Benchmark Accidents

[UltimateCacheFinder]

I once found a pipe cap by tripping on it.

[ribozyme]

The only loggable accidental find I have so far is a mark I walked by twice a day to and from work for over five months before I finally looked down and noticed it. Once I did look down however it motivated me to get back into benchmarking after an extended break. That's one of the things I love about this hobby: they're everywhere once you open your eyes.

 

I've come across a number of marks placed on college campuses placed by the school, but those are never in the database.

[+secondgunman]

I stumbled across FF0489 while walking down the street at the Beale Street Music Festival. I've also seen at least a dozen survey marks placed by my city, but those aren't in any database.

[ipuppy]

I do a lot of my benchmarking by bicycle, usually planning the run and taking my notebook, data sheets, camera, search equipment, etc. However, when I am just out for a ride, I can't avoid the benchmarking instincts, so I frequently notice BM "clues" - obvious ones like witness posts or prominent disks, but also more subtle ones such as painted markings on the road and logical BM locations (e.g., bridge abutments, corners of public buildings, etc.). If I find a mark, I note the location, take photos with whatever I have handy (got an iPhone recently, so a bit better quality photos) and then look up the datasheet when I get home. Here are a few of my "accidental" finds (and one "maybe" from yesterday):

 

I found these while on a 3-day trip from Baltimore, MD to Pocono Pines, PA:

JV1512 - one of many along the Northern Central Railroad and York Heritage Trails

KW3117 - I have a collection of State Capitol intersection stations; glad to ride my bike past this one

KW1321, KW1332 and KW0225 - Thank you Mr. Witness Post...

KW1339 - common location

KW1124 - Several carsonite witness posts in the area caught my eye.

 

And a few while on vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina:

EX0112 - The monument was obvious as I rode by

EX0286 - markings on road and a witness post in the brush helped with this

 

Yesterday I was on a ride from Baltimore to York, PA and saw a brightly painted part of the curb near Johns Hopkins so I had to investigate:

JV1215 - may or may not be the mark...

 

It's nice to combine favorite pastimes; I just wish there was some easy way to carry a complete datasheet database while riding my bike (along with notebook, tools, metal detector, etc., etc....).

[Difficult Run]

JV1215 - may or may not be the mark...

I can easily read JV1215 in yellow spray paint - I'd log it as "found", even with the NGS!

 

~ Mitch ~

[kayakbird]

ipuppy,

 

Distances from end & edge look to be correct, and it is a stone wall. Nice find! Wonder if a professional will do a NGS recovery? kayakbird

[ipuppy]

Mitch, Kayakbird-

Thanks for the support for a "found." I'll consider it and may try to get back to take actual measurement and look and see if that wall is more of a bridge than I recall. I've yet to do any reporting to NGS, so I'm reluctant for this to be my first. I have a few other finds that might be better candidates for reports to NGS. Still want to get a bit more practice before taking that step.

Thanks again-

Brian

[AZcachemeister]

I can't relate.

I do believe that every benchmark I have found, I was actually looking for.

With the possible exception of the first one ever...