“There is a park named after Chief Ahanton's daughter--find this park to begin your search,” the clue said. As an eager twelve year old, I could not wait to begin the search for real hidden treasure! Having visited that same park with my family for many summers it wasn’t hard to solve the hint’s riddle. Standing at the entrance, my mother read aloud from the “map”, a little sheet of clues we had printed earlier that morning: “1. Head west from concessions to the beach's end.” We splashed our bare feet in the water and checked for grapes on the vines along the shore.

My little sister and I raced along, each trying to walk just the slightest bit faster than the other, until the beach abruptly concluded at the forest edge. “2. Walk into woods,” we were prompted. Finding ourselves on an old railroad bed we followed the clues that lead us down a dirt road to a hidden stone ramp. At the top of the ramp a small pile of stones stood which, according to our map, was the location of the treasure. “The fox is carefully hidden beneath,” the final clue stated. Full of anticipation we cautiously shuffled the stones under which we found our first letterbox: Fox at Water’s Edge.

From under the rocks we gently pulled out the small Tupperware home of Fox at the Water’s Edge and unsealed its plastic casing. Inside we found a beautiful hand carved stamp and a log book containing prints of all the stamps of those who had previously visited the box. Looking through the book we saw stories of people from all over, some had traveled for miles, others were from as close as the next town over. In rain and in sun people had ventured off the beaten path to come to this one special place and had left their stories inked in the pages of the letterbox log book.

So what is Letterboxing?

Letterboxing is a treasure hunt that anyone can participate in by looking online for clues, hearing about a box by word of mouth or running into one by accident. A letterbox is a small hidden container holding a unique stamp and log book. Any Letterboxer can find or plant boxes. If you are finding a box you will need your own personal stamp to sign in to the found box’s log book and a book or paper of your own where you can stamp the one you find. Placing a box involves making its stamp, creating the clues to accompany the box, and maintaining the box until you retire it or put it up for clue adoption.

Letterboxing dates back to 1854 in Dartmoor National Park in the UK where the term Letterbox means mailbox. The hobby didn’t really pick up in the United States until the late 1990s when an article written about Letterboxing was published in the Smithsonian magazine.

There are only two rules in Letterboxing: respect and safety.

Respect the environment and the letterbox: pick up any trash you find, try not to damage location, be discrete when finding the box to protect its location, replace containers if necessary/possible, don’t give it away to others who might want to find it, clean the stamp if you can – someone put a lot of time into making it!

Safety: you are outside which can be hazardous at times. Be sure to read the Letterboxing Waiver of Responsibility and Disclaimer before heading out to the trail.

Once you have found a letterbox, you have the option to record your finds online so that others know the boxes are active. It is a useful way to communicate with the owner of the box if the letterbox is damaged or possibly missing. The online letterboxing community is also a great place for stamp carving tips, hike comments, and finding clues!

There are hundreds of letterboxes right here in the North Country! You can search for The Three Musketeers near Degrasse, find a mysterybox named Montagna Azzura, or check out Colton's Critters. Letterboxing is an excellent way to share local favorite places and their personal, historic or cultural significance. For example, one avid letterboxer in Broadalbin, NY created an entire series focused on historic sites called the Fish House History Series. For more Letterboxing ideas and clues visit letterboxing.org.

Want more letterboxing fun? Check out our upcoming Letterboxing Workshop where we will create trail names of our own, find some letterboxes by the river, and check out cool wildlife along the way! Never been letterboxing? No problem! We'll help get you started with all the materials you'll need for this event. Please RSVP via email (info@natureupnorth.org) so we know that you're coming! Bring your cameras and your spirit of adventure and be sure to share any exciting nature encounters on our website natureupnorth.org.