russotto

I've got PA and CA.. how's that for discontiguous?

From: http://www.don-imit.navy.mil/glossary/definition.asp?ssearch=E eccentric station Definition: A survey point over which an instrument is centered and observations made, and which is not in the same vertical line with the station which it represents and to which the observations will be reduced before being combined with observations at other stations. Ln general, an eccentric station is established and occupied when it is impracticable to occupy the station center, or when it becomes necessary in order to see points which are not visible from the station center.

Well, most of it. THC is a person's initials, Thomas H. Crews. 35079E is his PA license number (actually SU035079E, but it's not like you're going to see a Cosmetologist or a New Car Dealer placing a survey marker :-) ) Still don't know why it's there.

I used to live in Frederick County, and I seem to remember a not-insignificant number of floods on Catoctin Creek. The original disk is probably gone.

I used to live in Frederick County, and I seem to remember a not-insignificant number of floods on Catoctin Creek. The original disk is probably gone.

I've seen similar wooden markers described as witness posts at other benchmarks. I've also seen several of the metal ones with the information gone (that is, there's just an unmarked metal post remaining). The term "witness post" seems to be used generally for indicators of a nearby in-ground marker, not just for the specific ones now used with USGS markers. A little looking around the web has convinced me that the plastic cap is indeed a survey cap. The only questions are who the heck put it there, and why? It's between US 422 (a highway) and another road, but it doesn't have PennDOT markings.

I was searching for a benchmark between two roads when I saw a set of four wooden posts with orange streamers attached. Guessing these to be witness posts, I checked them out. In the center of these posts was not a benchmark, but an orange cap on some sort of spike driven into the ground, with a pink ribbon either tied to it or (more likely) impaled by it. The orange cap reads "T H C" on one line, "35079-E" on another, and has a dot in the middle. Any idea what this is? It must be reasonably important or there wouldn't be not one but four posts surrounding it. (I didn't find the benchmark, unfortunately)

Not much, since you can't log it. Post the link to some pictures and the location here and the rest of us will give you plenty of virtual credit :-)

I'd like to know whether those decapitated marks would be "not found", "found, poor condition" or "destroyed". I've found one of those myself. I'd guess "found, poor condition" from the NGS form (which says "destroyed" is only if you find the disk separate from its mounting or otherwise disturbed) About the only 'good condition' recoveries I'd consider officially reporting are those where the roads have changed so much that the directions make sense only to those who know the local highway history.

I count it as a find if I find any of the reference marks or obvious mark locations (e.g. a decapitated one where the disk imprint is visible in the concrete). In one case I found a reference marker and a witness post, with the mark (and the other RM) now below ground level. It'd get much less fun if I had to dig it up to count it. I didn't count one where I found the witness post (just the post, not the label) but no disk.

I count it as a find if I find any of the reference marks or obvious mark locations (e.g. a decapitated one where the disk imprint is visible in the concrete). In one case I found a reference marker and a witness post, with the mark (and the other RM) now below ground level. It'd get much less fun if I had to dig it up to count it. I didn't count one where I found the witness post (just the post, not the label) but no disk.

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=LZ1411 Be hard to take this one as a souvenir, as it was a chiseled square...

What's the disk marked as? You can sometimes search by that.

I love the names of the Alaskan marks, some are COKE, GIN, RYE, SODA. ISTR that Attu Island is a military base and off limits, so we probably won't see too many amateur recoveries there.

Well, for the tree, there's always a chain saw...

The benchmark search already shows benchmarks found -- they have a date by them. Doesn't show benchmarks not found but which have notes or pictures, though.

The benchmark search already shows benchmarks found -- they have a date by them. Doesn't show benchmarks not found but which have notes or pictures, though.

I had just located a numbered power pole referenced the description and was about to bring my camera out for the final hunt, when I notice a police officer had pulled up about 22.86m (75.0 ft) behind me. I didn't care to explain our game to him, and I certainly didn't want to get out and wait for him to think of an excuse to arrest me, so I drove off with the disk unfound. *sigh*... oh well, another day.

Elevations are usually stated with respect to a GEOID model (model of gravity, and hence mean sea level), not the ellipsoid. Even handheld GPSs normally report altitude with respect to a GEOID. (if you've played with the raw outputs with some of them, you can sometimes get the height-above-ellipsoid or the geoid correction)

Hmm. Would something like KV1898 (see pictures on benchmark page) count as destroyed? Certainly the disk is gone. Edit: checking the page, it might be that this one should be reported (if I were to report it, and I'm too lazy to do so) as "poor, disturbed, mutilated, requires maintenence" rather than destroyed, because I didn't find the disk, but rather its location.

Well, I respect SEPTA property as well as SEPTA buses respect red lights, the safety of other road users, or anything else, but I'll say that so far all the benchmarks on RR property I've logged or failed to find, so far, save one, have been in areas normally accessible to the public. The one (KV1839) was beyond a newly-erected decorative fence, there's pictures on the benchmark page. I don't really think it's too out of bounds to cross that fence. In any case, just about everything's illegal nowadays, and even if it isn't, wandering around with a camera taking pictures of little disks and other markers on bridges and stuff is bound to get you marked as a terrorist anyway. May as well enjoy yourself before they come to take you away.