What is Letterboxing?  It's like a treasure hunt, with the treasure being a rubber stamp image to put in your book (as well as the pursuit itself!). Letterboxes are usually hidden in scenic locations such as parks, although there are some indoor ones as well. We have found many neat places that we otherwise would have never known about because someone had hidden a letterbox there. This photo gallery is of some of those places. WHAT DO LETTERBOXES LOOK LIKE? Outdoor boxes are usually a waterproof container of some kind (like a plastic food container) and they might be "camouflaged" with paint or tape. They can be any size that fits into the hiding place. Inside will be a logbook and a rubber stamp of some kind. HOW DOES IT WORK?  Participants follow clues to find the letterbox. Inside is a rubber stamp (often hand-carved) and a logbook. Finders bring with them their own personal stamp (called a signature stamp) and personal journal. A finder will 1) stamp the boxes' stamp into his/her personal journal, sort of like a passport book and 2) stamp his/her sig stamp into the letterbox logbook and sign in with a nickname called a trailname, the date, hometown and any note you would like to leave. My trailname is MO UR4Me.   My sig stamp Someone stamped in. Some write a note. Some logbooks are fancy! A butterfly logbook GET A CLUE !  There are two websites where clues are listed by letterbox planters. www.AtlasQuest.com - This site has great search options, attribute icons like "pet-friendly" and "short hike", discussion boards, and tutorials. www.letterboxing.org - This site is the one usually publicized, so many people only know to list boxes there. Sometimes the clues are a puzzle or a poem while usually they are straight-forward. Letterboxing does not require a GPS (that's geocaching) but some clues require a compass. You can look up clues by city, county, or interstate or any number of other criteria. There are currently well over 50,000 letterboxes hidden around the world! If you are a frequent park visitor, you have probably passed letterboxes without even knowing it. You might have walked right by the log to the left! Decide which one you want to find, print out the clues, get your supplies (see below) and follow the instructions! Know Before You Go!  Sometimes letterboxes disappear. Perhaps they were planted on a floodplain (I have at least one that's probably now in the Gulf of Mexico) or maybe it wasn't hidden well and was vandalized. On both websites, you can check the recent finds (or attempts) on the box. On letterboxing.org, however, you will have to be logged in to see this feature (a litte flag).

by Brianna with help by Brianna herself by Michael with help The stamps above are not available to be found, so we're not spoiling any surprises!

Are there any rules? The basic code of conduct for letterboxing is Leave No Trace, Safety, Security and Respect. If you are interested in finding one, you should read the whole code here. You should also use Stealth -be discreet! You don't want to ruin the surprise for other letterboxers in the area or to attract attention from others who might vandalize the box. You should also be careful to protect nature and to reseal rehide the box well. It is also polite to log your find online, which will automatically send a status update to the planter.

Do I have to plant one? Nope! There are plenty of other letterboxers who plant them. I started planting them because there weren't very many in my county when I started. Now I plant letterboxes in places I think are cool so that other people can enjoy them, too. If you decide you want to, do your homework first. You can see a list of my boxes by viewing my profile on AtlasQuest.

How do I carve a stamp? You will need a picture to carve, carving medium, and a tool.
AtlasQuest has a great tutorial here.
For a quick stamp, you can simply carve an eraser using either an Xacto knife or the metal end of a pencil (squished after eraser is removed).

This sounds so cool! Is there any more to it? You can get as involved as you want! You might pick up a hitchhiker and move it to another letterbox. There are events you can go to where you'll meet other letterboxers, find lots of boxes and perhaps learn a new skill. You can participate in a postal letterbox and get a stamp in the mail. If you really like stamping, you could get into letterbox trading cards. You can educate and entertain yourself on the Atlas Quest discussion boards and you'll know stuff like the term S.P.O.R. (Suspicious Pile of Rocks) or ways to distract muggles (non-letterboxers). There is lots to explore!