san gabriel forest reserve boundary posts

bsmith · Post by **bsmith** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 11:16 am

so, before there were the angeles and san gabriel national forests there was the san gabriel forest reserve.

the same is true in the los padres national forest which emerged from the santa barbara forest reserves.

in 1904 - 1905 - 1906 a survey was performed of the santa barbara forest reserve. the surveyor marked the boundaries with 4" round x 4' long steel posts buried 2' in the ground and have copper caps that had an identifying number stamped on the cap. there are over 350 of these u.s. forest reserve boundary posts. eg:

there are san gabriel forest reserve boundary posts. they are steel, square, are above ground and have identifying marks welded on them.

has anyone seen them or have any photos?

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 11:22 am

Never seen one would like to see one myself

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 12:26 pm

This is square tube and above ground...

Approx. Coordinates (WGS-84 datum):
N 34 16.028'
W 118 15.725'

Is this what you are referring too?

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 12:30 pm

Just for fun, this is in the Henninger Flat area...

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 12:41 pm

More fun. Also near Henninger Flat...

And Baldy's nipple...

Sorry for the thread crapping

bsmith · Post by **bsmith** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 2:08 pm

HikeUp wrote: This is square tube and above ground...

Approx. Coordinates (WGS-84 datum):
N 34 16.028'
W 118 15.725'

Is this what you are referring too?

by jove, i think you have one there, sir!

i forgot to mention that it would be filled with cement. yours is.

the numbers are township and section - although your given coords jive with the post's range - R 13 W - but don't jive with the post's section - S 15?. there may be other marks on the post. and SGFR for san gabriel forest reserve.

great hunting, sir.

bsmith · Post by **bsmith** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 2:11 pm

HikeUp wrote: More fun. Also near Henninger Flat...

And Baldy's nipple...

Sorry for the thread crapping

not at all. i love this stuff. it's all out there in plain sight and unknowingly we walk past it every day.

that boundary post you found has been there for > 100 years.

and now that i know what they look like, i'll keep my eyes more open when i'm down in your neck of the woods..

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 3:53 pm

bsmith wrote: the numbers are township and section - although your given coords jive with the post's range - R 13 W - but don't jive with the post's section - S 15?. there may be other marks on the post. and SGFR for san gabriel forest reserve.

Cool beans. I'd be willing to bet that Matt has actually seen this since it is in Haines Cyn. but perhaps not. Hikin' Jim and I ran across this on a short hike about 6 years ago.

A couple of other pictures can be found on the flickr page with a description of which angle picture is taken from...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hikeup_pa ... 358963508/

Can you interpret what the letters and numbers on each face of the post mean for us?

BTW, the coordinates I gave are approximate but probably within 100 yards or so of the actual location. Not sure if that helps.

bsmith · Post by **bsmith** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:19 pm

HikeUp wrote: Cool beans. I'd be willing to bet that Matt has actually seen this since it is in Haines Cyn. but perhaps not. Hikin' Jim and I ran across this on a short hike about 6 years ago.

A couple of other pictures can be found on the flickr page with a description of which angle picture is taken from...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hikeup_pa ... 358963508/

Can you interpret what the letters and numbers on each face of the post mean for us?

BTW, the coordinates I gave are approximate but probably within 100 yards or so of the actual location. Not sure if that helps.

i'm confused.

first let me say that i do not doubt that the boundary post is where you say that it is, gps-wise.

and i can also say that a lot could have happened to the post since it was originally placed.

and i can also say that the surveyor could be off a bit. like a lot.

when these were placed, they had the location of the post marked on the post.

i believe this to be an original corner San Gabriel Forest Reserve boundary post using the PLSS (Public Land Survey System - go to wiki for more than you ever wanted to know) township / range method of identifying land.

so on your excellently-described photos (thank you for that):

NE FACE is SGFR 25 (unique identifier of that post) and then T2N S 10 signifying Township 2 North, Section 10.

SE FACE = R13 W (Range 13 West) S 15 (Section 15)

NW FACE = S 9 (Section 9)

SW FACE = no photo (most people would never have even taken one photo!) but i'd wager the post has S 16.

if you are familiar with mapper.acme.com and put in your gps coordinates you can see where this post is actually located today - when you were there.

but if you search for the following coords: 34 16.021, -118 14.312 you will see that this location sits on the corner of Sections 9 - 10 - 15 - 16 - which you documented as being on the post, and where the post should actually be.

hence my confusion.

unless we can find the surveyor's original notes - they're out there somewhere - we may never know where it should be.

if you ever get out to mt pinos i'll give you the gps of a post that's just off the trail.

thank you for responding and keep your eyes open!

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:36 pm

Great info! Yes, the SW face does indeed say S16 - I can zoom in on the original photo of the SE face (i.e. the left side of the steel post as shown in the photo I originally posted above and see that there is an S16 welded on the post).

6 years ago I remember being totally confused by the actual location vs. the markings and assumed I was the ignorant one (an easy leap of logic to make indeed).

Based on your coordiantes I have to confirm that I was no where near that location. Looks like the post must have been washed down the mountain side by a flood and ended up where I found it where someone subsequently stood it up and beamed with pride in repairing the surveyor marker!