Just getting started

hi all, i am new to letterboxing and also have a habit of easily going off at a tangent so please forgive me if this post goes a little haywire.

i have a just returned from my first weekend letterboxing on dartmoor and have a few questions.

first off what are the requirements for membership into the 100 club? is it 100 boxes found or 100 stamps found?

a few of the boxes i have come across, particularly those at pubs etc, seem to have multiple stamps in them such as the plume of feathers in princetown (3 stamps) and the warren house inn(3 stamps).

others seem to have boxes in boxes such as fox tor cafe(3 boxes, 2 guestbooks and 8 stamps) and the hound of the basket meals (3 boxes, 4 guestbooks and a huge 12 stamps). so i was wondering what it is i am supposed to count.

i also noticed that around hound tor i found a few boxes that had no stamps in them but did have a guestbook, so i left my own stamp and a message, and made a note of the find in my own book, if it is boxes that count and not stamps then do these count? (unfortunately they also had no contact information except 1 ineligable address in germany)

1 more question, which weekend will the october meeting be taking place? is it the 16th or the 23rd? hoping to get down there and get my hundred up in time for the meeting (i'm currently searching without clues, so it's just turn up and look, think i may do a charity walk or 2 when i come down that way next)

thanks for taking the time to read this, i hope someone out there can answer my questions.

Hi there, welcome to the forum. I presume as you have already been out you have read the 'sticky' Beginning letterboxing at the start of the forum index.
To be a member of the 100 club you need to collect 100 stamps and produce a list at the meet to join. In the good old days you had to collect 100 stamps on the moors to be able to buy the 100 club catalogue. Now you can send for the catalogue by post (address in previous thread) from Sylvia Moore.
The Official Meet is always held on clock change day i.e. last Sunday in March and october.
I think the boxes you found on Hound Tor without stamps but with books were not letterboxes but those Geocaching boxes. You are more likely to find a letterbox with just a stamp in it (part of a charity walk) than just a visitors book.
Another way to get a great number of guaranteed stamps is to buy a charity walk (all details in the index) for £2.50. This then will give you clues for about 12-20 stamps in a walk. You will need to plot this out on your map, then you can poke around en route and probably double that number in one walk.
Good luck, any other info you need - just ask.

thanks for the reply, thats great news, if it's stamps that count, then i have made it to 50 on my 1st weekend letterboxing, as i said i am hoping to get down to dartmoor in october for the meet and hope to join the 100 club while i'm there.

i am trying to do it the traditional way, and get my 100 club membership before i get the catalogue, i'm still only just learning to use a map and compass so i doubt the catalogue would help me that much at the moment anyway. i am thinking about doing a charity walk or 2 though, to help practice my orienteering skills and get a few extra stamps in the book.

a few of the boxes on hound tor at least were definately letterboxes as they had names such as holly's traveling letterbox and jessica's letterbox. i will put a list of what i have found in the damaged box section soon.

just another quick question, what is the best time of year to go 'boxing? i have just been down there and many of the tors i visited are obviously somewhat overgrown with tall grass around the edges hiding many nooks and crannies that would be great box spots, my girlfriend and I were trying to stick to the policy of not disturbing or trampling down anything, but this left a lot of spots that we simply couldn't see into properly, could it be better in autumn or winter when maybe such areas will be more accesible, or have i just been more gentle than most in my searching?

Unfortunately I think its a little bit of both Most letterboxes are well hidden and need to be to stay safe. They will not be visible by just bending down and looking in - you need a stick to poke around with (never put arm or hand under a rock - snakes live on Dartmoor!!). The 'grass' you talk about is the dreaded bracken. This grows to about head height in some open places on the moor. It is then that you need to concentrate on the open areas of the moors and steer clear of the bracken. It tends to die off in the autumn - then its amazing how many boxes can be exposed!!!. You can walk on the bracken as the policy is to bash it down as much as possible to destroy the roots to stop it spreading. Be careful though when going through it - snakes love to hide, but most of all 'ticks' live on its leaves and tend to jump off on to you when passing!!!!!