Avoid muggle-infested areas. Some boxers won't risk retrieving it and then it becomes a wasted trip for them. Other boxers won't wait until the coast is clear and then the box is noticed by muggles, and sometimes vandals.

Avoid highly groomed areas. Even if you think it is well hidden, someone with hedge trimmers or a rake may see it and consider it trash.

Avoid rotting stumps and logs. I planted in a 6 foot tall rotting stump that became a pile of dirt in less than a year. That made the clue useless.

Hide it well but make it look as natural as possible. A pile of sticks may hide it from view, but an obviously man-made pile can attract a curious muggle.

Lastly consider protection from the elements. If it rains, will this spot provide adequate shelter?

I hope that helps.

Avoid rotting stumps and logs. I planted in a 6 foot tall rotting stump that became a pile of dirt in less than a year. That made the clue useless.

That means that rotting stumps are useless for landmarks too. Northern Utah (where I box) is dry enough that these things stick around for years, while other places (apparently) will go away quickly.

Lots of good things to keep in mind! Thanks all!

That's one of our boxes, and the description already given is exactly what we did. Painted the LnL with the label still affixed, then removed the label to leave a clear spot so finders can view the label we taped inside.

I know there is a rule for geocaching that says x # of feet between caches. Is there such a rule for letterboxing? I saw “poaching” in the glossary, but there was no distance given.

With letterboxing you will need to use your judgement. There is a train museum in Ogden that had three letterboxes (by three letterboxers) in the trains, about 300 feet long and about 100 feet wide. One is missing, one I have at home (and I need to put back) and one is still there.

You can inadvertently poach a puzzle because you don't know where it is at, but there is no set distance.

As O_K said, yes it's possible to accidentally plant quite near another letterbox.
Because of restrictions, you can't always see all of the boxes planted in a given area.
If you are planting near someone else's box, just don't reference their box or use their clues.
We have two boxes in out area that are a mere five feet apart. Two different planters, two different sets of clues and you'd never know that other box was there because each is so well hidden.
My best guess is that the second boxer was unaware of the first boxer's plant.
Another pair is on opposite sides of one tree. Two different boxers with very different clues.
It can happen.

Another pair is on opposite sides of one tree. Two different boxers with very different clues.

Must be an awesome tree!

We have two boxes in out area that are a mere five feet apart. Two different planters, two different sets of clues and you'd never know that other box was there because each is so well hidden. [...] Another pair is on opposite sides of one tree. Two different boxers with very different clues. It can happen.

But is either poaching?

If you are planting near someone else's box, just don't reference their box or use their clues.

This seems to indicate that these (above) boxes aren't poaching. Don't try to plant so close, but if you do (unintentionally) it is apparently okay.

Referencing another box reminds me of a box that I planted that does reference another box series (of three boxes). Because I wanted to reference that other series I asked the planter of that series if I could reference their series, and the reference was okay. I planted among their series but at least 100 feet from the nearest of that series. The box was related (in theme) which is why I planted it there.

three letterboxes (by three letterboxers) in the trains, about 300 feet long and about 100 feet wide. One is missing, one I have at home (and I need to put back) and one is still there.

Wow! Those are some BIG letterboxes! Tough to hide. No wonder one went missing...

Wow! Those are some BIG letterboxes! Tough to hide. No wonder one went missing...

If you think that they're difficult to hide, you should come and try picking them up to stamp your book. ;-)

I said

Another pair is on opposite sides of one tree. Two different boxers with very different clues.

you said

Must be an awesome tree!

three foot diameter.
funny thing, I remembered being there before so knew about the other box.
we were stopping only because I remembered, and we accidentally found the other, other box.

Or do they just go on forever?

very rare....I have had one of mine come home to me....some are still active, but the most, I have not heard from ever again.

-Amanda from Seattle

I recently sent a full logbook home to Maude.

Most HHs never make it home.
A rare few keep going and going.

I've found one from 2004. It isn't listed here or LbNA and the email provided was from Hotmail. I tried to email it, but their inbox was full. The logbook was one of this mini sketchbooks and wasn't quite full, but it was a really nice carve, and I often wonder if somebody out there is waiting for it to come back home.

I love mysteries like that!

So HH are sent off into the Ether, to explore parts unknown, ne’er to be heard from again.

You will get updates when someone finds your HH (just like when people find a traditional plant) IF the boxer logs it.

Our 2nd find had a very intricate Yoda HH in it. We were so new, I had to look it up to know what to do with it 😂. But I was so excited just to have found something extra. I still carve a few HH along the way to pass the fun along.

At the request of the planter, I sent one home last month.
It had been out in the wild for almost 9 years.

So HH are sent off into the Ether, to explore parts unknown, ne’er to be heard from again.

I like to think they've stumbled upon the Doctor and are traveling through the big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.

I like to think they've stumbled upon the Doctor and are traveling through the big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.

Oh totally, I just had one of mine logged from 1789, no doubt while storming the Bastille!

😄

I sent one home, but most of the ones I've found still had space in their logbooks, so they continued onwards.

I figure my HHs get found just as infrequently as my boxes, so I've started making my HH logbooks with fewer spots to stamp in.

I can't seem to find a spot to record or view these...
Thanks!

I can see that you have 13 finds.
I can't see the details of which boxes you found.

Maybe I'm not understanding the question.

Yeah, I’m not sure I understand the question either but try clicking “My Page” from the right hand side of the light blue banner at the top of the page, then “My Profile”. Scroll down to find your stats. You have 13 past finds. You also have your preferences set to ‘private’ so I can’t see which 13 you found.

Well I got excited & started hiding a bunch of stamps. Unfortunately, I just discovered 2 are missing. Now I feel I need to make the rounds & verify all my boxes are ok. How do you deal with the loss of a box? I feel so disappointed. I wish I knew what happened. Is there a support group to help deal with this loss? Also, how does one decide whether to replace or retire a box?

AQ is your support group. Missing boxes are just part of the game, and checking up on them is just another part of being a good planter. Planting takes time and effort, so it always hurts when you lose one of your babies, but it also teaches you lessons. Think about how good or bad your hiding spot truly was. Is there some way you could conceal it better? Is there another location nearby that would be better? A different container (smaller, camo tape, magnetic)? When deciding to replace, you may realize there just isn’t a good spot here and need to put it in a completely different place altogether, or just retire it if that no longer fits your intentions when you planted it. Decisions aren’t easy, but weigh all your options before giving up.

And find more boxes. The more you see how others have planted before you, the more you’ll see what your options are, and understand what works and what doesn’t. Seek out boxes that have been around for several years and think about what made them last.

K

I once had a box that was hidden in a log along a trail, every time someone found it, they would say that it was in plain view on the trail and they would return it to the log. Also when I would check on the box, it would be beside the log or in the trail! We figured that some critter used the log as a den at night or it was just along their trail as they moved around at night and they kept kicking my box out of their way!! LOL The box could have easily gone missing if a muggle picked it up and trashed it, so I was lucky and I had to find a new location for it where it was not kicked out all the time.

-Amanda from Seattle

I once had a box that was hidden in a log along a trail [....]

I once hid a box under a log at least 20 feet off of the trail. It was in a place where no one would go if they weren't looking for my box.

I received a report or two that boxers couldn't find my box. I went and looked for my box, and the log was missing. This wasn't a little log, it was a fallen tree at least 18" in diameter. It has just gone missing, and my box too.

I carved another stamp to replace it; same theme but different image. Since it was in a series I let people know that the new stamp was different and they should go look for it. Because of the way that AQ works with series, I renamed the old one, moved it to the end of the list of boxes and named the new one with the previous name (adding the year of replacement behind it).