April 19th 2026 Swift Creek / Baker Lake Field Trip Report

Field trip reports

On Sunday April 19th we had a beautiful day for a field trip, the kind of day I hope for when we go to Swift Creek on the east side of Mt. Baker. The Baker Lake reservoir is still low and the gravel beds accessible but quite a hike on river cobble to get across and downstream.. Metamorphic rocks in abundance – the Baker Blue Agates rather sparse. We met on-site at 10 am. I didn’t do very well on the agate hunt, but I was also looking for nice jasper. I started noticing that there are a lot of the rusty skinned rocks here like Listwanite, except these don’t have the hints of green in the skin. I took a couple of them home to cut and check out. After we finished at Swift Creek I went to the Cascade River further east by Marblemount. Here there is the Listwanite with strong green colors. One of my pics shows the comparison of the two colorations of the Listwanite. Curious, I queried Gemini and got some interesting information that I’m submitting for the May Tumbler publication. Anyway, we had a good group, good weather, and there’s no better place to be on a beautiful spring day than by a mountain stream looking for rocks.

Joining me on this trip were John M., Michelle M., Vanessa L., Aubrey S., Diane C., Chris V., Mathew C., Mary F., Jarrod D., and guests Alexis and David.

Submitted by Roger Danneman CMS Field Trip Guide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: July 20, 2026 — 8:42 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  I hope you’ve all had a chance to get out and look for rocks during the lovely weather we enjoyed in July – it’s been mostly perfect rockhounding weather. And for those of you who were able to come on the field trips led by our fearless wagon master Roger Danneman, I hope you found some good material. Big thanks to Roger for getting us all out there and helping us find beautiful rocks! August is a bit of a break from the usual club meeting cadence – instead of having our club meeting on the second Thursday …

Meeting Announcements

  • Our August meeting will not be happening at the American Legion – instead, this month’s meeting is our annual club potluck and picnic on Saturday, August 15. Join us from 12-4 at Gene Coulon Park, South Shelter 2 – setup begins at 10:30am. Bring something you want to share and/or donate to the club auction, also happening during the picnic. 

  • September’s program is coming soon. We will update this page as soon as we know more.

  • Noelle Barnes will present Using Gaia for Rockhounding, an overview of the features and tricks associated with the app Gaia and how you can use it for GPS, saving waypoints, navigation, photo tagging, trail recording and more. Show and Tell: Bring the rock(s) that have the best “story” – and tell everyone how you found them and where!

  • Club board member Paul Ahnberg will talk to us about the impact of wildfires on our lives – from protecting your home to staying safe while out rockhounding – and what we can do today to help mitigate our risk. Paul will combine his knowledge gained from learning at both the WSU Green School (Master Gardener) and WSU Climate Steward programs. Show and Tell: Bring something you found, from a place that you know has since been impacted by floods or wildfires – or was impacted shortly before you arrived. Tell your story!

Current News