March 11th, 2023, Mt. Baker Area Field Trip Report

Field trip reports

We had a nice outing into the Mt. Baker area for our March Field Trip. The big mountain stayed under cover, but the surrounding hills and trees above 1200′ were coated with fresh snow and looked beautiful. Just a few raindrops now and then. 12 other club members joined me. We first met 9:30 AM at Ole One Lane Bridge on the west side of Baker to collect dunite, quartz, and gneiss on the middle fork of the Nooksack river. At 11:30 we left that area and went over to the east side where Swift Creek enters Baker Lake and collected agate, quartz, and gneiss. Everyone was prepared with waders and the stream was relatively easy to cross. Just 1-2 feet deep. Some nice Baker Blue agates were found among the group. Members that joined me were Kari C., Dave A., Tammy C., Dominique Z., Scott M., Scott M., Kamera M. (and dog Gracie), Brooke P., Nik B., Evan B., Loren M., and Annie S. (and dog Tess).

Next outing is Sat. April 15th for Biggs Jasper/Agate in Oregon and then Sun. April 16th at Saddle Mtn for petrified wood. I’ll be sending out the announcement by e-mail with the details.

Note: if you’re looking for nice river spots to go for rock when our warm spring weather finally arrives, check out the two places mentioned above plus there’s a place on the south fork of the Nooksack River just north of the town of Acme. Best before the spring runoff gets too high though.

Submitted by Roger Danneman Field Trip Guide (roger.danneman@gmail.com)
425-757-3506 cell and texts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: March 13, 2023 — 8:29 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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