So my first letterbox find wasn't until the summer after my daughter was born, in 2001. It sounded like something that I would really enjoy. I first learned about this sport by reading about it in Smithsonian Magazine in April of 1998. Ink pads are usually inside the letterbox as well, but it is best to bring your own, just in case, especially if you prefer a certain color. Your book then serves as a record of all the letterboxes that you have found. Some people leave room in their books to later add photos of the find. Record the date, location, who you are with, and anything else to help you remember the trip. In the box, there is also a rubber stamp for that particular letterbox, with which you stamp your own book. You can also add any other information you wish. You also stamp their log book with your rubber stamp (which you have previously bought or created). Letterboxes all have a log book, but in them you don't just sign your name and put the date.
What is inside the box differs from what is inside a cache, however. The boxes are usually hidden, similar to geocaches, so some searching in the end is common, but they are usually easy to find. Some of them say things like, "Turn left at the large tree stump." Others might be a bit more cryptic. But rather than reaching certain coordinates with a GPS, you find the letterbox by following written clues. Like geocaching, letterboxing involves finding a container in a hidden location.