I Must Be Wrong...

[+fox-and-the-hound]

On a recent caching, I looked over and noticed something odd set into the stones...

 

 

 

I went to Waymarking.com at first thinking that all benchmarking had been moved from what I was hearing on the forums, but was directed back here for answers. Found this only 8 feet from this cache...

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...fe-402d28c888f3

 

I looked it up by coordinates and nothing came close. Is there any chance this was just missed or am I missing an obvious step? This is the very first time we've tried to record/log a benchmark so please forgive our ignorance. - Hound

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Welcome to the world of benchmark hunting Hound,

 

This mark was placed by the Pennsylvania Transportation Dept. It is not in the NGS/Geocaching database that this site uses. There are tons that are not in this database that have been placed by any one of many agencies.

 

You should be able to log this mark over at 'Way Marking' - just where you were before. That is where many people are going to log/mark the benchmarks that aren't in the GC database.

 

Great picture by the way.

 

Happy caching and we hope you can eventually log an official benchmark that is in this database.

 

You might be surprised if you put in your zip code to see how many there are close to you.

 

Shirley~

[+fox-and-the-hound]

Thanks for the help and the welcome! We've always enjoyed finding these markers (almost always by accident) and I have to go home and look for the one we found on top of a mountain in Alaska back in August. It was marked with the words "United States Coast Guard" and a bunch of other stuff. We took a picture because the idea of the Coast Guard up on a mountain was just hilarious to us. I'll try and find it tonight if I have time. Thanks again - Hound

[+NorthWes]

Sooo.... just where was this 'mountain in Alaska'? If it's on my travel route I'd love to climb up and log that USCG marker! I'm based in Anchorage, but get to travel from time to time... sure would like to know...

 

The Coasties are tremendously respected up here - between those guys (with their unofficial motto of 'You have to go out - You don't have to come back) and the Rescue squadron aircrews of Kulis ANGB's 176th Operations Group, Alaskans are well-served for Search and Rescue when the chips are down.

[mloser]

That marker probably said US Coast and Geodetic Survey, known as the C&GS or CGS. That agency is now essentially part of the National Geodetic Survey, which is part of NOAA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

For a history of the CGS go to NGS History.

[Papa-Bear-NYC]

Thanks for the help and the welcome! We've always enjoyed finding these markers (almost always by accident) and I have to go home and look for the one we found on top of a mountain in Alaska back in August. It was marked with the words "United States Coast Guard" and a bunch of other stuff. We took a picture because the idea of the Coast Guard up on a mountain was just hilarious to us. I'll try and find it tonight if I have time. Thanks again - Hound

 

Hound

 

Welcome to the game. If you have a picture of your Alaskan Disk, look at it closely.

 

It might say "U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey" rather than "U.S. Coast Guard".

 

Like this (KU1296):

 

 

I'm not aware that the Coast Guard sets any marks (particularly on mountains), but in this game anyrthing is possible. OTOH, the NOS (National Oceanic Survey) does, mostly near navigable waters.

 

Here's one from Brooklyn (KV4446):

 

 

Whatever it was, you may be able to log it if you can identify it. Use the Benchmark search on this site. If you don't have a photo or can't read the ID from a photo, get the exact coordinates of the mountain top (from Topozone) and plug those into the Benchmark search, and you may find what it was.

 

Have fun.

Edited March 9, 2006 by Papa-Bear-NYC

[+fox-and-the-hound]

I might be wrong, but I remember laughing about it, but then, come to think of it, we were a bit delerious at that point too! We were on day 11 of 13 straight days of hiking and more than a little worse for wear with dehydration and exhaustion. So the first picture is on Eklutna (near my paretns home in Peter's Creek) where I'm sitting we took pictures of the ridges we climbed later. The second set (arrow) is the ridge just north of the military land. We hiked up with some locals who were picking blueberries. We walked north along those ridges about half way to the lake where the river begins. We came back down at the big cut in the south valley wall where the moose bed down in the muskeg. I don't know if that helps, but we're scouring the house to find the cd with the rest of the pix. - Hound

 

 

 

forgot to mention, that survey mark has now been added to the Waymarking site!

Edited March 10, 2006 by fox-and-the-hound