Feb-Mar-Apr-May, 2025 Summary Mt Baker, Saddle Mtn, First Creek, Biggs Field Trip Reports

Field trip reports

This is a summary of our first 5 trips of 2025.  I generally do a separate report for each trip, but this has been an unusual and busy year for me.

On Feb. 22nd we went to Ole One Lane Bridge on the middle fork of the Nooksack river for Dunite and Gneiss. The river was extraordinarily high due to warm rains and the resultant melting snow. Our usual picking area was covered by the river. But thankfully Noelle and Paul discovered a great unpicked area down the fisheries road about 1/3 mile walk. We had a group of 20 people on this trip.

On March 29th we went to Saddle Mtn which was a change from the originally scheduled Baker Lake / Swift Creek trip. I figured the high water would prevent us from getting to the gravel beds and snow is still covering all of our mountain sites so the best alternative was Saddle Mtn for petrified wood. We had a beautiful spring day and a group of 25 people on this trip.

On April 29th we went to Saddle Mtn again. I originally wanted to start this outing with an educational session at the Ginkgo State Park but I didn’t get enough interest in that. The group met in Mattawa for breakfast and then went up to a new dig area that John & Dave suggested at the previous outing. We had a group of 12 people on this trip. I unfortunately missed it due to illness, but Noelle led the group up. I can’t get enough of the pics in the Tumbler, but our Facebook Group page has a lot of great pics from Scott & Laurie, Michelle M., Noelle, and Julie. If you’re not a FB Group member, it’s a fun place to share our finds.

On May 4th Loren M. led the group into First Creek.  This is a 2-mile hike on good road-bed but with a few significant hills.  Then one has to navigate some steep slopes.  But the payoff is nice jasper, agate, and geodes.  We had 12 people on this trip.

On May 17th we went to Rufus, Oregon for Biggs Jasper.  This is a private quarry where we pay $5/pound for the rock we collect.  We had a beautiful spring day on the hills above the Columbia River.  12 people joined me on this trip.

No pics for this post since I’ve summarized them.  My intent is just to record our activities.

Submitted by Roger Danneman CMS Field Trip Guide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: November 5, 2025 — 7:49 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  September is here, and it looks like a wonderful month so far for getting together and getting out in the field. First, thank you to everyone who helped make our August picnic and club auction such a success. The delicious food, generous donations, volunteer help and spirited bidding made it a great afternoon, and the auction raised $750 for the club. We return to our regular meeting schedule on Thursday, September 10, at 7:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall in Kent. Our program is all about YOU: Show, Tell & Transform, where you get to briefly present …

Meeting Announcements

  • This program is all about YOU. Bring a rock, mineral, fossil, or other field find that you would like to turn into something. It might become a cabochon, carving, display specimen, jewelry piece, slab, polished piece, or something entirely different. Bring your item and share: Where and how you found or acquired it What interests you about the material What you’re considering making from it Any questions or challenges you would like help thinking through Then we’ll open the conversation to our knowledgeable and curious club members. Together, we can discuss the material, possible designs, cutting or finishing approaches, and other ideas that might help you take the piece from field find to finished project. You do not need to have a complete plan or any special expertise. That’s part of the fun. Bring the piece itself if possible, along with any sketches, inspiration photos, or examples that might help explain your idea.

  • 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!

  • December’s date and time is coming soon. We will update this page as soon as we know more.

Current News