterboxes. Seeing as I've never seen a letterbox hybrid and it would be a cool novelty to have one i'd like to try and make one hidden in a letterbox. Does anyone know how i go about this. THeres none around here for me to look at.

[+pppingme]

I assume you are familiar with what a letterbox is?

 

The only difference between a traditional and a letterbox hybrid is that it has the stamp that is used for letterboxing.

 

Geocachers usually treat them like a traditional cache, but there is some overlap between geocachers and letterboxers, the letterboxers are after getting the stamp in their book and leaving their stamp in the cache/letterbox logbook.

[+Bells Angels]

I assume you are familiar with what a letterbox is?

 

The only difference between a traditional and a letterbox hybrid is that it has the stamp that is used for letterboxing.

 

Geocachers usually treat them like a traditional cache, but there is some overlap between geocachers and letterboxers, the letterboxers are after getting the stamp in their book and leaving their stamp in the cache/letterbox logbook.

 

Okay now i've read some more I implement a type of custom stamp just to qualify as a letterbox (don't think it's a hobby that caught on down here anyway) and then it's just a traditional.

 

Do I have to register it with the letterboxers (is it letterboxing.com) 8)

[+ApanAnn]

I think it's .org, but it's easier to just do a google search for letterboxing. You don't have to register it anywhere else than here if you don't want to. Most of the letterboxes I've seen have had a bit of mystery feel to it. There are coordinates involved, but usually written clues as well.

 

In regular letterboxing the boxes can be hidden with just clues and no coordinates so I suppose they try to emulate that.

[+briansnat]

I assume you are familiar with what a letterbox is?

 

The only difference between a traditional and a letterbox hybrid is that it has the stamp that is used for letterboxing.

 

Geocachers usually treat them like a traditional cache, but there is some overlap between geocachers and letterboxers, the letterboxers are after getting the stamp in their book and leaving their stamp in the cache/letterbox logbook.

 

Okay now i've read some more I implement a type of custom stamp just to qualify as a letterbox (don't think it's a hobby that caught on down here anyway) and then it's just a traditional.

 

Do I have to register it with the letterboxers (is it letterboxing.com) 8)

 

There is no requirement to cross list a LB hybrid but it would make sense to do so (letterboxing.org and atlasquest.com are the major ones). I can't imagine a reason for creating one if it isn't cross listed.

Edited May 15, 2011 by briansnat

[+palmetto]

Any cache listed on Geocaching.com must demonstrate a gps use.

a warning about writing up a letterbox style description that really doesn't require a gps to find (common are parking coords + how to find the box from the parking, this isn't publishable, usually)

 

As a reviewer, I encounter this lack of gps use in Letterbox hybrids, and sometimes in Puzzle/Mystery.

GPS use is fundamental to a geocache.

 

One of the more prolific letterbox hybrid hiders in my area writes a letterbox description (and uses that on letterboxing.org as well as on their Geocaching.com page) and at the top of the Geocaching.com listing are the actual coords for the cache - like a traditional. In a sense, the write-up represents a total spoiler. This is fine.

[+L0ne.R]

I assume you are familiar with what a letterbox is?

 

The only difference between a traditional and a letterbox hybrid is that it has the stamp that is used for letterboxing.

 

Geocachers usually treat them like a traditional cache, but there is some overlap between geocachers and letterboxers, the letterboxers are after getting the stamp in their book and leaving their stamp in the cache/letterbox logbook.

 

Okay now i've read some more I implement a type of custom stamp just to qualify as a letterbox (don't think it's a hobby that caught on down here anyway) and then it's just a traditional.

 

Do I have to register it with the letterboxers (is it letterboxing.com) 8)

 

The most important thing about a letterbox is the stamp. It is, as Potato Finder points out, the reason for the box..."letterboxers are after getting the stamp in their book and leaving their stamp in the cache/letterbox logbook." Letterbox enthusiasts want to collect a unique stamp image that defines that box. So if you plant a letterbox please don't throw any old stamp in the box (e.g. a muffin stamp in a box at the foot of a waterfall). Have the stamp match the theme of the box or the location. Put in a custom-made stamp or a hand carved stamp so that stamp is unique. Examples:

 

Custom-made stamp

 

Hand carved

 

Hand carved stamp

 

Hand carved stamp

 

Some people think a letterbox is a puzzle cache or a multi cache. Groundspeak already has cache types for those. What makes the difference is the stamp and preferably a collectable unique stamp.

 

If you want to provide a full traditional letterboxing experience provide the unique stamp and take the finder to a landmark via the GPS coordinates then give directions to the box from the landmark.

 

Interested in carving your own stamp? See this quick photo tutorial:

 

How to carve an eraser stamp with an xacto blade

[+hukilaulau]

i've seen three distinctly different types of "letterbox hybrid" caches listed on GS:

1) a regular cache with a stamp thrown it. kind of lame.

2) caches that are listed on GC.com with gps coordinates AND on one of the letterboxing sites with clues.

3) a cache listed only on GC.com that has coordinates to some landmark, and then letterboxing type clues that lead you to the cache.

Bear on the Loose is a nice one in central Park in new York that has nearly 200 finds

 

All three types should have a stamp.