Letterboxing is one of our favorite family activities.

To hunt you need:

Compass with Degrees
Notebook or Cardstock
Personal Stamp
Ink Pad
Ink Pen
A Really Cool Nickname
Sense of Adventure and Humor
The Ability to Decipher Clues Often Written by People with No Idea Which Way North is, but They Use the Cardinal Directions Anyway Or Worse, Use Degrees Whenever Possible

How to Letterbox:
www.letterboxing.org www.atlasquest.com

Go to one of the above sites and put in your location or your destination if headed out for a trip. Read over the boxes and clues in that area and print out or copy word-for-word the clues to the boxes you wish to attempt to find.
Hunt for the box by following the clues.
Once you find the box, carefully remove it from the spot and arrange yourself so you can comfortably read the log book and trade stamps.
Stamp YOUR stamp in THEIR log book, sign your nickname, add the date and any comments about the location or hike. Then stamp the letterbox stamp into your logbook, adding the location and date for your records.
Once both stamps have been exchanged, replace everything in the letterbox kit just as it was, be sure to wipe the extra ink off the stamp. Reseal and rehide the box where you found it, step back and make sure you have done a good job. Pack away your kit and make sure you have cleared away any litter or other obvious signs you were there.

To hide boxes you need:

A Good Place
Use your head to decide if you need permission to plant a box.

For each box you need to assemble:

A waterproof container large enough to hold all of the stuff:
A small notepad for the log book
A stamp just for that spot
2 zipper baggies-one for the book and one for the stamp.

Some people like to add a first finders certificate, which just says, "You are the First Finder of __ Letterbox!" I add goodies to mine as well, small toys usually.
Wrap your stamp in a sheet of paper or a paper towel.
You can add an ink pad, but most folks carry their own.
A few strips of paper with your e-mail address are good if you want updates from finders.
An ink pen is not a bad idea, but again, most people carry their own.
A few printouts explaining letterboxing in case your box is accidentally discovered.

Be sure to make a stamp OF your stamp in case it is lost and you need to re-carve it. It will also add to your collection!

 

The hubby and I both carve stamps and we all hunt and hide.
We use Pink Pearl erasers for the stamps and I carve with a razor blade, he uses a knife.
To design your personal stamp, just think of what is important to you, or something you like. We went through a dozen ideas before finally deciding to use a very simple castle. A friend of mine uses a store-bought butterfly and my nephew is working on an airplane for his stamp.

For stamps to place, go with the obvious if possible-among what I have carved for a specific place are a mountain, book, tree, hot air balloon, rocket, tent, sunset, bridge, tower and a canoe. Sometimes I get an idea that has no specific place it represents. These I turn into hitchhikers-small traveling stamps with just a stamp and notebook in a zipper baggie that other folks find and take with them to place in the next box they come to. Examples of these are a basket weave, a shell, a tomato, a celtic design...

Of course some people have a place in mind, but don't design anything for it and just place whatever. We have climbed a mountain to get a cartoon duck, walked miles for a smiley face and the 'worst' one was a half-day trek to get a stamp with the name of the forest-and that was misspelled. So, go for the adventure and exercise and fun of it. Sometimes you get nothing, sometimes a stinker and sometimes a stamp so beautiful that you hate to hide it again.