A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

hobbies

Zoom zoom zoom!

Not that I need another hobby…

I’ve recently had the chance to mess around with some radio controlled cars. I have always enjoyed the aspect of these and have wanted to own one.

Truthfully, wanted to get something I could fly – such as a plane or a helicopter. But, here’s my issue there – if I don’t understand how things work well enough, I could crash one of these marvelous machines. If that happened and it was a bad crash, I could be out the money I invested just like that.

I feel a little more secure with a radio controlled car.

Zoooooooooooom!

The research aspect here is quite important as I want to make sure the one I get is one with low maintenance. I’m not one of those people who can tweak and play with things to get more performance out of something. Therefore, I need something that does what I need it to do, without much tinkering. I also opted for battery power (despite knowing I won’t get as much time out of it without extra batteries), because I think there’s less of a chance something crazy could happen. I’ve seen some of the gas-powered ones and there’s so much tinkering. I know the performance seems to be better, but I can dig the battery work.

The real issue here is I am not sure what is good and what is bad. I have some ideas as I have a friend who is an RC nut (he does airplanes/cars etc.) and he gave me a good idea. The one I am looking at is in the price range I want to spend, though I’d have to but an extra battery or two and likely a rapid charger. It seems you get anywhere from 15-30 minutes out of a battery and without the rapid recharger, it could take upward of six hours for a new charge. That’s why having that and an extra battery or two would be handy.

But why, right? I already have enough hobbies, between geocaching, the blog, softball, photography and, when time allows, disc golf.

This, though, is basic.

It will get me to go outside when other things aren’t going on, be moving around and trying different things. I’ll have to find some good places to take the car, but it could be some fun. And that’s the big thing here – being out and moving. I know some fun little spots I could take this car and from the videos I’ve been looking at, it appears like it can take a good little beating, too.

I also think it would be fun to have when out geocaching. Many geocaching places take you to nice trails or rugged terrain. This truck could come along and mix the two hobbies together. Plus, I could put a trackable on the RC car and people could discover it.
Not only that, but it should give me more chances for photography or making videos. I’d really like to find out how to mount a small camera on top of the car…
Though I have a lot of things on my plate, I also think this could be a relaxing way to spend 30-60 minutes every couple of days. The aspects of being outside and moving around and having some fun doing it makes it even more appealing.

Now I just have to pick the car I’d like to have … and the accessories.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

3,000 finds and counting — a look back at four years of fun

Darren signs a log at a very early cache outing.

In life, sometimes little things can make one smile.

Whether a moment, a person, a hobby — just about anything. And to get a smile, you can feel like life isn’t so bad.

In February of 2008, we were in the midst of a normal upstate New York winter. Some snow, cold and everything else. It was also but six months since my father had died, so I hadn’t really gotten out of a funk.

Then came geocaching.

A friend, Darren, told me about a game he had discovered. Geocaching, he said, was a game where people placed things out and about and you then used a GPS to find it.

Though I don’t fly out the door anymore for FTFs, it is nice on occasion to see a blank log book when you get there.

I believe my initial reaction was something along the lines of “Why would anyone want to do that?”

Soon after, plans were made to try the game out the following weekend as Darren had a couple of GPS units we could use. He told me about the website and to sign up and get a name and all. I did that and peeked around a bit, trying to figure out what this game was about.

It seemed simple enough.

People — known as geocachers — hid containers in the wild. It could be in the woods or in an urban setting and the size of the container could be anything from the size of a thimble to the size of a car or bigger. The hiders took coordinates and uploaded them to the website. Finders would get those coordinates and then go search for the geocache. Once found, you signed the log and, if you wanted, you traded for things people left in the container. The one rule there was to trade evenly or trade up. Then, when home, you logged the find online.

Me and my 1,000th find.

I figured I could handle this game.

Once I had an idea of what was going on, I was interested. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but it was worth a day. Darren and I had talked about letterboxing — a non-GPS treasure hunt — before, so this seemed OK.

March 1, 2008 is when we set out. The first cache found was one just a few miles from me. It was at a covered bridge. As a covered bridge nut, I was into it.

But I felt odd. Here we are looking around on this bridge for something. After starting to understand what was going on, the cache was found. I did feel a little odd as a car or two passed us.

My first log:

Two of us ventured out today — my first day of geocaching! Found this one. GREAT spot. This was the first of, I think, five we hit. Really cool spot and wild how you set it up. And being I’m a fan of covered bridges, this was awesome for my first time. Well done! TNLNSL.

Imagine that. First log and I was using abbreviations.

The Wicklow Mountains in Ireland — I never would have seen this if not for geocaching.

We had printed a few caches out (no paperless when we first started!) and hoped these would be winter friendly ones. There was snow out, you see, and we didn’t know what it would be like to find these suckers in the snow.

We ended up tromping through snow for a few of them. One cache, we even asked some people who worked at one place about it. They said they knew about it, but weren’t sure where it was. We ended up finding it, thankfully.

In total, five caches were found that day.

Five days later, we went again. Six more caches were found. There were several different sizes, too, including a nano cache for the first time. One was a pretty long hike in the snow, too, which was somewhat miserable. But in the end, not too bad.

After all, this was exciting.

People were hiding things all over the place. It could be in my backyard, basically, and I never knew about it. This was cool.

I didn’t have my own GPS, so I was kind of stuck. Darren let me borrow one of his for a couple of weeks and I ventured out to find some others.

Geocaching friends at GeoWoodstock IX.

I soon purchased my own GPS — a Garmin 60CSx. I really debated which GPS to buy. The 60CSx, which was about $300 and seemed to be perfect for geocaching, or the Garmin eTrex, which was about $125. In the end, I decided to go with the big one in hopes that it would be perfect.

It was and I still use that GPS unit to this day.

I remember the feeling I had when I first found caches. It was invigorating. To think that I was doing something that not many people did as well. How cool was that?

Many firsts followed.

My first cache out of state. My first event. My first Earthcache.

As time went on, I discovered more and more things about geocaching and I loved it. There weren’t many negatives. Every experience was different and very cool.

Darren and I hit up an event a few months after starting out. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw two people get out of a truck and head in. We stared and our thoughts were “What are we doing here?”

In the end, it was fun.

The first caching event I hosted.

Since then I’ve been to dozens of events and have hosted many others.

As I look back on the four-plus years I’ve played this game, most of the thoughts are positive. I’ve met many wonderful people — some of which are good friends to this day. I never would have met them if not for this game.

Heck, when I went to Ireland in 2010, I had the chance to cache with several people there, but two specifically who took me on an amazing day of caches throughout the countryside. Talk about fun! This game has taken me all over the place. According to my GSAK stats, my cache-to-cache mileage is 41,916 miles. That’s as the bird flies, too. And doesn’t include ones I traveled to and didn’t find. Or miles I traveled to get to a spot or to meet somebody.

I bet it’s easily in the 50,000-75,000 mile range traveled.

All for a box in the woods or something small in an urban setting.

It’s a game that forces you to get outside. Whether it be a long and challenging hike or a quick urban grab, you’re outside and moving somewhat. The long hikes are great and some of the views and spots I’ve been brought to are simply amazing.

The geocaching community, as a whole, is pretty solid, too.

When I first started, I was looking for basic info about everything caching — placing caches specifically. I went to the Geocaching.com forums and soon, a volunteer on the site, offered to send me a few things. I’ll never forget that and have tried to give things to newer cachers as well when I have the chance.

A geocache in the woods.

I also always try and stay positive. That’s not to say that I sometimes won’t let something get to me. But, for the most part, I stay positive. With cachers, with hides, with logging and with anything else. There’s a lot of negativity and uppity attitudes in this game and I try and stray away. It’s easier that way. Avoiding it is hard sometimes, but I tend to try and ignore it now and move along.

The only thing that stinks is after four-plus years and 3,000-plus finds, sometimes that original feeling isn’t there.

I remember starting and finding the geocache. It was such a thrill. I’d dig through it and see what’s there. Now, the thrill isn’t the same. Seeing so many different hides, sometimes you just walk up on them. But, sometimes you can have that feeling when somebody designs or places a really wild cache. Something you haven’t seen before or that often.

But it’s still fun.

I have no idea how long it will take me to get to 4,000 finds. I don’t really care, either, as I’m to the point now where I just like to go out and find some geocaches. Let the numbers count. I’ll pay attention as I’m a stat junkie, but the time frame of it is of no worry.

People hide. I find. I hide. People find.

It’s an ever revolving cycle in this game. And it’s really cool.

Found it!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing more about my four-plus years and 3,000 finds. The posts will be periodic, but I’ll be going through some of my favorite finds/hides, cheating in the game (seriously!), and some other things I’m working on. This game has been very good to me and I have some fond memories I want to share.

In the end, though, I’m still mesmerized by 3,000 finds. Somebody asked me if I ever thought I’d get to this point when I first started. Heck, I remember how stoked I was when I found No. 100, let alone 3,000.

In that time, I’ve seen waterfalls and bridges. Forests and roads. Back roads I didn’t know existed and rest areas along major highways. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful countryside ever and abandoned buildings. I’ve been questioned by cops and gotten looks from people passing by wondering what the hell I was doing. The experiences are many and most are ones I’m fond of.

This game, no doubt, has been very good to me. And for that, I’ll be forever thankful.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Collecting baseball cards isn’t just for kids anymore

Baseball cards have come a long way since I was a kid… such as this John Kruk card which features his autograph on a piece of a bat as well as a piece of a jersey.

Note: This is the first in a short series of stories I’ll be doing about collecting baseball/sports cards. The rest of the series will run in the near future.

Baseball has always been a passion of mine.

Though I’ve always been a Phillies fan, I’ve had bouts of “fandom” with some other teams, usually based on their hats. These were all as a kid though. Some of those teams include the Angels, Expos, White Sox and Reds.

I know, at one point, I even had a Mets hat, but I know for a fact I never cheered for them. (Though, to be fair, I was a HoJo fan and Dave Magadan has always been one of my favorites).

Anyway, the love affair with baseball goes back to when I was a kid. I had a hand-me-down Larry Bowa jersey at one point. I never got to go to a live game in Philly as a kid, but I do remember going and watching the Oneonta Yankees at least once a summer.

It’s quite a full circle knowing I got to cover the Oneonta Tigers, the team that replaced the O-Yanks, during my professional life.

It’s crazy to know guys you are covering at a low-level of the minor leagues have cards already — especially autographs and the such.

As a kid, I spent much of my summers with a ball, glove and bat. We had pick-up games and just threw the ball. If necessary, I could play ball by myself, whether it was hitting a ball in an open field, throwing pop-ups to myself or using a tennis ball and throwing it at a wall or set of steps.

There was something else that was part of my childhood — baseball cards.

Oh how I loved baseball cards. Despite the fact that they were cards from the 80s — when many thought cards would pay for their college, but the explosion of so many cards eventually made prices drops extremely fast.

Nonetheless, I never thought about that.

Heck, many of the cards I had ended up strewn about or stuffed in boxes. I never cared for them. I could have had a Ricky Henderson rookie. Or Don Mattingly. Or that Mark McGwire Team USA card. Who knows? Maybe there was a Cal Ripken Jr. rookie or something.

But I never worried about that.

See, we knew every year when the new Topps cards were coming out. The one local gas station got boxes in each year and we’d be all ready for it.

Oh the excitement of opening those old wax packs! The cards were awesome! And without the Internet, we never knew what the design was going to be until we opened the packs. And then there was the gum — oh that hard, pink gum placed in packs. It was awful, but we chewed it nonetheless. At that time, packs were something like 25 cents each.

We’d sift through those cards for days and weeks. Until we got enough money to buy more packs and then we’d run out and see who we could get. It was always a score if you got someone from your favorite team. And if someone else got one? Well, you could trade!

And how many of you remember flipping? I would do it sometimes, but boy I hated it. People cheated at times with it and if you didn’t catch on, you could lose your cards in a hurry.

Then I grew up.

Probably my best pull.

Baseball cards, of course, were for kids. Who had time for those things? There was high school. And college. And buying cars. And hanging out with friends. When age 21 came, there was beer and bars.

Baseball cards? Never again. Sure, I’d buy a pack or two here and there, just for the hell of it. But I wasn’t a collector. I just thought it was fun to crack a pack here and there. I had to see what the new cards looked like. It’s not like I was ever going to start collecting again.

Right.

A funny thing happened on the way to the card shop…

I can’t put my finger on where I got the bug again. It was in the early 200os though. If I had to bet, it was probably when I started covering professional baseball. It was short-season Single-A, so basically the bottom level of baseball (not including the Florida instructional leagues). Some of those players were card collectors.

Heck, some of those guys had cards.

Say what?

I remember, again as a kid, that some minor league teams had team card sets made up. But it’s not like they were anything major. I mean, heck, those cards weren’t Topps or any company people took seriously.

Were they?

So back to these players. Some of the top picks had cards out there. Not only did they have cards, they had authentic autograph cards and there were also cards with pieces of a jersey or bat or something else in them.

Wait a second — what ever happened to wax packs, bad bubble gum and regular cards? This was getting serious, it seemed.

Seriously, I got this Schmidt card (15/15) for like $15 on eBay. Nuts!

Soon after, I picked up a copy of Beckett Baseball. I had read this magazine back in the day, but I wanted to get a grasp of things. And it opened my eyes to the hobby and how it has grown. I started to research more and more as I was intrigued.

From there, I found eBay was a haven for cards. That helped me become addicted. Though, to be fair, I was pretty good about it. I capped myself on prices of cards, kept a watch on what people charged for shipping and stayed within the budget. I got caught up in a couple of card battles on eBay, losing most, thankfully. I’ve never really gone too high with card prices. The highest I’ve paid for one card was about 50 bucks, a Peyton Manning autograph card.

One of my prize pieces of my collection — a Robin Roberts autograph card.

I soon realized this wasn’t just a kid thing anymore. Adults do it. Maybe a little too much in that prices are through the roof. Buying high-end packs can become really costly.

I became a collector again and I haven’t regretted it. I still buy packs sometimes, but I am more into collecting certain players. I collect most Phillies. I try and grab cards of players I covered in Oneonta and players who visited. I also have several people I collect in hopes of getting all their cards — Larry Christenson (my childhood favorite pitcher); Tom Brookens, Bill Monbouquette, Jon Matlack, Andy Barkett and Luis Quinones.  All but Christenson have connections to the O-Tigers from the time I was there.

I’ll have more on that in a future edition of this series.

It’s been fun though. It’s a cool hobby and I’ve had a great time trying to find cards. I’ve hit up a couple of card shows and have a good time there. I always find something cool at a good price and I truly enjoy sifting through cards or just checking out displays. One day, I’ll find a way to head to the National Sports Collectors Convention. This year it’s in Baltimore, which would have been nice, but it’s out of the price range this year!

The hobby has come a long way since the days of me buying wax packs, flipping cards, putting them in bike spokes and trading Dave Winfield cards to get another Pete Rose card. The cards are way more intense, with some high-price items in sets.

I love collecting certain players — such as my favorite Phillies pitcher as a kid, Larry Christenson.

There’s still room for kids, though. The basic packs can still be found in stores at a decent price, sometimes just 99 cents per pack. But there’s that bridge now — cross it and it’s a point of no return.

At least it seems that way to me!

I’ve yet to buy a high-end box. I’ve dabbled with some $8-$10 packs, but that’s about it. And I haven’t done it in a long time, for obvious reasons. For the most part, though, I stick with cheaper blaster boxes a couple of hobby packs here and there.

I can dream of that big hit, though.

There’s a feature that’s in the monthly Beckett magazine — a place where people can show off their pulls. Some of these pulls are simply incredible. Cards worth hundreds of dollars or more.

I hope one day I’ll have a pull good enough to send in to the magazine.

Until then, I’ll be happy with the small things and seeking out cards I need to fill something. One thing is for sure, it still gives the feel of a kid whenever you find a card you need or just ripping over a pack. I hope that feeling never goes away when it comes to collecting cards.

Notes: If you look at the top of the page, you’ll see a “Cards” link. I am trying to organize my collection and have a place where I can scan the cards and have a place for them. This will be the place. Over the next few months, I’ll be working on that page and the sub pages. Feel free to check it out. If you’re somewhat of a collector, I’ll have a page setup for cards I’m willing to part with as well as a “wanted” list. If I have something you want, feel free to give a shout and maybe we can work out a trade of sorts. I’m also going to eventually package up many of my “commons” or non-signed/game-used cards, package them as teams and likely give them away or trade for other items. Check back at some point to see what I have with those!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! 

Carving your place in the hobby world

Who knew how in-depth carving your own stamps could be?

As a long-time geocacher, I have always been interested in the letterbox hybrids. Maybe it’s because of the different and not-so-often used icon. Maybe it’s because it’s different.

But I like them.

The stamps, the idea of them. It’s a different side of the game.

To go back in time, however, letterboxing was my first interest. That interest never came to fruition, however. I started geocaching March 1, 2008. But earlier that winter, the friend who introduced me to geocaching had mentioned letterboxing. I had done a little research on it and it seemed cool.

You got clues and had to follow them to find the treasure. When you got there, you used the stamp to make an imprint in your log book and then took your stamp and put it in the log book that resided in the box.

That sounded fun.

Alas, it was a tough winter. A bunch of snow and with everything else happening, we opted to wait until spring to try it. Of course, geocaching came along and pushed letterboxing back. I came across letterboxes many times during my caching excursions. It seems letterboxers and geocachers think alike in placing these items!

When I found one, I always looked. Sometimes I’d sign the log thinking I would like to try and find these online. I soon purchased a stamp and stamp pad at an art store to carry with me, in case I came across one or two or found the letterbox hybrids.

Still, I didn’t sign up anywhere.

Alas, this year has been tough. Without a steady flow of income, I looked to do more things around here. Late in the year, I found letterboxing and just a week or two ago, I went and found a few for my first “official” finds. I was still using that store-bought stamp, however.

I realized that most people didn’t use the store-bought type. I looked through past finders and saw some amazing stamps.

Luckily, Santa came through with a basic carving kit and a few other things needed to get carving.

I did my first carve Monday.

Getting things ready to start carving!

After reading a whole heap on carving and such, I found a piece of are that I thought would be somewhat easy to carve. With my love of my Irish heritage and because I often think of my trip to Ireland back in 2010, I decided a shamrock would be a perfect first carve. I found one I liked and went forward by tracing the image and then transferring it to the carving block.

I liked how the trace came out and it gave me an idea on what to do. I used several different carving bits to get the thickness and all. It was a learning process to me as I slowly carved away the pink rubber.

Carving, itself, was easy enough. You get rid of the open space to that your image is raised, becoming the stamp.

The tighter spots were harder. I had to switch out the carving tools for smaller bits, which was interesting to learn each one. I look forward to doing stamps with greater detail down the line.

In the end, this one didn’t take me too long. From start to finish, maybe about an hour or so. I thought for my first go at it, it came out OK. Some of the sides are a little sloppy, but I think that gives it a little character. Being I have a green ink pad, I at least had the color I think the stamp should be in!

The final product.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this stamp.

After reading a lot about letterboxing, I know that there are personal travelers that people can gather by meeting you. Because I know I’d like to get more into letterboxing, I did that with this one. I want to go to events and meet up with fellow letterboxers. And being this is my first carve, it’s a little special to me!

If you want to see the page for the personal traveler, click here.

I plan on attempting to carve my personal stamp sometime today or this week. I have a few other designs I want to try out as well. It’s a nice way to spend an hour or two when you feel “artsy.” It’s probably a good thing to be able to take a break from writing cover letters and sending out resumes to do something like this. Then I can go right back at it.

I am going to need to order some more rubber stamp material, however, as I think I’ll be going through what I have pretty quickly!

Now I just need to find some letterboxing events that aren’t far from me as I’d love to go to one. There are several in Massachusetts, so I’d be looking at a three-hour ride. I’m hoping to find some closer to me. And heck, depending where this job hunt takes me, maybe I’ll find myself in a letterbox hotbed!

So those of you reading — have you carved your own stamps? Any tips? And if you’re a letterboxer, leave your thoughts on the game, stamps and whatever else in the comments section!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

No GPS needed: Finding letterboxes

This will be the first in a likely series of posts about letterboxing, a hobby that has been active for more than 150 years. 

As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a geocacher.

I love the game of geocaching — from the hunt, to the technology, to the find and to the hides. It’s a great game and I’ve had the chance to meet some great people through the game — people I never would have met without geocaching.

Some of the stamps you find in boxes are really quite amazing.

And, over the next month or two, I’ll be continuing my Geocaching 101 series of articles. But in a sidestep from that, I want to take you through the world of Letterboxing.

Some geocachers might have come across letterboxes before.

Letterboxing is a game that dates back to the 1800s. Technology is not needed. Just the ability to follow clues and, at times, to use a compass. It’s a game somewhat like geocaching in that people hide something and you need to find it. But, as far as I can tell and have seen, people don’t trade swag and such, as some do in geocaching.

Instead, it’s a stamp.

See, the beauty of letterboxing is the stamp. Each box that one finds has a stamp in it. Some are custom carved or some are store-bought stamps. But the idea is to stamp your personal log book with the stamp in the box; and stamp your personal stamp in the logbook at the box. It’s a nice and simple game that really can be quite fun.

Before I ever started geocaching, I knew about letterboxing. In fact, a couple of us had planned to try the game once spring came. That was until we discovered geocaching and the technological aspect.

Letterboxing went on the backburner.

Over the years as I’ve geocached, I’ve come across some letterboxes. Often, letterboxes and geocaches are in the same area, so it’s common for people to find one or the other. The big difference, usually, is the stamp. However, that can sometimes be an issue because there are letterbox hybrids on geocaching.com — which means it’s a letterbox, but listed on the geocaching site. Sometimes, these caches are also listed on a letterboxing site, so people can get credit for a find on more than one website.

I should probably check all of my letterbox hybrids I’ve found on geocaching.com so I can see if I’ve already found some other letterboxes!

Anyhoo, on with this blog post.

What is letterboxing?

The simple definition might be that it’s a game that anyone can play, but one must possess the ability to follow hints, be able to navigate and have an open mind to search for things. It’s a treasure hunt, of sorts, without modern technology to aid the finder.

The game features a bit of everything — treasure hunting, art, navigation, exploring, scenery, hiking etc. It takes you outdoors.

Basically, somebody hides a box — preferably waterproof. These can be hid in all sorts of locations, but the hope is you are bringing somebody to a nice spot. The box contains a logbook and a carved stamp (this is not something to take). There can be other goodies as well, but it seems that it’s mainly the logbook and the stamp.

Once placed, the person placing the box comes up with the clues, hints and directions to get to the letterbox. The directions can be easy and straightforward, or can be cryptic in nature. Or, it can be something else. The clues can have map coordinates, compass bearings from landmarks or just use certain things to get you to the box (start at the parking lot, take 24 steps toward the sign etc.)

Selecting the spot and writing the description and clues is a big part of it. The clues and directions are a major difference from geocaching, where people have coordinates to the spot of the cache.

Once the clues are done, hunters will attempt to find the box. (In olden days, the clues reached people in different ways. In modern times, we have the internet and there are places to find these boxes). That person can then go in search of the box.

Those hunting should carry a writing instrument, an inkpad, his or her rubber stamp and his or her personal logbook. Once locating the box, the person stamps the box’s logbook with their personal stamp. Then, use the box’s stamp to make an impression in the personal logbook. This keeps a record — both personally and at each box — of who has visited or where one person has visited.

Stamping

The rubber stamp is what you seek. Many letterboxes have hand-carved stamps, which are really quite cool. I’m currently trying to teach myself  to carve stamps, as I think it could be a fun hobby. And, should I decide to release several of these letterboxes, it’s my hope to do so with some hand-carved stamps in the hopes of doing some fun things.

Letterboxes, at least in America, are often waterproof containers such as this. These can also be found in the game of geocaching.

The stamps in the box are for you to use in your personal log. You are NOT to take the stamp. This for you to have an imprint of the box you visited. Some are very cool. Some are basic. It all depends. But that’s part of the excitement of letterboxing — seeing what the stamps are when you find the box.

As for the stamp you carry, basically it is your signature.

You leave that mark in the logbook of the box to show you were there. Some geocachers already have stamps. Others just sign. When it comes to letterboxing, I make my stamp and then sign my name. As I start carving my own personal stamp, I am hoping to have it so it does everything I need with just the stamp.

I currently have a store-bought stamp and I look forward to being able to have my own, hand-carved personal stamp soon enough.

I have seen several really awesome personal stamps in my travels. However, it seems to be more of an etiquette to avoid posting people’s signature stamps, so I won’t share any on the blog. But, if you get out to do some letterboxes, definitely look through the log books. There are some fantastic stamps. And whatever you do, if you are going to go letterboxing — have a personal stamp. Whether store-bought or hand-carved, leave your mark with something other than a signature. This isn’t geocaching. Part of this game is the stamp.

History

From my research, it appears that letterboxing differs quite a bit, depending on what side of the pond you are on.

The game, itself, started in England in 1854. According to Wikipedia, the first box was placed in Dartmoor, Devon, England. A guide, James Perrott, placed a bottle for visiting cards on the northern moor. Hikers then began to leave a letter or postcard inside a box along the trail. That appears to be the start of the name “letterboxing.” The next person to find these cards, which were addressed to people, would mail them.

This seems to be the mecca for letterboxing, much like the spot for the original geocache, which was placed in 2001.

These Dartmoor letterboxes were extremely remote, however, and not everyone would find them. Weeks would pass before these letters would find their destinations. Up until the 1970s, there were about a dozen of these sites throughout the moor.

But as the game grew, this spot became bigger and bigger. The postcards or letters has long been forgotten, it seems. Though Dartmoor has grown to massive levels (depending where you look, there are claims of anywhere from 2,000 to 40,000 letterboxes being hidden there). Some are published. Some are boxes where you get clues in other boxes and some are by word of mouth.

The game grew, however, and is now worldwide.

The Letterboxing North America site notes the American/North American version of letterboxing seemingly started in about 1998, when the Smithsonian Magazine published an article about the game. Since then, the game has grown with more than 5,000 boxes placed on this side of the pond. The kicker is that there is a major difference between American letterboxing and that on the opposite side of the pond, including terminology and the way things are full played. The American version, as I stated earlier is somewhat like geocaching. The clues are posted on websites rather than by word of mouth or out in the field.

Finding the boxes

On this side of the pond, I’ve found several websites that will give you all you need — Letterboxing North America and Atlas Quest.

Each of these allow you to sign up for free, access the info and get all the clues you need.  Most of the clues you get will be straight forward and lead you to the box. Some can be harder. That’s the beauty of this game. You have the opportunity to really dive into something.

Sometimes, additional clues are part of the hunt. There can be clues that still run word of mouth, or in the boxes or something else. So make sure you pay attention to clues. There might be something in the box that helps you find something else, such as a mystery box. There might be puzzles or other things. Unlike geocaching, letterboxing can be very cryptic in doing things. You might need a compass or a map. You might need something else all together. You never know!

Apparently, in Dartmoor, there is a catalog that lists many of the boxes in that park. That would be a cool companion to get if you visit there.

If you are a geocacher, note that it’s possible that the “letterbox hybrids” you may find might also be letterboxes listed elsewhere. From the geocaching.com website in regard to letterbox hybrids:

Letterboxing is another form of treasure hunting using clues instead of coordinates. In some cases, the letterbox owner has made their container both a letterbox and a geocache and posted its coordinates on Geocaching.com. If there is a stamp inside a Letterbox Hybrid, it is not an item intended for trade; the stamp is meant to remain in the box so that visitors can use it to record their visit.

Letterboxes, like geocaches, are often in neat spots. However, it doesn’t appear as letterboxing has the same sort of approval process as geocaching. Also, some letterboxes might become trashy and in bad shape if owners don’t take care of them. The same can be said about geocaching, but with certain measures in place, these caches can be archived and not searchable. Though some boxes get archived and such through letterboxing, I don’t see how it happens (without the owner doing it) as I haven’t dug deeply into the game. As I get further and further into it, I will look and see what I can come up with in regard to things like that.

For more information:

Letterboxing North America

Atlas Quest

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!