A few benchmark questions...

[azog]

Sorry for the vague subject line, but I have two questions regarding benchmark hunting:

 

I found one today, but I did not get a very good shot of it. While the "how-to" only asks that we get shots, and hopefully several from different angles, how clear should they be? I have a JamCam 3.0, which is Ok, but I wasn't able to get a very clear shot of the benchmark itself. I'll go back tomorrow and take more shots of the location, too.

 

The other question is regarding another benchmark which I think I found. The benchmark in question is KV6560, and I found the area no problem. however, this used to be a farm up until two years ago, and the last history is 1990. Now it's being over-built, but the area still exists. It won't be torn up, because it's right-of-way for several utilities. The area looks like it's been landscaped of some sort, and where the benchmark should be is a huge growth of wild-flowers. This is the only shot I got:

 

http://www.azog.org/kv6560-1.jpg

 

if this is acceptable, I'll go back and get a few more location shots.

 

These are my first two attempts, apologies if I break any protocol (but there doesn't seem to me any protocol so far!)

[+rogbarn]

First, congratulations on finding your first! There's only 734,000+ to go!!! Need help?

 

Pictures are for fun and documentation. So, what you have is OK. I usually try to include a larger shot to show the general area in addition to the actual closeup.

 

Again, if you read the description, it tells you exactly where the survey disk is. Is the road still there? Is the easement gate and vent pipe still there? If so, or it you can at least see where they were, you should be able to pinpoint the spot. If not, then it gets a bit more dicey. But they didn't try to hide them either, so look around and try to figure out how things used to be.

[+rogbarn]

First, congratulations on finding your first! There's only 734,000+ to go!!! Need help?

 

Pictures are for fun and documentation. So, what you have is OK. I usually try to include a larger shot to show the general area in addition to the actual closeup.

 

Again, if you read the description, it tells you exactly where the survey disk is. Is the road still there? Is the easement gate and vent pipe still there? If so, or it you can at least see where they were, you should be able to pinpoint the spot. If not, then it gets a bit more dicey. But they didn't try to hide them either, so look around and try to figure out how things used to be.

[+travisl]

To me, a benchmark ''find'' means that either

 

a) I was able to touch the survey disk, or

 

for benchmarks that are structures and not disks, I was able to get as close as reasonably possible to the benchmark, and could see it.

 

As an example of ''b'', see this thread. In that example, if I stood next to the base of the tower, I'd count it as a find.

 

As a counter-example, there's a water tower on a nearby military base, and I can see the water tower from the freeway, but I'm not going to count it as a find until I get the opportunity to go on base (open house? military friend?) and get as close as I can that way.

 

And as a third example, I searched for this benchmark that was unfindable without a weedwhacker, and I didn't have one. This, in my mind, is much like your benchmark that is apparently overgrown with wildflowers. I wouldn't count yours -- and won't count mine -- as a find until I can actually touch the disk. After all -- without seeing the disk, we don't know it's actually there, and you can't find something that's not there.

 

For another perspective, Jeremy wrote in this thread:

 

quote:

---

As long as you can see either the mark or the item it is attached to, my opinion is it is a "find." The spirit of the search is tracking down the items listed by the NGS, not necessarily being able to physically touch the mark.

 

Of course, use common sense. If I can see the peak of a mountain where the benchmark is, I don't exactly expect *that* to be considered a find. But the steeple of a church? Sure. What the heck.

---

 

I don't feel that I have to take a photo (in spite of what the guidelines may imply), 'cause I'm only finding them for me, and I know if I found it or not.

 

'''I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?' (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.)'' -- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland