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Read Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas

Re: Hitchhiker rules?
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022506 by Rocket Raider
Apr 25, 2023 7:13am
Thread Board (disabled)
Doesn't this create a spoiler for the box where the HH was found?

If the box is a mystery location it might be better to NOT place a hitchhiker in it because the logbook might give away information about the mystery location to future HH finders (after it moves to a new location).
Re: Hitchhiker rules?
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022561 by MichKathy
Apr 25, 2023 10:33am
Thread Board (disabled)
If the box is a mystery location it might be better to NOT place a hitchhiker in it because the logbook might give away information about the mystery location to future HH finders

I welcome HHs in my mystery boxes! To me, that is an added bonus for someone who has taken the time to figure out the location of my box, and if someone has that extra incentive to figure out a location by cross referencing, sleuthing or whatever, more power to them :)
Re: Hitchhiker rules?
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022485 by Warrior Woman
Apr 26, 2023 1:59pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Have we gotten that ‘busy’ that some don’t take the time to properly and respectfully record Hitchhikers?

Just bumping this 'cause, IMHO, it needs to be reiterated.

That is all, carry on...
Re: Hitchhiker rules?
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022590 by DarkZen and Evil Cow Pie
Apr 26, 2023 2:05pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Have we gotten that ‘busy’ that some don’t take the time to properly and respectfully record Hitchhikers?

Just bumping this 'cause, IMHO, it needs to be reiterated.

I'd love to respond to this, but I don't have time.
Re: Hitchhiker rules?
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022506 by Rocket Raider
Apr 27, 2023 4:40am
Thread Board (disabled)
Well, if you make your hitchhiker small enough, any image that can be stamped into it would be unrecognizable. 😜 In my many hitchhikers, writing an AQ # and location would be much easier and preferable, since most of them are thumbprint size.
One more question about HH's
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Apr 27, 2023 10:55am
Thread Board (disabled)
I find a HH and the logbook is full. Should I contact the planter and ask if they would like me to mail it to them? The discussion has been that the planter would like to"see" where their box has been. And also, who has stamped their signature stamp in. Getting the logbook back would be necessary, would it not?
Re: One more question about HH's
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022639 by KatieKat
Apr 27, 2023 11:05am
Thread Board (disabled)
Email them. You won’t know until you ask.
Re: One more question about HH's
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022640 by MissMoon
Apr 27, 2023 12:38pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Yes. That does seem obvious. Duh!
Re: One more question about HH's
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022639 by KatieKat
Apr 27, 2023 4:49pm
Thread Board (disabled)
contact the planter

This is why I write ‘when logbook is full, please contact Warrior Woman at warrioringilead@yahoo.com’.

I have yet to receive an email. On any of them. It’s been years. Sigh.

So, quick answer, the planter will be thrilled to hear from you and may indeed want it back to go through the filled logbook and perhaps relaunch it with a new logbook.

An experience I’ve never had, sadly.

Warrior Woman
doesn’t launch them any more
but enthusiastically moves the ones found!
Re: Hitchhiker rules?
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022471 by KatieKat
Apr 28, 2023 3:16am
Thread Board (disabled)
As a newbie (2 yrs in the making) boxer,
I have learned this about HH:
1. Stamp HH into logbook of traditional box you plan on placing it in.
2. Use either your trail stamp (personal stamp- if it fits) into the HH logbook.
3. If your stamps are too big for the HH logbook, Use your thumb print w/your info & a funny face to give your thumb print "life" :0 :) ;)
4. Stamp HH into your personal stamp collection book.

I was able to launch a box of HH created by ARF! last month, and at first it was a challenge as to where I was to release them, but soon I figured out where and how.
Some boxes are just not big enough to put extra items in and that was where I found the challenge. It took me a whole month to figure that out. But once I knew what I was looking for and that those boxes would stay put, I dropped the HH and hoped for the best.

Some HH are so darn cute they just have to be shared!! I hope this helps with your HH question. I'm sure there is more out there about them too.
Happy stampin',
LbH2018
Re: One more question about HH's
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022639 by KatieKat
Apr 28, 2023 8:24am
Thread Board (disabled)
Hi KatieKat, Definitely email me if it's ever one of mine. I would personally like for anyone to add another logbook and they definitely could send me the old one. Unless the logbook is a soggy mess and stuff is unreadable then please discard.
Wrexx🦖
Re: One more question about HH's
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1022669 by Psychosaurus Wrexx
Apr 28, 2023 9:57am
Thread Board (disabled)
I have so many out there - I ask that folks add another logbook and let them both ride - unless the logbook is destroyed - then replace it. People who find it like seeing where its traveled :)
Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Jun 1, 2023 4:50pm
Thread Board (disabled)
I found a HH. The problem, there is no Box number on it. No surprises there, as that happens a lot.

There was a title for it, so I put that in but nothing showed. (the HH was from 2009) 🤔

Now I normally would just go to the last finders log book and see how they logged it, but the log books are still not working. 🙁

Funny how I never realized how dependent I am on those log books now that I cant access them. 😡

Anyway, I thought Id post this, I started to think how many HH's I found with no box number and what happens to them now.
Re: Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1023647 by Riggs Raven
Jun 1, 2023 5:06pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Does it give the planter name?
Re: Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1023648 by condo
Jun 1, 2023 5:09pm
Thread Board (disabled)
this one did have the planters name, I looked it up and sent a message. Not sure if its the same person though. Different states. Plus they didnt have their stamp image on their profile, so not sure. Im hoping its them and they just moved.

I also wrote to one of the last finders, maybe they found the number before the logs went down.
Re: Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1023649 by Riggs Raven
Jun 1, 2023 5:14pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Hopefully you get an answer. Hopefully they are active still and log in often.

lots of hopes here ;j
Re: Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1023647 by Riggs Raven
Jun 1, 2023 5:18pm
Thread Board (disabled)
If it was from 2009, it might only have been on LbNA. AQ was only a few years old at that point and not the #1 website.
Re: Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1023652 by RIclimber
Jun 1, 2023 5:33pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Thanks, Ill go check.
Re: Frustrating
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1023647 by Riggs Raven
Jun 1, 2023 7:30pm
Thread Board (disabled)
You can try doing Letterboxes/Advanced Search using the last finder’s name and HH (box type) and see what shows up. -Using Advanced Search this way shows logbook listings, more or less. If you scroll down to the bottom of the HH list, there are ways you can sort this list.

Good luck on solving this mystery!
Found HH & can't find way to log
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Jul 4, 2023 2:07pm
Thread Board (disabled)
I found a HH today and it has a name and the planter's name, but neither of those show up on AQ. It is "Pajama Man" by Cross Crescent. I have searched and searched and cannot find a way to log it...and it specifically says to "please log on Atlas Quest."

There were only 2 stamps in the book and the last stamp was from 2013.

Is this HH lost? What do I do with him? Do I start a new plant on here for it?
Re: Found HH & can't find way to log
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1024608 by peddlefisher
Jul 4, 2023 2:19pm
Thread Board (disabled)
AQ# 208757 is the number your looking for. Log it and move it along.
Re: Found HH & can't find way to log
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1024610 by shutterbug2012
Jul 4, 2023 8:28pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Thank you! I don't quite understand though how every search I tried came up as "no results." I searched various different versions of both the box name and planter name. Is there a trick to this or am I just a searching dunce?...maybe don't answer that ;)
Re: Found HH & can't find way to log
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1024634 by peddlefisher
Jul 4, 2023 8:30pm
Thread Board (disabled)
I'm thinking that when you did the search, you did not change the type from traditional to HH.
Re: Found HH & can't find way to log
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1024635 by Wronghat
Jul 4, 2023 8:38pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Okay, yup, so I'm just a searching dunce. Actually didn't know I needed to change that. I've never found a HH before and never searched a specific box or planter (I usually just browse the map for nearby boxes). Thank you! Now I know for future reference.
Found a Hitchhiker, need help identifying it.
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Aug 20, 2023 5:20am
Thread Board (disabled)
I recently found an HH. There was no logbook, no number on it. It is a yellow Oriental Trading Company self inking stamp of a wasp.
new to HH
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Feb 11, 2024 7:19pm
Thread Board (disabled)
so i created a HH. i put it in a box i just found. I stamped the logbook of the letterbox with the HH, and i stamped the letterbox stamp in my HH logbook.
did i do that correctly?

and if i find a hitchhiker in one of my boxes i planted, can i take it or should i leave it for the next person who finds my box?
Re: new to HH
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1030410 by Theclowder
Feb 11, 2024 9:18pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Yes, you did it right!😊 if you are checking on your own boxes and find hitchhikers in them, you can choose to keep them for yourself but it's probably more fun to let the finders of your boxes find the hitchhikers and then move them along to a new home! The suggested etiquette for taking a hitchhiker is that the finder should plant it in another box within 30 days. I think most letterboxers do their best to try and adhere to this rule, but there are wild some wild stories out there about HH's that disappear for various amounts of time and then resurface much later....hee hee! I am embarassed to confess that I found a HH in my bag that I got 2 years earlier and totally forgot about, but I moved it along as soon as I found it☺️ You can also create your own HH's with small stamps & logbooks and plant them in any box where they will fit as you are out finding boxes.
Re: new to HH
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1030415 by Gypsy Fiddler
Feb 12, 2024 6:22am
Thread Board (disabled)
The suggested etiquette for taking a hitchhiker is that the finder should plant it in another box within 30 days.

Oh wow, we’ve been boxing for over 10 years, and this is the first time I’ve heard this suggestion. If we followed this suggestion, we would not be taking any HHs to move along at all (unless we put them in local boxes we’ve already found).

We do, however, take the little guys with us every time we box in hopes of finding a new home for them, including our annual trip to the other coast, and the one or two mini-vacations we try to squeeze in.
Re: new to HH
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1030420 by JampersandJ
Feb 13, 2024 5:56am
Thread Board (disabled)
I have been letterboxing for 22 years and this is the first time I have heard this suggestion of moving the HH along within 30 days.
Re: new to HH
Board: Hitchhikers, Cooties, and Fleas
Reply to: #1030415 by Gypsy Fiddler
Feb 14, 2024 1:09pm
Thread Board (disabled)
there are wild some wild stories out there about HH's that disappear for various amounts of time and then resurface much later....hee hee!

I think its because people are planting them in older boxes. I personally make it a point to plant HH's in 'new boxes' so they can move on.

I have found some old letterboxes that haven't been found in a few years with HH's in them. I think sometimes people feel they need to move it along quickly so the just plant it in the next box they find without looking at the date it was planted.