Letterboxing began in 1854 in Dartmouth, England when James Perrott left his calling card in a bottle in a remote corner of Dartmouth Park and challenged his friends to find it and leave their cards there as well. In April 1998, Smithsonian magazine published a brief one-page article about letterboxing. Several people started hiding boxes for their friends to find. An Eastern Mountain Sports store in Waterford Connecticut started listing the letterboxes hidden by their customers in Connecticut and Rhode Island. American Letterboxing took off from there. Letterboxing of North America (LBNA) and Atlas Quest list over 10,000 sets of letterbox clues on their web sites.

There are over 50 letterboxes currently hidden in Western New York. To get started, go to webpage listed above, and click on the appropriate links for your area. Find the letterbox that's closest to you and print out its clues. Solving the clues may involve working out puzzles with pencil and paper, or learning how to use a map and compass. When you think you have it solved, go hiking.

You will need to bring with you a blank book, a rubber stamp and an inkpad. Most letterboxers adopt a 'trail name' and carve their own stamp from craft materials to match it. My trail name is Dagonell the Pirate, hence the pirate theme to this webpage. When you find the letterbox, it will be a plastic food storage container with sealed baggies inside containing another rubber stamp and another blank book. Stamp your stamp into its blank book so the letterbox has a record of all of its finders. Stamp its stamp into your blank book so you have a record of all the letterboxes you've found. Letterboxes are generally hidden along scenic trails. You may want to bring a camera or a bird identification book as well.