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Remember: Geocachers don't read the notes on or in a box they find. They just sign, trade and run. If you expect geocachers to find your letterbox and not take the stamp, you'd better have the stamp chained to the container.

In the 5 years that I've been hiding letterboxes and posting them on gc.com, the only time I had a geocacher take the stamp was when I didn't have a note in the box and I didn't write on the back of the stamp (with a sharpie) "Leave stamp in box. Do not trade." And the happy ending was that I contacted the geocacher and he personally dropped off the stamp in my mailbox.

Lone R

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Remember: Geocachers don't read the notes on or in a box they find. They just sign, trade and run. If you expect geocachers to find your letterbox and not take the stamp, you'd better have the stamp chained to the container.

I've had good luck with my hybrid so far. Of course putting it 2.5 miles from the trailhead (with 2.5 mile hike back) weeds out a lot of the more casual cachers who are probably more likely to take a stamp.

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Makes no difference whatsoever. Many of us have had pure letterboxes accidentally found by geocachers who happily ran off with the only thing in the box, the stamp. Having no trade items clearly won't keep them from running off with it.

Remember: Geocachers don't read the notes on or in a box they find. They just sign, trade and run. If you expect geocachers to find your letterbox and not take the stamp, you'd better have the stamp chained to the container.

Well, contrary to Kirbert's negative view, the vast majority of geocachers and terracachers can and do read! And we read the notes in the logbook and the stamp and the HHs and travel bugs, etc and generally do our best to follow them. Many never trade. Many were/are letterboxers also. A few are greedy or thoughtless, but that is true of any group of people, regardless of the sport/hobby/game. We have had letterboxers take a stamp from a pure LB too, and take every single HH in a hotel without leaving any. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the barrel!

Team Bear-Cat (same trail name on Geocaching.com, Terracaching.com, GPS Games.com, LBNA and AQ!)

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the vast majority of geocachers and terracachers can and do read!

Unfortunately, the vast majority is not what we're talking about here. We're talking about each and every one, because it only takes one that doesn't read to run off with your stamp. And there are enough that don't read -- they're in a hurry to find 100+ in 24 hours or whatever, or just presume that they've found yet another geocache and don't need to read the same old introductory note once again -- that expecting your stamp to remain in such a box long term is unreasonable. The very least you need to do is to set up a geocache that absolutely requires that they must read the cache listing to find it -- just knowing the coordinates won't get you there -- and then put a big statement in the cache listing before the instructions on how to find the cache to please not take the stamp.

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We have had letterboxers take a stamp from a pure LB too...

Well, that's a new one on me, I've never had that happen.

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...and take every single HH in a hotel without leaving any.

I'd happily do that myself. What's thoughtless is to imprison HH's in a hotel.

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Don't let a few bad apples spoil the barrel!

One bad apple is all it takes. If you don't want your stamp to go missing, plan accordingly.

-- Kirbert

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One bad apple is all it takes. If you don't want your stamp to go missing, plan accordingly.

Sure, planning and preparation and communication are all good suggestions in general. But every time we plant a traditional ANYWHERE, or mail out a postal, there's a chance it won't stay long or reach its destination. *shrug* That's why we put little pieces of rubber in boxes/caches and not gold coins...

We have lost very few letterboxes over time, but we have lost a LOT more to muggles (kids playing, maintenance workers, etc) than to geocachers.

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I'd happily do that myself. What's thoughtless is to imprison HH's in a hotel.

Hmmm -- such special-purpose LBs are supposed to be high volume and high visitation. They are HH exchange points, not 'prisons'. If a HH has been there a while, then by all means move it on. But to take everything and leave nothing is thoughtless to other boxers who are looking for an HH, maybe their first...

Back on the trails!

TBC

I have found a few geocache/letterbox hybrids in my region (all planted by the same person I believe) and they seem to be serving all interested parties just fine. I like the format and am planning to plant one or two myself.

Some good practices that I've observed with these boxes, and that I plan to follow...
1. They are listed everywhere - AQ, letterboxing.org, geocaching.com, and each listing clearly states the nature of the box.
2. The stamp is well marked "Do Not Trade - Leave in Box" (or something to that effect)
3. The placer pre-stamped several index cards and left them in the box for people to take if they don't have a logbook to stamp in. I especially liked that idea, gives something for people to take without endangering the stamp.
4. There is an info sheet explaining both hobbies.
5. They are well hidden and require a mile or more hike so people really have to put some effort into finding them (though if you're adopting a location you may not have any control over this)

My two cents...

~ Leabhar