+planetrobert Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 Ok i have been looking into letterboxng the last couple of days. There are about 4 withing 100 miles of me and I was wondering if anybody here has searched for letterboxes and if so what were your feelings about the game. On a side note one of the boxes is located in a national park. I'm thinking I should see if I can contact the owner to let them know of the NPS rule about such things. Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net Link to comment
+Runaround Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I tried Letterboxing but it lacked some of the thrill. The first one I visited had an e-mail address for the owner in the letterbox. They asked all finders to send them a note. The e-mail address was not functioning. The notebook was soaked and the stamp was pretty uninspiring. The second letterbox I found was damaged by animals. I contacted the owner by the e-mail address written on the lid of the box which was all I was able to find. That e-mail was also not functioning. The third letterbox I visited had clues that were way off. I found the box completely by accident after spotting a tree trunk that looked like a good cache hiding spot. The owner would have had to mis-read their compass by 180 degrees to have that stump fit the clues. The stamp was unique and well thought out even if the clues weren't. The 4th letterbox I went in search of had clues that would have put me 200' out into a lake. Not a little lake but a great lake. Lake Erie to be exact. I think I'll pass on the scuba gear and save the money for a better GPS. The 5th letterbox....... Oh what the hell am I doing out here????? Where's my GPS and the nearest cache??? ______________________ Now where did I park my car??????? Link to comment
+GatoRx Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I've done one letterbox, and have plans for a second (the only two that are in my general area.) I did the one box because it was near a newly placed cache, so I figured it'd be fun to get two games in on one trip. No compass was involved for this one - just a series of clues. I thought it was a fun hunt, letting my brain figure out the puzzle instead of just following the arrow on my GPSr screen. It wasn't inspiring enough to go out and make/buy my own stamp, but I'd go on another hunt if the opportunity arose. Link to comment
+gnbrotz Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I've hunted two letterboxes and found one of them. The other is rated difficult and a "mystery" letterbox. After failing, we contacted the hider. Although we did get a response, he couldn't offer much help as he "didn't remember much about it" and he did not live anywhere near the site. I like the concept, but I think the "organization" of the sport is lacking. If it had half the amount/quality of the GC site features, I think it would really take off. I haven't come across a letterbox hybrid cache yet, but would definitely hunt one if I was in the area. Might be as far as I get with letterboxing. Greg N 39° 54.705' W 77° 33.137' Link to comment
+gnbrotz Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I've hunted two letterboxes and found one of them. The other is rated difficult and a "mystery" letterbox. After failing, we contacted the hider. Although we did get a response, he couldn't offer much help as he "didn't remember much about it" and he did not live anywhere near the site. I like the concept, but I think the "organization" of the sport is lacking. If it had half the amount/quality of the GC site features, I think it would really take off. I haven't come across a letterbox hybrid cache yet, but would definitely hunt one if I was in the area. Might be as far as I get with letterboxing. Greg N 39° 54.705' W 77° 33.137' Link to comment
+planetrobert Posted May 1, 2002 Author Share Posted May 1, 2002 I think I'll be posting a letterbox/geoCache hybrid. Start at a particular set of coords and hunt it letterbox style. Letterboxing site I'm going to post it to the letterbox site too Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 I have not tried any true letterboxes. I have only tried letterbo/geocache hybrids. They were less than satisfying as they were basically 'easter egg' micros. Link to comment
+rbdupuy Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 For what it's worth, Louisiana only has about 5 letterboxes. I've found 3 of them, and got frustrated on the search for the fourth (also I've found one in MO). Of the ones I found, they were all very well placed (well hidden) by the same user, I think. At least 2 of them hadn't been disturbed in at least a year. Also, I was the first (and only, I guess) to log in those 2. The stamps were always hand-cut and pretty nice. Nicer than I could have done, but I cut my own personal stamp and rather enjoyed learning a new craft. I thought about placing a letterbox, but I'm not sure I would list it on the letterboxing site. As stated before, it does seem to lack the "organization" that geocaching does. I don't think that site gets updated very often, if ever. It seems more like a "regional" thing with physical letterboxing communities in certain areas. Of course I could be totally off on that one. I enjoy letterboxing as much as I do geocaching, but there's just less opportunity to do it. I'd hunt letterboxes all day if I had the opportunity (and there weren't caches). They're replacements for each other. But given the choice of one or the other, I'd probably hunt a cache, then a letterbox, then a cache, then a letterbox, until I got tired. RBDupuy Link to comment
+rbdupuy Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 For what it's worth, Louisiana only has about 5 letterboxes. I've found 3 of them, and got frustrated on the search for the fourth (also I've found one in MO). Of the ones I found, they were all very well placed (well hidden) by the same user, I think. At least 2 of them hadn't been disturbed in at least a year. Also, I was the first (and only, I guess) to log in those 2. The stamps were always hand-cut and pretty nice. Nicer than I could have done, but I cut my own personal stamp and rather enjoyed learning a new craft. I thought about placing a letterbox, but I'm not sure I would list it on the letterboxing site. As stated before, it does seem to lack the "organization" that geocaching does. I don't think that site gets updated very often, if ever. It seems more like a "regional" thing with physical letterboxing communities in certain areas. Of course I could be totally off on that one. I enjoy letterboxing as much as I do geocaching, but there's just less opportunity to do it. I'd hunt letterboxes all day if I had the opportunity (and there weren't caches). They're replacements for each other. But given the choice of one or the other, I'd probably hunt a cache, then a letterbox, then a cache, then a letterbox, until I got tired. RBDupuy Link to comment
kablooey Posted May 3, 2002 Share Posted May 3, 2002 I tried three letterboxes (in the same park) and found none of them. I seem to have enough trouble when I'm given the exact location of the boxes (geocaching), much less having to follow obscure clues. Link to comment
+WaldenRun Posted May 3, 2002 Share Posted May 3, 2002 I started letterboxing around the first of the year and found about 100 during January. While planting a box I ran across my first geocache and the rest is history. I'll second the notion that Jeremy's site is a great boost for Geocaching. If the Letterboxing site had as many features I might still be doing that. -WR "Why worry when you can obsess?" Link to comment
+The GeoGadgets Team Posted May 4, 2002 Share Posted May 4, 2002 quote:Originally posted by SirRalanN: I think I'll be posting a letterbox/geoCache hybrid. Start at a particular set of coords and hunt it letterbox style. Here is one such, if I understand this correctly. I have looked at the Letterboxing website before and dismissed it months ago because there weren't any in my area (the closest is almost 300 miles south of me). Now that I look closer, most of them would rate a 5 for terrain on GC.com. Out of twenty that I looked at in So. Cal. area where I grew up, the majority required the use of helicopter or boat to gain access to, or they are so far out in the middle of nowhere that the owners suggest spending an "Idyllic Weekend" while hunting for it! Now that is dedication to a hobby! On the otherhand, almost all of them were considered "orphans" and the original placer asks that others care for and maintain the cache as they can't be back for "years". Not very responsible. 90% of the ones I've read about were also located within a State or National Park or NFS land. Ahem... I hope that Letterboxers aren't giving Geocachers a black eye with their disregard for protocols. Link to comment
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