Letterboxing USA - Yahoo Groups Archive

Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

10 messages in this thread | Started on 2005-08-16

Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: S Brooks (ssbrooks@msn.com) | Date: 2005-08-16 15:03:31 UTC
I recently posted on a couple of geocache websites regarding
misplaced boxes, boxes that have not been returned to their original
correct location. It was prompted by a couple of instances of
geocach-ing folks discovered, and admittingly placing boxes nearby--
but not in the exact same--spot. This posting on the geocache
website caused quite a response! A few were directed to the
letterboxing and Questing communities.

It appears some folks are finding geocaches when they were looking
for letterboxes or Quests and they are leaving negative messages,
which does not send a good message to anyone. I am sure that this is
rare, but we are all brothers and sisters in the treasure hunting
games, be they geocaching, Questing or letterboxing. Personally I
like to find new surprises, such as additional treasure!

Another note was that if we find that our Quest or letterbox site is
shared with a geocache site we could contact each other and partner
in monitoring? Personally I think this is a great idea!

We are creating a better community and understanding of place doing
these things, be they letterboxing, Questing or geocaching. I love
those folks who respect each other by replacing the boxes in the
correct location, leaving messages of enjoyment and those looking
after, or even adding to the contents of the boxes. It makes for a
wonderful experience.

As soon as the Valley Quest forums are back up I will be posting a
similar message there!

SO, thank you for any and all help. My aim here is to have happy
hunters, no matter how we hunt.

Peace,

Simon Brooks (ShiningBrow)
Valley Quest Assistant
104 Railroad Row
White River Junction, VT 05001
Tel: 802-291-9100 ext 207

www.VitalCommunities.org
Email: simon@vitalcommunities.org








Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: aintnorock19 (cdf19@comcast.net) | Date: 2005-08-16 19:04:56 UTC
Questing? What is Questing? Is there ANOTHER new hobby out there
for me?

The last two letterboxes I found were actually hybrid boxes -
geocaches and Letterboxes. Pretty cool, if you ask me - a box
silently getting along with a split-personality. I actually took a
trinket from one of them - an old Police Bus miniature truck - my
son-in-law is a police officer and collects such stuff. I left a
lucky stone from my pocket in return. My only complaint is that the
box was not labeled as a hybrid box, and probably should have been
labeled as such on both lbna and geocaching, and on the box itself -
obviously not everyone that does one knows about the other. And to
confuse the issue even further, I left a hitchhiker with one of the
boxes - wonder if it will become a traveling bug?????

aintnorock

P1 F8 X0

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "S Brooks"
wrote:
> I recently posted on a couple of geocache websites regarding
> misplaced boxes, boxes that have not been returned to their
original
> correct location. It was prompted by a couple of instances of
> geocach-ing folks discovered, and admittingly placing boxes nearby-
-
> but not in the exact same--spot. This posting on the geocache
> website caused quite a response! A few were directed to the
> letterboxing and Questing communities.
>
> It appears some folks are finding geocaches when they were looking
> for letterboxes or Quests and they are leaving negative messages,
> which does not send a good message to anyone. I am sure that this
is
> rare, but we are all brothers and sisters in the treasure hunting
> games, be they geocaching, Questing or letterboxing. Personally I
> like to find new surprises, such as additional treasure!
>
> Another note was that if we find that our Quest or letterbox site
is
> shared with a geocache site we could contact each other and
partner
> in monitoring? Personally I think this is a great idea!
>
> We are creating a better community and understanding of place
doing
> these things, be they letterboxing, Questing or geocaching. I
love
> those folks who respect each other by replacing the boxes in the
> correct location, leaving messages of enjoyment and those looking
> after, or even adding to the contents of the boxes. It makes for
a
> wonderful experience.
>
> As soon as the Valley Quest forums are back up I will be posting a
> similar message there!
>
> SO, thank you for any and all help. My aim here is to have happy
> hunters, no matter how we hunt.
>
> Peace,
>
> Simon Brooks (ShiningBrow)
> Valley Quest Assistant
> 104 Railroad Row
> White River Junction, VT 05001
> Tel: 802-291-9100 ext 207
>
> www.VitalCommunities.org
> Email: simon@v...



Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: Phyto (phyto_me@yahoo.com) | Date: 2005-08-16 19:09:37 UTC
--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "aintnorock19" wrote:
> Questing? What is Questing? Is there ANOTHER new hobby out there
> for me?

Here's a link to a Questing resource in the Northeast:
http://www.vitalcommunities.org/ValleyQuest/ValleyQuest.htm

I have purchased one of their older Valley Quest books, completed some
quests, even hosted a workshop for educators on questing. I'd be happy
to answer questions as would several others on this board who are
familiar with questing.

I believe Mark and Sue Pepe have found enough of the Valley Quest
boxes to earn a patch! Be sure to email Mark if you're interested, or
try one of their quests to see what the kids have created. I really
love the mapwork, it's a phenomenal way to get kids to think about
their natural environment.

Phyto




Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: Phyto (phyto_me@yahoo.com) | Date: 2005-08-16 19:13:35 UTC
--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "S Brooks" wrote:
We are creating a better community and understanding of place doing
> these things, be they letterboxing, Questing or geocaching. I love
> those folks who respect each other by replacing the boxes in the
> correct location, leaving messages of enjoyment and those looking
> after, or even adding to the contents of the boxes. It makes for a
> wonderful experience.
>
> Simon Brooks (ShiningBrow)
> Valley Quest Assistant



Hey Simon! It's great to see your involvement on this letterboxing
board. I would love to be more involved with questing, but Maine is
still out of the loop so to speak. Have you been in contact with Peter
Zach from the MEEP program? (Maine Energy Education Program?) He and I
did a questing workshop together at Chewonki 2 years ago.

Welcome to our letterboxing community!
Cheers,
Phyto



Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: aintnorock19 (cdf19@comcast.net) | Date: 2005-08-16 19:21:19 UTC
Phyto-

Maybe you ought to cross post this on the newboxers group. I'd do
it, but I wouldn't want to do so without your permission. It looks
like a great program, albeit very similar to boxing, not so much to
caching.

aintnorock


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Phyto" wrote:
> --- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "aintnorock19"
wrote:
> > Questing? What is Questing? Is there ANOTHER new hobby out
there
> > for me?
>
> Here's a link to a Questing resource in the Northeast:
> http://www.vitalcommunities.org/ValleyQuest/ValleyQuest.htm
>
> I have purchased one of their older Valley Quest books, completed
some
> quests, even hosted a workshop for educators on questing. I'd be
happy
> to answer questions as would several others on this board who are
> familiar with questing.
>
> I believe Mark and Sue Pepe have found enough of the Valley Quest
> boxes to earn a patch! Be sure to email Mark if you're interested,
or
> try one of their quests to see what the kids have created. I really
> love the mapwork, it's a phenomenal way to get kids to think about
> their natural environment.
>
> Phyto




Re: [LbNA] Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: JARS (ontario_cacher@yahoo.ca) | Date: 2005-08-16 16:57:33 UTC-04:00
Many of my LBs are posted on both the geocaching and
LB sites. The difference is my letterboxes still fit
the letterbox definition i.e. no trinkets. I
specifically state that in my geocache pages (in bold
red font) and I also give plenty of info about what
letterboxing is and how to join in the fun. On my
cache pages, most have lat/long coords that take them
to the LB site but some only take them to the trail
head or almost to the site but then they need to use
directions to get the rest of the way.

I'm apprehensive about hiding a true hybrid because I
think it might be confusing and increase the chance
that my handcarved stamp could be traded out.

My oldest cache/LB is about a year old and so far so
good, my stamps haven't been traded out and no one has
left trinkets. Everyone seems to get what letterboxing
is and I've had a lot of positive comments from
geocachers. A few geocachers have carved their own
signature stamp. Some have had personal stamps made
and many have used store bought stamps that they've
adopted as their personal stamp. A couple have gone on
to plant a couple of cache/LB hybrids of their own.

I really enjoy these treasure hunting games whether
it's letterboxing or geocaching (I'll have to find out
more about Questing). The geocaching and letterboxing
community in my area have been fantastic. I was happy
to see Simon's positive post and his motto, "My aim
here is to have happy hunters, no matter how we
hunt.".

JARS

********

--- aintnorock19 wrote:
---------------------------------
....The last two letterboxes I found were actually
hybrid boxes -
geocaches and Letterboxes. Pretty cool, if you ask me
- a box
silently getting along with a split-personality. I
actually took a
trinket from one of them - an old Police Bus miniature
truck - my
son-in-law is a police officer and collects such
stuff. I left a
lucky stone from my pocket in return. My only
complaint is that the
box was not labeled as a hybrid box, and probably
should have been
labeled as such on both lbna and geocaching, and on
the box itself -
obviously not everyone that does one knows about the
other. And to
confuse the issue even further, I left a hitchhiker
with one of the
boxes - wonder if it will become a traveling bug?????

aintnorock

P1 F8 X0

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "S Brooks"

wrote:
> I recently posted on a couple of geocache websites
regarding
> misplaced boxes, boxes that have not been returned
to their
original
> correct location. It was prompted by a couple of
instances of
> geocach-ing folks discovered, and admittingly
placing boxes nearby-
-
> but not in the exact same--spot. This posting on
the geocache
> website caused quite a response! A few were
directed to the
> letterboxing and Questing communities.
>
> It appears some folks are finding geocaches when
they were looking
> for letterboxes or Quests and they are leaving
negative messages,
> which does not send a good message to anyone. I am
sure that this
is
> rare, but we are all brothers and sisters in the
treasure hunting
> games, be they geocaching, Questing or letterboxing.
Personally I
> like to find new surprises, such as additional
treasure!
>
> Another note was that if we find that our Quest or
letterbox site
is
> shared with a geocache site we could contact each
other and
partner
> in monitoring? Personally I think this is a great
idea!
>
> We are creating a better community and understanding
of place
doing
> these things, be they letterboxing, Questing or
geocaching. I
love
> those folks who respect each other by replacing the
boxes in the
> correct location, leaving messages of enjoyment and
those looking
> after, or even adding to the contents of the boxes.
It makes for
a
> wonderful experience.
>
> As soon as the Valley Quest forums are back up I
will be posting a
> similar message there!
>
> SO, thank you for any and all help. My aim here is
to have happy
> hunters, no matter how we hunt.
>
> Peace,
>
> Simon Brooks (ShiningBrow)
>






__________________________________________________________
Find your next car at http://autos.yahoo.ca

Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: rscarpen (letterboxing@atlasquest.com) | Date: 2005-08-16 21:35:43 UTC
> Questing? What is Questing? Is there ANOTHER new hobby out there
> for me?

It's not a coincidence that Atlas Quest uses the term Quest instead of
Letterboxing in it's name. ;o) http://www.atlasquest.com/aboutus/

-- Ryan



Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: Rick in Boca (rick_in_boca@bigfoot.com) | Date: 2005-08-17 17:37:13 UTC
Based on the ValleyQuest site, it looks to me like the major addition
in Questing (aside from the spiritual / community aspect) is the
creation of a Map. Some of those Quests have very nicely drawn maps.

To tell you the truth, I've seen some clues that could have benefited
from a map; after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

And in corresponding with JARS, I've come to the conclusion that I
will start registering a letterbox as a geocache hybrid wherever I
want to "stake a claim" to a special spot. Geocachers will respect a
certain perimeter, but how will they know about my box location
unless I publish it?

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Phyto" wrote:
> --- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "aintnorock19"
wrote:
> > Questing? What is Questing? Is there ANOTHER new hobby out
there
> > for me?
>
> Here's a link to a Questing resource in the Northeast:
> http://www.vitalcommunities.org/ValleyQuest/ValleyQuest.htm
>
> I have purchased one of their older Valley Quest books, completed
some
> quests, even hosted a workshop for educators on questing. I'd be
happy
> to answer questions as would several others on this board who are
> familiar with questing.
>
> I believe Mark and Sue Pepe have found enough of the Valley Quest
> boxes to earn a patch! Be sure to email Mark if you're interested,
or
> try one of their quests to see what the kids have created. I really
> love the mapwork, it's a phenomenal way to get kids to think about
> their natural environment.
>
> Phyto



Re: [LbNA] Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: Mandy Bennett (cameoboxer@yahoo.com) | Date: 2005-08-17 10:43:39 UTC-07:00
Uh, I still don't get it. I looked on the site (which i am a member of), but still don't see how "questing" is any different than boxing. A little help here, Ryan, for a dumb blonde???

Cameo

rscarpen wrote:
> Questing? What is Questing? Is there ANOTHER new hobby out there
> for me?

It's not a coincidence that Atlas Quest uses the term Quest instead of
Letterboxing in it's name. ;o) http://www.atlasquest.com/aboutus/

-- Ryan




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[LbNA] Re: Questing, Letterboxing, Geocaching

From: rscarpen (letterboxing@atlasquest.com) | Date: 2005-08-17 22:57:58 UTC
> Uh, I still don't get it. I looked on the site (which i am a member
> of), but still don't see how "questing" is any different than
> boxing. A little help here, Ryan, for a dumb blonde???

In a nutshell, there are no differences. That's why one of the
definitions I put for quest is "to letterbox". =)

Everyone one of those quest clues could easily be called a letterbox
and no one would say boo about about it. So rather than picking a
domain name like "atlasletterboxing.com" (which is quite a mouthful!),
I picked "atlasquest.com" instead.

-- Ryan