I sometimes question whether it is a good idea at all to be involved with activities that bring me into contact with other letterboxers. It’s not that any of the letterboxers I’ve met are anything other than fantastic, charming people who I would love to sit and share a pot of tea with - I love everyone, but the essence of what brought me to letterboxing itself was the magic associated with finding these treasures, left by gracious strangers, whose paths I would otherwise never cross.
For instance, there are some Ontario letterboxers that I know well (as far as one can know a fellow human being whom you only know through letterboxing) who when they plant a new box, I go out and find the box without question. I know the clue-style, the quality of the box I will find, and the likelihood of the other local boxers who may have found that particular box already. I know enough that if the clue goes wonky, I can probably stop, look around, and think to myself, "where would so-and-so plant this?" (I've had a huge amount of success with this technique.) Something about the mundane nature of this means that a part of the magic of the box is gone. There isn't the excitement you normally get when you open the lid. You pretty much know exactly what will be there. Not that it won't be great or fantastic, but the magic is certainly diminished.
One of the big things that brought me to letterboxing in the first place was this magic. That particular kind of magic I have found in other things as well - one of those things particularly was the Lost Experience which was run in conjunction with my favourite television show, LOST. I'll never forget the indescribable feeling of watching the commercial that ran during the show which turned out to be essentially the rabbit hole for the game (ARG terminology for trailhead). I had an amazing time with the ARG, and although I haven't participated in one since, I certainly cherish those memories.
Here is a great run down of the game:
On a different note, I found this recently and I think there is some magic here, too:
Anyway. Sorry for the ramble. I love letterboxing and won't change my ways. I'm in the midst of prepping for the Coaster Boaster event this weekend down in New York state, as well as carving for my Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge mini-meet, and carving/prepping for the fall's BoxON! event. Clearly, I'm not going into hiding ;)
Off to bed.
