Hello all. I am fairly new to the Boards and have placed my first boxes this year, although I have been hunting them since 2003. Today I found something that very much bothered me and I wanted to share it because I think it's important for new boxers to be aware of and I think it's a good reminder to us "older" ones. ;-)

I went after a series today in spite of the soaring 90 degree temps. Made sure I had my water, my LB "stuff" for logging, etc, but left my big pack in the car and used my fanny pack instead. I didn't want to carry the big one in the heat. Because of this, I had no paper towels but did have a personal size wet wipes in my pack. I had no extra bags, no extra boxes, no paper towels (which I ALWAYS carry, just in case a box needs some TLC) and off I went.

The first stamp was found easily enough, but the box was wet inside (BTW, for those of you who are using the dollar store boxes with the colored rubber rings around the outside, almost every one I have found has had water inside the box ... just so you know). The journal was safe, the stamp fine. I flipped the box into the sun to dry while stamping in. All fine here.

The next "box" scared me ... I don't know if it was a group of kids or what, but the stamps were DROWNING in ink and had been put back in their baggies that way ... the last logged entry was from the beginning of the year ... meaning those stamps sat in ink, soaking wet (LITERALLY) all of this time! It was PURPLE ... actually lavender, and it had made an absolute MESS of not only the other two stamps in the bag with it (this was a "three bagger box") but the bag itself. Now, I am standing in the woods cleaning ink off the stamps with wet wipes before I can even use them. I was covered in purple ink and not a happy girl!!! :-( Needless to say, I wiped them all down and let them dry while I did my best to wipe out the baggie they had been in. I was distressed. Someone had not cared enough to watch what they did. I swear the only way it could have been worse is if they had wrung their ink pads into the bag. :-( I got them cleaned up, stamped in, and cleaned up again for good measure.

This one was also laying in the middle of a clearing!!! Not even attempted to put back. I saw it from the trail before I ever even got to the fork!!!

The next one I found was SO bad I had to quit the series as I was getting ink on myself, my clothing and my journal and personal stamp trying to clean it up enough to stamp in. This one again COVERED horribly in lavender ink!!! ARGH!!!! It was a large stamp ... about 4 X 2 ... and what a mess! I did finally get it cleaned, but I really did have to drop the series and will have to finish it later ...

But my point is, someone took a LOT of effort to carve those stamps ... they are very nice as a set ... and it only took one careless person/group of persons to mess it all up. I truly believe it may have been a group of kids with an uncaring or unminding adult. Very possibly a first time boxer?? Regardless, it reminded me of how much I have come to treasure this hobby ... and how upset it makes me when someone doesn't take the extra minute to take care of the box as if it was their own when using and replacing it.

Those of you who are new ... those of you who try to do a group of boxes in a limited time ... please remember to take care of the boxes. Thos eof you boxing with your children (especially for the first time), teach them the importance of respecting someone else's property. These boxes do, after all, belong to the placer and they are kind enough to share them with all of us. Respect ... for the wild, for the water, for the woods and for the letterboxes hidden there ....

Thank you for listening ....
Peace~
Ang

And you shared that so nicely. It's nice to read such important information without the ranting.

Mama Cache

Put in such lovely terms. I teach my kids to wipe down the stmps and put everything away the way they found it or better, that it the way their are taught in scouts. Poohbear

Well said, Ms. saidso!!

You seem like the type of mind we sometimes need here to mediate a few conversations.

I appreciate your post so much.

It takes so little time and effort to remove the ink from the stamps prior to rebagging, properly sealing and discreetly re-hiding (so it cannot be seen). Please, please, please - everyone - take the time to respect not only the planter, but the boxer coming after you. Might I recommend a wet/damp rag in a zipbag in your pack for removing ink? So simple, yet effective.

Just today I went to check on my most favorite series, after getting various missing reports, only to be dismayed at the state of my boxes. Since I was just checking to see if they were missing, I didn't have my full first aid regalia. That was unfortunate, because they were all inky, not closed properly and missing the appropriate bags (not to mention that they were ALL visible to anyone looking at the hiding spot). Now, I pull these boxes every spring for maintenance. It has not been that long since I went through this procedure, however, they looked like they had weathered a hard winter. I am positive the reason one of them is now gone is due to poor re-hiding.

I second the request for more effort and respect.

~SHH :-)

that's amazing of you to do. That does make me made too and i'm a relatively new boxer. Thank you for caring so much.

just yesterday we went to check on one of our placed boxes and it was not hidden back in the original place at all. it really surprised me. i would assume that if youre a letterboxer... you have respect for all the boxes, but apparently not. nice of you to clean those ones up though.

I've had the same experience of boxes not put back in the original location, and one box had to put back in place several times when it was reported missing. I finally found a new location that left no doubt where it would go. That may be an option.

Cheryl

Sometimes the first aid is worse than the original mess.

We found a stamp this weekend past that had a 'washable ink' pad in the box. It was seperate from the logbook, so no obvious mess in the box itself. Opening the pad, however, was a discovery in and of itself. Some well-intended soul had reinked the pad...with pigment ink.

Arriving home, we saw the webpage for this box cited an earlier find where the box had been full of water. I suspect that the water washed out the stamp pad and someone was trying to do repairs with their reinker.

It was a ghastly result.

After 8 attempts, with several wipe-downs inbetween, we finally used the marker in our pack to get an image. A poor image, but at least recognizable. We simply didn't have enough water/towels on hand to get the stamp truly clean to start over. My husband was amused by my attempts and calmly allowed me to keep trying. He, of course, stayed clear of the mess.

I ruined my shirt and marker. BRIGHT ORANGE from fingertip to elbow, I stopped for gas about 30 mins later. Horrified the clerk.

Obviously she wasn't a boxer ;>

Sure wish I had seen this post before we ever started. We would have been better prepared for our first boxes. As it is we have slowly added things to our letterboxing pack like baggies, wipes, and the like. Maybe these suggestions need to be listed in a getting started area or something. They seem like common sense but when you're just getting started they are easily missed because you're not really sure about what you're doing.
Thanks for the reminder!
Firefighter's Queen (going to check the letterboxing bag to make sure it's ready for the next outing)

LOLOL! Yeah, I know what you mean! I started out with a few extra baggies tucked in my jeans pocket and went form that to carrying a full arsenal of repair stuff. The most important thing I carry is the paper towels. I did a large series recently and every box was wet or damp inside. The bags were fine, but the inside of the boxes were growing algea and damp from being buried in the woods.

Now my aresal in my pck consists of wet wipes (same as you carry), a full set of Gladware disposable containers (one of three sizes at least with the remaining waiting in the car as extras), a roll of paper towels (don't use the cheap rolls ... in a true water situation they make more of a mess than the original mess! LOL) and two boxes of Ziploc (not zipper type) bags ...sandwich and one step larger ... are those gallon ones I think?? I also keep a roll of dark colored duct tape and stamp cleaner (bought at any craft store). I find the baby wipes actually work best! And they are cheaper!

I cannot imagine what alcohol would do to the stamps??? Maybe I will try an experiment.

Anyway, just my .02

Peeace ~
Ang

It's the scent, not the alcohol, that can do the most damage. Even seemingly unscented ones have an aroma that animals may find interesting, drawing them to the box. A great idea is to carry a wet paper towel inside a baggie as a way to clean stamps on the trail.

dewberry

This example also shows the need for regular maintenance by the owner, the need for a good container that keeps out moisture, and why leaving ink in the box can result in a messy experience not only for the logbook but for the finder too.

I'm a newbie, and did a lot of research before I found my first box. I've read numerous times that folks shouldn't use wipes, baby or others, scented or unscented. Apparently animals are attracted to the scent and thus, the boxes. I started out carrying wet and dry paper towels, but last weekend, I took a dry microfiber cloth with me, sealed in a baggie. I dripped a couple of drops of water from my water bottle onto the stamp and then wiped it off with the microfiber cloth. It took up all the ink and dried the stamp better and quicker than a paper towel. The cloth went back into the baggie between boxes, and I can throw it in the wash. Seems to make a lot more environmental sense than carrying around wads of paper towels that end up in a landfill. The cloth easily took me through a five box series with room to spare, and wasn't messy in the least. The one I used was about a foot square. You can generally find them in packs of six or more in auto supply stores. They're cheaper if you get them at a discounter. I got my last batch at COSTCO.

We had a similar experience with one of our boxes. The box cracked and filled up with water. The baggies had holes in it and so the ink pad created a very pink inky mess. Everything was pink, even the logbook. The water was in so long, that a grey opaque mold formed in it. It was nasty! We never put ink pads in our boxes anymore. Lesson learned.....the hard way!

jbzfarm