(Note: I am in two challenges this month, so this is running a little earlier than I normally would publish a post. My 30 minus 2 Challenge post will be published early in the afternoon.) 

In 2011, I did a series of stories about people who had hiked the Appalachian Trail. It truly is amazing to hear people speak about their experiences.

One of the people I wrote about was Emily Harper, a Pennsylvania teenager hiking more than 2,100 miles on her own. It’s pretty amazing to hear about something like this. Late in 2012, she e-mailed me and let me know she wrote a book about her experiences and was curious if I wanted to read and review it.

Of course!

Sheltered

She sent me two copies — one for me to read and review and the other to give away. So if you’re interested in winning this autographed book, see the bottom of this post for the details.

With all that in mind, this is an honest review of the book, which takes you along the Appalachian Trail through her eyes. Her details are quite strong, he writing is conversational and, the one thing I truly loved, she didn’t hold anything back. It’s a colorful tale of her time along the trail, off the trail, her experiences and the people she met and hiked with.

It’s not perfect by any means. It’s a self-published book and it has some errors throughout. I’ll touch more on those later. While it’s true that I probably gave a little leeway here because of what she accomplished at her age, I’m still a writer and reader first — and I had to put myself in each of those shoes throughout. The price seems a little on the high side at $15.50 for paperback (on Amazon) and $5.99 for the Kindle version (on Amazon). If you are an Amazon Prime member, you an borrow the Kindle version for free, which is a good thing.

Still, as somebody who claims he will eventually write a book or three, I know the dedication and time needed and understand what she went through. But there are a lot of basic things in the book that made me cringe a little, which sometimes makes it hard to continue, no matter how good the stories are.

In the end, I’m glad I got the chance to read it, especially knowing I had written about her before. This is probably a good read for younger women thinking about tackling this hike by themselves as Harper is really straight forward with things and shows you what it’s like for a woman on the trail.  Now, I’ll get a little more in-depth on my likes and dislikes.

The Good

There’s something to be said about not holding back any punches. Harper definitely doesn’t and that’s refreshing.

She’s candid about people she hiked with and met. She offers up her attitude on different things. She flaunts that hiking as a female can often be way better than being a guy. And she also shows a softer side in situations.

I liked that.

Many hiking books I’ve read don’t show that. They show you the eyes of the hike, introduce you to some people and make it sound pretty good. There’s no doubt that Harper’s hike wasn’t perfect. In fact, if you read the book, there might be times where you’ll say something out loud, wondering what she was thinking. Or that you didn’t like how she acted. I know I did. But I liked that. Because she didn’t paint herself as an angel. She also didn’t paint anyone else as being perfect.

Harper had some interesting hiking partners. From the ones she started off with and eventually was left behind by, to the ones she truly seemed to care about and wonder about what happened with them. She paints a picture in the reader’s mind of these people. She lets you develop your own thoughts. I like that.

The other thing I did like is this book is more like a journal. And, as somebody who read her online trail journal during her hike, it was nice to see that style in her book.

It’s personal, but can be impersonal at times. It’s written in a style that isn’t literary. Many people may not like this style. I don’t mind it with this book. It has to have a certain flavor for me to enjoy a style like this and I can dig it here. It’s almost like she handed me an old leather-bound book, handwritten for her long journey.

That, however, tends to lead into something that isn’t liked by most…

The Bad

Spelling. Grammar.

If one is to expect people to spend money on a book, the author needs to do everything in his or her power to make sure the book is clean in regard to spelling and grammar. I respect the self-publishing route. I’m not snobby like some who think self-publishing is a bad thing. In the modern day, some people need to go that route to get books published. And I’ve found many, many books I’ve truly enjoyed through authors who took that route.

That doesn’t, however, excuse one from doing everything in his or her power to make sure things are right.

There were a lot of mistakes in this book. I had started writing them down and finally stopped after a while. It was frustrating at times. Though I got through the book relatively quickly, there were moments I had to put the book down because I couldn’t accept the issues. I always went back, though, as the story was good.

The major errors includes punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

A few examples including misspelling of things such as Willy Wonka, which was spelled Wanka. Or not capitalizing “Subway.” There were places where words needed hyphens, or needed to follow the right tense — one spot said “… but made my arms ached.” There was a chapter, too, where she spoke about some hiking friends and spelled the name of one person two ways.

Some people might be able to overlook issues like this, but I couldn’t. It was hard at times. A few things like this is one thing, but having it littered throughout makes one wonder if it was ever proofed or edited. If not, it could use a good edit and then maybe put out “a second edition” to update things a bit. Having two or three people — ones who aren’t afraid to tell the truth — edit a book before hitting the publish button can be worth their weight in gold.

I also would have liked a little more explanation at times, such as telling the reader what “root ball” is, besides it being a game some hikers played during their time on the trail.

Rating

Taking everything into account, I’m not going to lie that this was an extremely hard book to rate. There were so many good things, but then the issues with grammar and spelling really took the wind out of my sails.

I just didn’t know.

The reality is, I’d probably split this one down the middle. In other words, I’d give it a 2.5 or so. But that’s not based on the content. So, with that in mind, I’d bump it to a 3 out of 5 and would be more than willing to go a bit higher if a second edition came out with a bunch of edits. The 3 is worth is on content and style alone. But I couldn’t go more with knowing the issues with common things, some of which probably could have been avoided with a slow spell/grammar check in Word.

Artwork (For The Artful Readers Club)

This book is also one I’m reading for The Artful Readers Club. In this club, we read one book per month and also have to so some sort of a piece of art to go with it. For the second straight month, I went with an advertisement. I wanted to use a hiking shelter, but I couldn’t find any in my archived. I thought I had some. Instead, I just went with a trail photo.

For the Artful Readers Club.

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

The winter isn’t so bad … for a short while.

Last year, my area was odd in the winter.

No snow. Warmer temps. And, well, the ability to head out and do non-winter things during the winter months.

For those who dislike the harsher winter weather, it was a slice of perfection. Well, kind of.

Though this year started out that way, winter has shown its face. And it’s been a bit ugly. In the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I used the snow blower three times — that’s two more times than last year. That one time last year probably didn’t even need to be done, but we got a wet snow and the plows pushed it all in the driveway. It was much easier to snow blow than shovel.

For those who don’t know, I recently interviewed for a job in the south. Despite high qualifications and, what I thought, was a pretty solid interview, I didn’t make it to the final round. Some day I’ll truly share that experiences, but for now, I’ll leave it be. Anyway, when I get deep into the job process, I’ll often research the place where the job is located.

After all, you want to know what you’ll be dealing with, right?

The place where I was looking had some long and hot summers. I can deal with weather as it comes, but it made me realize there would be a chance I wouldn’t experience four full seasons. It’s one thing I think some take for granted when we live in the Northeast. We get a healthy spring, a variety in the summer, usually a colorful fall and then winter.

Winter can truly be beautiful … at least for a little while.

We see it all.

During those seasons, we have the ability to go see different things — wildlife, nature and the such — that goes with each season. And, it also allows us to do many things. For those who are into it, there’s four-wheelin’ and snowmobiling. You can hike in different weather.

For me, I can play softball in the summer, disc golf in most seasons, geocache all year and get out and experience different things. A couple of years ago, I even had the chance to do some snow shoeing. I’d actually like to do that again, someday, but need to be able to get shoes that feel comfortable and work on my feet better than the ones I used.

As a photographer, it’s great, too.

Winter is actually, to me, the hardest season to shoot in. With bright white snow or whatever else, it can make it tough. But some of the images you can come away with are incredible.

Also, it’s quite nice to drive on some back roads after a fresh snow and see it sticking to tress. It’s a beautiful thing.

This area is expecting some warmer temps this weekend, so some of the snow we have might be looking to disappear. And, for all I know, most of the winter might be leaving. But no matter what, we got a bit of it this year and it’s not a bad thing.

Turns out, winter isn’t so bad after all.

I don’t know where life will eventually lead me, but I do know that no matter what, I’ll cherish some of these winters. The path I end up following might still take me to a warmer climate, so I might not always get the four seasons. Don’t get me wrong — the long winters are tough. But a decent winter isn’t too bad as it truly gives you a highly enjoyable slice of life.

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

“Get busy living or get busy dying…”

I’m sure many of you may remember that quote from the Shawshank Redemption, said by Red, portrayed by Morgan Freeman.

I write this post as I listen to some big-band era swing music. It’s some pretty sweet stuff. It can get you in the mood to be creative. Though I’ll readily admit not being a fan of a lot of jazz music, there’s something about the big-band era that really works for me.

Especially the songs with the faster pace and beat. Songs like “Sing, sing, sing” by Benny Goodman. Excellent stuff. Makes me thing of the 1920s and 1930s. Gangsters. Prohibition. Suits. Cigars.

Ahhh… talk about a time in history.

Recently, I was at a friend’s wedding. During the dinner portion, the DJ played some swing music. A couple people got out and danced. It was kind of fun to watch.

I was then chatting to a friend about this era of music and noted if I could go and live in a different era, this would be the one.

Back when Zoot Suits were the norm.

And I’m not a supporter or advocate for organized crime, but there’s something about the gangsters from that era. The suits. The cars. The Tommy Guns — AKA a Chicago typewriter.

And, of course, swing music.

I’m not sure what I would have been. Maybe I’d still have been a scribe. I could see covering the Yankees or something back then for one of the many New York papers. Maybe I’d have been on the crime beat.

Heck, maybe I’d have been a gangster. Chewing a cigar and rat-a-tatting with the Tommy Gun.

Who knows.

But what an era.

I know a lot of people don’t listen to music when they write. And, for the most part, I can’t listen to music with words when writing. But tunes such as classical pieces or the swing band era can keep my mind rolling as I write.

And with the jazzy stuff I have playing tonight, it’s got me thinking of old cars (Like the Ford Model Ts and As) and the prohibition era of time. Black and white.

That’s the era I’d definitely love to be in if not for now.

And while you read the rest of this post, have a listen to a little Benny Goodman:

****

As many of you know, I’m still working on finding a job. The resumes keep going out and I can’t seem to find much. I’ve thankfully landed something on a part-time basis, but it’s basically once a week and it’s not even every week. Still, it’s something to help me along and get something more recent on the resume.

So, I’ve been looking at career changes. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that here before.

I recently visited a school for a program I’m highly interested in. I’m not going to spill all the beans here because I hate putting things out there until I know for sure if I’m going to do it or not. Some friends already know as I needed to see what some people thought.

My issue?

I don’t want to fail — again.

Though I realize I didn’t fail in newspapers and journalism, the industry failed me. And I don’t think it’s getting any better. And with barely anything in a retirement fund, I need something different.

I’ve watched others go the route of changing careers during the mid-life years and do well. Heck, take a peek at my brother who fully changed directions and went into teaching and now he’s a tenured teacher at a good school.

Might as well give it a go, yeah?

So, I’ve e-mailed one other school today in hopes of being able to compare the two programs. There’s a significant price differential in the program, as well as hours needed and the time frame to finish. The end result would likely be me going into business for myself. It’s something I’m thinking long and hard about.

Once I decide, believe me, I’ll share with the readers of the blog. For now, I’ll leave it with my seriously considering a massive change in career direction.

****

Speaking of writing and career things, I’ve also finally sat down to work on a couple of fictional books. These likely won’t be huge books, but I’m hoping to write them and see where it takes me.

I don’t fathom any riches here.

I need to get working on my book ideas so I can one day have a book like this!

The reality is, I’ll likely publish them on myself. If any money is made, it will basically just be a bonus. My thing is just getting it done. Then seeing about shaping it and all from there. If something bigger comes out of one of these, awesome. If not, it’s more of a goal to just do it.

My big issue with fiction is shaping the story.

I have a couple of real-life things I’m working on, too. I’m not sure if they will be full-blown books, a series here on the blog or something along the lines of an Amazon Kindle Single. But, I am hoping to work on those, too.

I need to push forward. I’ve applied and applied for things to get squashed. I guess it’s time to take the bull by the horns…

****

I went on a small trip Sunday, heading up to Ithaca to hike a bit, find some waterfalls and take a few photos.

But I also got to play disc golf for the first time since early June.

Taughannock Falls just outside of Ithaca. I took this shot Sunday during a day trip to the Ithaca area.

It was nice to get out and flip a few discs on an actual course. To be fair, it was just a nine-hole course, but it was so nice. It’s also good because I’m playing in an Ace Race in a couple of weeks. While I don’t expect to do anything major in that Ace Race, I’d at least like to know I can throw a disc well enough to get it close to baskets!

As for the day overall, it was nice.

For those of you who have never been to Ithaca, it’s a wonderful little city. The city’s motto is “Ithaca is Gorges.” There are many gorges and waterfalls to explore throughout the area, so it makes for a nice day trip.

In total, I got to see several awesome waterfalls and hiked — including the disc golf — upward of 3.5-4 miles, which is always nice to do.

I had been worried about the waterfalls and how much water would be coming off them, considering the lack of rain we’ve had all summer. Alas, recent rains made most of them vibrant falls. All but one were fun to check out and take photos of — in all their glory.

And yes, there were a few geocaches mixed in as well.

In the end, it was a good getaway from the real-world issues going on in my life. Nature can do that to you.

**** 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the passing of a well-known local person.

Sid Levine died Sunday at the age of 99. I only knew Levine in his later years as he owned part of the Oneonta Tigers, the minor-league team I covered for six years. A quiet man, Levine was one of the nicest people I dealt with. He also was a no-nonsense person. He didn’t worry about what people though, he told you how it was.

And that’s how it should be.

He, along with co-owner Sam Nader, ran the local team up until selling in 2008. The team then left the area before the 2010 season.

I dealt with and developed a stronger relationship with Nader, now 93, but toward the end of the run of the Tigers, I also got to know Levine. He was always a gentleman and had an infectious smile. And he knew his baseball.

Nader and Levine were close friends for more than 75 years and when I visited with Nader one afternoon earlier this year, I had to come after a certain time as he and Levine still met nearly every day to chat.

Levine’s legacy in the Oneonta area will live on for a long time. But he’ll be missed, that’s for sure — for many more reasons than baseball.

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

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!

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

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