CMS March 20th 2021 Field Trip to Baker Lake / Swift Creek (agate, jasper, jade)

Past Field Trips

On March 20th, 2021, we will be going to the Baker Lake area for agate, jasper, and jade.
Meet 9:45 AM at Sedro Woolley Forest Service Office.
Directions: From I-5, go past Mt. Vernon and take exit 232 Cook Rd to Sedro Woolley.  Go through about 3 roundabouts.  Forest Service Office is on left side before the Arco Station (810 WA-20, Sedro Woolley).
The group will leave promptly at 10 am.

From Renton it is approximately a 1.5 hour drive (80 miles) to the meeting place.  Then another 35 miles to the collection site..

Swift Creek flows into the Baker Lake reservoir and you will need waders (or hip boots) to cross the stream and get to the gravel beds. Usually in March there are still snow banks along the roadway and on the river bank.  So access requires climbing over snow berm and walking through some deep snow and down snow covered embankment.  Tools – shovel (optional), bucket, and garden pick. Collecting is in the stream bed as well as the gravel beds further downstream, so a pair of PVC gloves would be handy (the water can be pretty cold). The water is 1-2 feet deep in places.   Roads are good pavement, with some hard pack snow and ice in places this time of year.

Roger Danneman ( roger.danneman@gmail.com ; 425-228-8781 or 425-757-3506 cell).

Updated: April 18, 2021 — 9:35 am

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!

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