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: April 21, 2026 — 10:36 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  Thanks to everyone who joined us in March for Maureen Carlisle’s fascinating look at the world of professional paleontology digs. Our next meeting on April 9 is a great club tradition: Rock Bingo! Whether you’ve been a member for decades or you just joined last month, Bingo is the ultimate fun night for everyone kids included. All you have to do is bring three rock-related gifts (rocks themselves are just fine!), wrapped so that they are hidden, and then show up at 7pm on the 9th. Everyone is a winner – win a new treasure for your shelf and …

Meeting Announcements

  • Come one, come all and play ROCK BINGO! With schools out for many local school districts, we invite members, guests, and especially families and kids to come and enjoy one of our most fun nights of the year. Everyone is guaranteed to win at this FREE event! All you have to do is bring three wrapped presents – presents can be rocks, gems, minerals, crystals, fossils, cabochons, slabs, jewelry, tumbled stones – anything you think might be a nice gift for a rock enthusiast. 

  • Our own Mike Blanton will bring his expertise to this club meeting program – he will share the tools, tips and tricks he has developed to drill holes in stones and minerals so you can do more with the rocks you find. Show and Tell: bring a rock you’d like to make into something else.

  • Club Wagonmaster and rock shop creator Roger Danneman will present an overview of the new club shop – including equipment, scheduling, stewards, and what you can expect from this exciting new resource.  Show and Tell: bring a rock you want to polish or make into a cabochon (or something you’ve already polished or made)

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