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These are pictures of a mark I just happened to stumble upon while geocaching in Iraq. Nothing special to look at, but I figured the location is what makes it unique. As you guys can imagine, I was extremely surprised to see one of these, considering the circumstances. Obviously, I cant tell you where without someone yelling and screaming about OPSEC, even though you can see everything and more on Google Earth. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Got home a few weeks ago and I plan on going on my first all day BM trip tomorrow, so hopefully Ill have some more pics to add.

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Home on R&R leave, so before I have to go back to Hell for another 6 months, I decided I must go out and find all that I can. Well, I dont know if I found ALL that I could, but after escaping curious county sherrifs and death by train a couple times, this was certainly interesting. GC1683 I've always wondered what the whole process involved, and now I know- thats a pretty deep hole to dig. I wonder though, if they dug up the RM when they paved the parking lot, what did they do with the station mark? According to my GPS, it was under the parking lot. Did they just pave right over it? And what if theres an underground mark- that has to be twice as deep?! Anyway, Ill be back in the hunt next summer. good luck all!

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...I like to take it out on Sunday drives Nah, I have an 06 Frontier that ususally gets me from mark to mark.

Questions I should have asked a long time ago: What is a Battery Well? GC1545 When it descibes a location as #of tracks What does a triangle-blazed tree look like- read it several times in descriptions, never seen one. A whistle post? GC1538 Concrete abutments? I think I have a good idea, but just wanted to make sure. GC1540, 1549, 1554 Ill be coming home for R&R leave in a few days, and I am hoping to aviod any confusion while on my benchmark-hunting trip- Thanks guys.

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My wife hates it- finding caches too. What can I say, shes a city girl. Makes for a lot of solo missions. Ill be back in the real world next June if anyone wants to find some in the middle TN area.

I logged a mark as destroyed today- GC2535. There was nothing there, dont get me wrong- I think I'd notice a 60 foot tower with the location adjusted. I'd like to see some examples of airway beacons in good condition, though. Just curious- what was the purpose of these and are they a thing of the past, or are they still used?

This is a pretty good topic by the way. This is probably nothing compared to everybody else. Allright, so- another mountain bike one. There's a bunch of caches along these trails that I love to ride, so one day I decide to load up my backpack (mistake #1) and get them all on the way, one after the other. I usually only have a camel-back so its already awkward. Things are going well, Ive found a few, until I end up on a section of trail I wasnt familiar with. Cruising right along when I see about a 2 ft dropoff ahead. No problem- great chance for a little air time right? Well, I sometimes fail to consider what will happen AFTER a jump, and in this instance, its the TREE right in the middle of the trail about 10 ft after the dropoff. So I pedal harder, approaching the dropoff, then JUMP!, get a little sideways in the air, try to correct, but land a little too soon (...backpack) and correct myself right into the tree. In the blink of an eye, Im on lying on my back staring up at the still shaking tree, watching while twigs and leaves fall all around me. Took a while to get up, groaning, stunned, embarrassed (thank God no one saw it). Apparently my left forearm took most of the blow, bringing all 240 lbs of me to an abrupt halt. I thought it was broke at first- all bloodied up and already starting to swell- shins all scratched up from the pedals- I trudged on and finished the last few, it looked like there was a tennis ball underneath my skin on my forearm by the time I got back to the truck. Not really that bad, but it hurt like hell the rest of the trip and for a few days after that.

How about one of these? ...nah- this is the standard cache mobile. Mountain bike goes in the back.

The 12XL was my first GPS- still have it, I use it as a backup. Ancient, though. I had to upgrade- got the Garmin 60CSX. Ill tell you, it is well worth the money- everything is so much easier. The mapping software alone is very, very helpful. Look on amazon or ebay for the cables.

Just a curious newby here wondering what the whole BM disk looks like. I've seen how they monument the steel rods, but I'd like to know how the disk process works (rock outcroppings, culverts, sides of buildings, etc.) Hey one more thing- why do they consider the culvert setting "questionable or unknown stability"? Thanks guys.

No, but I found a few at Redstone Arsenal, AL. Do you know if there is a website dedicated to Corps of Engineers benchmarks? They're not in GC.com's database.

Ill bet Washington state is full of them...

I got caught red friggin' handed- I mean ammo can out of the hiding spot, top open, contents on the ground next to it, me signing the log when I hear "Excuse me sir..." D'oh!!! This guy came out of nowhere, I was absolutely positive I was alone before I grabbed the cache. What made things even more awkward was the guy had a really heavy accent, so I could barely understand what he was saying, so I kept asking Huh? and Whats that? the whole time while Im trying to give him the whole geocaching spiel (as Im nervously shoving everything back into the ammo can). I showed him the cache web page I had printed out and everything. He, of course, had never heard of it, and probably thought I was some kind of lunatic. Turns out he was just trying to warn me of a dead tree that was leaning against another overhead where I was. I felt so stupid.

My wife hates it. She went out with me ONE TIME and I think that's what scarred her for life. I kinda left out the part about walking alot, walking alot through woods with thorn bushes, bugs, and mud. I guess she's just a city girl at heart. She always complains every time I want to go. Going benchmark hunting gets an even worse reaction.

I'd say youre good on that one, just tell all about it in your log. I know we're talking caches here, but as far as benchmarks go, it would be all too easy to just say you found it, so I always take pics of the marks I find as proof. I think I only forgot my camera on one instance. But, Im not going to get all fired up about calling someone out on faking it- unless it's just blatently obvious.

-dont know if anyone has said this one yet, but: Oh no, Not another friggin' Wal-Mart cache -also, those tiny magnetic micro's, where you spend all day trying to unroll the log, sign it writing as small as you possibly can, then roll it back up hopefully without tearing it. Nice...

I can understand both sides of the argument, but my take on the whole issue is as long as the cache is small, camoflaged well, and placed appropriately (not ON someone's headstone), then its okay. Also, if someone is seeking out a cemetary cache, then they need to remember where they are and act appropriately.

Heres the way I see it. Unless youre going to be at it all day, just take along a good pen, a few geo-swag items, your GPS, and the cache info- everything should fit in a cargo pocket or two. I like to travel light- especially if Im taking the mountain bike along. Now if Im benchmarking, thats a whole different story.

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I bought mine off ebay. Check out amazon too. You can get them directly from the Garmin website, but for more money.

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