Skip to Content
Register · Login
About Theme

A Letterboxing Community

Atlas Quest
Search Edit Search

Read Thread: Letterbox highjacking

Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
May 31, 2005 6:58am
Thread (disabled) Board

What do you guys do when you find that your box is being used for geocaches?

One of mine in particular has notes in the logbook like "first geocaching, thanks" and I've even found items in it.  I guess I'm just narked off because whoever listed the box could have just dropped me a note asking and I'm mixed on the fun versus rudeness. 

Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4530 by mowizliz
May 31, 2005 7:12am
Thread (disabled) Board

I found a box like that in Canton/New Hartford area.  The Bike It Or Hike It box near Nepaug Reservoir (North) has been "transformed" into a geocache.  THere must be a geocache nearby which confuses the geocachers.  What I would do, is move the letterbox farther away.  Of course, you'd think that when you put "this is a letterbox" on the top of the box, that would clue them in!

Music Woman

Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4531 by Bungalow Boxer
May 31, 2005 7:47am
Thread (disabled) Board
<< you'd think that when you put "this is a letterbox" on the top of the box, that would clue them in! >> I write NOT A GEOCACHE on the side in big, black letters. Less room for interpretation that way. DebBee
Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4530 by mowizliz
May 31, 2005 11:50am
Thread (disabled) Board
Only the owners of geocaches can "list" them on www.geocaching.com as they need to get approval from the geocaching approvers. As someone said, more than likely there is a geocache close by. It was probably planted there not knowing your letterbox was near it. I try to check before planting that no geocaches are anywhere near where I hope to plant a box. I just checked on one of my boxes and since I put it there, a cache must have been approved to be put near it. Fortunatly, the box is so small that there is no way they can fit any trade items into it. true indigo
Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4530 by mowizliz
May 31, 2005 12:36pm
Thread (disabled) Board

What do you guys do when you find that your box is being used for geocaches?

That happened to one of ours recently when a geocache was placed within 25 feet of one of our letterboxes.  This was a first placement by the geocacher, and the directions were particularly unclear (it was interesting because it was one of my son's classmates who placed it, thinking it would be good for them to practice their map directions, something they were studying in school). 

One thing I did do was go on the geocaching website and log my find of the gc and in the comments section try to make it clear that the gc container was a completely different color from the letterbox, etc..  Still, we were finding casino tokens and other trinkets in the box.  No one took the stamp though.  Luckily for us, the cache placer got flamed by the gc community for not "doing it right" and archived the cache after a short while.

Their accidental find led several area gcachers to become more aware of letterboxing.  For about a month, there were geocachers running around finding lots of letterboxes in the area, but they seem to have lost interest. 

DB

Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4542 by dewberry
May 31, 2005 1:08pm
Thread (disabled) Board

I wouldn't quite use the term 'hijacking' as that has a much more sinister connotation to it but I have had some instances of letterbox/GC cross-pollination occur over the past couple of years. 

I've had dozens of letterboxes we've planted over the year discovered by geocachers.  Most times the geocachers just log in, say they found the letterbox while geocaching and carefully return it to its intended hiding spot.  Occasionally some have no clue that they found a letterbox instead of a geocache and assume that they've found the geocache.  The first time it happened to one of our letterboxes, the entire letterbox ended up in a neighboring cache and bizarre references to it appeared in the GC online logbook. 

A couple of times I've received angry emails from folks who only realized that they hadn't found the geocache they were seeking until they returned home and went to log their geocaching find on the GC website and noticed other references to the letterbox in the GC online comments. 

What's odd is that I label my letterboxes all over--name, websites/email POCs, etc.  I even label the stamp as a letterbox stamp (after the first couple of 'wandering' stamps occurred).  Sometimes nothing helps.  On occasion I've had my stamps (especially in micro-letterboxes such as 35mm film canisters) walk away and I've found coins and polished glass/rocks in the stamp's place.  Frustrating when the boxes are 100s or 1,000s of miles from home (we've planted a bunch of LBs over the years) and maintenance trips aren't all that easy to coordinate/resource.

On one 'good result' occasion a stamp wandered away from one of our LBs in Tacoma.  A geocacher who only 'vaguely' knew about letterboxing found the stamp in a geocache some 100+ miles away and thought it looked like an 'odd' trade item.  She had the foresight to grab the stamp (labeled with the LBs name and letterboxing.org on it), do some research on it, post to the regional LB discussion board and we eventually coordinated a pickup so I could put the stamp back in the letterbox.  She's since dabbled in letterboxing a bit, as well. In fact, a few weeks ago I noticed one of her close GC friends have started planting 'hybrid' geocache/letterboxes around the area.  Interesting--in that the clues to them are only logged on the www.geocaching.com website stat www.letterboxing.org  Good though as it gives us a couple more options for letterboxing hunts.

On another interesting occasion, I've actually coordinated a 'hybrid' geocache/letterbox with a geocache owner.  We found the geocache and it was in such an interesting and unique spot that it just HAD to have a letterbox, so I coordinated with the planter to allow me to co-locate a LB in the geocache and it's been going strong ever since.  I made sure the LB contents' were well labelled so there wouldn't be any confusion.  I also left a really cool & valuable trade item (in excess of $20) so the GCers would think highly of letterboxers.

The best thing I can suggest is label it well--put letterboxing all over it (container, stamp, logbook, plastic bags, etc).  Sometimes I may even add comments in the letterboxing log as to specifically where the geocache is if I've found it myself--so I can do my part to help 'better steer' GCers to their caches.  After I plant a letterbox and then realize a GC has appeared in the neighborhood, I often go and rehide the letterbox in a new spot--aiming to find a spot at least 50m away from the geocache's spot (knowing full well this isn't always practical at times--it just cuts down on potential problems).

dvn2r ckr 

Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4540 by true indigo
May 31, 2005 1:17pm
Thread (disabled) Board

As someone said, more than likely there is a geocache close by. It was probably planted there not knowing your letterbox was near it.

I've had this happen too.  A geocache has been planted quite near to my letterbox, and now that "hunting" season is heating up, my letterbox is filling up with geocache trinkets.  Luckily I know the geocache planter, and we are working together to educate all those misguided treasure hunters.  I've placed a new message on the top of my letterbox that says:

The Green Cathedral Letterbox

If you're looking for Down By Duncan Gardens, keep hunting, Baby!

Inside the letterbox is a short note explaining about letterboxing and copies of clues to the other letterboxes hidden in the park.  The geocacher is looking in to putting a link to the letterboxing website on her geocaching clue page.  It's only been a week or so, but so far so good.  I recommend contacting the geocache box placer (through the geocaching website) and at least let them know there is another treasure close by.

colls

Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4549 by colls n DB
Jun 1, 2005 5:37pm
Thread (disabled) Board

Part of the problem is that geocaching recognizes "letterbox hybrids" as a cache type. Under caching's rules, it's a letterbox hybrid if it has a stamp. Neither text clues, nor a seperate listing on a letterbox site is required, although most hybrids are cross listed.

That means that some geocachers (especially new ones) believe that they are familiar with letterboxing based on what they have seen on that site as a hybrid. They may not be familar with "real" letterboxing, as seperate from geocaching. They would see a letterbox and assume that it's just another type of cache. Contrast that with letterboxing, where most of us know about caching, either through caching's publicity, or by encounters with the more numerous crowd over there.

The solution is proper labeling and communication. I would use the phrases "Do Not Trade - Leave in Box" on the back of the stamp, that's shorter and to the point. The same phrases on the baggie holding the stamp would be good too. I've left disposable cameras in my geocache (for self-potraits) with that labeling and they've stayed where they belong for three years and forty visitors.

When I find two close by (and I've chosen more than a few hikes for the chance to find some of each at the same time), I make sure to mention the letterbox in the cache log, with a reminder to treat the letterbox as they want their cache to be treated. Cachers are good people too, and that and good labeling are usually sufficent. Also, let each owner the other is nearby. In the case of newer letterboxers, point out any (lack of) labeling issues that might cause a problem.

In my most recent encounter with one of each side by side, I got a gift card (with a decent amount of value still on it) for Applebees out of the letterbox. The cache was a micro, so I didn't have to trade for it.

Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4602 by Maphead Mike
Jun 2, 2005 5:24am
Thread (disabled) Board
Thanks for all the information and tips everyone.  I appreciate it. 
Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4608 by mowizliz
Jun 7, 2005 2:56pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I have seen trinkets in LBs and assumed that the placer added these in case a geocacher discovered the box and wanted to take a prize. Better to take the plastic bracelet than to take the stamp... I think this is a good idea just as insurance, if there is room in the box.
Re: Letterbox highjacking
Board: Geocaching and Other Stashing Games
Reply to: #4737 by Rick in Boca
Jun 7, 2005 5:19pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Well, my Ferns Too box had a plastic bracelet in it when I pulled it yesterday. I know *I* didn't put it there! There are a few caches in that park, so it might have been a geocacher who left it there.

Whoever it was, my son was thrilled with it, because it was green, and he's into some cartoon character that's green at the moment.

DebBee