Which D.C. mark is a must see?

[+billwallace]

I'll be in D.C. in a couple of weeks and my wife has already laid down the law - NO BENCHMARKING!! But if we happened to walk past a couple of marks while we are seeing the sites, which might be the best to accidentally trip over? (Sometimes you have to be a stealth, ninja, benchmark hunter).

[TillaMurphs]

I'll be in D.C. in a couple of weeks and my wife has already laid down the law - NO BENCHMARKING!! But if we happened to walk past a couple of marks while we are seeing the sites, which might be the best to accidentally trip over? (Sometimes you have to be a stealth, ninja, benchmark hunter).

 

This one? Mark in D.C.

[+billwallace]

This one? Mark in D.C.

Oh yea, I almost forgot that one. These are also on my list - easy pickings:

HV1846, HV1847, HV1886

[+Touchstone]

This one looks pretty interesting:

 

HV9344

 

Guess you might as well pick up this one while you're in the same area

 

UA0016

Edited April 6, 2014 by Touchstone

[+TheWeatherWarrior]

Eastern Cornerstone placed in the late 1700s. http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=HV1241

There is actually a northern one and a few others but they don't register as benchmarks all the time.

 

Oh...and the above benchmark is a geocache too. I placed it when I lived there (since adopted).

[+dprovan]

I'm not sure about "must see", but I found it fascinating that there are a few unusual marks near some of the monuments. In particular, I remember some "chiseled crosses", something I've never found, although unfortunately I didn't take enough detailed info with me to find any of them.

[Bill93]

>marks near some of the monuments

 

I'd be somewhat cautious about "non-tourist-like" activity around famous memorials and buildings.

 

I recall getting questioned one time about why I was writing down the info from a disk in a retaining wall beside our local federal courthouse. People from the general public were sitting around chatting 20 feet away and I crossed no marked boundaries to get there. I had no camera or GPS. The guard was out of the building and on me in 30 seconds, and it took a while to talk my way out of there.

 

And be sure you don't have all your benchmark hunting gear with you. No pocket knives etc on federal property.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Bill93

[foxtrot_xray]

I'd recommend the Jefferson Pier UA0024. From there, you can get several other stations, including the Washington Monument and related ECCs around there. And the magnetic station up near the white house.

 

NPS folks here in the DC area aren't too bad. I've gotten asked a couple times, but when I show them and tell them what I'm doing, they're okay. (A couple times, they helped by opening up a fenced-off area to let me record the mark, even.) But, like mentioned - no tools.

[+billwallace]

"chiseled crosses",

Excellent, some of my favorite - and I see there are a few of them.

 

>marks near some of the monuments

I'd be somewhat cautious about "non-tourist-like" activity around famous memorials and buildings.

But, like mentioned - no tools.

 

Definitely Jefferson Pier, I'm reading a biography of him now. And, Thanks for the tip - no benchmark hunting paraphernalia, be nice and courteous to the men and women in uniform. I didn't know about the pocket knifes - I carry one out of habit. thnx.

[DaveD]

Absolutely the Jefferson Pier. If you a little sharp eyed you might want to look for A 8 (HV8076) and B 8 (HV8077).

[+billwallace]

Absolutely the Jefferson Pier. If you a little sharp eyed you might want to look for A 8 (HV8076) and B 8 (HV8077).

Hmmm all those around the base are Class II - what has the most affect on that, distance to a class I control? Is there one variable that typically affects that the most?

 

Is a handheld GPSr OK to carry (opposed to the one in my phone and camera)?

[foxtrot_xray]

Is a handheld GPSr OK to carry (opposed to the one in my phone and camera)?

Yeah - 'tourist stuff' like that is fine. I carry my GPS around with me all the time. :thumbsup:

[DaveD]

The difference between a height value that is Class II vs. Class I has to do with some fairly minor, but none the less important aspect of the leveling field procedures and final analysis. In practice the difference between any two nearby marks should be in the sub-mm range.

[+billwallace]

The difference between a height value that is Class II vs. Class I has to do with some fairly minor, but none the less important aspect of the leveling field procedures and final analysis. In practice the difference between any two nearby marks should be in the sub-mm range.

Just how the numbers work out after the adjustment - it's a quality assesment?