After two successful geocache hunts this morning (Welcome! and Tarkill Interpretive Trail), Rich and I decided to try searching for a few benchmarks in the Milford area. Triangulation station CS PEIRCE looked intriguing as it was supposed to be on the grounds of a Park Service historical house that neither of us had noticed before. We found the station mark without difficulty along the wooded northeast edge of the front lawn. Its location is indicated by an angled pipe stuck in the ground adjacent to the mark. As we were clearing the mark of debris, an NPS employee approached us to find out what we were doing. Upon learning that we were recovering the mark and not geocaching, he left us to continue our work.
Reference mark 1 was found easily on the headwall of the culvert along the road directly in front of the house. Like the station mark, it is also in good condition, and it is easily visible from a distance. Though we searched extensively, we were unable to locate the second reference mark. There was plenty of confusion over which landing might have been the one referred to, so we searched all corners of all the landings on the north and east sides of the house, and took measurements from the telephone pole as well. We found no chiseled cross. Interestingly, the corner of the landing we thought most likely to have held the mark has been damaged; it’s probable that the mark was on this corner and therefore no longer exists.
According to the datasheet the azimuth mark was located less than 1000 feet away, along Routes 6 & 209. We drove to the site after finishing our work at the Peirce house. Upon beginning our search near the powerpole, we were immediately approached by a young busybody who demanded to know what we were doing. She left and, for some unknown reason, came back to demand the same information of us a few minutes later. We mostly ignored her and continued our search, but it was certainly a curious reaction to people working in a highway right-of-way, not on private property. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any sign of the mark, even though our measurements from reference objects matched the description. It is likely that the mark still exists but is covered by a fresh layer of asphalt.
It is fitting that a triangulation station was placed on the grounds of this estate, as Peirce was a prominent geodesist with the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey, serving from from 1859 to 1891. He was additionally a mathematician, scientist, philosopher (founder of pragmatism) and, somewhat by necessity, a writer. In 1887 he retired, eventually becoming ill and destitute, to this Milford estate (“Arisbe”) where he died in 1914. More information on the house and Peirce himself is available at the historic site near the station mark, and at the following websites: Peirce Edition Project and Spanning the Gap.
After this exciting recovery, Rich and I failed to find a survey disk on a bridge along Route 402. But we did make a successful recovery of NGS bench mark disk T 235 after just a short hike along Lake Laura Road.
Today's Geocaches
Tarkill Interpretive Trail
- Owner: techtalkers
- Location: N 41° 18.611' W 075° 06.561'
- Log Type: Found it
- Date: 7 November 2003
- Original Geocaching.com listing
Hi, TechTalkers!
This is the faithful sidekick chiming in. 
At long last, your second cache appeared on the site yesterday afternoon … when I was stuck at work. (Can you tell we were eagerly anticipating it?!) Just before 8:00 this morning I left the house and stopped to pick up Rich and his array of cache and benchmark hunting equipment, and we were on our way. It was still damp and quite chilly (I should’ve worn gloves) when we arrived at the parking area just before 9:00. The walk to the cache site was quick and very scenic. Though our coordinates differed slightly from yours, the cache was still an easy find. The inside of the container was damp, but because the contents were sealed in freezer bags, they were in fine condition. Ah, gloves! Just what I needed. These will come in handy when digging around and “gardening” on benchmark hunts. I left a wooden puzzle and my new trademark (at least for the next few caches)— a fluorescent rat. Rich and I will be sharing the First Finder’s prize; I took it home with me today. Tarkill was apparently the place to be today! Thanks so much for providing a pleasant warm-up activity to start off a mid-Fall day full of fun.
Zhanna
Howdy, TT’s! Since yesterday was kind of a crappy day weather-wise, and since my faithful sidekick Zhanna wasn’t available anyway, we decided to join up this morning and get an early start in order to make a full day of caching and benchmark hunting. I just returned home a little while ago, a little bit tired and a lot hungry. I’m glad we waited ‘cuz it turned out to be a gorgeous day. The sun was shining and the air was already warming up nicely when we arrived at the cache site around 9:00AM. Spent about 5 minutes poking around before finding the cache. Zhanna and I both registered coordinates that were roughly 25 feet from the ones posted but had no trouble otherwise. It’s a beautiful area and a we enjoyed the short trek immensely. Zhanna took the “First Finder’s” prize with her. I took a pack of GPSr fuel, and left a couple of my novelty magnets, a “Mystery Treasure,” an assortment of State park maps, and the “Soaring Eagle” travel bug. So sorry we missed DB625 and the Wolfpak … oh, and Holth too! Thanks for this pleasant Fall morning adventure. (We may have been first at the cache, but we’re the last to log in!!!) ~Rich in NEPA~
Welcome!
- Owner: Ziggy Crew
- Location: N 41° 21.562' W 074° 42.549'
- Log Type: Found it
- Date: 7 November 2003
- Original Geocaching.com listing
Hi ZC!
Our fabulous morning consisted of a first find on a new cache, two benchmark hunts, and a very nutritious lunch of lemon Tastykake pie, Ghirardelli filled chocolate squares, and Fun Size Butterfingers. Your cache was a fitting start to an equally fun afternoon! We had a good idea what kind of place we were looking for, and as we neared the site our suspicions were confirmed. Your coordinates didn’t lead us directly to the cache, but Rich took a wander around and spotted the cache within a few minutes. It took me a little longer, but eventually I came across its hiding spot too. We took our treasure to a nearby table, and while Rich explored the local offerings I signed the log and made my trade. I took a transparent ladybug—fitting because I’ve seen more than my share of ladybugs today, for whatever reason. Into the container I stuffed one of my fluorescent rats (try them under blacklight!). Thanks for the welcome! 
Zhanna
Howdy, ZC! This was the second “First Find” in a fun-filled day of caching and benchmark hunting. It started early this morning around 8:10AM when Zhanna picked me up on the way to the Tarkill Interpretive Trail cache. From there we hunted for two nearby benchmarks then headed over to Milford to see if our suspicions about where this cache was located were accurate. We arrived just before noontime and spent a few minutes searching in the area where the posted coordinates lead us, found nothing and decided to expand the search pattern. Found the cache quickly but it was about 27 feet to the southeast. Both of our GPS receivers indicated a similar discrepancy so future cachers may want to keep this in mind. I signed the logbook, took nothing, and left an Irish coin. We also availed ourselves of some of the local hospitality. Thanks for an interesting geocaching experience. ~Rich in NEPA~
