Letterbox Confusion

[+greengecko]

Anyone else ever have a “letterbox” placed extremely close (less than two feet) from an existing well hidden cache?

 

It seems the poor letterbox is being muggled by unknowing geocachers searching for the first stage of a puzzle (mystery) cache. The geocachers are confused because they find a container and log but not the coordinates to the next stage. I have sent an email to the letterbox owner explaining the situation regarding his (or her) recently placed stamp and log.

[+CYBret]

We found a letterbox last year in Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN that was close enough to a cache that it caused some confusion. We were able to track the actual cache down, but never could find the letterbox on their website.

 

Bret

Edited August 2, 2004 by CYBret

[+Mopar]

Someone placed a letterbox about 3ft away from this cache.

Both are clearly marked and explain what they are, and so far the cachers and letterboxers seem to be able to figure out which is which.

[+greengecko]

I added the following to the cache description:

 

"During your search you may encounter a “letterbox” that was placed after this cache. This box, similar to a cache, contains a log and stamp. This recently placed “letterbox” is not part of the geocache hunt and does not contain the information you seek. I have contacted the “letterbox” owner and explained the situation. In the meantime try not to muggle this other game piece."

 

The Beale Papers Revisited

Edited August 2, 2004 by greengecko

[+briansnat]

I found a letterbox about 50 feet away from one of my caches. I checked and noticed there were a few logs in the letterbox from geocachers who found it. All had realized that it was not the cache, but I added a note to the letterbox saying "this is not the geocache" just in case.

 

I also have a multi cache and when I was checking on one of the stages, which is in a tree, I glanced down and caught a glimpse of plastic in the rocks at the base of the tree. Pulled it out and it was a letterbox, literally 3 feet from the stage of my multi. Oddly enough, nobody who found the multi mentioned finding the letterbox, so I must assume they didn't...even though it's much easier to spot than my micro in the tree.

[+Crouching Hiker, Hidden Cache]

Found one like this off I-95 as well. I found the letterbox, but didn't know it at the time.

 

Log

[+Team Gieselman]

We recently found a letterbox in Mounds State park. It was about 50 ft from Treebeard's Safe Haven. It was clearly marked at a letter box, so we new we were looking for something else.

[+fly46]

You could always also leave a note in the letterbox. Dear Geocachers, if you found this by mistake, treat it the same way you would treat a cache. This is NOT a step in MULTI NAME by CACHER NAME.

[+Hydnckr]

Interesting thread here - I am from NW Ohio but was visiting the Cincy area and doing some caches. I was searching for a cache on a river embankment in a local park and pulled out a container that was hidden "cache style" opened it up and found a letterbox instead...I was a bit surprised, replaced it and found the cache about 30 feet away.

 

I had no idea that it happens this often tho....crazy.

[moron]

Actually, it seems to happen the other way around for me. I spend a lot of time finding good places to hide letterboxes, then someone piggy-backs a geocache on it and my letterbox ends up with no stamp because someone took it and left a plastic car.

 

This despite the bold lettering on the lid that says "This is not a geocache."

 

Of course, your mileage may vary.

[Jamethiel]

Actually, it seems to happen the other way around for me. I spend a lot of time finding good places to hide letterboxes, then someone piggy-backs a geocache on it and my letterbox ends up with no stamp because someone took it and left a plastic car.

 

This despite the bold lettering on the lid that says "This is not a geocache."

 

Of course, your mileage may vary.

Opposite for us. We went through the permission process to place a multi-cache in a nice state park here in Montana- in a historical area at Travelers Rest. A month later a letter boxer placed one at our second step, right where we had decided not to put our cache due to the likelyhood it would get muggled. So my brother goes to find our cache and finds the letterbox. We had gotten him into letterboxing a few months before so he thought it was pretty funny.

Weird thing is that all the people at the park think the LB is the cache. And since they were really cool and happy to work with us for getting permission for the location of our cache, I haven't disuaded them. It is in a neat area, and well hidden. And not in any of the sensitive areas they had worried about so all is good.

Another box popped up in the same park our first cache is in. We are looking forward to finding it soon!

-Jennifer

[+GatoRx]

We were able to track the actual cache down, but never could find the letterbox on their website.

Sometimes just finding the clues to a LB can be a challenge. Many, but not all, are listed on the LbNA site; some boxers have their own webpages, and only post their clues on their sites, with no cross reference to them on LbNA.

 

So far, it doesn't seem to be a problem in my area. Letterboxing hasn't caught on like it has in other parts of the country, particularly the northeast, and as far as I know all the boxes and caches are hidden far enough apart to avoid confusion.

[ju66l3r]

You could always also leave a note in the letterbox. Dear Geocachers, if you found this by mistake, treat it the same way you would treat a cache. This is NOT a step in MULTI NAME by CACHER NAME.

NO No No No NO.

 

If you leave a note in the letterbox, it should read:

 

Dear Geocachers, if you found this by mistake, do NOT treat it the same way you would treat a cache! Do not trade anything! This is a letterbox and its contents should remain exactly as they are now if you are not letterboxing here today!

 

Letterboxes are not geocaches. They are a logbook/stamp combo. You put your personal stamp inside of the letterbox's logbook and you put the letterbox's personalized stamp in your own journal book. There is no trade! That is what "moron" above is commenting on. When geocachers find letterboxes and mistakenly treat them as geocaches, some very nice stamps are lost and the letterbox becomes useless to the next letterboxer.