Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Relative elevation in thick brush

Is there a good way to measure relative elevation in thick brush? I have read that GPS altimeters are not accurate and the web maps seem to be similarly inaccurate or out of date. It would be very difficult to use a transit in my application, and the distance is too great for a water level.

RAH, I have no idea how to do that.

Grab a machete, transit, and a couple of helpers. I've watched surveyors shoot through some pretty thick brush in no time. All you need is a small window of sight from transit to target. It helps to have one person on the transit, one on the target, and one with a machete following directions from the guy on the transit as to which branches and twigs to knock down. You can do it on your own. Just takes longer.

I was hoping to find a rangefinder that accurately showed elevation, but I have not found one. Then I could shoot multiple times from a fixed height above the ground ands do the math. I sent an email to Leopold asking about the vertical accuracy of their rangefinders, but they never got back to me.

Is there a high spot where you can set up a transit that overlooks the survey site, a tree stand for instance? Then raise a balloon with a string with gradations.

Agree with Gully. I'm a civil engineer that has to do my own surveying. I've shot a laser level through some nasty brush. All it takes is a little elbow grease and a big machete.

When I need a bunch of shots, I use a Trimble GPS system, but I'm guessing you'd have already used that if you had it.