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Just A Little Push And I'm On My Way.....


gallahad

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OK, I'm going to give it a try. I took on the task of locating KS1753. It's in the Sierra foothills where the pine trees have deposited thirty years of pine straw since it's last recorded sighting. I found a monument marker within two feet of the NAD coordinates and a number of interesting things nearby that appear to be "official" but I'm not sure where to go next.

I've recorded what I've learned to date on my web page and I'm hoping that someone can give me a few pointers on what to try next.

This monument marker is on the right-of-way easement but it is, in reality, on private property so I've gotta be respectful of adjacent land owner interests.

Edited by gallahad
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The actual monument is under that lid at least 1 ft deep judging from the description. I can't tell from the image if there is anything holding the cover down or its just tar and its weight that is doing it. You will need a sledge hammer to tap or hammer on the cover to loosen it. These can be very difficult to remove and it could break on you. It was not uncommon for us to have to use a jack hammer to loosen the covers. Often these are cast iron and will break. In my many years working for DOT, I have had to break these covers to open them many a time. These are different than ones we used (ours were round) and surprisingly expense items, not found easily.

 

So, this may be the end of your search for this control point. Working in the roads require you follow state laws, have signs, warning lights, permits to work not to mention very dangerous.

Edited by elcamino
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Thanks all for you advice and counsel. The documented history for KS1753 confuses me greatly. At one place it refers to a reference point 4.8 feet south of the witness post, 1 foot from the north edge of the street. The mounment marker has 4/8 printed on it so I assume that's the witness post. However, this marker is on the south side of the road so I can't figure out how anything "south" of the witness post could be a foot from the north edge of the street.

I'm beginning to think that this benchmark stuff is best left to the folks who documented these things to figure out. :blink:

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I think ElCamino is right in his assessment of your hunt. By the description you definitely have three markers that are UNDER the road. A couple of things could explain the anomoly in the description versus your reality. The first is that the description has north and south reveresed. The second is that you do. The only way to be sure is to see the stamping on the mark, which as ElCamino said is a combination of dangerous and possibly destructive, if you manage to break the cover. My temptation in this case would be to find all three covers, photograph them, and put them either as a 'found', with explanation, or with a note on Geocaching.com. I would not submit to the NGS. You might want to go after the azimuth mark. This one looks like it might be pretty easy. They are often difficult to find because you only have the descriptions and not coordinates. At least it isn't under a road.

You picked an almost impossible station to find for your first one, but I think you DID actually find two of the three marks. For your next effort, use Geoaching to find neaby benchmarks and try to find a few easier ones. You have KS1755 nearby. It at least isn't under a road surface!

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Gallahad - I'll echo the others in saying that the true monument is under the lids and that to verify the mark, the lids must be removed. I will also add, along with ElCamino, that this is dangerous and illegal for the general public to do in a State right-of-way. (Although the maps make it look like the area is fairly residential.) That being said, if you do decide to remove the lids, they can be loosened by tapping on them with a hammer and lifted with small prybars in the fingerholes. But beware; the cast iron lids WILL break if they are hitt too hard or dropped. I've broken more than one.

 

Although the description says the monument is 4.8 feet south of the witness post, your pictures don't show that you found either monument well 4.8 feet from the post, or in a southerly direction. This would be confusing. But it should be remembered that witness posts are movable. I've seen many witness posts moved by landscaping crews to avoid hitting them. (The setting surveyors don't always think about the landscaping crews and vise versa.) Go back and look at the location of the wells you found and try to determine if there is a possible location where the posted directions and distances would work.

 

Do you have any pictures showing the general area? Pictures of the surroundings showing where the wells are relative to each other and the witness post would help.

 

- Kewaneh

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