What are Treasure Hikers?
Letterboxers are treasure hikers in the general sense of the word... each little piece of art set free in the world is a treasure to plant and find. But there is a larger game afoot to encourage more boxes on longer distance trails and paths, and that game is Treasure Hikers!
Treasure Hiking is a fun way to set hiking goals while letterboxing and earn cool pathtags or other accessories! It is a chance for families and friends to get out and spend some quality time discovering the world around you and getting away from the television, video games, and the hustle and bustle of city traffic and noise. Pack a lunch and spend the day exploring the trails and beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Guidelines:
One point for each mile hiked while letterboxing, either finding or planting, on hikes of 1 mile or longer. If a hike to find or plant a letterbox is 1/2 mile in one direction and you walk the 1/2 mile back to your starting point, that counts as 1 mile hiked round trip.
The start date for earning your pathtag miles is March 20, 2009. Any miles that you have hiked prior to that date will not count towards your pathtag. Sorry.
Friendly Suggestions:
~Each hike must be a minimum of one (1) mile in length.
~ Maintenance should not count – you will be doing maintenance anyway ;-))
~ Points should only be counted once for the purposes of “hiking while letterboxing”. So if you hike out to a box you have already found with a friend or for maintenance, enjoy the walk, but don’t count the points.
~ The true Treasure Hiker Spirit is about hiking while letterboxing, and reporting is on the honor system, so lets all try to play fair and have fun. If you “cheat”, you are only denying yourself boxes you haven’t found, miles you haven’t hiked, and beautiful places you haven’t seen!
~Keep track of your hikes by adding the Treasure Hiker Widget to your My Page at Atlas Quest.
~When you get your 25 miles, email Camp Fire Lady at http://www.atlasquest.com/ for the address to send your $3.00 (for each tag) and a SASE to receive your pathtag!!
~All hikes must be done in the state of Washington – but any letterboxer is eligible- you don’t have to be a resident of Washington to participate.
~Trail miles earned in each participating state count toward that state's particular pathtag and cannot be added to another state's pathtag count.
~The cost of the pathtag is $3.00 ea. The money will help to recoup the upfront costs and shipping of creating the pathtag and to order more pathtags-- There is no profit made from the sale of these pathtags.
~There are three different pathtags to earn in Washington. The pathtag pictured above is for the 25 mile milestone. Similar pathtags for 50 miles and 100 miles will also be available but the coloring will change in order to show the milestones that you have achieved.
~An embroidered WALB Treasure Hiker patch will be available soon that you can sew onto your letterboxing backpack or bag to proudly show others that you are participating in the pathtag program. This patch will frame your pathtag once you have earned it. These patches are in production now and I will post when they are available. These patches will cost $2.00 each and you can buy one to frame each pathtag if you wish. These patches are specific to Washington and may not be available in other states. I am hoping to have the patches and pathtags on display at Spring Flinger Event in May.
~Pathtags can be earned by family or individually. It is your choice.
~Below are some links to what other states are doing with their pathtags. Not all states are doing the same thing so check with each state before setting out and collecting miles for that state's pathtag.
Use your best judgement when hiking and counting your miles. Remember that this is an honor system and if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.
NOW GET OUT THERE AND BOX!
0 comments:
Post a Comment