The Oregon Surveyor Sept/Oct 2018

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 13 A Survey Remembered Distomat. This was the only one in the Pa- cific Northwest. Somehow, I got handed that equipment to use. Thinking back and trying to remember all this, I’m pretty sure the reason why I was chosen was because I had used a Wild instrument with the Aerial Mapping Company mentioned in the last chapter. I was able to research the price of the DI- 10 and it was about $6500. I don’t know howmuch a T-1 was going for back then, but needless to say, I was a pretty nervous 22-year-old instrument man. After the crew and I got the hang of using the instrument and the EDM, it was de- cided to have a “show me trip” for all the management people within the Supervi- sors Office including the Forest Supervisor. We set two hubs and chained the dis- tance on a level section of road. I set up the T-1 and it was the first time anyone had ever seen an optical plummet. Ev- eryone was expecting to see a plum bob hanging down from the instrument. The group was very impressed that I knew the T-1 was over the point. As I am re- membering it, I’m pretty sure everyone looked through the optical plummet on the tribrach to see the tack in the hub. Trying to be funny, the Forest Supervisor waved his middle finger under the gun. I think some people laughed, but I think most probably rolled their eyes. I can’t remember if the distance chained was the same as the distance measured with the EDM, but it must have been close be- cause everybody left happy. During my employment at David Evans and Associates (DEA), the crews regular- ly checked the tribrachs to make sure that when the level bubble showed level, it really was. I don’t remember ever do- ing that with the USFS. We rarely closed a traverse, so not being over the point by a little wouldn’t really have mattered that much. I’m sure procedures have im- proved in the last 45+ years. What didmatter was one time after work- ing all day in a heavy rain (not uncommon in the Bull Run) we came back to the of- fice and for whatever reason, I neglected to open the instrument case and left a dripping T-1 overnight in a warm room. The next day we loaded everything into the rig and headed back to the woods. Setting up the instrument and looking for my first backsight, I could see nothing through the eyepiece. The T-1 was totally fogged up inside. There was nothing we could do in the field, so we came in early, and I had to tell my supervisor the story. He toldme to take it to Portland Precision on Hawthorne Boulevard in Southeast Portland. I think I was dealing with the founder of PPI, as I remember an older German or Swiss gentleman really read me the riot act about the care of such high-quality instrumentation. I had to just hang my head in shame and take it as I knew it was all my fault. Over time I got to know him better and he was a wealth of information on how to use theodolites. Getting back to that reservoir road con- struction staking, there was a section that was just too steep or therewas some prob- lem that didn’t allow us to slope stake as normal. John Richmond, from the office, came out, and he calculated station off- sets to slopestake from. Last time I looked, John was still a member of the PLSO, liv- ing in Forks, Washington. We set them using that T-1 and the Distomat. It was a big deal at the time. I wish I could remem- ber what he used for a calculator, I can’t believe it was a Curta (look it up), it could have been a slide rule, but I doubt it. It was probably one of those hand cranked mechanical desk calculators. We checked the points fromdifferent control and they fit, so the road was built. In September we got to work on a proj- ect that, to this day, I’ve never forgotten. Back then there was a plan to build a gon- dola from the top of the Magic Mile Ski Lift at Timberline Lodge, all the way to Crater Rock. A survey was needed to see how deep the snow got so they could de- sign the towers to keep the gondola out of harm’s way. One survey was done in the spring when the snow theoretically would be the deepest and then another was done in September when almost all the snow had melted. The one in the fall was the one I was involved with. How con- trol was established up that high on the mountain has been lost from thememory banks. We may have come off something that had been set for when they built the Magic Mile lift. Anyway, we were using our walkie talkies, and since we were up so high, we had tremendous range and could hear people from all over the forest, and they didn’t appreciate us walking on their conversations. The task I was involved in was doing very long cross-sections off the baseline. I can’t remember how far up the mountain we got, but it was with- in striking distance of Crater Rock. When it was all said and done, the designers realized that the height of the towers would make the project prohibitively ex- pensive, and they would be infrequently used because of the high winds at that elevation. From what I understand, the data that we provided was used for the design of the Palmer Lift, which is in use today. As part of the arrangement with Timberline Lodge, we got to stay at the lodge with meals included for the dura- tion of the project. On one of the final days of the project, I was involved in a rescue. A woman climb- er had fallen off the Hogsback and was unable to walk back down the mountain. We didn’t know her condition, so we pre- pared for the worst. I was sent down the mountain to get additional ropes and oth- er climbing gear. To help me get back up the mountain, I was told to go to the Mag- ic Mile and they would give me a lift to the top. Of course, the other passengers on the Mile were there for a scenic ride. When I got on, it was full speed ahead. The look on people’s faces was pretty dra- matic as they flew down the hill. It turned out that the injured climber was pretty darned tough, and even with a bro- ken collarbone, bumps, and bruises, she was able to get back up to the Hogsback and walk part way back to Crater Rock. We got her into a litter/sled and started sliding our way back down the mountain. In the steep areas, we used our ice axes and the ropes to make a friction brake (something that I was shown how to do, for the first time) so we could control the speed of the descent. The Timberline snowcat was able to get above the top of the Mile quite a bit, so when we reached it we loaded her in and got in ourselves to catch a ride down the rest of the way. Arriving at the Lodge, the County Sher- iff and the media were there making a big deal out of everything. I was just glad that the experience had a happy ending. What we worked on until the snow flew is a mystery tome now. I seem to recall that somehow my temporary appointments were juggled so that I was able to work through the winter in the office. I vague- ly remember getting a taste of drafting by plotting up a wealth of cross sections. It was good to be warm and dry for a change.  x