would have to say I agree with some of these statements about some
clues. There have been times that I have been so confused by vague
clues that I was not able to enjoy the place at all since I was too
busy trying to find the correct "big rock" or "big tree". Another
even bigger consequence is that vague clues promote random searching
behind many trees and rocks, disturbing the land and thus giving
letterboxing a bad name and possibly causing it to be banned in that
park.
Now I know people are going to say "not all boxes are for everyone
and if you don't like the clues, don't go for the box", which is
true, but the problem is that some clues are not known to be vague
until you get there and have already hiked quite a ways. At that
point it is hard to give up on the box without doing a wide search in
the hopes of getting lucky (I don't condone this, but understand it).
There is a fine line between vague clues and clever clues, but I
think a few things can help. Try to put distances (steps or yards)
between landmarks in the clues so that when you pass a "big rock"
or "big tree" before you have gone the correct distance you will
ignore it. I think distance is better than time (e.g. walk for 5
minutes) since everyone walks at different speeds. Also, pick
landmarks that are obvious once you see them. For example, a "big
tree" is not as descriptive as a "a large ent with its arm across the
trail".
Please don't think I am advocating that every letterbox should have
exact clues that take you right to the box. Some of my favorite
letterboxes had frustrating clues that I just about gave up on. But
those clues were CLEVER, not vague, and they made me think harder
instead of just searching randomly. I think with a little more
thought, all clues can be fun.
Silver Eagle
--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Rusty Judd
>
> Do any of you letterbox folks feel this way at times -- I know we
do --- I'd
> like to ask that when you hide a letterbox, your clues on finding
it are as
> clear as possible. YOU know where it is; WE don't. When you say
its the
> tree that looks like an aardvark 50 paces to the left of the big
rock ----
> well maybe the tree doesn't look like an aardvark to me and in a
woodsy
> setting there are 500000000000 rocks.
>
> I cant tell you how many we have gone to find following clues
like walk up
> the road til you find a big tree with a branch that hangs low.
> In nature preserves and parks there are a ton of trees with
branches that
> hang low.
>
> Also, if you plant a box in the spring be aware that by august the
weeds and
> vines will grow and make it more difficult to find ---- if not
impossible if
> you have to cut thru vines and poison ivy etc to get to it,
>
> Remember too that naturally occurring landmarks like trees or
stumps or
> whatever can be cut down or moved or blown over in storms ----- the
tree or
> log that may be lying across the stream in Nov may no longer be
there next
> April or May. The tree that looked like an aardvark may have blown
over and
> now looks like a dead hippo on the ground.
>
> We really enjoy taking a nice sunny Saturday afternoon to get out
and search
> for these but many times our adventurous outing just turns to
frustration
> because someone has written "walk down the road til you find a
stone wall
> and the box is on the left of the stone wall" when it is actually
on the
> right. Across from the big white and yellow house -- when it
actuality it
> was not across from it but a half mile down the road and around a
corner.
> (Two clues from a recent letter box with details changed a bit to
not point
> to anyone specific)
>
> I know the fun of letterboxing is the hunt but when it gets
frustrating
> because the clues are vague or just wrong it really does tend to
put a
> damper on the fun.
>
> The Sleeping Puppies
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>