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| Rainbow Valley Wander, AZ | |
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| | Rainbow Valley Wander, AZ | | | |
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Rainbow Valley Wander, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.97 Miles |
1,078 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.97 Miles | 6 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.63 mph |
| 1,078 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 25 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | I hiked in the part of Rainbow Valley that's between Sevenmile Mtn and the Sierra Estrella Mtns.
The mission was to locate seven benchmarks. I was able to locate 5 out of the 7.
I had no datasheets for these 7 benchmarks, ergo no LAT/LONGs to assist me. All I had was a TOPO map with a tiny x or triangle, depicting an approximate location of each BM. I say approximate from experience, as the act of putting benchmark locations on TOPOs seems to be a bit faulty, as to exact accuracy.
One benchmark wasn't a disk, but was only an etching, engraved in an imbedded boulder. I located all that BM's peripheral stuff (nails, cairn, Height of Light wood, wire etc) but not the etching. It's probably under a load of sand, dirt and small rocks by now.
Three of the located benchmarks had 4 panels laid out around each of the disks. All three were monumented (installed) in the late 1940s by the War Department's Army Corp Of Engineers. One set of BM panels is made of thick concrete, and still looks great. Another BM had panels made of boulders and rocks. Its four panels are still in good shape, but they are not easy to discern from a distance.
The last BM had panels made up of a thin sheet of what I would call regular blacktop. I'm sure in 1949 it looked great, but now it's quite deteriorated.
I've run across all three types of panels before, so I wasn't surprised to see their present condition. The three Army Corp disks themselves, were in perfect shape.
The fifth benchmark searched for was a rather new "MCDOT" BM from 1999. It should be on a pipe or in a cement plug. I located its Survey Witness Post, but someone probably absconded with the disk itself.
I had a good time wandering around the desert, and going up a few bumps, so I declared the hike a success. |
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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