The coolest thing abou letterboxing, in my opinion, is making your own stamp to leave in the logbooks, and collecting the stamps from the places you visit. It's like a little passport book :)

Posted by: blackunicorn at March 25, 2005 09:26 AM

SUH-WEET!

I went on my first geocache yesterday, and then this shows up and lo and behold there are a TON of great boxes here in Beautifully Sunny Victoria BC.

You guys down there in So. Cal can keep our rain a little longer, thank you!

I am so finding one today!

Thanks for sharing Wil!

Posted by: Solsra at March 25, 2005 09:46 AM

Solsra, it's actually sunny and beautiful in So Cal today. Well, right now it is... in an hour that could all change again. ;)

Wil, I haven't done any Letterboxing at all, but have been intrigued by the whole idea. I had no idea there were SO many boxes hidden in my area here! (near L.A./San Bernardino County lines) Thanks for the link. I just saw listed an awesome set of 5 boxes hidden on the college campuses near me (with clues inspired by some of the placer's favorite books-- which makes the idea even more delightfully geeky for me because they are some of my favorite books, too).

Hmmm. What to carve on a stamp now?...

Posted by: Mayr at March 25, 2005 10:06 AM

Hi Wil,

Google "wil" and hit "I'm Feeling Lucky." How exciting!

Thanks for existing!

Azure

Posted by: Azure at March 25, 2005 10:25 AM

Oh goodness, my first post. I just had to for Letterboxing! Such a doof, yes.

I started letterboxing a couple years ago. My father was an artist in a former life and has carved stamps for various occasions for longer than I've been alive, and my whole family loves to go out hiking and exploring. I got into boxing with him (.../letter/boxing...) as a fun father-daughter thing, and have had much fun since then. It's great to be planning a trip and schedule in time for letterboxing!

Can't say as I've found any in Los Angeles, though. I've only been there once, ten years ago, which probably has something to do with it.

Right, enough gushing. General idea conveyed. Letterboxing good. Back to lurking. O:)

Posted by: bluekitsune at March 25, 2005 11:11 AM

Hey Wil,

My sister in law started out letterboxing in the Orange County/Long Beach area. I believe that she managed to find quite a few. She has since graduated on to Geocaching.

Have fun.

Posted by: OCCanuck at March 25, 2005 11:22 AM

I love letterboxing, I've found loads (lives very close to dartmoor!)

Posted by: txt_eva at March 25, 2005 11:24 AM

Hi Wil,

If you like geocaching and hiking, you might enjoy learning more about orienteering.

Orienteering is a navigation sport/recreation in which participants use a highly detailed map to find a series of flags in the woods.

It is yet another neat (and admittedly geeky, in the good way!) thing to do in the outdoors, and the problem-solving/decision-making aspect adds a cool cerebral element.

There are more than 60 orienteering clubs in the US, as well as a national federation. Plenty of meets are held in your area. Check it out at http://www.us.orienteering.org/.

Great page, Wil. Best to you and yours.

Posted by: IndyEric at March 25, 2005 12:44 PM

Wil,

Letterboxing is way fun. I've found boxes from coast to coast. It's a great way to hike, explore a new place, and meet people. My wife and I go letterboxing and on our last trip here in Michigan we met up with some folks from Cleveland who were doing a day trip to letterbozes in our area.

My wife likes the hike and I like figuring out the clues!

Shawn

Posted by: GeekRev at March 25, 2005 01:43 PM

Here's something else you can do if you like leaving things more than finding:

"New Leaf" a community interactive art project

The New Leaf Project Details:
New Leaf is a series of public art events by Carol Ann Newsome. New Leafs are planted in a specific area to be unexpectedly encountered and turned over. Each New Leaf is a unique acrylic painting on a hand made wood panel, measuring 3.5 X 4.5 inches. The panels are cut by my friend Brian. I sand, seal and paint each one. Each leaf has a label informing the person holding it that they have just turned over a New Leaf (since the label is on the back this is a factual occurrence) and that they may keep the leaf and turn it over whenever they wish. There is an e-mail address on the back for anyone who cares to share their new leaf experience. Every project involves a number of planters who place the paintings surreptitiously in the target area. A minimum of 5,000 New Leafs will be distributed.

What is New Leaf? from Carol Ann Newsome - A New Leaf is an original acrylic painting of a single leaf on a small wood block. I paint each New Leaf myself. On the back of each New Leaf is a label which states “You have just turned over a New Leaf. You may keep this New Leaf. Turn it over as often as you wish.” Each Leaf is signed and includes my e-mail address on the back.

Interested in being a "planter"? or simply write to Carol Ann at: NewLeaf@carolannnewsome.com

Posted by: MamaSlyth at March 25, 2005 02:47 PM

I posted about this entry in my LJ and a friend reminded me of another cool thing called bookcrossing. You might like that.

To be honest, I don't do any of this stuff yet. My current passion is Artist Trading Cards. I working on a second set to trade at the moment. I've traded cards already with people on the west coast and the east coast, as well as from England and Canada. While the original purpose was to trade them face to face, many of us have a hard time find local trading groups and trade via online communities.

Posted by: MamaSlyth at March 25, 2005 04:16 PM

I actually recommend adding your comments to your RSS feed.

Posted by: Geek at March 25, 2005 04:55 PM

I'm a letterboxer, and have been for about 4 years. I heard about it when I started rubber stamping, and try to find at least one box every time I'm on vacation. Unfortunately, I've never been to California, but I can tell you that coastal Michigan is chock full o' boxes!

Posted by: klutz at March 26, 2005 07:22 AM

If you think Letterboxing is fun, you might be interested in "A Treasure's Trove". You can find it on amazon if you're interested. A Treasure's Trove is a children's book about a treasure hunt, but it contains real clues to real coins hidden throughout the US (Supposedly at least one is within a day's drive from anywhere in the continental 48), and the coins, if you find one, can be exchanged for rare gems. It would be a blast to do with your kids. To the best of my knowledge, none of the treasures has been found yet.

Posted by: Alex at March 28, 2005 09:31 AM

i saw somethig about this on NY1 a few months ago. it sounded like it had the potential of being interesting, but the guy they were following to the boxes was a spud, and the crap people had stashed was lame. alas.

(maybe there ought to be a letterboxing-on-acid club. at the very least the log books would be a) interesting or b) insane; either of which would be better than "lame".

Posted by: electrofork at March 30, 2005 09:23 PM