SOME HISTORY:
The origin of letterboxing can be traced to Dartmoor, Devon,
England in 1854. William Crossing in his Guide to Dartmoor
states that a well known Dartmoor guide (James Perrott) placed a
bottle for visiting cards at Cranmere Pool on the northern moor in
1854. From this hikers on the moors began to leave a letter or
postcard inside a box along the trail (sometimes addressed to
themselves, sometimes a friend or relative)—hence the name
"letterboxing". The next person to discover the site would collect
the postcards and post them. In 1938 a plaque and letterbox in
Crossing's memory were placed at Duck's Pool on southern
Dartmoor.
The first Dartmoor letterboxes were so remote and well-hidden
that only the most determined walkers would find them, allowing
weeks to pass before the letter made its way home. Until the 1970s
there were no more than a dozen such sites around the moor, usually
in the most inaccessible locations. Increasingly, however,
letterboxes have been located in relatively accessible sites and
today there are thousands of letterboxes, many within easy walking
distance of the road. As a result, the tradition of leaving a
letter or postcard in the box has been forgotten. (Wikipedia)
PRESENT DAY:
Today, letterboxing is a fascinating hobby, which is ever
increasing in popularity, and combines navigational skills and
rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor
quest. Sound familiar? In the
spirit of this ancient tradition, geocaching.com allows for the
placement of letterbox-hybrid caches with the only requirements
being that it can be found with a GPS (not merely using a set of
clues and a compass) and the cache contains a rubber stamp.
You do not need to own a personal stamp and letterboxing
logbook to log this type of cache as found, but bringing a stamp
along with you can be a fun way to log your unique signature in the
logbook. And, by stamping your own logbook with the stamp provided,
you'll have record of the letterbox-hybrid caches you have visited
in the past.
DOIN' IT OLD SCHOOL LETTERBOX
STYLE:
The cache IS at the listed coordinates, but for some
letterboxing fun you can try finding the cache using the following
clues:
- Located in Idlewild Park in Oaklawn, you're looking for a
black-painted, large loc-n-loc container at the base of an odd
little "half-tree".
- From Wichita, KS, take I-35 South to exit 45 toward KS 15.
- Head south on KS 15 about 1 mile to 47th Street.
- Take a right on 47th Street. Go .6 mile then left on Cedardale
Ave.
- Take first right onto Oaklawn Dr.
- At the baseball diamonds, take a left and follow the road
around to baseball diamond #2. Park here.
- Due West you will find the entrance gate to Idlewild Park's
Nature trails. Start here.
- Walk approximately 57 paces at a bearing of 152°.
- To the west are some large downed telephone poles with an old
drainage pipe on top. Enter the woods at the southern most edge of
the drainage pipe.
- Walk approximately 18 paces at a bearing of 238°.
- You'll find a tree which looks "normal" from the east side, but
viewed from the north or south looks like an odd half tree.
- Container is at the base of the tree.
Original contents include: Matchstick container, Carabiner,
Magnetic Pocket Level w/Clip, Pocket Carabiner Fan, Hot Wheels Car,
and Flower Erasers w/Pencil and Sharpener.
Other caches nearby.
Have fun and stamp it
up!
