Benchmark logging 101

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

This thread should help those that would like to know the basics of "how to log a benchmark" on Gc.com.

 

If you know the PID# go to this page to pull up the benchmark page for the disk you wish to log. If you do Not know the PID#, but do know the coordinates of the disk or the designation use this search page to see if the benchmark is listed on Gc.com. Be sure to click on the appropriate radio button for your search then click on the "Find Benchmarks" button. After calling up the benchmark page look at the upper right corner and find "Navigation". Right below that is the link to log the benchmark. Clicking there will bring up the page to actually log the benchmark.

 

For your log you will need to know several things about the benchmark. 1st - Is the mark you found the one described on the benchmark page (read the description on the benchmark page to see what is supposed to be stamped on the disk)? If so then is it solid in its position? Does the disk or its setting look like it may have been moved or tilted?

 

You log the benchmark by telling the condition of the benchmark using the terms "good", "poor", "destroyed" or "Not Found" or use a "Note" to describe why you didn't continue your search.

 

Good - means the benchmark is solid in its setting and appears undamaged.

Poor - means the disk is loose or damaged in some way.

Destroyed - means the benchmark is out of position or missing. Note: Use this with caution! I used it once and 2 months or so later I found the disk in GOOD condition right where it was supposed to be!

 

Your log can be something as simple as "Found in good condition", "Found as described", etc. or as lengthy as you want to get describing what you went through to find the benchmark and any other data you feel the next person should know in their quest to locate this benchmark.

 

After you click on the "Log Benchmark" button you will be given the opportunity to upload pictures to the benchmark log you just submitted. This is NOT required, but is a nice touch since it can help others find the benchmark at a later time. If you decide to post pictures we suggest posting a close-up of the benchmark and a view shot showing the benchmark looking in 1 of the 4 cardinal directions, that is N, E, S, or W. The 2 pictures show which benchmark you found and where to look when the next person wants to find the same benchmark.

 

If the benchmark is not in the Gc.com database then it can be logged on Waymarking.com (someone else will need to describe the process for that).

 

If you want to log it with the NGS, the requirements are stricter and someone who actually logs with the NGS will need to describe that process for you.

 

John & Shirley

[Wintertime]

Can one of the moderators pin this excellent posting to the top of the forum?

 

Patty

[+Kabuthunk]

Wow... talk about coincidence. I was JUST going to ask a question about logging my first benchmark DNF. Actually, I'll give the gist of the situation, and let me know if I should log it as a 'note' (as indicated in the OP's post), or what I should log it as (since I'm actually the type who logs their DNF's).

 

In Minneapolis, I went to try to find a benchmark (being from Canada, my first benchmark as well, so that doesn't exactly help my skills in this area). Benchmark AH4390 was the one it appears. Anyway, I hunted around the coordinates, but was unable to locate anything. It's a pretty safe assumption that it's still there, but due to my lacking benchmark skills, and unwillingness to stay longer (or get much closer to the highway), being from out-of-country, and not familiar with the area, I was unable to locate it.

 

So... would this be logged as a DNF, or as a note, due to my unwillingness to approach closer to the interestate highway in the middle of the day?

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Wow... talk about coincidence. I was JUST going to ask a question about logging my first benchmark DNF. Actually, I'll give the gist of the situation, and let me know if I should log it as a 'note' (as indicated in the OP's post), or what I should log it as (since I'm actually the type who logs their DNF's).

 

In Minneapolis, I went to try to find a benchmark (being from Canada, my first benchmark as well, so that doesn't exactly help my skills in this area). Benchmark AH4390 was the one it appears. Anyway, I hunted around the coordinates, but was unable to locate anything. It's a pretty safe assumption that it's still there, but due to my lacking benchmark skills, and unwillingness to stay longer (or get much closer to the highway), being from out-of-country, and not familiar with the area, I was unable to locate it.

 

So... would this be logged as a DNF, or as a note, due to my unwillingness to approach closer to the interestate highway in the middle of the day?

 

A good rule of thumb would be - If you are planning to go back and try again just post a note saying you didn't find the mark but will try again later. If you are Not going to try again then log it as a Did Not Find and describe your efforts. This can help the next person in their search.

 

John

[ArtMan]

With all respect to John, I have a slightly different take on this question.

 

Even if I am not planning a return visit — and many a planned return search never gets executed, unfortunately — if I think there is a reasonable possibility that I may have missed it, I'll log it as a NOTE.

 

The DID NOT FIND category suggests (to me, at least) a certain level of diligence in the search. If I made what seems at the time to be a reasonable effort, I'll log it as NOT FOUND, but if traffic or weather, or alien invasion or other factor prevents me from a proper search, I'll log it as a NOTE, and say as much.

 

My NOTE might read something like this: "In a brief survey of the area I didn't see pole number X or the chiseled square in the storm drain as mentioned in the 1942 description. The former firehouse is now a BBQ restaurant. Former Route 10 now known as Norwich Highway, and appears to have been recently widened. Mark unlikely to have survived changes over 65+ years, but sudden thundershower a few minutes after my arrival in the area prevented a more conclusive search."

 

-ArtMan-

[+pgrig]

Another useful thing might be to update the "to reach" directions given on the station's NGS Datasheet.

 

It is very common to find that these directions have changed since the station was monumented. New houses get built. Old structures get razed. New roads are cut, or the names of old roads are changed. Sometimes you even find that the cardinal compass directions given in the Description were wrong; the field party may have made an error or (more likely) someone in the chain of transcribing the field notes into an NGS Datasheet may not have been paying attention.

 

I find it is also useful to add the name of the town in which the station is located to the Datasheet, if you know it for sure. In 2009, a car's GPSr is happier if it knows the city name.

 

Many of the older Descriptions refer to "the road" or "the house" without giving the street name or the house number. Adding these makes it much easier for those who come after you.

 

Although I'm a little conflicted about this (see below), I try to write my reports (and take my photos) so that a later visitor can almost "walk right up to" the station. Thus, for example, an Area photo, one that shows the station in relation to one or several more permanent landmarks, is very useful. Not so interesting is a shot of your GPSr in the frame with an Adjusted station. This is because the Adjusted coordinates of the station are much more accurate than those your GPSr can provide, and we all spend long enough staring at a GPSr. The exception to this is when you're dealing with a station whose coordinates are Scaled (and are possibly as much as .25 mi. off). With scaled stations, your handheld GPSr coordinates (and an image to document them) can be a real boon to later visitors.

 

The conflict I feel in writing very detailed reports comes from the fact that in many cases after I've done this, it takes all the fun (the thrill of the hunt) out of looking for the station. But maybe this is one of the distinguishing features of a certain type of benchmark hunter--the type who thinks s/he might be "aiding the profession" (whatever profession that might be! ) by making these stations more readily accessible.

 

Along these lines, it can sometimes be very helpful for you to note that some referenced feature in the Description is no longer there (like a witness post has been removed, or a referenced tree has fallen down) or that a new feature can make the station easier to find. If I've worked hard to find a station in a virtual "wasteland" of reference points, I often describe new references (trees, house corners, power poles, etc.). In these cases, I also give the compass bearing from the station to my new reference point and its distance, as I measured it. Describing these as from the station to the referenced point is the same way that these are handled in modern NGS Datasheets. [in the 1920s and before, some references were stated with bearings from South instead of North, putting them 180 degrees "out of whack" in 2009 terms.

[+Black Dog Trackers]

There is a recovery report writing section in holograph's benchmark hunting wiki here.