Help me log my first benchmark please!

[+MsAsh+Kevo]

Hello all!

We are so excited that we found our first, second and third benchmark but can not log it online.

We can not find them online, and I do not know what numbers or letters I am supose to be putting in.

Please help!

[AZcachemeister]

First, you should read THIS.

If you still have unanswered questions, or need clarification of some of the finer points, we will be happy to help.

[kayakbird]

---do not know what numbers or letters---

 

MsAsh+Kevo

 

Welcome to Bench Mark hunting/detecting.

 

To speed up a request for information it is always good to include the latitude and longitude (NGS convention is DDD MM SS.s) of the point and any letters or numbers associated with it.

 

Location is not meant to be a secret here.

 

If you have found a disk type marker there should be factory/forged lettering in one or more rows around the outside which indicate the type of mark and the setting agency. Somewhere in the center should be letters of numbers - usually both - that make up the designation (name) which is usually unique in that state. You should also find the year that the disk was set. However, there are many BM's that do not have any stamping.

 

Stamping should match the information in the NGS DATASHEET.

 

Enjoy learning this side if Geocaching. kayakbird

[+riston2]

I would also like to point out that not every single benchmark is in the Geocaching database. Pretty much all the benchmarks I find by chance out in the wild aren't listed...

I'm not an avid benchmarker so I don't know why. Database could be old or the mark belongs to a different agency other than NGS. Oh well

[Wintertime]

I would also like to point out that not every single benchmark is in the Geocaching database. Pretty much all the benchmarks I find by chance out in the wild aren't listed...

I'm not an avid benchmarker so I don't know why. Database could be old or the mark belongs to a different agency other than NGS. Oh well

 

The Gc.com database is old; it hasn't been updated in more than a decade. However, the vast majority of marks in the current NGS database were there 11 years ago, too. Conversely, some marks listed on Gc.com have subsequently been removed from the NGS database. But overall, the Gc.com listings are still quite accurate.

 

The NGS database contains many thousands of marks from hundreds of other agencies. Interestingly, there are some marks monumented by NGS itself that aren't in their own database. It all depends on who files paperwork and who doesn't.

 

Patty

[+PFF]

Good news! Thanks to assistance from our always friendly and knowledgable Forum participants, MsAsh+Kevo successfully logged the three benchmarks referenced in the original post. And the log entries look great. (They even have the correct recovery date, even though the log was created three weeks afterward.)

 

It is wonderful to observe the consistently patient and detailed assistance given in response to questions from newcomers to the hobby. When speaking to groups, I often use this website as an example of how the Internet really can be a nice place, if folks are willing to make the effort. Even if I did not give a hoot about benchmarks, I'd hang out here, just because of the people.

 

Any aspect of the hobby can be frustrating to a novice. In fact, there is a Geocaching Forum called "Getting Started" where you find threads with titles like "So disappointed and frustrated..." As I was looking through the entries, recently, I was pleased to see some very familiar names--the same benchmark hunters who help newcomers with disk identification and logging. Yes, Virginia, there ARE nice people in the World!

 

-Paul-