Good times for Letterboxing

I was looking through the list of letterboxes on LbNA and realized how much letterboxing has grown in the last couple of years. When I starter there were only a few letterboxes in my area, now there are a ton and they are growing as more people find out how fun this activity is. Just in my immediate 4 county radius I have been brought to some beautiful areas that I would never have heard of, and now I enjoy visiting again and again. I personally enjoy carving and placing as well as finding letterboxes.

A couple of things that I am noticing is that I am seeing Lb’s being placed in so-so locations and I am seeing Lb’s that are not being maintained by the placers. One of the things that I try to do to help other boxers is to help them maintain their boxes that are close to me and far from them. I think that this is important to keep the interest going and we must make sure that the prizes out there are in good shape to make sure that the finders experience is a good one. My Col. Williams Monument Letterbox in Lake George NY has had 3 boxers find it that it ended up being their first experience finding a box. That is why I feel that it is all of ours responsibility to maintain boxes. Similar to when you stay at a lean-to in the Adirondacks, when you leave you must leave the site better than you left it and do things like leaving a nights worth of wood for the next camper. That is the type of thing that I like to see and see from many other boxers in the Letterboxing community. I would just like to see a little more. Many times my boxes are not re-hidden well and sometimes left open or the Ziplocs are not zipped and the logbook gets damp. Same junk all placers have to deal with, but would like some help with. I think that when teaching a new boxer, you really need to emphasize the letterboxing ways.