Ernmark

..I'm not big on posting a GPSr in my pics either... ..maybe a copy of the front page of the local newspaper?

..do you mean re-logging your own previously found (>12 months) marks? Much as that would give someone who has hunted-out their home turf an equalizer for the contest, I don't think I'd want to do that... it would clutter up the CG logs w/ double-entries in a short amount of time & if you're a holoscenes stat fan, that would lessen the accuracy(?) of those numbers - we'd be doing what the USPSQD does in some areas in submitting NGS recoveries (logging a mark every 12 months just to get 'points'). Even though I wouln't be able to finish in nearly as high of a spot as last year, I'd like to keep it as a 'not found yet by you' situation. Even if the scoring was exactly the same as last year, I'd still find a reason to drive further out to find new marks - I'd want to wait a few more years (say 5 years?) before revisiting my previously-found marks (unless I see a change in their status)..

hmmm what was that thread...underwater benchmarks? at any rate, I'm in ...these contests covince me that there really ARE other benchmark hunters out there & this whole GC/Groundpeak site isn't some sort of "sim" program! ...or is it?

..I'd imagine the only way to tell would be the concrete - an "irregular mass" (concrete poured in a dug hole?) vs. a "nice smooth" square/round monument... I haven't seen any underground marks yet myself. (I might get a chance depending on what happens w/ a local law school campus set about 50' away from a station [actually station #2 - there may be 2 masses] - I'll have the camera ready)

Papa-Bear - I do remember one PID RM I've run across that is adjusted - on the 'far' end of NJ of all places: HU1295 - CAPE MAY RM 1 ..with good reason - the main station (or underground portion of it anyway) seems to be under asphalt...so it seems RM 1 may have been "promoted" to make it more usable.. I notice that everybody still finds the main station..I've been back twice since my log (& after obtaining more experience) & I still haven't ..which reminds me - I have to dig out my pics w/ yellow boxes..

..you should've been able to "....zip in - zip out - like going into Wisconsin!" * Well - you can always buy your license for goose season! I agree W/ ArtMan - it ain't over yet! * vague reference to 80's movie

Regarding the hunt - I agree w/ mloser - while the solitude of standing on top of the middle of the mountains, being the first one back at that spot is rewarding, some of the experiences I've had searching w/ the landowners are just as memorable albeit in a different ways. .. I've talked with a gentleman who was there as a kid when the shiny new mark was set in 1942 and has 'guarded' it ever since, had a lady help me remeasure distances after opening a 'homemade' lid containing 1000's of little pinching ants that proceeded to crawl up my sleeve, learned all about the tracks & trains that ran past a now defunct station in a tiny town in PA. (I also walked in on a barbecue...but didn't get invited to stay..was dusk & I had a 2yr-old in tow...yeah, that must of been why). Part of the fun is that each hunt is different ! PS to mloser - I remember running across a log of yours somewhere (York Co.?) where you happened upon a tri-station on the border of feuding neighbors...but still managed a 'recovered in good condition' !! (a feat unto itself!)

GEOCAC accounts for over a third of the total - that's pretty impressive ! Thanks for looking it up!

...snow?! what snow...we've been waiting for snow in PA to help soften up the grass & pack down the briars so we gan go out into the woods for some tri-station hunting! Question for Holograph (forgive me if the answer is already out there somewhere) just out of curiosity - what is an average amout of total recoveries (us, the Sqd., and all the other agencies) the the NGS gets in a month?

I'll bet Scotsbob is referring to the benchmark replicas available here: http://www.benchmarkcoins.com/ - they offer 4 replicas of BM's from Hawaii (1-USGS, 2 USC&GS [an RM & AZ], & 1 - Hawaii Territory Survey) as well as others such at the Washington Monument (...didn't ArtMan recover that one when the scaffolding was up around that one? ). Scotsbob - A good primer on the purpose of these marks is available on the Benchmarking section of the geocaching.com site, if you haven't poked around there already. If I understand correctly, in the U.K. "trigpoints" are used for similar survey purposes. There are other good places to read up on US benchmarks - I'll let others provide the links (the wife has just informed me that we leaving to go shopping....lucky me ! edit: Well actually trigpionts may be more like out 'triangulation' or 'traverse' stations

..this reminded me of a story - back in Mar. or Apr., I went on a lunchtime excursion to look for a mark at a crossing along a Norfolk-Southern line. When I pulled up at what looked like a brand-new regraded re-signaled crossing, I saw 3 'official' looking people w/ papers & pointing. ...well, I was on a mission w/ time constraints so I pulled off on the other side of the crossing, grabbed my clipboard & camera & walked over to the other side of the crossing where the mark [was] while they were still intently pointing, etc. They all looked over & one of the gentleman asked me if he could help me - so I explain what I'm looking for and one of the RR employees (others were from the Twp.) says something like "Yeah yeah those things - they come in and set this things everywhere w/ out asking anybody & in the way!". To dissect that statement: 1.) - I'm sure in 1942 when the that particular string of marks was set, people w/ (then) USC&GS and (then) PA R.R. (PRR to us locals) were in contact. 2.) - a lot of them end up being in the way - as no one can anticipate a gravel road becoming a 4-lane road or an old RR bed becoming part of the fiber-optic 'backbone' of current technology. 3.) - This comment would explain why if this person was using a chipper to clear brush, he'd probably grind off a concrete monument - even if he saw it there! (..sorry to wax poetic for so long - ther's a lot of sugar in the office this week!) Also - I stopped by the mark Brik mentioned in original post - here's a visual: KW1997 - E

Congrats on the FOREST recovery ! ...looks like some serious elevation change getting down to that one!

caseyb - question ...I notice in my area that numerous stations have been removed by "progress" - old RR bridges like Brik's example, but more often a tri-station that succumbs to a shopping mall (one example - KW2106) - the majority of them never are officially destroyed...wouldn't the developers have a responsibility to make the attempt to pull the disk aside & let you know before the bulldozer hauls it away. (I CAN see how a BM would possibly be missed with scaled coords). It seems like (at least in my area of PA) the developers don't pay any attention to the stations..

..I also have a Radio Shack® 3300 - although I must admit I have used my $49.95 Famous Trails® more often - it is much more compact, so it is in my trunk at all times (it does tend to consider beer cans & benchmarks as the same thing, however). I do bring the 3300 when I need to use the discrimination feature (esp. RR tracks where there's all manner of scrap metal lying around). I have done some "benchmark" testing w/ the units side-by-side and the more expensive model will get me another inch or 2 in depth. It's basiacllay a matter of "bang for your buck"...if you are a serious BM hunter, y' gots 'ta add a detector to your arsenal ! Edit - spelling -1

Congrats! gotta love those drive-by's - that ones 12.9 mi SW of my southernmost drive-by on 81 - JW0188 - REST - that was my last quick stop on a day of hunting mostly in MD that ended up w/ a lot of "wild goose chases"....

Excellent pics, btw - pic #2 would make a good book cover ...Lasting Impressions II ?

...I'm afraid I'm going to have to move after I finish filling in my area !

...don't feel bad after finding an easy one - benchmarking "karma" has a way of evening out ...especially after spending a couple'a hours poking around for a missing triangulation station & it's RM's/AZ !

Wooooow! In thinking ahead, we must organize some sort of event on June 2, 2014 - the the day the map comes out w/ the whole US in dark red w/ >100 GEOCAC recoveries per county! Thanks again for keeping tabs on the recoveries! - E

I have Nov NGS logs for 6 PA counties, including a new 'red' one - I did a spot check of datasheets & they seem to have made it into the database (including some that I had finally entered the previous (Thurs.?)evening...I seem to have my own backlog )

Brik - sorry I missed you..the wife kept me busy all day w/ chores around the house...I would've much rather joined you bushwacking thru thorns looking for old marks ! - E

Brik - it's a small world! I was on my way back from a recovery (KW2820) on Monday & stopped by to look for KW1997. I saw signs posted along the railroad bed where it crossed PA 74, so I stopped at the Chiropractic place (last of the 3 houses E of the RR bed & the one that looked to be closest to the bridge) to see if I could get permission to walk thru their yard, but alas, no one answered the door.. I peeked around the back & thought I saw some cement chunks at the edge of their yard. Did you get any pics of the debris when you were there?

..thanks - my normal inclination would've been POOR -just was 2nd guessing because of "money area" still being intact. The designation stamping was readable in person, w/of course the date being long gone..but you can tell it's a circa 1942 disk ...wonder where the rest of the disk ended up - hopefully not in the windshield of a passing car! I think the measuring discrepancy (70 FT. N OF CENTERLINE OF HWY. AND CENTERLINE OF TRAIL) comes from the road leading S which is to the W of the mark...this would actually be a measurement NNE to the mark... I didn't run this measurement as there is a significant bank on the N shoulder of the road at the intersection... ah yes - what a way to spend a Sunday afternoon

..I've had my fair share of tilted monuments & disk stems, but I've finally run across one of these: KW1913 For NGS purposes, I was ready to report "Poor - requires maintenance" ...but upon looking at the pic, I notice that the "bench" line at the center of the mark is still intact & possibly still valid for vertical control..so I may be inclined to report as "good" and note the damage in the description. ...any thoughts from those of you that have reported a disk that has suffered this fate?

Never! ...I will admit using what was left of my Diet Sierra Mist® one time on one really muddy disk... If you don't want to get arrested for carrying a baggie of corn starch, grab some of the kids' big "sidewalk" chalk - it does an adequate job.... PS - this character looks really suspicious ! PFF at FY1827