Geocaching and Letterboxing Resources

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Geocaching

Letterboxing

Definition

Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) Geocachers use GPS receivers to find and hide caches. Geocache clues are posted at websites - e.g. http://www.geocaching.com. Geocaches generally consist of small, inexpensive prizes and a logbook. You sign the logbook, take a prize and then add one of your own to keep it going.

Letterboxing originated in England in 1854 when a local guide hid a bottle containing his calling card on the Dartmoor Heath, and challenged friends to find it. Letterboxers today, create a letterbox by filling a waterproof container with a notebook, rubberstamp, inkpad and instructions, and then hide it in a clever spot. Clues are posted on a letterboxing website - Atlas Quest http://www.atlasquest.com. When you find a letterbox, use the letterbox rubberstamp to mark your notebook, and your own rubberstamp to mark the letterbox notebook. The idea is to solve clues (sometimes in a form of a puzzle), collect the rubberstamp images, make your own stamp, and have a nice hike.

General

Databases

Geocaching.com
Official geocaching site. Get waypoints and coordinates to caches.

Buxley's Geocaching Waypoints
Geocache data has been gathered from geocaching.com, geocachingworldwide.com, navicache.com, and other sources.

Terracaching.com
Registration required to see geocaches. Sponsorship required to post geocaches.

Waymarking.com
provides tools for you to catalog, mark and visit unique and interesting locations around the world.

Databases

Atlas Quest - an interactive site that allows LBers to log their find. International LBs. My favourite site.

Urban Letterboxing - a small international site devoted to letterboxing in the city. The have a great flash tutorial that explains the concept of letterboxing succintly.

Letterboxing North America - a depository

Web Sites

OGA - Ontario Geocaching Association

Golden Horseshoe Geocachers

Coordinate Translation
JeEep.com
Translate coordinates (WGS-84, NAD-83, and NAD-27) to and from Latitude/Longitude and UTM.

GPS Coordinate Converter, Maps and Info
boulter.com

Mapquest - map by lat/long

Easy GPS download
Download coordinates from the geocaching.com site with the free Easy GPS software.

International GPS Global Positioning System Waypoint Registry
Building a World Wide Database of GPS coordinates. To help people use GPS units and to share interesting places, we would like you to enter any waypoints you have collected.

Garmin GPS units

Magellan GPS units

Lone R's letterboxing webpage includes comments on finds, tutorials on 'making a letterbox', 'making a logbook', links to other letterboxing sites

Lone R's virtual letterboxes on Atlas Quest
A virtual letterbox is a letterbox you can find without even leaving home. A clue takes you around the World Wide Web until it leads to an image of a stamp that the finder can print out and add to their logbook . Most people do not count virtual boxes in their F-count . To discuss the more intricate aspects of virtual letterboxing, visit the AQ Virtual Letterboxing board.

Silent Doug's Letterboxing.info site
A wealth of information about letterboxing

Dartmoor National Park Letterboxing

Letterboxing Info Sheet
Information to include in a letterbox (MS Word document)

Disclaimer

Carving Stamps

Carving Consortium - soft block carving and printing. Lots of great examples.

Combined Geocaching / Letterboxing Sites

Geocaching and Letterboxing Webring

The Expedition
What to take, what to do on a geocaching/letterboxing expedition

Do's and Don'ts

Dave's Opinions on Geocache Hiding
This is good, honest, straightforward information for both
geocache and letterbox hiders

Geocaching and Letterboxing for Canadians