DESTINATION Generic 93 Photosets
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| ROCK BM and Frustum #22, AZ | |
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| | ROCK BM and Frustum #22, AZ | | | |
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ROCK BM and Frustum #22, AZ
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| Hiking | 0.73 Miles |
305 AEG |
| | Hiking | 0.73 Miles | 1 Hour 23 Mns | | 2.19 mph |
| 305 ft AEG | 1 Hour 3 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | This was my second hike today and the shortest hike I’ve ever done.
My first hike today was for the same reason as this second one - Find a benchmark and a county boundary marker.
The two hike endeavors could not be combined, due to terrain and locations.
This hike was to find ‘ROCK’ Benchmark and Maricopa/Yavapai Boundary Marker #22. They are both literally between the northbound and southbound lanes of I-17, just south of Black Canyon City. They’re located on a very high ‘hill’ where the north/south lanes are separated by about .2 miles. My two biggest challenges were - ‘Where to park’ and ‘How to cross the I-17 lanes safely’. Both were accomplished OK.
Dodging cars and trucks doing 75 mph, while I’m on foot, was interesting…….. 
The top of the hill, where the benchmark and boundary marker were set in 1924 is quite flat, like a little ‘mesa’. In fact, this area was once part of a much larger mesa in 1924. The I-17 northbound lanes now cut this ‘between-the-lanes’ section away from the larger portion of the mesa to the east.
The surveyors climbed this hill in 1924, from what used to be a little dirt road, out in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure they’d be quite surprised to see the present changes.
I easily found the ‘Rock Benchmark’. There’s a huge white ‘aerial marking strip’ pointing to the benchmark’s location. The aerial marker is a large piece of plastic, shaped like an arrowhead. I better get another hobby if I can’t find benchmarks with this type of ‘shout-out’.
I found one reference mark, and I found the ‘location’ of the other reference mark. Vandals (I assume) decided they really needed to break the rock outcrop in two and take the disk.
I sadly found the ‘remains’ of Maricopa/Yavapai Boundary Marker #22. It’s the smaller style frustum used for county boundary marking.
Wow - someone really must have wanted those three bronze plates attached to Frustum #22, as they used a hammer (sledge hammer?) to knock the “@@%#” out of the defenseless little cement frustum. They took the plates, but after they pulled the 2 foot frustum-pipe out of the ground, I’m sure they discovered how heavy the whole thing was, and just left it there, on its side.
I at least propped it up, to give the little guy a sense of dignity.
After some photos and measuring, I played ‘dodge-the-75 mph-traffic’ and called it a successful day.
If I keep on trying to find these frustums (I have found 6 out of 31), I’ll have to invest in a high-clearance 4WD and scuba gear, as some are in quite remote areas, and a couple are now literally under water. Oh - What fun this is.  |
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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