Letterboxing Glossary: B

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base plate

The clear, rectangular plate that the housing for an orienteering compass is mounted on.

baby wipes

Frequently used by letterboxers to clean a stamp of ink residue from previous stampings.

bearing

A direction in compass degrees.

blaze

The white blaze next to this plaque marks the first white blaze at the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail

Typically a six inch tall, two inch wide rectangle splotch of paint on a tree to mark a trail. If trees are scarce, they may also be painted onto rock or posts stuck in the ground. The size and color can vary from trail to trail, but are usually spaced out on trees so you can always see at least one blaze ahead of you on the trail and one blaze behind you. Blazed trails are far more common in the eastern United States, the most famous being the white blazes of the Appalachian Trail.

blue diamond

An often controversial concept where AQ attempts to mark some of the best letterboxes on Atlas Quest with a special icon called the blue diamond. The blue diamonds are calculated from the feedback by those who have found the letterbox. Learn more about how blue diamonds are calculated, or rate the boxes you've already found.

bonus box

Similar to a regular letterbox, except that the clue is planted in another nearby letterbox. Most letterboxers call it a bonus box only if the clue does not move from box to box, such as the cuckoo clue. It's considered bad form to tell others where the clue for a bonus box is.

book crossing

At http://www.bookcrossing.com there's an interesting group of people who feel that books should be "freed" all over the world—in parks, restaurants, or other public places for others to find and enjoy. And anyone that finds the book and log into the website to track its movements around the world and see what others thought about the book. What does that have to do with letterboxing? Not much, really, but it's the type of thing a lot of letterboxers would enjoy.

boxing buddy

A boxing buddy is a small mascot, usually a small stuffed animal, complete with its own signature stamp and logbook, to travel with you and share in your letterboxing adventures.

bushwhacking

Making your way through terrain without following an established trail. Usually, this involves trampling bushes or branches and therefore is frowned upon by letterboxers. Stay on the trail!