I released a HH this summer and in it I said that the taker was supposed to drop me a postcard with their sig stamp on it (the logbook is teeny-tiny, so most people won't be able to stamp in) I checked on it this fall and it had been moved from one box in a state park to another, and from that box it had been taken, but I have yet to receive any news about it. I thought that people weren't supposed to take HH if they weren't willing to fulfill the requirements placed on it? I know there are those in the hobby that don't list any finds at all, but I think most do like to list them. I'm just very disappointed because I wanted to "track" my hitchhiker and see where all it was going.

Our family released a HH in April, and have only heard from the FF. We are homeschoolers and planned on tracking its travels on a map as part of our Geography study this year. We are sad that we haven't been able to place any more dots on the map. The kids were very excited about it. Perhaps someone will email us someday about it.

I would try releasing another one, sometimes they take a long time to travel, maybe try a flea? Or you could join a Postal ring, and get some fun locations there, or even launch a HH in a postal

MayaRama

HH are very unpredictable. I have found 2 that had no books with them. The only way I knew who planted them was an email on the back of the stamp. I had a report recently that one of mine had no book with, but the finder was kind enough to add a book to it for me. I too learned from experience, that you may never hear from the finders at all. Good luck.

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I said that the taker was supposed to drop me a postcard with their sig stamp on it (the logbook is teeny-tiny, so most people won't be able to stamp in)

Honestly, to me that is an unreasonable expectation for the finder unless you included prestamped, preaddressed post cards.

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I thought that people weren't supposed to take HH if they weren't willing to fulfill the requirements placed on it?

The only real "requirements" of a HH is that it move from one box to another. Any other things you wish to see may or may not happen.

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I said that the taker was supposed to drop me a postcard with their sig stamp on it (the logbook is teeny-tiny, so most people won't be able to stamp in)

Honestly, to me that is an unreasonable expectation for the finder unless you included prestamped, preaddressed post cards.

Or at least stamps. I found a geocaching travel bug once with a small container with postage stamps in it. That actually makes less sense with a TB than it would with a HH.

but i thought that lb etiquette required that if you take it, you agree to abide by the stipulations on the HH, if not, then you are supposed to leave it there. just because you find a HH doesn't mean there is a gun to your head to take it. that is my gripe -- people are obviously taking it with no intention of complying with the stipulations I put on it. if i found a HH that said the same thing but had no intention of mailing out a postcard, then i wouldn't take it. the creator has the right to put whatever stipulations on the HH they want, then it is up to the finder as to whether they agree (and take it) or don't want to do it, so they leave it. They can still stamp it in their logbook since they found it, but they don't have to take it. As it says on Silent Doug's site:

So what happens if you find a hitchhiker and you're not planning to go letterboxing for several months? You might consider leaving the hitchhiker in the letterbox rather than letting it sit in your backpack or desk drawer for an extended period. Go ahead and stamp into the hitcher's journal and record it in your own log, but let the next letterboxer carry the hitchhiker to its next home.

Good advice for finding a HH that has a stipulation you don't want to abide by.

So what happens if you find a hitchhiker and you're not planning to go letterboxing for several months? You might consider leaving the hitchhiker in the letterbox rather than letting it sit in your backpack or desk drawer for an extended period. Go ahead and stamp into the hitcher's journal and record it in your own log, but let the next letterboxer carry the hitchhiker to its next home.

Good advice for finding a HH that has a stipulation you don't want to abide by.

I found a HH in a very Large container and it was putting my box in Jeopardy so I took it. I still have it after several months because I cannot find another box to leave it safely with.

Should I have left it and had both the HH and my Box be discovered and lost?

~Aurora

I also cannot find any information listed anywhere online to follow the direction of this HH. Finders were to post each location that it traveled too. But without the information available I do not know how to let the owner know where it is.

~Aurora

midlandtrailblazer, I understand what you are saying. But, many people take HH's without reading the logbook right then. (Me included sometimes, especially if it is really cold or raining.) They just check to make sure the box from which they take it has been stamped into the HH. (Some do not even do that.) When they get home and are cleaning up the logbook and stamping into the HH to ready it to be dropped later, THEN they learn of any such stipulations. Otherwise, they assume, as someone told you previously, that the idea is that they pick it up and drop it off somewhere because that is the usual HH "etiquette." I think it is exciting to have my HH's show up somewhere, but often it is many carriers later that I hear from it. And, I too think if you want the postcard, you should include addressed and stamped cards with the HH. But, that would make it too big to be a HH for the most part. AND, if that is what you want, write it on the bag in which the HH resides in VERY BIG LETTERS. Perhaps, READ THE LOGBOOK BEFORE TAKING HH. Or, something like that. Anyway, just relax and enjoy LBing. It's all good...... +Peace! ~BSuzy

Not everyone has read Silent Dougs "Rules" either.

I never knew there was such a thing. Where would I find them?

~Auroa

This according to Silent Doug's Hitchhiker etiquette page...

Finding a Hitchhiker

The whole point of hitchhikers is that they travel from box to box across the country. So what happens if you find a hitchhiker and you're not planning to go letterboxing for several months? You might consider leaving the hitchhiker in the letterbox rather than letting it sit in your backpack or desk drawer for an extended period. Go ahead and stamp into the hitcher's journal and record it in your own log, but let the next letterboxer carry the hitchhiker to its next home.

Logging a Hitchhiker

Whenever you find a hitchhiker, you need to make sure to log the find in several places.

1. Record the hitchhiker's stamp in your personal journal.
2. Record your personal stamp in the hitchhiker's journal.
3. Record the hitcherhiker's stamp in the host letterbox's journal (the letterbox where you leave the hitcher).
4. Record the stamp of each host letterbox in the hitchhiker's journal.

This can be confusing when you're out on the trail, especially when you're with a group, so take your time and make sure that every journal is stamped accordingly.

As you can see, it is possible to pick up a HH, in good conscience, if you know you will be letterboxing in a reasonable period of time, without even reading the "directions".
I open Hitchhikers when I find a letterbox to LEAVE them in, since that's when all the stamping and logging takes place.
Of course, if I had read that someone wanted me to send a postcard with my sig stamp, I'd be more than happy to oblige.

Thank- You for posting that...I learned something new today. Like you I do not log a hh until I get ready to plant it in the next Box.

~Aurora

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that is my gripe -- people are obviously taking it with no intention of complying with the stipulations I put on it.

There is, of course, the possibility that they just didn't read all your stipulations while they were stamping in. Sometimes people just find a HH and toss it in the bag, planning to stamp in later at the motel and drop off somewhere else tomorrow. It isn't until they get to the motel, or sitting in a restaurant having dinner, that they actually open up the HH and start looking over the log book. After all, the idea behind a HH is just that people move it from letterbox to letterbox; they're not expecting to find any requirements other than that.

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I found a HH in a very Large container and it was putting my box in Jeopardy so I took it. I still have it after several months because I cannot find another box to leave it safely with.

Leave it beside a letterbox. It's usually not too difficult to find a letterbox in a hiding spot where there is room for another container alongside.

HH not watertight? You might add an external baggie, but other than that I wouldn't worry about it. If someone launches a HH that's too large to fit inside a letterbox and not weathertight for placing outside a letterbox, he deserves to have his HH suffer water damage and/or rarely move.

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if you take it, you agree to abide by the stipulations on the HH, if not, then you are supposed to leave it there ... people are obviously taking it with no intention of complying with the stipulations I put on it

As an example, when I find a HH I take a few seconds to make sure the images are stamped into both books then throw it into my bag and deal with the other stuff later, at home. So in your scenario, I would never know about any stipulation until days (or more) later. ::shrug::

But my original comment still is the more important one: I would find the request that I take the time to write down your contact info, purchase and then send a postcard to you updating you on the travels of your HH to be unreasonable and imagine a lot of others would too. Be happy with those who do take the time to do what you asked but certainly don't be upset when it doesn't happen all that often.

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But, many people take HH's without reading the logbook right then. (Me included sometimes, especially if it is really cold or raining.) They just check to make sure the box from which they take it has been stamped into the HH. (Some do not even do that.) When they get home and are cleaning up the logbook and stamping into the HH to ready it to be dropped later, THEN they learn of any such stipulations. Otherwise, they assume, as someone told you previously, that the idea is that they pick it up and drop it off somewhere because that is the usual HH "etiquette."

That's us, too. We just picked up an HH at a park that was a little busy. We just wanted to stamp in and high-tail it out of there without lolly-gaggin' around reading a HH logbook. We didn't even get a look at our little HH until were halfway home. Sure enough, the logbook was missing the stamp from that box. Couldn't go back because the park had closed down around us. We'll add a note and probably a photo copy of the stamp, but what else can you do when you're not going back that way for awhile. Sometimes there just isn't enough time to agree or disagree with any extra rules or expectations placed on a HH.

FLorida Sunsets

Leave it beside a letterbox. It's usually not too difficult to find a letterbox in a hiding spot where there is room for another container alongside.

This HH WAS beside my box and it caused them both to be very visible. I am still looking for a place to hide it.

~Aurora

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I would find the request that I take the time to write down your contact info, purchase and then send a postcard to you updating you on the travels of your HH to be unreasonable and imagine a lot of others would too. Be happy with those who do take the time to do what you asked but certainly don't be upset when it doesn't happen all that often.

I once found a HH that has SASPostcards along with it to send back. The HH and log were small enough, and the cards (might have been folded in half) were those already-stamped cards from the PO. Easy enough to accomplish. I sent one back. I'm a postcard sender (postcrossing and all that) but don't know that I'd ever get around to sending a postcard as reqeusted by a HH, unless it was provided. Logging in seems to accomlish the task of letting the owner know where it's at, it's ok, etc. etc.

Mama Fox

I cannot find the owner. Thats the problem there is no information online to contact them.

no e-mail address, no name, no nothing. and nothing in the hh itself

~Aurora
I am going to find a place for it. It is just taking a while =)

Yea!

Should I have left it and had both the HH and my Box be discovered and lost?

I think you did the right thing. You might want to email the owner and let them know you're having a hard time finding a location for the box. Maybe they'll offer to send you some postage so you could mail it back to them and they could repackage it to fit in more boxes.

Thank- You for posting that...I learned something new today. Like you I do not log a hh until I get ready to plant it in the next Box.

I log it usually the same day that I find it. Then when I plant it in another box, I email the owner to let them know where I placed it.

I cannot find the owner. Thats the problem there is no information online to contact them.
no e-mail address, no name, no nothing. and nothing in the hh itself

That's a pain. I don't understand why someone would release an HH and never want to hear from it again. No contact info, not posted anywhere - what's the point?

when I plant it in another box, I email the owner to let them know where I placed it.

thats another great idea.

~Aurora

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Like you I do not log a hh until I get ready to plant it in the next Box.

I log it usually the same day that I find it.

By "log" I presume we're talking about logging the find on AQ -- in which case I suggest doing so ASAP just in case the owner needs to communicate something with you. Like, maybe, asking you to change it into a flea, add instructions on how it should travel, etc.

When it comes to stamping in, I usually do so at home -- after dark. That way I'm not using valuable letterboxing time when I don't have to! I do try to remember to check the box where I'm picking it up to make sure it's properly stamped in to that box, though.

I once found a box, a mystery bonus box, and a HH all in the same place -- right at sunset in a park that has a gate that closes at dusk. None of the three had been stamped into each other. I'm trying to keep track of which stamp image needs to go into which log book with no place to sit and no dry place to set anything down. Really disorganized, it was a bit of a cluster there for a while.

He has a website, which AQ is linked to:

http://www.letterboxing.info/

He also wrote a book, Letterboxer's Companion, which I found and read before starting the hobby. I have a terrible habit of researching things (to extreme sometimes) before jumping in. I was also that pesky teacher's pet that followed rules to a "tee." I guess that is why I'm so bothered. I knew there were people out there who did not log in finds of any kind, so I made those stipulations to try to keep the hitchhiker moving with only people who did log finds. I would be just as happy if they were simply logging the finds on AQ and not bothering with the postcards -- but not even that is happening!

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He also wrote a book, Letterboxer's Companion

FYI, Randy Hall aka Mapsurfer wrote the book, not Silent Doug.

oops, sorry! i had heard from someone that it was silent doug's book, since i'm relatively new i don't know whose trailname goes to whom. thanks for straightening me out on that!