What Exactly Are Letterbox Hybrid Caches?

[+Subterranean]

I’ve chosen an area to finally place a geocache of my own. It’s a beautiful location with a very challenging trail, but the tree cover there is pretty severe. It’s difficult to maintain a dependable GPS signal.

 

One idea I had was to make the hunt less dependent on coordinates and more dependent on clues. It would be a multi-cache. I would give parking coordinates and maybe coordinates to the first marker, but from there, each stage would provide clues instead of coordinates that would send cachers to the general area of the next stage. An example of a clue might be “Continue along the trail until you find a place to rest. From this spot walk forty paces toward the ugly tree and search low.”

 

Would this type of hunt be considered a letterbox hybrid? Would it be approved? Are there any other ideas that may help overcome the heavy canopy issue?

 

Matt

[WH]

A letterbox hybrid is a cache that is also a letterbox. They contain all the trade goodies of a regular geocache plus the stamp and logbook of a letterbox.

 

They are then listed on both geocaching.com and letterboxing .org

[+briansnat]

They are then listed on both geocaching.com and letterboxing .org

...or any other place letterboxers get clues. Letterboxing.org is the primary listing service in the US, but the sport is traditionally not as centralized (or shall I say centralised) as geocaching. Clues for letterboxes can be found anywhere.

[CoyoteRed]

Would this type of hunt be considered a letterbox hybrid?

No, a hybrid both a cache and a letterbox. It can't be considered a letterbox unless it has a stamp--preferably a custom stamp.

 

Clues is not what makes a letterbox, it's the log and stamp. Clues for letterboxes can be anything, prose, poetry, a picture, whatever--heck, even coordinates.

 

What you are describing is just a multistage cache.

[Keystone]

One other thing to mention: geocaching (including letterbox hybrid caches) is about using GPS and coordinates to locate the cache. At some point, a cache submission risks being turned down because it does NOT rely on using a GPS. "Go to point X and the cache is located at an offset of 200 feet at 187°" is obviously OK. Coordinates for the parking lot, followed by 10 clues that don't involve coordinates to get you to the cache... well, that's likely a problem.

[+Subterranean]

Okay, thanks everyone. That’s exactly what I needed to know.

 

So, it’s basically just a question of whether or not the specific approver that is assigned to my cache will approve it? …or should I forget the idea entirely?

 

And, of course, I have to ask… why must geocaches be found using mostly GPS? Is it to separate the sport from letterboxing?

 

Matt

[+Destitute]

Okay, thanks everyone. That’s exactly what I needed to know.

 

So, it’s basically just a question of whether or not the specific approver that is assigned to my cache will approve it? …or should I forget the idea entirely?

 

And, of course, I have to ask… why must geocaches be found using mostly GPS? Is it to separate the sport from letterboxing?

 

Matt

Gee, at the risk of sounding like a smart alec, that's like asking "why do you have to have heat to have a fire?".

 

The game was founded when selective availability was removed from global positioning satellites. The geocaching FAQ says "Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users."

 

I hope this helps.

[+Renegade Knight]

It's an offset cache if it's not at the listed coordinates but there is trail to follow from where the coordinates take you too to the cache. A puzzle cache you have to solve to get the coordinates to begin with.

 

Offset caches are dovetailed with multi caches which means your idea would be listed as a multi.

 

I really don't think making a GPS mandatory is a rule that should be enforced. Time and again in the forums people talk about the hunt, and the find, but not the sheer joy they get from holding their GPS. Ok maybe if they have one with points of interest and it helped find them lunch.

[+Renegade Knight]

Okay, thanks everyone. That’s exactly what I needed to know.

 

So, it’s basically just a question of whether or not the specific approver that is assigned to my cache will approve it? …or should I forget the idea entirely?

 

And, of course, I have to ask… why must geocaches be found using mostly GPS? Is it to separate the sport from letterboxing?

 

Matt

Letterboxing in it's current form and geocaching are essentially the same thing. Hide something for people to find. There are some different traditions but since in letterboxing you TNLNSL and most cachers end up TNLNSL I'm not sure the difference matters. I geocache but would have just as much fun letterboxing.