+dukeofurl01 Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 75% of my benchmark finds have been accidental or observed without the intent of finding that specific station, I'm thinking what are the things that are most important to record/observe/photograph at the time? The things that I usually have with me are my iPhone and my Garmin GPS. I don't usually carry my Nikon camera or any datasheets. Usually if I saw one in the wild I would definitely take a closeup picture of the mark, being sure to get a pic of the markings, but also a picture of the mark from a little distance. I would take the coordinates and save a waypoint with my Garmin since I don't know ahead of time whether the mark is scaled or corrected, and then I would have the actual coordinates later. What else would you recommend? Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Personally, I would recommend taking a picture of your GPSr with the mark, and with the co-ordinates displayed on the GPSr. If you 'accidentally' clear your saved waypoints, you will still have the numbers in the photo. Otherwise, you are already doing just what I would do. Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Oh, the accidental ones are fun! Corps of Engineers - Pipeline - Bayonne, New Jersey. Not in NGS. Close up. View west across Newark Bay. I don't think I waypointed it. Quote Link to comment
+shorbird Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Here's an accidental find from Edgartown MA. Not in the NGS database. TIDAL NO 9 1960 - Edgartown MA TIDAL NO 9 distant view Quote Link to comment
+dukeofurl01 Posted December 17, 2010 Author Share Posted December 17, 2010 I wonder why they would go to the trouble of setting a benchmark if they weren't going to have it in the database. I can see not listing benchmarks from other agencies, even USGS or ACE, but their own? Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 I wonder why they would go to the trouble of setting a benchmark if they weren't going to have it in the database. I can see not listing benchmarks from other agencies, even USGS or ACE, but their own? The marks may have been surveyed to meet their own needs, but not 'good enough' to meet the strict requirements of the NGS. Even if they WERE surveyed 'good enough', I have been told it takes about $800 PER MARK in man-hours of work to perform the 'bluebooking' needed to have the mark(s) included in the NGS database. Quote Link to comment
+Manville Possum Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 I really love the ones that I find by accident. I list them on Waymarking. My favorite is the Qualla Indian Boundry. Quote Link to comment
elsien Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Last summer, just before I started geocaching, I was for holiday in Georgia. At the monestry of David Gareja, exactly on the border of Georgia and Azerbaijan we notocid a benchmark. Luckless I tried to find out wich GPS-codes this benchark had. Does somebody any Idea how to find this out? Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+billwallace Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 You would have to find a resource that has info on survey marks for whichever private/local/state agency placed it. It won't be on geocaching.com. If you got a picture of it try a google search of the words that are on the mark. Quote Link to comment
+dukeofurl01 Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Did you take a picture of it? I would be interested to see a benchmark from there. Quote Link to comment
+agentmancuso Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I really love the ones that I find by accident. Yes, it's like getting a free bonus Quote Link to comment
ArtMan Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Last summer, just before I started geocaching, I was for holiday in Georgia. At the monestry of David Gareja, exactly on the border of Georgia and Azerbaijan we notocid a benchmark. Luckless I tried to find out wich GPS-codes this benchark had. Does somebody any Idea how to find this out? Thanks! These coordinates will get you into the neighborhood: 41.4473, 45.3763. You may be able to tweak it a bit more if you can visualize where in the monastery complex the mark is located. I would be a little surprised if Georgia has their geodetic data online, given the legacy of Soviet secrecy, but you never know. Be sure to let us know if you find anything more. ~ArtMan~ Quote Link to comment
+mtbikedirtygirl Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Here is a picture of a Gage Station BM we found near to GC17W8F. Thought it was so cool that I took a few pictures. This is a picture of Earlhop at the Station. Gage Station Bench mark is circled in yellow. This is a picture of sign on station door. Picture of Gaging Station Bench mark close up Quote Link to comment
+mtbikedirtygirl Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I have been told it takes about $800 PER MARK in man-hours of work to perform the 'bluebooking' needed to have the mark(s) included in the NGS database. Maybe they should up the ante on the $250.00 fine on the bench marks..... Quote Link to comment
MizSmif Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Hi, all-- I'm a Muggle/amateur, etc, and accidentally found a cache while picking up litter near a stream in my neighborhood. It apparently washed into a culvert and was about to be washed into the main stream. How can I properly 'restore' this cache to the system and be rid of it? I don't have any GPS/locational equipment other than an iPhone. Thanks! PS the code on top of the box is GC19G20. It's a plastic storage box that was partly open, so contents were damp, and not sure all intended contents are present. But I've not taken anything out. Edited November 1, 2011 by MizSmif Quote Link to comment
Brad_W Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Hi, all-- I'm a Muggle/amateur, etc, and accidentally found a cache while picking up litter near a stream in my neighborhood. It apparently washed into a culvert and was about to be washed into the main stream. How can I properly 'restore' this cache to the system and be rid of it? I don't have any GPS/locational equipment other than an iPhone. Thanks! PS the code on top of the box is GC19G20. It's a plastic storage box that was partly open, so contents were damp, and not sure all intended contents are present. But I've not taken anything out. I have sent an email to the cache owner suggesting that this forum posting be read. -Brad Quote Link to comment
Wintertime Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 (edited) MizSmif, how thoughtful of you to take the trouble to create an account here so that you could try to get that geocache back to its rightful place! I think I can help you with that. Here is the web page for that cache: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC19G20 As you can see, the owner of that cache is "eviltechie." You can use your Groundspeak account to click on the owner's name and, when you get to his/her profile page, click to send a message. If you don't mind, leave the box about sending your email address checked so that "eviltechie" can respond directly to you. I'm sure that he/she will be glad to hear that you've found the cache. Thank you for helping to clean up your nearby stream. Any chance we could interest you in geocaching while you're here? Geocachers actually have a project called Cache In, Trash Out, wherein we pick up litter when we're out geocaching. Sounds like you might enjoy doing that. There are even special CITO events where cachers get together especially to clean up specific areas. This particular forum, by the way, is frequented by people who like to look for survey markers (benchmarks). Some of us are also geocachers; some aren't. It's just another fun thing we can do with our GPS receivers. (And do a bit of public service in the process.) Patty in California Edited November 2, 2011 by Wintertime Quote Link to comment
+Abbez Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Accidental find today in Clark County, NV across the road from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Can't find the coordinates or a description in any data base, so I'm hoping that by posting here, someone might help me identify it. A geocache (GC2BXXH)took me to the site -- the cache looked to be in a "typical" geo-rock pile, but upon arrival, I found the cache hidden within the rocks around the survey mark pipe. The disk is on a pipe approximately 18 inches above ground and reads: "U.S. General Land Office Survey - 1933. Penalty $250 for Removal. 1/4 S 19 S 30" The coordinates (on my iPhone) were N 36.16.562 W 114 58.940 Would love to log this one, but have been unsuccessful in finding a data sheet or other information on line.(Trying to upload photos...) Edited November 23, 2011 by Abbez Quote Link to comment
Brad_W Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Accidental find today in Clark County, NV across the road from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Can't find the coordinates or a description in any data base, so I'm hoping that by posting here, someone might help me identify it. A geocache (GC2BXXH)took me to the site -- the cache looked to be in a "typical" geo-rock pile, but upon arrival, I found the cache hidden within the rocks around the survey mark pipe. The disk is on a pipe approximately 18 inches above ground and reads: "U.S. General Land Office Survey - 1933. Penalty $250 for Removal. 1/4 S 19 S 30" The coordinates (on my iPhone) were N 36.16.562 W 114 58.940 Would love to log this one, but have been unsuccessful in finding a data sheet or other information on line.(Trying to upload photos...) I don't see evidence of any other cache that has ever been less than 0.23 mile from the location you described. There could be a cache there that is listed on another listing service, or someone may have placed a cache there and decided to leave the physical cache and use the cache page for a hide somewhere else - just a wild guess. Quote Link to comment
TillaMurphs Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) Accidental find today in Clark County, NV across the road from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Can't find the coordinates or a description in any data base, so I'm hoping that by posting here, someone might help me identify it. A geocache (GC2BXXH)took me to the site -- the cache looked to be in a "typical" geo-rock pile, but upon arrival, I found the cache hidden within the rocks around the survey mark pipe. The disk is on a pipe approximately 18 inches above ground and reads: "U.S. General Land Office Survey - 1933. Penalty $250 for Removal. 1/4 S 19 S 30" The coordinates (on my iPhone) were N 36.16.562 W 114 58.940 Would love to log this one, but have been unsuccessful in finding a data sheet or other information on line.(Trying to upload photos...) Hi Abbez, Geocaching only allows logging of marks that are in a decade-old copy of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) database. There are many, many, many disks that are not in the NGS database. It appears that you found one of those. Therefore it is not loggable on geocaching.com. However, there is a nearby, and similar, disk that you could try to find and log - this one: GR0684. You could go find that one and log it, or, you could log the disk that you already found on geocaching.com’s sister site – Waymarking.com (under the “US Benchmarks” category). Good luck to you. And if you are ever able to post photos we would sure like to see them. --The TillaMurphs Edited November 24, 2011 by TillaMurphs Quote Link to comment
+Ashallond Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 my friend yazzman and I were on a small caching/Earthcache/BM run a few days ago and as we passed through a town heading home, he commented about how we had found all these benchmarks near county courthouses as we passed by the courthouse in that town. He turned his head to look across the street and he saw a benchmark on a wall that we didn't know was there. one last one for the day! Quote Link to comment
square nail Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 (edited) Accidental find today in Clark County, NV across the road from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Can't find the coordinates or a description in any data base, so I'm hoping that by posting here, someone might help me identify it. A geocache (GC2BXXH)took me to the site -- the cache looked to be in a "typical" geo-rock pile, but upon arrival, I found the cache hidden within the rocks around the survey mark pipe. The disk is on a pipe approximately 18 inches above ground and reads: "U.S. General Land Office Survey - 1933. Penalty $250 for Removal. 1/4 S 19 S 30" The coordinates (on my iPhone) were N 36.16.562 W 114 58.940 Would love to log this one, but have been unsuccessful in finding a data sheet or other information on line.(Trying to upload photos...) Abbez, You found a quarter section corner between sections 19 and 30 in T19s,R62e. It is not really a bench mark but a land survey corner. Edited November 26, 2011 by square nail Quote Link to comment
+22CaT Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 the thing i have a terrible problem with on benchmarking is that i too find them accidentally then take pictures and write down the disk information but i cant find them on the benchmarking site...recently i had 2 i tried to start a new find with and they were rejected...im at a loss on what to do and would appreciate any help that you can give me on how to proceed at catcan@epix.net which can be found if you log on to the GC site and look for user 22CaT...thanx Quote Link to comment
+billwallace Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 the thing i have a terrible problem with on benchmarking is that i too find them accidentally then take pictures and write down the disk information but i cant find them on the benchmarking site... Here are a couple of links to the Benchmark FAQ - which might answer some of your questions.Welcome to benchmarking Benchmarks Not in the Database Benchmark FAQ Quote Link to comment
kayakbird Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Well, mostly accidental; or was it just dumb luck? Visited the Sauna Cave just below Hoover Dam last week and decided to not try another scramble climb (quit 100 ft low in Feb 10) up to V 285 1950, partly because the dam security zone has been moved downstream and thought that I might hit it on top of the cliff (didn't). After six days kayak camping at Arizona Hot Springs, I spent a night at the Hacienda Hotel & Casino then headed back across the new bridge for Kingman AZ and points south. Saw a Kingman Wash trail head sign at AZ Exit 2 and a few vehicles parked there so I pulled in, thinking that I should be within two miles of the mark. Of course nothings was loaded in the GPSr, had not scouted GE (very nice 21 JUN 2011 photo here) but I did have a DeLorme map high graded for older than Okie'sKid marks so I got the L/L for the PID from GSAK which, when punched into my Garmin Etrex Vista, showed a distance of just one mile and I thought that I could see a reasonable route most of the way. Then I noticed all the other little red flags along the way, so also entered BRAVO, FOXTROT & GOLF(TYPOED!!)134 and wrote down the L/L's for the others and a few cryptic notes in my field book and headed down the wash with FOXTROT showing nearest (should have been GOLF - the only one found yesterday with <250 ft error - average of six was 707 ft with a high of 1479 ft and a low of 50 ft - all HH2's submitted via DSWorld). Found where the abandoned road pulled out of the wash to the left and over a saddle into another. There was a dark colored rock along the road when the GPSr showed FOXTROT to be about 450 ft south but no evidence of the mark. Continued down the road (paved) until it entered the bottom of the wash. ECHO was now showing nearest so I started looking for the top of a ledge on river left and there it was - except it it was on top of a slate colored boulder F 134 and a slightly battered F can be read. This matches the call: ....ABOUT 34 YARDS WEST OF A POINT WHERE THE ROAD DESCENDS A STEEP GRADE AND ENTERS A WASH, 14 FEET SOUTH OF THE CENTER LINE OF THE ROAD, ABOUT 3 FEET HIGHER THAN THE ROAD.... At this time I gave up on the L/L's and since V 285 was my primary target I continued down the wash with just a bit of time and effort spent on trying to make the various calls fit. Arriving at a point overlooking the river (about where BRAVO is shown on GE) I could see concrete well below and scouted back along the top of a spoil pile until I could slide down to an old road terrace which took me right to the mark - seen in the upper right corner of the pad in this view of the new bridge. Not sure what this unstamped RO was/is for. Hiking back out along the abandoned road I chanced to see D 134 and G 134 but no luck on BRAVO, CHARLIE or ECHO. I think that the calls for ECHO would put it close to where the DS L/L is for D 134. Might be worth another modest effort hike next spring. kayakbird Quote Link to comment
foxtrot_xray Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Well, mostly accidental; or was it just dumb luck? Visited the Sauna Cave just below Hoover Dam last week and decided to not try another scramble climb How did you get down there? I didn't realize you could! If I had known this when I was out there earlier this fall, I would have. Looks fantastically neat! Quote Link to comment
kayakbird Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 foxtrot xray & all, There are two ways to access the Black Canyon of the Colorado River below Hoover Dam. I paddle up from Willow Beach marina (eight miles of near Mohave Reservoir elevation water, with minimal current & good eddies to get to the Arizona Hot Springs primitive camping beach -vault toilets, no fire rings - 1/4 mi hike up to the soak pools), then another three miles up to the Sauna Cave and security line. Or you can pay an outfitter (your boat or a rental) to pick you up at the Hacienda to get through security and launch just downstream of the bridge. There are other hot water features in the area. Caution - there can be several feet of tidal action several times a day all the way down to Willow Beach. I have twice had to move out of my favorite campsite during the middle of the night! The outfitter method would give you a chance to see this: GR0606'DRILL HOLE. NOTE-- A WHITE PAINTED B M CAN BE SEEN ON THE CANYON WALL GR0606'SO IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE MARK IS STILL HERE. There is a trailhead parking lot four miles into Arizona on US 93 with at least three trails that wil get you to AZ hot Springs - 3 to 5 hour round trip. I'll get my founds from the other day recovered to NGS in a few days. Contact me off forum if you would like HH2's prior to them being posted. Doesent' seem like all my DSWorld submissions are going through. One up in Glen Canyon has a one minute clerical error but seems to be locked. Maybe because it is listed as an HH1? kayakbird Quote Link to comment
+JL_HSTRE Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I actually "accidentally" find most of my benchmarks because witness posts are seemingly everywhere in my area. I have a Droid smartphone. When I find a mark, I take a closeup photo of the mark for identification, a second area photo including the witness post if I expect to Waymark it, and use my GPS Status app's "Send Location" feature to send the coords to my Gmail account so I have no risk of losing them to a phone technical difficulty. Quote Link to comment
+DragonsWest Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) Noodling around Blaine, Washington this Summer I happened upon this one: Probably be a while until it's in their catalog. Stamping: 9449679A (possible tidal mark?) Lat, Lon: N 48 59.591, W 122 45.777 Edited December 28, 2011 by DragonsWest Quote Link to comment
+savage16 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Was out riding my bike around cave run lake in Kentucky and ran into one, my uncle ran over it and fell off his bike. This is as far as I got with it. Anyone feel free to report it to the proper authorities. Quote Link to comment
ArtMan Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Probably be a while until it's in their catalog. Keep in mind that Geocaching.com has never updated its benchmark database since the benchmark feature was added around 2002 (?), so it's a pretty fair bet that this one will never show up on Geocaching. On the other hand, NGS, keeper of the real benchmark database, does continually update theirs, but as you say there is often an interval of months, sometimes years, between when a mark is set and when it appears as an NGS datasheet. (And most marks are never included the NGS file, either for technical reasons or because the entity that set the mark doesn't want to go through the time, effort, and expense involved.) -ArtMan- Disclaimer: not a specialist, just a benchmarker. Quote Link to comment
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