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Winter Benchmarking


Footstompers

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Posted

I have decided that benchmarking in the winter for a new geocacher probably isn't the best idea. I spent a half hour searching for one that was suppose to be an easy find. It was snowing like crazy on top of the couple feet already there. NO LUCK, maybe this spring will lift my spirits.

Posted

Yeah, I was going to try for a couple today, but the snowcover would probably just make me frustrated.

 

Although, this would be a great day to do those watertowers! :D

 

Bret

Posted

I like the fact that there are no ticks, chiggers, mosquitos. I really don't mind the bugs that much but when you add in the West Nile virus and Lyme disease...

 

Snow is not really a factor in Eastern Virginia. Just mind the long deer hunting season when you are out in the woods! :D

Posted

I'm with geoclectic on the bugs, etc. I've had more than my share of East Coast chiggers, Poison Ivy and stuff I can't even identify. I prefer winter hunting even with the snow and mud. However, I recently deferred hunting for a remote mark in rural DE when I heard several shotgun reports in the area.

Posted

I've been wodering about the same problem - benchmarks covered in snow. How about restricting the search to vertically-mounted benchmarks? Most around here (New Hampshire) seem to be on the side of buildings and monuments and above the 'usual' snow line.

 

What do y'all think?

 

Owen

Posted

:lol: Oh no...don't give up hunting in the winter...as others have mentioned the lack of insects, poison ivy and sumac, and clearer views in the woods makes getting out there a real treat. Instead of looking for monumented benchmarks and discs, take the opportunity to "hunt" those radio/TV antennas, water towers, and buildings that are designated at benchmarks. It's "good fun" and you'd be surprised how many still exist after 50 or 60 years.

Regards,

Bill

Posted (edited)
The winter is the best time for us here in Tennessee it only snows three or four times and go’s away quick

Seeing as it rains three or four times a year in SoCal (its only a slight exaggeration), our single-digit benchmark count seems doubly sad.....we haven't even took the time to log any of them. :D

Edited by wray_clan
Posted (edited)

Well heck, as a new geocacher/benchmarker I was suprised at just how many unlogged 'no-brainer' benchmarks there are here in Minnesota that are also on my daily commute home. Today I came prepared with my camera and GPS, and am hoping to hit a half-dozen or so... I figure the churches, watertowers, radio masts etc are perfect for the winter and are quick and easy even with the snowcover. Until I read this thread today, I felt vaguely guilty about it...but I just figured someone had to 'find' the easy ones sometime, right? :D

Edited by FSU*Noles
Posted
:D My 2nd bm in 2 days. Granted, the winter here in SE NY has been timid compared to last year, there is still plenty of ice and the ground is frozen. I'll continue to hunt bm's but have learned to carry tools instead of relying on pointy sticks to dig with in frozen cover. Also learned that sunlit sheet ice makes a 4 wheeler swap ends if you let off the gas! :unsure:
Posted

FSU*Noles, don't feel guilty about logging those easy-to-find church spires, clock towers, county courthouse domes, radio masts, etc. You can make it up come spring, when you'll be spending lots of time searching for the toughies buried in soggy ground!

 

I had thought about going out today, but not in this pouring rain, thank-you-very-much. Instead, it'll be the warm and dry National Gallery of Art to catch the Romare Bearden show before it closes this weekend.

 

a0005590.jpg

 

Tomorrow I May Be Far Away, 1967

Paul Mellon Fund

© Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

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