A Tribute to Pappa Bear

My very first letterbox find was Pappa Bear's Woody on January 1, 2007. I was hooked. I loved everything about the hike, the box, and the carving. I soon found most all of Pappa Bear's other hidden gems and became a big fan of his. Through finding his boxes,  he inspired me and taught me a lot about letterboxing. 

Back in 2011, Pappa Bear posted to his blog that he was moving and pulling all of his letterboxes in the area. I didn't want to see this happen since his boxes meant so much to me. So I asked if I could adopt his letterboxes along the rail trail and in Codorus State Park. He agreed!

Since then these boxes have needed some attention. I was able to band-aid things here and there in Codorus State Park but lately a complete overhaul seemed to be in order.  I hated to just retire all of his boxes. They were along a great stretch of trail, in a beautiful park, and I wanted to salvage what I could. So I came up with a plan and enlisted some help. 

An original Pappa Bear box in need of repair

My local hiking pal, Blue Delft, makes beautiful logbooks. She eagerly agreed to help out. Several boxers, even a few not from our area, stepped up to help too by carving some wonderful images.  Thanks Chunna, turkeyfeathers, Bungalow Boxer, and Janila!

Finally,  the plan was in place and Blue Delft set out with me to salvage what we could while weaving a tribute to Pappa Bear around his trail and clues, trying to stay true to his theme, original clues, trail, and carvings. 

Looking stunning in our blaze orange

Blue Delft did an amazing job with the logbooks.  Just wait until you see what she did with the logbook at the Thanks box.  Such a nice tribute.

I ended up retiring the I'm Hungry When Camping series and salvaging the Camp Coffee stamp.  With a new logbook, box, and location, I listed it along with the new series.  I know that this isn't technically correct since the carving already existed under a different listing but it seemed like the simplest and most logical way to do it.  

A final word to Pappa Bear: Thanks for the inspiration and entertainment you have provided to all of us central PA boxers over the years.  We hope that someday you can come back to visit, camp, and experience the tribute. We give thanks to you!  A surprise that's appropriate for this Thanksgiving 2013!  Enjoy!