88HA001 is to be found just past the end of Ponderosa Road, which leads generally westward from Highway 395 at Cascade, just north of the U.S. border. Cascade is essentially a ghost town which sprang up just before 1900 and disappeared in two large fires not long after.
Many of the 88HA series of benchmarks have proven either impossible to find, or nearly so, due in part to growth of vegetation in the intervening years, in part due to the inaccurate coordinates given in the datasheets. 88HA001, and the rock upon which it was monumented, has been mostly hidden by underbrush and grass.
The rock in question is about 6 feet in length and three feet in width, somewhat buried in a small hillside, with less than 2 feet of its height exposed on its west and north sides. 88HA001 is monumented in the top of its southwest corner.
The description given on the datasheet, "12m South of railway tracks and 40m West from gravel road" was sufficiently accurate, though underbrush made it impossible to approach directly, necessitating a bit of searching to finally spot the large rock.
As I was walking back to the road a lady from the ranch across the tracks came out to ask what I was doing. She revealed to me that the ranch extends over the tracks well to the south, meaning that 88HA001 is on private property. So, should one choose to visit 88HA001, it is necessary that they go to the ranch, across the tracks from 88HA001, and ask permission.
Marking Mapsheet Condition Installation Date
88HA001 PENTICTON 82E.009.2.1 Good 1988-01-01
Cascade
Set on flat rock approx 12m South of railway tracks and 40m West from gravel road crossing railway, said road extends Westward from end of Ponderosa Drive. Tablet approx at rail elev.
From MASCOT