Some of my boxes can have berries growing over them by next summer and some that I have found have berries growing now that may not have been there when planted. Pants would have been wonderful when I found one of the boxes. I am still picking thorns out of my hands from berries picked yesterday and this has been on my mind all night. Thank goodness I was wearing pants.
If we find a box that is in need of wearing pants we can always tell the owner and they can add that attribute. Other boxes may need pants because of other reasons but I thought this was important enough to suggest.
We live in Mid. TN, and there are brambles and blackberry briars everywhere. I have a clear and vivid understanding of what was intended by your post. I also have a clear and vivid set of stripes from the last time I went LBing in shorts. I just couldn't resist commenting on the way it was worded. I agree, it should be indicated in the clue that all letterboxes need to have their pants on.
I live in AZ. I almost always wear shorts for boxing. in the summer, I almost always wear shorts period. I knew exactly whaty they meant. I keep getting scratches off palo verde trees and chaparral bushes. (I'm smart enough to stay away from the mesquite and cactus) (most of the time...sometimes you can't see the cactus)
That's the kind of thing people should expect to encounter on the trails and be prepared for. Some people even suggest you should never wear shorts outside if for no other reason than to help keep ticks off.
So no, it's up to you to make the decision whether or not you should be wearing pants, not the person who planted the box. =)
If you've ever been trained for camping, not just gone camping and done what seemed right at the time, then you know you should NEVER hit the trail without long pants.
Shorts may make you feel more comfortable in the short term, but they're really safety hazards. Bug bites, briars, ticks, scratches from that log you just found blocking the path and had to climb over... you NEED pants when you hike in the woods!
Obviously drive-bys are another situation, and probably urban boxing doesn't require the extra cloth, although I usually plan for sitting down on concrete myself. Simple common sense, folks!
"Need" is such a strong word. When I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, I wore shorts probably 99% of the time. Only when it was REALLY cold and wet did I bother to wear pants.
Your point about bug bits, briars, ticks, and scratches are all true, but if you're willing to put up with it, there's nothing wrong with shorts. =) Just seems that sometimes people who wear shorts forget that there are downsides to doing so.
My sister was sooo excited to find a box she has failed to notice poison oak twice. She still won't stop. There are letterbox maniacs and Im happy to know them. LOL
When the clue says I am going to such and such park and then I get there and find myself in the middle of the woods.....
I went letterboxing out of state a couple of weeks ago and had high hopes of finding 22 letterboxes in that 'PARK'. That was no park I tell ya, it was the freakin' woods! My mother reads True Crime books and jumped at every sound and started getting me jumpy. When we stumbled across some geocachers that wanted to show us a box in the middle of some trees I started to wonder if those old farts were gonna kill us and if anybody would find our bodies out there.
That was no park and I only found 1 letterbox that day. I had fun hanging from a bridge to get under it but nightmares of those geocachers trying to kill us but they really were a nice couple enjoying their golden years of life together.
Ohmigawd, we are supposed to wear pants when out in public? No wonder I keep getting arrested when I go letterboxing!
it's up to you to make the decision whether or not you should be wearing pants, not the person who planted the box. =)
I agree, it's up to us.
I always do wear pants/jeans, not just for ticks (which aren't as prevalent in the PNW) but for scratches, poison oak, nettles, etc. Besides, my legs are that nice pasty white that Pacific Northwesterners are famous for, so I don't like to parade them around without nylons, which I refuse to wear in the woods!
Of course, keeping them under wraps in pants keeps them white . . .