Personal benchmark hunting statistics

[+seventhings]

I recently passed 2,000 benchmarks found, and I thought I would share some of my personal benchmark hunting statistics for the edification and amusement of anyone who might give a hoot about such stuff.

 

Total (in Geocaching) found = 2,023

First Time Found (FTF) (for Geocaching) = 1,471

Not Found = 800

Wrote a note = 233 (mostly "inaccessible")

Destroyed = 326 (one disk, the rest intersection stations)

 

Find rate (Found / (Found + Not Found)) = 71.7 percent

FTF found rate (FTF / (FTF + Not Found) = 64.8 percent

 

Found benchmarks detail:

Disks = 1,327

Rods = 170

Chiseled squares, bolts, rivets, etc. = 60

Mason-Dixon stones with PIDs = 32

Other historic boundary stones with PIDs = 14

Intersection stations = 420

 

60.4 percent of the disks + rods + chiseled things had SCALED coordinates.

 

I have at least one FTF of a mark with scaled coordinates in each of the Lower 48 States + Washington, DC.

I have found marks with 103 different PID prefixes.

I have submitted 1,501 NGS recoveries + 27 DESTROYED e-mails.

 

In addition to the benchmarks in Geocaching, I have found:

21 Mason-Dixon stones without PIDs

30 (approx.) no-PID other historic (1902 and earlier) boundary stones

171 no-PID RMs and AZs of stations with PIDs

30 Lewis and Clark commemorative disks

55 stations in the NGS database but not in Geocaching

93 miscellaneous no-PID disks not included above

 

Top five states:

MD = 506

VA = 282 (state of residence)

NJ = 262

DE = 163

CO = 85

 

Lowest state = OH = 3

 

Top PID prefixes

JU = 322

HV = 282

HU = 216

JV = 165

KV = 142

 

Best month = September, 2006, = 150 found (124 FTFs)

Best day - I don't know, but I think I've had two or three 25 + days

 

I hope you find this interesting,

Will

[+Ernmark]

Impressive ! I don't know if I'll ever get to nab 48 states !

 

PS - I love reading your Mason-Dixon exploits and have been lucky enough to visit a few of them - great research!

 

Kudos !

[+Black Dog Trackers]

seventhings -

 

WOW, that is really quite a tally of benchmarks and find statistics!

Many people go through their whole lives without visiting more than just a few states and you have benchmarked in 48 with a minimum of 3 in a state. Amazing!

Also quite an impressive statistic is 25+ in a day!

 

I guess you'll be making arrangements to visit AK and HI, at some point.....

[+seventhings]

Regarding AK and HI: AK - maybe (been there, like it); HI - not likely (been there, don't)

 

Also, regarding the "FTF Find Rate" above - the formula is correct. It is a measure of my find rate that excludes marks that I've found that had been found previously by other Geocaching.com benchmark hunters (that is, it eliminates the slam-dunks).

 

Will

Edited June 7, 2007 by seventhings

[AZcachemeister]

I don't know how I would develop all those statistics for my history, but I can say I recovered 70 marks last Sunday, and only one had previous Geocaching recoveries.

I can only dream that I could someday claim recoveries in all the lower 48 states. VERY COOL!

[+shorbird]

Fantastic, having finds in 48 states! I wonder how long it will take us all to color in all of the counties on holograph's U.S. map? It's interesting to find the different kinds of benchmarks--disks, rods, chiseled squares, boundary monuments, and so forth. Isn't this fun?

[caseyb]

Wow,

 

Although I am biased I am most impressed with the 1500+ reports to NGS.

 

Thanks man!

 

-Casey-

[ArtMan]

Fantastic, having finds in 48 states! I wonder how long it will take us all to color in all of the counties on holograph's U.S. map?

Holograph does way more than the average benchmarker to contribute to this hobby, but I would be interesting in a spreadsheet of all ~3,000 U.S. counties (or equivalent) with the details that are graphically represented on his maps.

 

-ArtMan-

[+m&h]

And you still found time to advise and encourage newcomers like us. Bravo!