Letterboxing: A Fun and Addictive Sport for the Entire Family

To some, a letterbox may be a place to put your mail, to others a movie format, but to a few it is an extremely addictive sport. Letterboxing combines orienteering, sleuthing, creativity, and typically a good hike. Having its modern origins in the mid 1800s' around Dartmoor England, letterboxing became better known to the United States in the late 1990's.

To get started, a letterboxer needs to create or purchase a rubber stamp that will be his mark, or calling card. Many letterboxers create their own stamps by carving their selected image into art erasers or sometimes wood. This stamp is used to leave the letterboxers mark on found boxes as well in the notebooks of other letterboxers they come across either on the journey or at gathering events. To complete the letterboxer's supplies, the rubber stamp is added to a kit containing a notebook or field log, a compass, an ink pad, a pen or pencil, and plastic re-sealable baggies for "just in case".

Letterboxers follow a set of clues to find boxes. Current clues are typically posted online in group forums, but can also be related through printed catalogs or just by word of mouth. After receiving clues, the letterboxer solves word problems, follows coordinates, or seeks visual clues to learn the location of the hidden box. Boxes are usually in well accessible areas (such as parks or cemeteries), but hidden under, behind, or in things like leaves, mulch, trees, or buildings so the casual observer walking by would not necessarily be aware of its location.

Once finding a box, the letterboxer stamps his book with the box's stamp, stamps the box's book with his stamp, and records his name and the date. Occasionally inside the letterbox there will be another stamp and book - this is called a "hitchhiker", or sometimes a "traveler". Hitchhikers travel from box to box as letterboxers find and take them along to be placed in the next box they discover. A true thrill is finding a "Hitchhiker Hostel" where several hitchhikers can be found at one time. Letterboxing etiquette requires the letterboxer to replace baggies or put items in a new baggie if the box is proving not to be as weather-tight as the placer intended, and then to re-hide the box just as it was found.

Letterboxing is a wonderful pastime, very family friendly, and an inexpensive yet interesting activity. Famous landmarks, little known hideaways, and beautiful scenic areas are just some of the places letterboxers have hidden boxes waiting for you to explore and enjoy. To get started, detailed information, history, and clues are listed at the official website for Letterboxing North America: www.letterboxing.org. Pull out your hiking boots or walking shoes and get ready to enjoy the thrill of the hunt!