Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
North Fork
Letterboxing
By Beth Lucas
Letterboxing camp: This year's second annual Original Letterboxing Camp was a huge success.
Eight young people, ages 9-13, joined daughter-in-law Kristy Lucas and me on a week-long quest for little boxes hidden all over Loudoun County, Clarke County and up in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. We hiked about 13 miles in five days, drinking loads of water and making new friends. Loudoun Valley Community Center hosted the event.
According to the homepage of letterboxing.org, "letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming 'treasure hunt' style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels. Explore this fast-growing hobby.” Many folks here and from elsewhere have placed about 60 Loudoun boxes in various locations, all of which can be accessed on the Web pages through clues.
The first day of camp, our letterboxers made their own personal stamps, chose trail names and designed and carved a camp stamp to be used in all the books we would find.
When you find a box, you "stamp in" with your stamp, and having one stamp for all allowed us to go from box to box more quickly. Kristy, one of the more artistic stamp-makers I know, made a stamp of the county of Loudoun seal, colored correctly, and we hid it somewhere where other 'boxers can find it.
Our quests took us to Civil War battle fields, a park in Berryville where we found a series of train stamps that choo-chooed across our logbook pages, hiking in the heat up the stairs in Harpers Ferry and to many out-of-the-way locations we normally never would have visited. After camp was over, for the future benefit of our young 'boxers and others, Kristy and I carved stamps for boxes in a Purcellville park. Look on the Web site to find the clues.
We may have more short camps during the school year, so keep in touch with the Loudoun Valley Community Center's Web pages. Or give me a call at home so I can keep you apprised of any plans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.