> I was a boy scout growing up in the 90s, there is already an orienteering
> merit badge which works off a system where each flag found has a hole
> punch specific to itself...

> Maybe as a start, it could be an alternate requirement in the orienteering
> MB.

Orienteering and American-style letterboxing have nothing in common.
Orienteering is a map reading sport. American-style letterboxing rarely
involves a map (the crux of orienteering), and is a hiking, puzzle solving,
artistic pastime. I don't know too much about how the boy scouts set up
the requirements for these merit badges, but I personally feel making
orienteering and letterboxing interchangible doesn't make sense.

Ed Scott (http://www.talon.net/scottdvoa/) has a good page on Scout
orienteering, including the requirements for the orienteering merit badge.
As can be seen, not at all related to letterboxing.

In my mind, the Valley Quest program is closest to what seems appropriate
for this merit badge, as the whole motivation for the program is to use
"treasure hunt" models to get kids to discover and explore the communities'
history, environment, and heritage. Of course, alot of boxes listed on
lbna have educational value, but the VQ program just feels more like a
merit badge ... hard to describe ...

Cheers