Pink signpost -- spoiled the fun

[+user13371]

Funny thing about benchmark NE0413. The log entry I made doesn't tell the whole story.

 

I enjoyed figuring this one out because most of the landmarks described in the data-sheet (rails, the right of way fence, and the milepost marker) are gone. This part of the "Michigan Central Railway" is now the Paint Creek Trail, used mostly by joggers and bicyclists.

 

A few days ago, I went looking for NE0413 but didn't try very hard. I just made my best guess at the most likely spot, and resolved to come back later to find it.

 

Today, I went out to finish the job. And it was EXACTLY where I was looking a few days ago. BUT ... it was marked with a bright pink signpost. You can see it from the main trail 40 feet away. Where's the sport in finding something like that?

 

More importantly: I really don't remember seeing the post a few days ago. But even if someone hammered in the few days between my first and second visit, I had to have been standing right on top of the benchmark a few days ago and didn't see it.

 

Kinda takes the fun out of it when you end up worrying if you need an eye exam.

 

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any idea who puts up the bright markers?

 

Lee.

[+MountainMudbug]

I have seen this happen twice with markers I searched for.

 

First one: I went hunting it a couple times but didn't look too hard as the marker was right on the edge of a main road and I was attracting lots of attention.

Went back a THIRD time early on a Sunday, and walked right to it easily. Semi-tall grass had made it a little tricky, they must have mowed it between my visits.

Two days later, a survey team had tagged the marker with one of those little pink flags on a wire stick. That sure would have made it an easy find!

 

Second one: Found it on first search - similar deal, roadside and tall grass and under large Bradford pear trees.

Weeks later the grass was mowed and there was a long pink-tape piece hanging from the pear tree right over the marker.

 

< Paranoia > Surveyors are following me!! </ Paranoia >

[+user13371]

MountainMudbug wrote:

 

"Surveyors are following me!"

 

Cool -- Now maybe I can let myself believe I really DIDN'T miss such an obvious signpost.

 

AND... Whoever planted the pink post YESTERDAY must have taken care to remove the several inches of brush and dirt which obscured my quest the day before. A perfectly believable excuse for missing the benchmark itself when I was standing right on it.

 

"Uh, yeah, thet's the ticket..."

[+Kewaneh & Shark]

Learn to like those pink and orange witness posts and they could lead you to benchmarks you weren't looking for.

 

BTW: <stalk> We ARE following you... </stalk>

 

Keep on Caching!

- Kewaneh

[+user13371]

quote:

---

Kewaneh remarked:

Learn to like those pink and orange witness posts and they could lead you to benchmarks you weren't looking for.

---

 

Sure, I guess. Still, it takes a lot of the challenge out of it.

 

In this case, it also took something else away, something harder to describe: the feeling of looking at something nobody has noticed (or possibly even seen) for years.

 

Perhaps that's illusory to begin with. But a brightly colored flag destroys even the possiblity of enjoying the illusion.

[survey tech]

Around the Detroit urban and suburban area, most of the markers you will find will be ones that are frequently used and therefore many will already be well marked. For more of a challenge, you may need to head out to the woods or the farm country.

[eahousley]

Many of the markers in the counties near me have some form of witness post. But there have been several that were very difficult to find or non-existent. For me, the fun and adventure comes from the fact that when you set out on your hunt, you don't really know how much effort it's going to take.

 

By the way, since you have provided such a colorful story, how come you didn't provide a picture in your log?

 

-- Its from aliens. I seen um. --

[+user13371]

quote:

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Originally posted by eahousley:

... you have provided such a colorful story, how come you didn't provide a picture in your log?

---

 

Because I usually don't carry a camera. It was tricky enough mounting the GPS on my bicycle.

 

Eventually, I'll figure out a good way to carry more stuff on my bike, but I travel pretty light.

[+happycycler]

I do some benchmark hunting via bicycle. I take it all with me -- sometimes 2 small paniers. GPS mounted on handlebars. Digital cam, compass, spike for probe, garden trowel to dig them out, saw to cut the honeysuckle (not used yet), compass, calculator, extra batteries, etc,. Unfortunately I have attempted most of the benchmarks within an easy ride of my house now though.

[NothingBetterToDo]

Sure, the pink signposts make them easy to find... but then again, Surveyors aren't out there for the challenge of finding the mark. Perhaps you could persuade the NGS to give only vague vicinity descriptions, and an encoded message that you can "cheat" and un-encode for more accurate details when you're stumped.. but somehow, I don't think that's the purpose

 

When you set out you don't know if it's going to be easy to find or not. Sometimes it's a relief, sometimes it's disappointing. Depends on why you're out there. But as someone mentioned, it does cut down on the "long lost benchmark" idea; you don't get that feeling of discovery.

 

If you're looking for a challenge in finding an object, search for some geocaches in the vicinity of the benchmarks you're looking for. I know of a couple (from driving by, haven't had time to visit and log them yet) that are clearly marked, and it's a good thing, because recent development in the area has rendered the previous descriptions useless, casing them to have been next to impossible to find without the markings.

 

Just like the speed of light, it's all in your viewpoint or frame of reference.

[+user13371]

quote:

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Surveyors aren't out there for the challenge of finding the mark.

---

Yeah, I know. I thought about right after my first screed on the subject and was waiting for someone else to say it

 

I was just grousing and a bit surprised because I'm positive that pink post wasn't there when I looked earlier in the week. Made me feel foolish at the time.

 

Found a different one today, on the same theme: trying to find one when all the datasheet's landmarks are gone (NE0410, Oxford, MI). I know I would have missed it if it hadn't have been for the witness post, and even then it wasn't easy.

 

So, I withdraw all complaints on this subject. Bring on the fluorescent paint! I'm getting old, with bad eyes and dyslexic when it comes to reading numbers. So I need all the help I can get.

[+bitbrain]

Try for some of the benchmarks in rural areas if you're looking for a challenge. Back in January, we were hunting benchmarks in Hardeman County, Tennessee -- probably had 20 on our list. Nearly all of them were placed in the early 1930's and none had witness posts or flagging. We were lucky to get a 50% find rate that day...

[+Gaddiel]

Of the last 5 marks we've found, ALL have been marked by either orange tape, orange spray paint on the road, or something else. It all appears to have been done recently, too. Oh well. In one way, I'm thankful for the help, but in another way, I'm sad that I missed out on a challenging hunt! Oh well... I love 'em all!

[Deguello]

When roadway maintenance crews are mowing along the roadside, it's difficult to a benchmark that's shorter than the grass that surrounds it. The colored markers alert the mower to the fact that an obstacle is there. I suspect the mowers are more concerned about hurting their equipment than they are about damaging a bench mark. - Deguello