Lovely updates on my Korean letterbox

Seoul, South Korea, with N Seoul Tower on Namsan Mountain in the middle of the city

So one of the many things I have been behind on blogging about is my profound delight in getting find notices on a box I planted while in Seoul, South Korea: Love in Suraksan.

In early spring of 2012, I was a very sad Bumble who was missing her baby sister, let's call her Mini Bumble.  A year earlier, Mini Bumble flew across this planet to work at a South Korean hogwan where she was responsible for teaching English to a small class of nine adorable kindergarteners. Since I missed her and wanted to visit the place she had been calling home, I packed up my gear and flew over to meet her - taking a small letterboxing kit with me, obvs. She lived just outside of Nowon, a district of Seoul, at the base of Suraksan Mountain.

At the time, there really weren't many boxes in Seoul - or at least there weren't many listed on AQ.  Combine that with some significant difficulties in getting around without knowing the language meant that I wasn't able to find any boxes while I was there (came oh so close: we found the right spot for one, with certainty, but the box was MIA).

If you haven't been to Seoul, it is a magical place for letterboxing.  The dense urban city is broken up by endless little mountains with an infinite number of walking trails.  The only thing stopping me from heading in was my fear of getting lost.  Anyway - just a tip for any letterboxers who may be going over to visit or teach.

I had no idea what I would plant, and I was actually nervous that I'd have trouble taking a camo'd lock-n-lock through airport security, so I believe I had a box that was clear and a small slab of uncarved material.

In the end, overcome with seeing my sister after so long and absolutely loving the country, I decided on a simple heart with a Canadian flag maple leaf and a Korean flag Taegeuk inside. (If I've somehow spoiled the box for anyone, my apologies.)

I had a bit of a time hiding it, though.  With such a dense population of people, there was never a moment I was alone and my slight hike up Suraksan Mountain wasn't proving to have a lot of hiding spots.  In the end, thanks to the water that was not coming down the mountain while I was there, I was able to hide the box under the decking of the areas beside the water flow areas for which the mountain was named.  I hid it and got out as stealthily as only a tall, white, overweight foreigner can.

I listed the box and finished my wonderful trip, Mini Bumble as my guide, returning to Canada after my trip.

And I waited. 

And I waited.

Really, no hits on the clue.  I couldn't really imagine anyone from North America heading out there and to the end of one of the subway lines to climb a mountain based only on the directions given by a letterbox clue.  And as time went on, I could only imagine that the citizens of the cleanest country I've ever visited would find my box and remove it.  So I waited, but secretly wanted no one to even make an attempt because the thought that it was still there on the other side of the planet made me happier than if I found that it was gone.

But then two years after planting I got a find and a lovely message from Sonoran Girl: "I was the first finder on this box even though it was planted almost two years ago. It was a little mucky from its days by the creek, but it's in perfect condition and has a lovely hand-carved stamp inside. It's well hidden enough to never be noticed by someone not specifically looking for it, which is kind of a miracle here in Korea."

So very happy.

Then not so long later, from Fruitcake: "Just wanted to let you know that I came VERY close to your letterbox, but had the misfortune of searching on Korean independence day when the creek area was swarmed with people. UGH! So close, yet so far away! It is in a beautiful location though, and I really enjoyed my time in the park."

Almost there, but I can't believe all the people in the creek were not seeing the box...

But it was safe! From Lig: "The box and contents are all in great shape. First time trying multiple colors on the same stamp; it worked really well. Check out Cafe Dasio at the end of the street, near the box for an artsy place to stamp in while enjoying something sweet."

And then as recently as March, from JIY: "Hi, the park is beautiful and I loved the Stamp."

I've had a bit of a weird year starting last summer and have been a little down.  These finders don't know that their find logs filled me with an indescribable joy. Maybe I'll send this post their way...

Happy trails!

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part V: The Devil Himself

Okay, this might be the last of my very spoilery posts for a while, but once again, danger - spoilers!

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part IV: The Court's Decree is Poetry

Warning! Danger, Will Robinson! Spoilers ahead...

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part III: Alien Rights

Warning! Spoilers ahead...

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part II: Jail Bird

Danger! This box is still alive, and able to be found and logged.  Nevertheless, the clues is mostly broken down below.  Spoilers ahead...

Deconstructing the Devil's Advocate

Okay, so it really shouldn't be news to anyone who boxes in Ontario that the Devil's Advocate is an alias account that I have and that the four boxes were actually mine.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, I had to pull the Devil's Advocate box which makes the whole series of the puzzle impossible to solve.  Nevertheless, I really enjoyed putting that puzzle together, it was great fun, but for anyone who didn't get the chance to hunt them (or for anyone looking for inspiration for future puzzle boxes) I've decided to deconstruct the making of this puzzle series as well as the solution to it all.

In case you do *not* want to be spoiled or still think you can solve these, I'll try to put the content after a jump break.  You have been warned.

I love creating puzzles.  It's incredibly fun and part of the massive allure of letterboxing for me.  I'm not so great at solving ciphers in particular and can get notoriously frustrated, but I love putting them together and watching others.  It's the same feeling I get when I get an awesome Christmas present for someone.

I've been making tricky boxes for a while, but I had been wondering about how to make a clue that was based on an actual stamp itself.   Leave bits of clues everywhere and let the fun begin!  This, to me, is like the ARGs that I love so much (again, I follow them on the sidelines because I get notoriously frustrated).


SPOILERS AHOY!

My top five...

This is a purely self-indulgent post.  Purely.  You should leave now if you don't want to hear me rambling about my favourite letterboxes from my own collection of plants.  Yep. Just leave.

I've recently hit 200 letterbox hides.  If you look at my online log at AQ, it might indicate otherwise, but there are various reasons for that.  Nevertheless, I've hit 200 and just wanted to look back at some of my favourites from my own collection of boxes.

My top five favourite clues:

1. The Numbers Station - runner up, The Numbers Station: Atencion.  Why?  It's my audio clue, that's why.  Little puzzley, not as hard as people might think it is.  I put a lot of work into these - still a little sad that not many others have found them, hence why I planted another in the US.
2. The Devil's Advocate.  Not really killing the mystery that this alias is one of mine. Why? There are bits of clues everywhere and you have to sort them all out to get enough clue to find this one.  Really fun, I think.
3. The Purloined Letter.  Why?  The clue took me a lot of digital skills to make, but to crack the clue takes a mere second once you catch on.  I'm not as big a fan as cipher clues as I am steganographic ones, and this one ranks high for me.
4. Letterbox Cliche.  A recent plant - this one had germinated during discussions with Vivian the Viking and Starhexen about terrible clues.  Again, I love me some steganography.
5. Hic Sunt Dracones.  I love maps, so I made one of my own.  I still have the hard copy of this - I hand drew this map and the clue online is just a scan of it.  Perhaps I should frame it or something...

My top five favourite hiding spots:

1. Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Why? In the side of a building, that's why.
2. Toronto Skyline. Why? Although it's a very basic carve, I really love where I've placed this one.  It's in a tiny key-holder on the back of a greenhouse sign.  It's still there any no one has discovered it.  Crazy.
3. Whoooooo Are You Looking For? Why? One box part of my first series, this was in a magnetic canister in plain view.  I still haven't been able to do that since.  However, the box itself fell apart and rolled down a ravine.  Ooops.
4. Annandale House.  Why? I know some people don't like (read: hate) planter's pouches, but sometimes, with a perfect spot...
5. I'm Just a Worm. Why? I gorgeous old stone house - in ruins - hides this little guy, which is the perfect Labyrinth tie-in. Was 'cached once, might have happened again, but I refuse to relocate...

My top five favourite carvings:

1. And a Bottle of Rum.  Why? I left this one down in Key West last year and wanted to leave something well carved in my wake.  This image was super-fun and I used the stamp in an earlier post about ink qualities.
2. A Touch of Voodoo.  Why?  Sometimes you just find a perfect image to carve who's subject is perfect and style matches your carving technique.  The clue and the hide where so-so, so I can only imagine it was the carve and the logbook that earned this box the purple diamond.  
3. Legendary White Squirrel.  Why? Not really a hard carve, but I love how the whole thing came together.
4. James Perrot.  Why?  Hasn't been found by anyone yet, but this one was sent to We Live & Breathe Letterboxing XV and will hopefully be making a return trip to be permanently planted in Ontario.  Lots of work went into this one.
5. The Merchants of Florin. Why? I just found images I loved and they turned into a great mini series.  

My top five favourite locations:

1. Albion Falls.  Why?  One of my very first letterboxes, this one was planted in Hamilton at one of the most amazing waterfalls.  It truly must be seen to be believed.
2. Siste, Viator: Key West. Why?  One of my favourite letterboxes (by someone else) is planted in this same area and something truly marvelous to go see.
3. The Scottish Letterbox. Why?  Stratford is so lovely, I wanted to leave a box in a quiet spot that should be protected.  It wasn't.  Seems it might be gone already.  Sheesh.
4. That Old Tin Can. Why? I love the Distillery District in Toronto and wanted to place a box that would help others -particularly visitors - discover this cute area.  Mission accomplished.
5. The Hawthorne.  Why? Actually planted in a historic hotel in an amazing little City.  One of my favs, even though it didn't last long (nor did I expect it to).

My top five international boxes:

1. The Hawthorne.  Why? My first box planted internationally, in Salem, Massachusetts. 
2. Sunny Days. Why? I planted this one while on a trip to Myrtle Beach.  In my view, it was a poor hide, but nonetheless I ended up with a steady list of finders until the wooden staircase it was under was replaced.
3. Love in Suraksan.  Why?  Although I suspect this box will never be found by a letterboxer, this is certainly the farthest away I can get from home to plant.  The image is a heart around a maple leaf and part of the Korean flag as well.  Great memories from an amazing trip.
4. And a Bottle of Rum. Why?  A great carve as indicated in my favourite carves list, but just a great box all around.  According to the finders, it would appear that it is not hidden where I left it and has been moved around quite a bit.  Sigh.  But I still love this one.
5. Get Your Geek On. Why? I love Comic Con.  And I'm such a big nerd. And letterboxing is quite nerdy as well.  Putting that all together? I don't even care that this one got just a few finds before disappearing...

My top five all-round favourites:

1. The Numbers Station 
2. The Devil's Advocate
3. The Merchants of Florin  
4. Letterbox Near a Postbox
5. The $1 Tour of Hamilton

BONUS: My top three worst boxes:

1. The Suits. Why? Quick carves on the back of erasers, not well done.  Little duct tape pouches which were easily lost.  No connection of the theme to location.  All around pretty sucky.
2. Bottoms Up. Why? This one was carved - poorly - on a mounted lino block. Uh. 
3. Little House in the City. Why?  Well, really, what was I thinking?  Ugh.  Glad it only had one finder.

Stop, traveler...

One of the great gifts that letterboxing has given me over the last few years is the reminder to slow down and enjoy what is going on around me.  So often I get caught up with the speed of life on and don't take the time to enjoy the experiences.  This is a great recipe to end up on your deathbed without really feeling like you lived your life...

Some of my favourite letterboxes have taken me to cemeteries across Canada and the USA.  I've had really great experiences with letterboxes in these locations.  More than anything, stopping to remember that we have short lives to live has been really good for making me pause and smell the roses.

Something that has been peculating in my head regarding this has been to create a large cemetery letterbox series showcasing these wonderful open spaces as well as reminding myself to stop and enjoy the world.  The first of these boxes was actually planted down in Key West last October.  A number will be planted for Plant a Letterbox Day, 2013, and I intend to keep planting these boxes as I continue to travel around Ontario and abroad.

And so I was really happy when I bumbled across a cemetery image with "Siste, Viator" written across it. The internet tells me that this phrase was written on roadside Roman tombs... perfect.  I'm a sucker for Latin and found that this translates to "stop, traveler" which I think is a perfect title for this series of letterboxes, to remind myself to stop as I go and enjoy what is around me - and maybe too for others in their travels.

Happy trails...

Responsible planting

Yesterday, while I was out to plant my Steam Whistle letterbox I got to thinking about planting in urban areas and the recent problems in Boston... and Toronto.



A couple nights ago, a street in the downtown was closed down because of a bomb scare. All I could think when I heard about it on the news was, oh no, someone's found a letterbox or geocache.  But not, it was a smudging pot. (And who knows why that was even down there.)



The fact of the matter is that letterboxes and geocaches can and do get mistaken for bombs. To me, whether or not that's a rational reaction or not depends on the manner in which the box is planted.



For example: black sprayed tube attached with a wire somewhere near important infrastructure or buildings? Kinda irresponsible.  You're just asking for someone to misinterpret that.  But that same box out in the middle of say High Park? Probably fine.  Better if it's clearly labelled on the outside...

If any of my boxes were ever to case a bomb scare, I would be mortified. Mortified.  It would be awful.  I'd feel terrible.  I'd be rethinking each and every one of my boxes.  I never ever, ever want this to happen.


The box I planted is in a round Lock & Lock in a very urban area. I decided to leave the box uncamoflaged with clear information showing through about what the box is and why it has been planted there.

You can't control how people will react to finding a letterbox, but you can take steps to ensure that a reasonable person will not mistake your box for a bomb. (Cuz let's face it, there are some people that will see a pinecone and scream bomb.)  

However, when trying to do your best to prevent the bomb-scare scenario and given the dearth of planting spots, it makes urban letterboxing difficult.

It's times like this that I'm beginning to think that magnets are the only way to go...

I'm out today letterboxing... Hope you're all getting ready for a weekend of the same!

Happy trails!

Staycation day six: verdict awesome

Whew.  What a day.  I didn't manage to get a lot of things struck off my list of things to do, but here's a little bit of what I did do:

Little parkette at the Roundhouse Park has a little play train... cute!

I moseyed on down to the Roundhouse Park to plant my Steam Whistle letterbox and spent a lot of time searching and exploring.

It's almost cliched to say that you like letterboxing because it takes you to places you never would have been, but it's even true to say that when you're planting! I'd never been to this park - even though I have been to the brewery a number of times - but never explored the roundhouse. 

It's amazing, worth the visit, and I'm glad I was finally able to plant my box there (well, near there - that place doesn't really provide any options).

Delicious Steam Whistle - you get a free drink if you visit.  My friend's condo was nearby.  We visited.  A lot.

 Immediately across the street is the CN Tower and I went over to see if I could finally nab Big Blue Team's CN Tower letterbox that I was thwarted from last year.  Well, with the construction of the new Aquarium of Canada (I can't wait to visit when it's open, but what a stupid name), the whole area where the box was planted is gone. So, unless BBT has swooped in for an early rescue, this one may be a goner.  Oh, well.

I love aquariums, so exciting! The orange and yellow thing is the aquarium, seen from the miniature railyard in the Round House Park.

It used to say "Opening Spring 2013".  Then it said summer.  Now it just says 2013...

I headed up Spadina and nipped in to the Global Village Backpacker's Hostel and was finally able to get the box there. The bemused Aussie behind the desk almost instantly knew what I was talking about, but noted repeatedly that he didn't understand the game.  His loss ;)  Great letterbox - I was very happy to see such a nice box being left by a letterbox traveller...

Anyways, because I was already in the area, I continued north and stopped into Kensington Market for a quick visit (quick because I might be heading back in again this weekend).  Cute shops and grilled cheeses were had!

Hopped a streetcar and made my way west to the Monkey's Paw - the coolest used book store in the city.  Seriously.  I would love to know how this guy sources all his used books.  Very interesting stuff.  And this cool thing: the Bibliomat.  Then visited Trinity Bellwoods park to see if I could spot the elusive white squirrel(s) and then nipped into the Graven Feather which, based on their website and what I saw in store (gallery?), is almost like a high end letterbox making store.  They just don't know it. 

Back on the streetcar and stopped into the Hudson's Bay (they're not going by "the Bay" anymore, you know) and used a gift card I had to buy a really nice canvass Hudson's Bay tote.  I took a much needed break after this then headed out to my first culinary arts class - 12 weeks and I'm guaranteed to be able to cook something!  Then I came home and flopped into bed.  All in all, I walked over 11 kms today. 

Meanwhile, when I checked in just now to my blog to write this post, it looks like my blog was hard at work today as well! In the last day, I hit an all-time high visitor count of just shy of 150 visits.  Whaaaaat?  Usually, I get 10ish a day - higher on days I post, pretty darn high just after last year's Box ON, and my former highest just before Hallowe'en for my movie posts (lots of Google traffic). 

Not sure where all the traffic is coming from, although about 30 hits this week came from a forum on another site for my how-to post on creating a piano hinge book.  I've tried to look at the forum who has been checking out my blog so I can pipe up and say hello but I'm waiting on membership approval (really?).  If you've somehow come here from that site, let me happily say: howdy!

Anyways, I think I'm going out of town for some letterboxing tomorrow. Depends on how I feel in the morning.

Happy trails!

My first international box: The Hawthorne

Shorty after I discovered letterboxing, my family had decided on going down to Salem, Massachewsetts Massachusetts, for a holiday during October. This is a favourite holiday spot for us - we are serious Hallowe'en folks and Salem is our mecca.

Salem, if you haven't been, is a gorgeous town nestled north of Boston on the coast full of a magical mix of amazing history and almost overwhelming witch-related things to see and do.  Each time we've been down, we stayed at the Hawthorne Hotel, named after Nathanial Hawthorne.  It's a historic hotel and full of a special charm that only exists in the New England states.

So once I knew we were going back down to stay at the Hawthorne, I decided to pick up my gouges and give a try at carving something special to plant.

At that point in my carving history, it would have never occurred to me to carve the hotel itself (and admittedly, that would have been well out of my abilities at the time) but it did seem appropriate to carve the capital that is the logo for the hotel, which you can see to the right here or by looking at their website.

Now, at the time I was using that awful Speedball crumbly stuff to carve with and the transfer technique I was using at the time still makes me laugh.  I do not recommend it.  What I would do is this: find an image, make it the appropriate size on my laptop screen, then put a piece of paper over the screen and trace it with a pencil. I would then thicken the graphite on the paper on a table and then transfer as per usual for a pencil transfer.  Again, I do not recommend this.  Not that it didn't work - it did - but you can destroy a monitor like that.

Anyways, it took a lot of time and all my carving ability, but I did carve something that looks like it.  My intention was to plant it on the Salem Common, but once I was there I realized that there was literally no where to stash the letterbox.  Grr! I spent the whole trip trying to figure out where to plant this uncamoflaged little Lock & Lock.  Keep in mind, this was only my 17th plant, and I didn't have as much experience in urban hides.  (If I could go back, I would take a black pouch or a camo'd L&L - or at least a keyholder for a better hide.)

So where did I end up hiding it? In the hotel.  Gah.  What was I thinking?  Well, I know what I was thinking: that I was leaving the next day and that I didn't want to take this box home with me.  I planted it for Salem.  So I planted it on this old antique on the floor I stayed on and posted the clue. What can you do?

I was completely shocked when, the day after I planted it, I logged onto AQ and discover that someone had already found it. 'Round these parts, it could be months before someone finds one of your plants...

Anyways, over the next month, there were about eight finds on the box and those finders deemed the box fit for a blue diamond.  However, the box shortly thereafter disappeared - likely by hotel cleaning staff.

It was the first box I ever retired and it is one of the few boxes I planted that predates this blog. It was my first "difficult" carve, my first blue diamond, my first out-of-country.  I wanted to give the box with so many firsts for me a little post of its own.  And since it's mine, I can even post the image here.  So without further ado, The Hawthorne:

I was super proud of the little ship in the centre...

Listmakers Anon

Did you know that I have a list? A big master list of all the letterboxes that are planned - and have a location? Right now, I have 48 letterboxes that have an idea, image, and location in the works.  Some are only in the ether at the moment, others have the images transferred, some are mid-carve, others are sitting on my coffee table at home waiting to be planted (right now, that coffee table list sits at seven - waiting a good day to plant!).

Moving again got my creative juices going again big time.  I'm also really busy at work, which somehow also gives me great ideas.  Don't ask me how that works.  But many a sticky note come home with me from work with new ideas on it.

I also have a dropbox folder that has about ~500 images that I've dropped there that all fall within the "I want to carve that someday" file.  I don't really count those as in the process, really it's just an easy way to pull images to keep on hand.  Although, admittedly, lately I've been generating more and more of my own images - whether because of text, or because I've been doing a lot more image manipulation that's given me more control over the images I produce.

Anyways, I've got a lot percolating at the moment, but that carve I'm doing for L&B is bottlenecking the process (although, I seem to also be behind on logbooks).  I timed it last night: I'm averaging five words per hour on the L&B carve.  The image has a lot of teensy text.  I just want it to be done - serves me right for picking text.

I've really been enjoying the mild weather - hoping it keeps up and we have a warm March.  My MeetUp is in a few weeks and it would be nice to have it outside... I've been working on a mini-getting-started-letterboxing-booklet for the event, still being written... I digress... I'm off!

Happy trails!

The wheels are turning...

Oh, plotting is delightful.  I love strategising and coming up with cool ideas.  That's the best part of planting letterboxes for me - it's almost like throwing a surprise party or giving someone an awesome present.  Brings a smile to my face and makes my super happy even though I am not technically the beneficiary of the gift.

Ooooh, I have some fiendishly fun boxes on the way people! Most are in the works - unfortunately the snow is interfering with planting... gah.

To my favourite few who regularly read this blog and any others who cross its path: anything in particular you like to see in a box as a first finder? Anything you like that would make it extra-special?

The letterbox is neither here nor there

Every so often I get an AQ mail or a find report for a new box from an unknown boxer and that person vehemently insists that my letterbox is missing. (I’d say about 2/3 the time, the box is where it should be, and there was user error.)  This happens more often when I plant while travelling.  I suspect that clue writing – not the puzzles, particularly, but the actual turn by turn directions to get you to the box – is written slightly differently and varies regionally.  For instance, I notice a difference in the style of clue writing when I travel across the border to box in Buffalo or Niagara – not better or worse, just different. (Except for the tendency for Buffalonians to refer to any evergreen plant as a “pine”).

I digress, where was I?  Well, in other letterboxer territories, I don’t know who the reliable find reports should be coming from. So when I get missing box reports, it’s hard to gauge their reliability. (I think everyone has received a stern message from a new boxer who insists that (a) the box is not where it should be, or (b) that your clue is terribly written.  So, some of these messages need to be taken with a grain of salt.)  When these are not new, unfound boxes, I usually make a mental note that someone couldn’t find it, but wait until I get better or further confirmation that something is awry (ie. Someone I am familiar with and confident of in their finding of my boxes).

But unfortunately, when I get missing box reports on brand new letterboxes I’ve planted while travelling, this results in a little bit of panic; my boxes are my babies and I worry about them.  While I actually expect that my boxes will all disappear in the sands of time and I accept that reality, I only get upset when a box goes missing without a single find on it.  But just because some unknown finder says it’s gone does not in fact mean it’s gone.

Case in point: last October, I planted three of my best down in Florida while on vacation: And a Bottle of Rum, Siste Viator: Key West, and Numbers Station.  On both Bottle of Rum and Siste, Viator, I received at least two messages each saying that the boxes were missing – and neither had a find yet.  Me, on the inside: gutted.  There may have been some head slamming on my desk.  It’s one thing to get one missing report, but multiple?  I had my suspicions when I read the messages that the reports weren’t reliable, but accepted that the boxes were nonetheless gone – or that my clues were really botched.*   I really wanted to contribute something nice to the Floridian letterboxing community and brought some nice boxes to plant – all that time and effort wasted.

Then just this past week, I get a find on each.  Made. My. Day.  They can go missing now ;)

Hoping that any missing box reports you receive are unreliable ;)

Happy trails!

*I actually have an great sense of direction – I have the elephant compass in my brain. I can usually plant a box, walk back to my car, and only then start writing down the directions to the box.    Even once I’m home and starting the clue, I can add more details, etc.  I can go back through my clues at a much later date and fix ambiguity, etc. because I can remember exactly how to get to the box from memory.  However, I planted these few boxes while… err… slightly hung over.  So my recollection of the details is slim; can’t fix botched clues if they are indeed botched.  Don’t drink and plant, folks.

No matter how many letterboxes I plant, I can still mess up my left from right

Apparently I have two right feet. Or, perhaps I'm just not an ambi-turner.

I've been going through all of my clues and adding them into Atlas Quest for tomorrow's event so that people will be able to log them as soon as they get home, and it's a good thing I did as I've noticed two errors in my clues that will mean that I have to go out into the park tonight to make some last minute fixes.  Oops.  In both cases, the clues say to do something on the right - when really it's the left.

I've actually done this before a few times, writing down right when I mean left, and usually I catch it before I post it.  And it's always that I say right when it should be left.  Never the other way.  I remember at least once I didn't with my Not Irrelephant box.  I'm slightly worried that there will be other glitches in the clues that I've not noticed yet.

So the moral of this story is that it doesn't matter how many boxes you plant, you can still mix up your left from right.  Good to know and keep in mind when trying to follow clues.

I also noticed that once these go live, I'll have planted 150 letterboxes. That's a nice round number.

I also noticed that if Jiggs nabs every box for this event, he'll hit 3000 finds.  That's a crazy number.

Eagerly awaiting tomorrow...

Box ON! Ready and raring to go!

Milne Dam is ready for Box ON!

So, the boxes have been planted, the clues have been clued.  And I have significant anxiety about boxes going missing before the event... but we're only a few meager days away... Also, the weather forecast looks lovely for the event, so I'm really excited! If you know what's good for you, know your ciphers, people!

In the past 48 hours, I planted 40ish boxes in Milne Park and got to see this lush park from a completely different perspective.  I grew up in Markham, and this park was pretty much it when it came to significant parklands.  However, despite some school trips here for ecology classes and whatnot, I never actually explored this beautiful place.

And what a beautiful place it is.  While planting these boxes, it was clear that the flora and fauna were all amidst preparations for Box ON as well.  Wildlife galore came out to greet me and find out how the preparations were going, and the trees were all clearly buffing up their leaves to show their newly blazing colours.  I love autumn.

Anyways, below some snaps of what I saw while planting.  Can't wait to see everyone this weekend...

Happy trails!

My supervisor supervising the packing of letterboxes. 

Companion ducks, keeping a steady eye on my goings on.

Vibrant new colours were everywhere.

Hard to see, but those fishes were HUGE and making huge splashes while trying to swim upstream.

The Duck Welcoming Committee, practicing.

Muskrat hard at work, cleaning house for everyone's arrival.

A hint of things to come...

Just one piece of the puzzle...

I'm wiped, but all the boxes have been planted now for Box ON!  Very exciting.  Also have half of the clues done, really just need to finish up and hit print.

Can't wait for Saturday!

Happy trails :)

Anatomy of a letterbox

Okay, so about that letterbox I mentioned that I was putting together to take to Saskatchewan, I thought I'd take the opportunity to show you how I put together a letterbox... Although there are certainly other ways to do it - some of which might be better.  Here goes:

Okay, clockwise from the top right, here is what I have:

• Good ol' Lock & Lock, one of the only things I use which I discuss here. Air and water proof. Very important that it be both - I haven't yet seen any other brand that actually achieves this (whether they say on the packaging that it is or not).  You'll see that this L&L is still clear; I've taken to using Krylon spray paint to paint them black before planting... However, given that this will come with me through securtiy to board an aircraft, I decided that the box would be well planted instead.
• My little exterior box note on the lid; if you click on the image, it's large enough for you to read.  I want this little note to serve two purposes: to prevent the box from being thrown away by a well-intentioned person and to prevent over-zealous police forces from blowing up my suspected bomb. 
• Continuing to the top of the clock, you'll see my current incarnation of the pamphlet I leave in my boxes for the curious noxer. You'll notice that the word "intriguing" is nowhere to be found...
• Top right, a hithhiker, not one of my own, who is going to travel to a fairly unvisited province.
• Sliding down from the top right, you'll hit my trusty Ziplock Freezer bag - more sturdy than the sandwich kind, but susceptible to theft by family members.
• On top of the ziplock is my logbook - hastily made by covering the the covers of a standard lined pad - lots of good info is inside.
• And last but not least, my carving wrapped up to keep it clean... I don't actually put the stamp in the Ziplock.  Paper can/will be destroyed by water; rubber will not.  One of those things I learned in grade school.

Anyways, most anyone who reads this blog knows exactly what goes into a letterbox, but for those curious visitors coming in from Google, I hope you enjoyed!

This box will now be packed on my carry on and hopefully I won't be seen as some sort of letterboxing terrorist on my flight next week.  *fingers crossed*

Happy trails!

Finding your own letterbox

So I am sitting here, at this very moment, on a bench next to Lake Ontario, listening in on the beautiful music of the lake hitting against rocks while typing this on my iPad.  If you have ever found my Gossip box in Burlington, then you know where I am.  I'm in Burlington tonight because of rehearsals for this other nerdy thing I do, but had time to kill between work and that, so I stopped into this cute little park to do a quick checkup on my box.

Well, the box was a pretty obvious find and kind of in the open if you knew what you were looking for (camo L&L), likely from squirrel movement, but otherwise in great condition.  Perfectly dry inside with lots of cute stampings from its visitor over the last year.

Given the amount of rain we've had since the tail end of the Irene storm, I was a little worried I'd find this little guy full of water or something, but its finders have been excellent guests.

Once again, I'm going to hide this a little better than I found it. But I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has found this box for taking such good care of it... although this is not one of my favourite boxes (not to say it's not a good box to find, just that it's not exactly in my top five or anything), it makes me feel confident that my favourites are also being similarly taken care of.

Thanks everyone and happy trails!

The 100 Box Roundup: Part 2

Now, where were we?

 This continues from an earlier post...

Off to my first full letterboxing event down in St. Thomas, and planted Annandale House on my way home in Tillsonburg. Had no idea where/how to plant it before getting there, so I brought with me planter’s pouches and different sized Lock N’ Locks to respond to whatever I found. Found a great little spot in the porch, and Bob’s your uncle. This image was designed by yours truly by manipulating a full colour image. I was surprisingly happy with the outcome.

Next, I planted a series I had carved for a Joss Whedon LTC swap – Can’t Stop the Signal.  I loved doing the carvings, but I’m really not cut out to be an LTC person. That was the last LTC ring I did – likely the last I’ll ever do.

The Purloined Letter letterbox was one I put together after putting some research into cryptography. I am terrible at ciphers. And you know what? I also don’t like doing them. Hypocritical since I have some cipher-based boxes that I planted subsequent to this one… But this one doesn’t have even a lick of cipher in it – steganography all the way. Loved putting this image together. It really does tie into Edgar’s story… I’m sad this box hasn’t had more finds.

Next were some bugs to go along with carves by the immeasurably talented Fiddleheads and her Up the Garden path set of series to go in the Royal Botanical Gardens.  Even after some great hides, a couple of hers went missing pretty quickly after planting, which is sad. But I love RBG and will definitely get back out there for some more planting, methinks.

With a lot of planning, and learning to use software on my computer I never use, I put together the audio clue for Numbers Station and planted the box. I’m sad there’s only two finders on this box, because it’s my personal favourite and I put my heart and soul into the box. I put together the audio clue using Garage Band on my laptop… I found some great audio tracks for static online (who knew?), actually played the tune of Yankee Doodle that you hear using my keyboard, put together the clue and read it myself. Yes, that’s me in the recording. I put on that voice to sound more like real numbers stations to make it real creepy. Mixed the music, the various static tracks, and submitted it to the very friendly Jackbear for the Letterpod.

Next up, I designed a large touristy stamp for Hamilton which I cut up and hid all over the City for a series called The $1 Tour of Hamilton.  Perhaps I’m psychic, because in the course of carving and planting this box, I ended up being offered a job on the other side of the GTA that I couldn’t turn down, making this series one of the last I was able to plant before I moved and hitting some of the places I wanted to get to before I left. I really like this series, but I think the length of the journey to get all of these boxes may be a deterrent from finders going after these ones. Hope not, this is my favourite series and worth the search.

As a treat for myself after this move, I bought myself one of those table-mounted lighted magnifiers to help with the fine carving – and what a difference it made! The better carvings, along with my new-found desire to make nice logbooks, is what I think made A Touch of Voodoo  into a purple diamond box. Thanks everyone for your very generous ranking!

OPAL 2012 encouraged me to do some more library boxes, and for this year I made some new self-enclosed magnetic library letterboxes for a Whodunit series for Holmes, Poirot, Marple, and Drew. I should note that back here on the author’s side of this blog I can see that my post on the making of that logbook has the most views of any of the non-clue posts. I guess folks like how-to posts… I’ll get on that!

After finding Fiddleheads’ most excellent night letterbox, Looking for Night (and being totally creeped out by the sounds a cedar forest makes at night), I decided to try my hand at some urban night boxes. That led to By Moonlight being planted on the main drag of Unionville. Difficult stamps to carve, since they are mostly positive space, and I think harder to stamp with to get a clear image. Something I hope to improve on in the future.

Water trickling down the mountain - Suraksan, Seoul, South Korea

Next, I flew to Seoul, Korea, to have a lovely time with my sister, and couldn’t help but plant a box while there, Love in Suraksan.  It was a beautiful and charming place, and really, a letterboxer’s paradise in terms of urban/forest hides since there are mountains right in the middle of town – but very few letterbox clues that I could find. Still no finds on this one, and quite frankly, I only ever really expect that I will get one attempt on it and then it will be lost in the sands of time. But in the unlikely – but not impossible – chance that I can contribute to a developing letterbox culture there, I’m more than happy to do so :)

So, on the flip side of that visit, I came home with a cute store-bought stamp. I know, I know. But it was cute! And it was a cat! And it pretty much summed up my trip! So, together with some other touristy ephemera, this stamp has been planted in my nearby library as a Korean Souvenier. C’mon. You’ll likely end up at that library for other boxes anyway. Don’t bust my chops.

Finally, at 98, I knew I wanted to do a cute little pair of boxes that would be perfect to round out my first 100. Guarding is a pair of boxes containing Kyoke and Nishibi, guardians of the location(s?). I was happy to again put together another visual clue and am working on a couple others for the future.

So that sums up those first 100 boxes… Hope you enjoy finding them as much as I do planting them!