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| Hiking | 1.30 Miles |
900 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.30 Miles | 2 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.73 mph |
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| 900 ft AEG | 1 Hour 45 Mns Break | 18 LBS Pack | |
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| no partners | | Whitford Triangulation Benchmark is located on a rather nondescript mountain in Whitford Canyon. Ergo the Tri Mark's name.
This was my first time in the canyon and I was impressed with the whole area. Many campers and 4-wheelers were in the canyon doing their thing.
The bushwhack up (and down) was slow in places due to very thick desert growth. Luckily, I was able to avoid all the plants and bushes that could have etched my arms.
Whitford Tri Mark was monumented (put in place) in 1946 and Reference Mark #1 is the only reference mark the surveyors placed on the mountain. The mountain's narrow ridgeline is loaded with light reddish rock that displays well in the sunlight. The actual triangulation mark was under many of those reddish rocks, but my GPS led me to it easily. Alot of wire is up there, still wrapped around rocks near the Tri Mark. It's common to find wire and long wood pieces near a benchmark, as the surveyors would rig up a vertical structure over the benchmark, so the position could be seen from a distance.
The surveyors datasheet stated that Reference Mark #1 was "cemented in a rock outcrop".
That's very normal wording on a datasheet, but in this case it's an understatement. RM #1 appeared to be on display, like some kind of sculpture in an art gallery. It's on a red, flat surfaced rock, at a nice 50 degree angle, right next to the side of the narrow ridgeline. Very cool mounting.
The arrow on RM #1 is pointing directly at the triangulation mark.
The whole narrow ridgeline looked totally undisturbed, making me think I was the first one up there since the surveyors were there in 1946. I doubt that, but from the valley road below, the mountain displays no special qualities to lure anyone up there. Who knows, maybe I was one of just a few, that has made the hike up there. |
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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