Safety Tips

What is Letterboxing?

GO and Make Music! is based on the outdoor hobby of letterboxing. Hikers once hid letters or postcards in a box along a trail. The next person to find the box would then collect and mail those postcards. Today, people leave a unique stamp and logbook in letterboxes. The finder then stamps their personal logbook and also leaves their own personal stamp, if they have one. Again this year, we are using a unique picture located on a post that you must rub to record your find.

Things to Remember:

Every outdoor activity, including letterboxing, has some risks and dangers. You could get hurt, meet up with wild animals and bugs, and touch poisonous plants. Here are a few reminders as you hunt for instruments with other GO York! kids this summer:

Be familiar with the area where you are headed before getting there!
Make sure to follow all posted park rules.
Be respectful of the environment and of others around you!
Never hike alone! If you are heading out with a friend, always make sure a responsible adult knows where you will be.
Always lock your vehicle and secure any valuables.
Wear clothing that is loose-fitting, lightweight, and light-colored to protect your skin from the sun and to keep you cool.
Lather up with sunscreen – keep your skin healthy for years to come!
Bring plenty of water with you and make sure you drink it even if you don’t feel thirsty.
If it is really hot outside, bring extra water, walk slower, and take more breaks.
Seek safe shelter if the weather gets dangerous, or you hear or see storms nearby.
Step carefully over and around fallen logs and branches, rocks, roots, and other things lying on the ground.
Poisonous plants – poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac – may grow near a instrument or along a trail. Know what each looks like and watch out for them!
Spiders, insects, snakes, or other critters may visit the same places where instruments are hidden. Be careful where you step and where you reach!
Mosquitoes, black flies, or other annoying bugs may bother you. Make sure to wear bug repellent spray or other products to keep them away.
Always check to make sure that you are not taking any bugs home with you.
Be careful around ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. Don’t swim alone!

Finding GO York! Instruments:

One note = It’s easy. You must walk a short distance on fairly level ground.

Two notes = It’s a little harder. You must either walk a long distance on fairly level ground, or a short distance with some hills.

Three notes = It’s tough. You must walk a long distance with many hills and obstacles.

Distances to all instruments were measured using a standard smart phone app. All distances are roundtrip, unless otherwise noted, based on following the clues as written from starting point to the post and backtracking to the starting point.