Hiding places.

From: Jay Chamberlain (ae4mk@1bigred.com) | Date: 2001-09-17 08:20:34 UTC-04:00

Thoughs......

After a little over a year of Letterboxing fun and the recent demise of three of my locally placed boxes, I have been rethinking my choice of hiding places. Not so much the place but the materials I use to cover my boxes. Both of the boxes recently gone missing were covered by bark, leaves and sticks. I am not so sure that is the best idea, especially if it is in a rotted log. Maybe it's ok up against a healthy tree with a natural impression or hiding place (but I will still try to add stones for security). From now on I am going to try very hard to cover my boxes with some kind of stones. The classis British cairn. In some cases this will mean I will have to carry some flat ones with me, ie. coastal VA has plenty of sand but lacks very many rocks.

Jay C.
Fredericksburg, VA
The Jolly G-Man
P45 F27 X0
1 of many LbNA Webmasters
www.1bigred.com/users/jayc/letterbox/

Re: Hiding places.

From: Amanda Arkebauer (samanark@yahoo.com) | Date: 2001-09-17 18:35:31 UTC

I think this is a great idea! ALthough it will weigh down the pack a
little more, I have found the same problem in some places in the
Pacific Northwest. I don't think some of my boxes will last very
long because of the flimsiness of their covering.

One of my favorite boxes in VA. (actually DC--Cherry Blossoms) Was
hidden with "A flat rock brought for the purpose from a New England
stone wall" I think that is a Drewclan box!

--Amanda from Seattle

--- In letterbox-usa@y..., "Jay Chamberlain" wrote:
Both of the boxes recently gone missing were covered by bark, leaves
and sticks. I am not so sure that is the best idea, especially if it
is in a rotted log. Maybe it's ok up against a healthy tree with a
natural impression or hiding place (but I will still try to add
stones for security). From now on I am going to try very hard to
cover my boxes with some kind of stones. The classis British cairn.
In some cases this will mean I will have to carry some flat ones with
me, ie. coastal VA has plenty of sand but lacks very many rocks.

Re: [LbNA] Re: Hiding places.

From: Randy Hall (randy@mapsurfer.com) | Date: 2001-09-17 21:16:53 UTC-04:00

Some potential advice on hiding places, FWIW --

Find an _absolutely ideal_ hiding place and work backwards. A
good hiding place is the hardest part of placing a letterbox, IMO.
Its rare that a letterbox has to placed within 10, 20, or even 100
meters of some feature or goal of the clue. I think the clue can
still be made to work in the features you wish to emphasize or the
people to visit, but the box be elsewhere, in its ideal hiding place.
Sometimes that's not possible (like on Steens Mountain, but its
something we try to do ...)

Don't make cairns, especially out of bark and twigs. This stuff
does not last. Rock cairns are somewhat better, but not great and too
visible unless in a totally remote place.

Still, look for natural crevices and cubbyholes. I think the area
should look identical before and after placement. I think the best
technique, in rocky terrain, is to find a rock half buried, pull it
out of the ground, where it will leave a cavity, hollow that cavity
out a bit more, put the box in, then put the rock back exactly as
it was. The box stays pretty safe then. The drawback with this
technique is that it encourages people to overturn rocks hunting
for it, so make the last part of the clue a no brainer, or use an
obvious rock.

I've also imported large rocks for the purpose of hiding boxes in
rockless terrain, but I dislike the idea of taking rocks from
the stone walls. I also dislike the idea of hiding boxes in the
stone walls, as this encourages people to recklessly tear thru the
walls looking for boxes. To some, and I know this will sound odd
to many, those stone walls are treasures from the past and should
be preserved, not damaged by letterboxers.

Just my 2 cents ...

Cheers

Re: [LbNA] Re: Hiding places.

From: TC1166 (TC1166@HOTMAIL.COM) | Date: 2001-09-18 07:25:59 UTC-05:00

Randy,

I am searching for that "perfect" spot to place my first letterbox and your ideas were very helpful. Thanks.

Tom

----- Original Message -----

From: Randy Hall

To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 8:16 PM

Subject: Re: [LbNA] Re: Hiding places.

Some potential advice on hiding places, FWIW -- Find an _absolutely ideal_ hiding place and work backwards. A good hiding place is the hardest part of placing a letterbox, IMO. Its rare that a letterbox has to placed within 10, 20, or even 100 meters of some feature or goal of the clue. I think the clue can still be made to work in the features you wish to emphasize or the people to visit, but the box be elsewhere, in its ideal hiding place. Sometimes that's not possible (like on Steens Mountain, but its something we try to do ...) Don't make cairns, especially out of bark and twigs. This stuff does not last. Rock cairns are somewhat better, but not great and too visible unless in a totally remote place. Still, look for natural crevices and cubbyholes. I think the area should look identical before and after placement. I think the best technique, in rocky terrain, is to find a rock half buried, pull it out of the ground, where it will leave a cavity, hollow that cavity out a bit more, put the box in, then put the rock back exactly as it was. The box stays pretty safe then. The drawback with this technique is that it encourages people to overturn rocks hunting for it, so make the last part of the clue a no brainer, or use an obvious rock. I've also imported large rocks for the purpose of hiding boxes in rockless terrain, but I dislike the idea of taking rocks from the stone walls. I also dislike the idea of hiding boxes in the stone walls, as this encourages people to recklessly tear thru the walls looking for boxes. To some, and I know this will sound odd to many, those stone walls are treasures from the past and should be preserved, not damaged by letterboxers. Just my 2 cents ... Cheers

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