All Clues Lead to the Letterbox
ByOne of the many reasons we began Educational Hobbies Blog was to learn about new hobbies … new to us, anyway. Each author has children, two have grandchildren. It’s fun to stumble across new things we can do with the kids and/or enjoy as adults. Today, I stumbled across an interesting hobby called “letterboxing,” where you follow written clues to find hidden treasure.
Letterboxing with Kayleigh
Letterboxing.org describes the hobby as “an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming ‘treasure hunt’ style outdoor quest.” It’s an international hobby where “placers” hide small, waterproof containers that hold a rubber stamp and a log book. They then post navigational clues on the Letterboxing.org website, where we can find instructions to follow, all over North America. (I found directions to a letterbox hidden at a park that my husband and I frequent in Town of Menasha, Wisconsin.)
Letterboxes are hidden in trees and under rocks in public locations. You’ll need to take the obvious precautions as you turn over rocks and poke around in underbrush. Let’s not mar the fun with a snake or spider bite.
They don’t come in a standard shape or size; some are no larger than a film canister; frequently they’re small Rubbermaid containers. Any smallish container with a tight fitting lid is a potential letterbox.
You bring your own inkpad, personalized rubber stamp, and log book on a letterboxing hunt. Depending on the particular instructions you’re following, you may also need a simple compass.
When you find your treasure, you stamp the enclosed log book, possibly also signing your name and general location. Then you stamp your personal log book with the stamp from the letterbox as a record of your find.
It’s that simple, yet it builds skills related to navigation and observation. I’m going to give it a try this week. What about you? Is this this the first you’ve heard of letterboxing? Please leave a comment and share your experience.
Photo Credit: elvis_pelt on flickr
Related Off-Site Article: McKinney Roughs nature program just part of day of adventure
3 Comments
March 28th, 2009 at 10:45 am
One other thing, it is free! Letterboxing really is a way to go on a family adventure in the great outdoors. This is the first I’ve heard of it and I am excited to try it out. I just went to letterboxing.org and found the sheet of clues for a local letterbox. I will have to do a few of them before I become a placer. Recession-proof fun for the whole family.
March 28th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Thanks, Mike! Glad to hear you’ll be trying it out. And yes, especially now, you can’t beat free!
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
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