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MARK NOT FOUND, ACCESS NOT AVAIL


rtreit

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I'm new to geocaching and even newer to benchmark hunting, so this may be a total beginner's question.

 

My question regards this benchmark:

SY4859

 

Here are the last two recovery notes:

 

SY4859 STATION RECOVERY (1999)

SY4859

SY4859'RECOVERY NOTE BY US POWER SQUADRON 1999

SY4859'RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.

SY4859

SY4859 STATION RECOVERY (2004)

SY4859

SY4859'RECOVERY NOTE BY US POWER SQUADRON 2004

SY4859'MARK NOT FOUND, ACCESS NOT AVAIL

 

From reading the description, it seems like the pinnacle atop the lighthouse, directly over the light, is the actual mark:

 

SY4859'RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1968 (NET)

SY4859'THE LIGHTHOUSE STILL STANDS ABOUT 1 BLOCK SOUTH OF THE FERRY

SY4859'DOCK IN MUKILTEO. THE STATION IS THE FINIAL OVER THE LIGHT, ABOUT

SY4859'30 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE BUILDINGS AND LIGHTHOUSE ARE WHITE

SY4859'WITH RED ROOFS.

 

mukilteo-lighthouse.jpg

 

So I'm trying to understand what the last recovery note means: does one need to get right up close to the finial in order to officially recover it or something?

 

Thanks,

 

rtreit

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I would say it means the person submitting the recovery didn't know what he was doing. You are correct in your assessment that the finial IS the mark. There is nothing else to recover and access to the lighthouse is not necessary. If you are confident that the finial is where it originally was when the mark was used then you have found it.

 

That being said, the NGS is not interested in recoveries of intersection stations (which this is) so there is no real reason to report it to them. I might consider it to fix the incorrect previous report though. Claiming it as found on GC.com is fine though.

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I would say it means the person submitting the (2004) recovery didn't know what he was doing. You are correct in your assessment that the finial IS the mark. There is nothing else to recover and access to the lighthouse is not necessary. If you are confident that the finial is where it originally was when the mark was used then you have found it.

 

That being said, the NGS is not interested in recoveries of intersection stations (which this is) so there is no real reason to report it to them. I might consider it to fix the incorrect previous report though. Claiming it as found on GC.com is fine though.

 

Yes, the above pretty much covers it.

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You think that's bad? The people that tried to find the lighthouse before me couldn't find it. Despite it having not moved!

 

CK3749						  STATION DESCRIPTION
CK3749
CK3749'DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1932 (CMD)
CK3749'THE LIGHTHOUSE IS 145 FEET HIGH, THE LOWER 50 FEET IS BLACK, MIDDLE
CK3749'PART WHITE, UPPER PART BLACK.  THE STATION IS THE FINIAL WHICH IS
CK3749'THE CENTER OF THE TOWER.
CK3749
CK3749						  STATION RECOVERY (2002)
CK3749
CK3749'RECOVERY NOTE BY US POWER SQUADRON 2002 (OK)
CK3749'MARK NOT FOUND.

I checked with Deb, and got to log this intersection station to put it's last recovery back on track as good. :)

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Harry Dolphin observed:

I've seen several "not found" reports for disks on top of apartment buildings or schools.

 

Ditto. We have a number of those in North Carolina metro areas. But before anyone decides to bribe maintenance workers with donuts in order to get access to a roof, here is a guide for calculating the odds of finding the mark. (Add the total points for your mark's site and consult the Table.)

 

 

*Very old station (pre-1930). Three points.

 

*Flat roof more than 5 years old. Seven points.

 

*Building constructed prior to 1950 and rennovated. Four points.

 

However, if the disk is mounted vertically, more than 2 feet above the roof, you can subtract five points, because this is a favorable indicator.

 

 

Table:

 

6-10 points. Probably covered by a new roof, or by layers of tar. (A flat roof requires a lot of maintenance.)

 

3-5 points. You might find it, but possibly covered by a new elevator control shed, etc.

 

0-2 (or a minus number). Donuts work very well as a bribe. Go for it.

 

 

By the way, if the marks are on the roof of a building which houses the offices of the state's geodetic survey, or which has a permanently-mounted GPS antenna, the odds of finding a nearby disk improve dramatically.

 

-Paul-

Edited by PFF
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I would like to add Paul's Principle to the scheme laid out for Paul-PFF's otherwise excellent probability prediction machine, to wit:

 

"If mark was reported as set more than 6" above the surface of the roof (e.g., on top

of a parapet), add three points, unless located in New England, in which case, deduct those

three points, and three points more, since mark is likely covered with tin flashing and

ample amounts of roofing cement, from previous attempt/s to stop leaks into school

caused by ice damming, etc.

 

"If you have successfully bribed the custodian to gain access to the roof, but have neglected

to bring along a heavy iron prybar for peeling back tin flashing, deduct 5 additional points.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SALVAGE YOUR "'FIND" BY ATTEMPTING TO PEEL BACK THE FLASHING

BARE-HANDED; flashing causes deep, ragged gashes in your fingers."

 

MY2594 would be a good exemplar of Paul's Principle.

Edited by pgrig
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Hi, Mega Scooter:

 

Awesome recovery! I notice that the disk is 10 feet from the edge of the building--and it's a LONG way down! The monumenting agency apparently used another of my Principles, which goes like this: Never get closer to the edge than you are tall. That way, if you fall, most of your body will land on a solid surface, and you are less likely to go over the side. (This concept is explained as Rule 1 to children who accompany me to places like Grandfather Mountain, where there are no protective rails.)

 

I hope the trip to the roof of this structure was more modern than the way I used to get to the top of the Pioneer Flour Mill in San Antonio, several decades ago. To service the 2-way radios on the roof, I had to hop onto a "man-lift", which was a vertical conveyor belt with a tiny platform and a hand grip. It was quite a ride--definitely not for the faint-of-heart! :huh:

 

-Paul-

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Hi, Mega Scooter:

 

Awesome recovery! I notice that the disk is 10 feet from the edge of the building--and it's a LONG way down! The monumenting agency apparently used another of my Principles, which goes like this: Never get closer to the edge than you are tall. That way, if you fall, most of your body will land on a solid surface, and you are less likely to go over the side. (This concept is explained as Rule 1 to children who accompany me to places like Grandfather Mountain, where there are no protective rails.)

 

I hope the trip to the roof of this structure was more modern than the way I used to get to the top of the Pioneer Flour Mill in San Antonio, several decades ago. To service the 2-way radios on the roof, I had to hop onto a "man-lift", which was a vertical conveyor belt with a tiny platform and a hand grip. It was quite a ride--definitely not for the faint-of-heart! :huh:

 

-Paul-

 

The Roof Hatch

The manager made it clear that I was to push the round hatch lid “up and then toward the center of the roof”. I didn’t understand until I was up there, that the hatch is in the very corner, and lid would have a great fall if someone moved it the wrong way.

 

The roof hatch lid is closer to the edge than its radius.

 

Getting To the Top

There lift is a steel cage just barely big enough to fit a man of not too great of girth. The door at one time folded closed like a telephone booth. Now it is jammed and rusted open. There was a rusty old wooden handled screwdriver jammed in the corner holding a limit switch closed (so the lift thinks the door is closed). The control was a box with a black and a red button. At least I could choose when to ‘go and stop’. As long as the black one is held in, the lift went up. Hold the red, you go down. Let your finger slip and you jerk to a stop. It was a wonderful adventure!

 

MS

 

edit spellin

Edited by Mega Scooter
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The door at one time folded closed like a telephone booth. Now it is jammed and rusted open. There was a rusty old wooden handled screwdriver jammed in the corner holding a limit switch closed (so the lift thinks the door is closed).

 

LOL. Looks like very little has changed in that industry. Where is OHSA when we need them? :rolleyes:

 

Glad you mastered opening the hatch. That would have given someone a headache!

 

-Paul-

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