J2 Surveyors Share Their Stories: From Wildlife Encounters to Unexpected Finds and Creative Problem-Solving in the Field

To celebrate National Surveyors Week, we asked our team to share their most memorable experiences from the field and office. From unexpected wildlife encounters to interesting objects found on-site, here’s a look at the stories that make surveying such a unique profession!

Wildlife Encounters in the Field

Surveyors often work in remote locations, making wildlife encounters a regular part of the job. Here are some of their most memorable experiences:

• “While doing a boundary survey in the Blue Ridge near Zepp, VA, I walked up on a cub playing with the flagging around a traverse point we had set the day before.” – Matte O.

• “Bears! We were working along the Hazel River in Rappahannock County, VA, and we watched a mama bear and her two cubs cross our cut line. They followed us for the entirety of the boundary survey – approximately 500 acres!” – Josh B.

• "I had a 12-point buck walk up on me while I was running the instrument on an early winter morning. My boss whispered from afar (over the radio), "Pssst, turn quietly and look behind you." This happened during my early years of surveying in Western New York." – Gary F.

• “A homeowner let their dog out, and it chased me right out of the backyard!” – Kevin L.

• “I came across a copperhead on a job site, which definitely made me step carefully after that!” – Jon O.

• “We once encountered a black bear running about 100 feet in front of us. It was my first time seeing a black bear in the wild!” – Max S.

• “I had three bears run past me in a cornfield. It’s pretty terrifying when you’re surrounded by 8-foot-tall corn and can’t see where they went!” – Richard C.

Interesting Objects Found on the Job

Surveying often leads to surprising discoveries. Here are a few of the most unexpected objects our team has encountered:

• “I once found a machete that had been chopped into a tree. The tree then grew around it!” – Josh B.

• “A hidden electric fence while cutting a line with my machete, "YEEEOOOWWW!" – Gary F.

• "A doll’s head on a job site. Definitely unsettling.” – Kevin L.

• “Moving to NOVA from the Jersey Shore, I’d find perfect arrowheads and Civil War-era bullets just lying in the open on private lands, especially farm fields and near streams. Having never seen them before in real life, it was cool.” – Matte O.

• “An engineer…they’re like Bigfoot – hard to catch on-site, and even harder to get a picture of! But for real, our team once discovered a historic survey marker (an 1850 monument stone) while surveying the future site of a community park.” – Jon O.

• “Aside from the usual rusted-out cars abandoned in the woods, one of the most interesting finds was a geocache box at a construction site along Route 7. It was wedged in a crack between two boulders.” – Max S.

• “I once found a cannonball at a job site in Leesburg, VA.” – Richard C.

The Strangest Things We’ve Had to Explain to Bystanders

Curious onlookers often have questions about what surveyors do – sometimes, those questions are more unusual than expected:

• “In 1998, MTV had their Beach House on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, NJ. We were doing a recon survey for a county road improvement project about four blocks away. While operating the Topcon 3B, an older gentleman walked by and asked, ‘Hey, are you a cameraman for MTV?’ I responded, ‘Yes, would you like to be on the show?” – Matte O.

• “I had to explain to a tourist in DC that the tents around the monuments weren’t part of the monument. It was actually a homeless camp.” – Josh B.

• “To answer a teenager's question, 'Are you guys Ghost Busters?'" – Gary F.

• “While surveying sanitary manholes, nearby workers were complaining about the smell when we opened the lids. I had to explain that for wastewater to flow properly, someone has to ensure the slope is correct – hence, why we survey it!” – Marcos O.

Creative Problem-Solving in the Field

Surveying isn’t always straightforward – sometimes, it requires thinking outside the box:

• "We had a boundary line dispute between two farms in which two deeds and two fence lines overlapped. I checked a patent book for barbed wire patterns (who knew?) and paired up the years of each fence with the dates of the original deeds. The older fence and deed won the battle of "Senior Rights." – Gary F.

• “I once had to slide down a 50-foot cliff face with a total station strapped to my chest to complete a traverse loop.” – Josh B.

• "For an airport survey project, we used a magnetically mounted GPS unit on a vehicle to quickly traverse the centerline. What made this method unique was its ability to produce an accurate runway profile that not only met stringent FAA data standards but also minimized potential delays or interference with airport operations." – Jon O.

• “A Verizon utility vault was flooded, so we dropped leads directly into the water to try and make a connection.” – Kevin L.

• “Mid-survey, it started pouring rain while we were deep in the woods. We built a roof out of leaves and branches to protect our equipment!” – Marcos O.

Favorite Types of Surveys to Work On

Surveying covers a wide range of projects. Here are some of our team’s favorites:

• "District of Columbia surveys to mark boundary lines. I love researching through the original records in the Office of the DC Surveyor, retracing footsteps, and recovering monumentation. I am infatuated and enamored with the history." – Gary F.

• “Record platting is my favorite at the moment! I enjoy bringing in the data and making everything look good, building it up is great!" – Josh A.

• "Aviation surveys have always been up there (sorry, bad pun) since you not only have to map and model the airfield environment but also the surrounding airspace and potential obstacles. It forces you to move beyond the ground and the 2D map, requiring you to think in terms of navigating airspace in a 3D world.” – Jon O.

• “Bathymetric surveys around bridge piers in the Barnegat Bay (NJ) during the summer. I’d get to be on a boat, catch some sun, and go for a swim during lunch.” – Matte O.

• “Boundary surveys – especially old ones. It’s like solving a treasure hunt using historical documents and past surveyor’s notes.” – Josh B.

• “Surveying battlefields, I love history.” – Kevin L.

How Technology Has Transformed Surveying

Advancements in technology have significantly changed the way surveyors work. Here’s what our team says has made the biggest impact:

• “GPS has made surveying immensely easier in the field.” – Josh B.

• "GPS has revolutionized surveying and the way we tie our data to the face of the globe."  – Gary F.

• “AutoCAD and GPS revolutionized how we work.” – Jon O.

• “The size of GPS receivers has gotten so much smaller – it’s a lifesaver when you have one last point to stake out over a vast amount of land.” – Max S.

What Most People Don’t Realize About Surveying

There’s more to surveying than meets the eye. Here are a few things most people don’t know:

• “Math…people don't realize how much math is involved in surveying.” – Josh B.

• “The terrain! Nothing is completely wide open, and you’ll probably end up using a machete at some point.” – Max S.

• “Every survey has its challenges. Records research, preparing deed mosaics, collecting field evidence, and post data collection analysis are typical. Still, the most challenging is being able to prove your solutions as if they were being used in a court case…because they just might!” – Matte O.

• “The combination of geometry, trigonometry and boundary law required to piece old properties together, and to create new lots and roadways subsequently." – Gary F.

One Thing We Wish More People Understood About Surveying

• "Surveying is the combination of geometry, trigonometry, and boundary law required to piece old properties together, and to create new lots and roadways subsequently." – Josh A.

• "It's a great profession that requires a large amount of training, intelligence, hands-on practical know-how, skill, experience, and innovative thinking. It combines some of the best aspects of the 'blue collar' and 'white collar' professions all into one.” – Jon O.

• “People don’t realize how many cool places surveyors get to see. I once surveyed a property in Shenandoah and found a rock outcropping halfway up a mountain with a clear view down into the valley below.” – Max S.

• “It takes TIME to do a proper survey.” – Matte O.

• “Surveyors often work in diverse and challenging environments. Extreme weather conditions, rough terrain, and inaccessible areas can hinder their work. These environmental factors can delay projects, affect the accuracy of measurements, and pose safety risks to surveyors.” – Gary F.

Dream Survey Locations

If our surveyors could work anywhere, here’s where they’d choose:

• "The Burj Khalifa. Purely because it's the tallest building in the world and I love skyscrapers." – Josh A.

• “The Great Pyramids of Egypt – the precision of their construction has always fascinated me.” – Marcos O.

• "I have actually surveyed "Tudor Place", an estate in Georgetown (DC) purchased by George Washington's step-granddaughter, Martha Parke Custis, in 1805. Now a museum, the boundaries of the house and beautiful gardens have never been previously surveyed. I recorded the survey among the land records of the Office of the Surveyor for the District of Columbia." - Gary F.

• “I would love to do a retracement survey of the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. It would be an incredible adventure.” – Matte O.

• “The Washington Monument. As much work as I’ve done in DC, I’ve never had the opportunity to survey it.” – Josh B.

• “I would have to say the Great Northwest around Mt. St. Helens or in Alaska around Mt. Denali.” – Max S.

• "Maybe Mt. Rushmore with a drone-mounted scanner. It was impressive to see it in person, and it would be cool to capture and model the faces of the 'three surveyors and the other guy' (even though this has most likely already been done)." – Jon O.

Surveying is full of adventure, problem-solving, and unexpected moments. A huge thank you to our surveyors for sharing their stories and for the incredible work they do every day!