Logging A Find

[+ajayhawkfan]

I am new to hunting benchmarks. I have read some discriptions of benchmarks and they have a number of "reference and azimuth marks" Do all of those need to be found in order to log the benchmark as found?

 

Edit: Bad English

Edited June 28, 2006 by ajayhawkfan

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

I am new to find benchmarks. I have read some discriptions of benchmarks and they have a number of "reference and azimuth marks" Do all of those need to be found in order to log the benchmark as found?

 

No

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is nice if you find all the 'extra' marks, but it is not required. We normally find the main station mark and look for the RMs. We seldom look for the Azimuth marks. We usually take at least one picture of each RM with our GPSr showing the coordinates (to make it easier for the next person who looks for them.).

 

Good hunting,

 

John

[+Astro_D]

No there is no need. We never bothered until Mloser told us about the added fun in trying to find them. Now when we are out and notice that the station contains reference and azimuth marks we always make an attempt to find and recover them as well. Not always successful, but still fun.

[sixthings]

Sometimes reference marks (RMs) and azimuth marks (AZs) have their own PIDs and datasheets. In these cases, you definitely want to try to find them and log them. Usually, however, the RMs and AZs do not have PIDs. You can still log ("Found it", "Didn't find it", etc.) the station with the PID without finding/ photographing/describing the RMs and or AZ. However, most experienced benchmark hunters enjoy making the extra effort to search for and describe the RMs and AZ when a station has them. A typical post for such a station might look like this:

 

"Found the station, as described. Found RM1 76.5 feet north (004 degrees true) of the station as described in the NGS datasheet. Searched for but did not find RM2. Found the AZ 0.3 miles northeast of the station, as described, and at handheld coordinates Nxx-xx.xxx W0xx-xx.xxx."

 

6

[+Black Dog Trackers]

ajayhawkfan -

 

Many of us log finds both on this geocaching site and on the NGS site. Logging on the NGS site is not for beginners, but many of us, when we figure we're ready, log on the NGS site in addition to logging on the geocaching site. NGS logging always includes notes on the reference marks, azimuth marks, and witness mark if the station has any of these auxiliary marks associated with it. If, for whatever reason, you didn't search for one of these auxiliary marks that exists, you state that in the report anyway.

 

If a PID has these auxiliary marks, always bring the datasheet from the NGS site with you when you go hunting, since the 'box score' (an ascii box that contains the bearing and distance to the auxiliary marks and other nearby marks) only exists on the NGS datasheets and was never imported onto the geocaching version of the datasheets.

 

Azimuth marks are not easy to find so you get extra credit for doing so! Always record your GPSr's coordinates for azimuth marks in your log if you find them, as sixthings indicated.

 

Do all of those need to be found in order to log the benchmark as found?

As John said, no. On the geocaching site, finding the main station is enough to log a Found It.

Conversely, however, if you only find reference marks or the azimuth mark, you must log a Didn't Find It; you must find the main station (which generally has a triangle in its center) to count a Find. Azimuth marks and reference marks have an arrow in the center that's supposed to point to the main station. They also say explicitly "AZIMUTH" and "REFERENCE", respectively on them.

Edited June 28, 2006 by Black Dog Trackers