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 by 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.
This cache is located on the section of the eastside rails-to-trails between 127th and 143rd Streets. The hike to the cache from the parking coords is approximately .42 miles, with a bit of a descent down loose gravel, through a break in the trees. During wet conditions, there may be a little water crossing to access the cache. There are always people hiking, biking, or jogging on this trail, so please use common sense and stealth when making the grab.
Original contents include: Pins, kids fun-in-the-sun sunglasses, beads, army men, logbook and pen.
Have fun and stamp it up!
