Drive-bye Benchmarking: A Great Starter

[+Snoogans]

I haven't found many actual BM disks, but I love to do the drive-bye BMs best. I think Benchmarking would become allot more popular if more people knew that there are BMs that you can find without even leaving your car if you don't want to.

 

I think Geocachers who enjoy virtuals would take to this kind of Benchmarking pretty easily.

 

It's reeeeeally easy to identify a high point if someone has already posted a picture of it too.

 

Does anyone else agree or disagree that this could get more people interested?

 

Sn gans

[+YeOleImposter]

You mean like driving by the Space Needle in Seattle and snapping a picture?

[+Snoogans]

You mean like driving by the Space Needle in Seattle and snapping a picture?

I don't know. Is it also a Benchmark? If it is then, Yes.

 

The Astro Dome in Houston is? I logged it. There is no disk to find. The structure IS the BM.

[mloser]

Can't say I get too excited about this sort of station. For one thing, the thrill is usually in the hunt and there is rarely a need to hunt down a 300 foot tower. That said, I DO log them when I come across them--logged the Seattle Space Needle when I visited Seattle , for instance, as well as some other non-disk marks there.

One thing to remember is that the station is usually, for lack of a real surveying word, a "pointy thing" on top of the structure, and is described in the text. I have found a couple that at first glance seem to be as described but are most likely not. WRIGHTSVILLE MUN STANDPIPE is an example. The tank still exists but the station is described as a ball on top. I am not sure that ball still exists. Another time I located a TV mast that was at the same basic location as the one decribed but certainly NOT the described mast--this one was newer and taller.

[+Snoogans]

Can't say I get too excited about this sort of station. For one thing, the thrill is usually in the hunt and there is rarely a need to hunt down a 300 foot tower. That said, I DO log them when I come across them--logged the Seattle Space Needle when I visited Seattle , for instance, as well as some other non-disk marks there.

One thing to remember is that the station is usually, for lack of a real surveying word, a "pointy thing" on top of the structure, and is described in the text. I have found a couple that at first glance seem to be as described but are most likely not. WRIGHTSVILLE MUN STANDPIPE is an example. The tank still exists but the station is described as a ball on top. I am not sure that ball still exists. Another time I located a TV mast that was at the same basic location as the one decribed but certainly NOT the described mast--this one was newer and taller.

Yep. There's a few here that I haven't logged because the description doesn't match the actual site and I haven't gone back to be sure.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

& then there is always "Molllie's Nipple".

 

I do not think this will be replaced anytime soon.

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I haven't logged any of those yet. If someone likes to log them, I'm glad to hear it!

 

A while back, I did think of one thing that might make logging them more fun - try to measure the height of the structure. You'll need a clinometer or some way of measuring the vertical angle to the structure's top. Read your GPS receiver's reading of how far you are from the structure's coordinates. Calculate the height. The easiest way is to use a clinometer that has a percent scale.

[VT ARL 784]

I've been eyeballing a disc at the base of a lamp post I drive by on weekends; no great parking place nearby. And Ive thought: I see it; my GPS indicates I'm close to it; the pic would probably be very blurry ... Have I "Found" it? Oh, maybe someday I'll stop.

[+Spoo]

It depends on WHEN and WHERE you consider the tower found. There is a fire Tower on top of Pleasant Mt. in Maine that is a BM. (PF1146) It can be seen from several roads in the area as a small item on the mountain about 5 miles off. I did not consider it a find till I climbed the mountain and took a pic from its base. The same is true for several other mountain top towers in the area. I have logged them all but not till I have climbed up and seen them within a few feet. (Generally, these mountain top towers also have Triangulation Stations near them making the hike worth while.)

 

I do not consider snapping a pic of an item a mile away a find unless it is some sort of forbidden territory like a military base. But that is just me.

 

Speaking of drive-bys........Keep your eyes open for Witness Posts alongside the road. I have logged a few of these simply because I was observant and had the camera with me to document them.

[+happycycler]

I've been eyeballing a disc at the base of a lamp post I drive by on weekends; no great parking place nearby. And Ive thought: I see it; my GPS indicates I'm close to it; the pic would probably be very blurry ... Have I "Found" it? Oh, maybe someday I'll stop.

 

How about your bicycle VT ARL 784? I have found some marks with poor parking are easily visited by bicycle. Bicycles are very easy to park. Just a thought....

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

Yep Bicycles are great in the right places,you can get some of them pretty fast.

I wish I would have taken mine to the levee there in St. Louis,and Wood River.