Claim question..., many different people on one claim location?? Options

[ChrisD.]

Hello! I am kinda going nuts...

I have been to the office, got the maps, asked the questions and got dirrections (which the location she gave me for my claim was WAYYYYY off!!!, but I found it myself) I have been to the LR2000 about 2000 times and still can't figure out where the claims are... I found the township, the range and the exact sections. Only when I pull up the report there are several claims on that section (about 10 that are in the sw section, 8 in the nw section 22 in the w section...), which I can see as a possibility given the size of a section.
However in order to file a claim they ask for the "exact" location to the feet, which Ok, is done via GPS...

So the land I want to claim to dig, there is only one sign for a claim in the 1 mile area that I have seen, and this one claim was posted back in 2000. the LR2000 did confirm that that one is "active" however there are also about 50 other claims in the two sections I am looking in. How do I walk the area not seeing ANY other claim signs, not knowing if I am on someone elses claim and at the same time trying to file a claim for myself when the people at the BLM office tell me to find the location first??? I have also found a claim in the area that has been abandoned (again via LR2000) but I have NO idea where its exact location is.

How on Gods Green Earth do I know if I am claim jumping on someones claim if they don't post their signs?? (and can I take their claim if it isn't posted?? (LOL of course!! I know ya can't...) Anyone that can shed some light for me would help :) I am calling BLM tomorrow morning anyway, but just thought I would post here to see if anyone has any answers that has been through it...
Thanks so much!!!

-Christina