March 16th, 2019 Baker Lake Field Trip Report

Field trip reports

We had beautiful weather for this fieldtrip to Baker Lake and Swift Creek.  There was still quite a bit of snow to cross, but the waters were relatively shallow and easy to pick with waders and gloves.  7 CMS members made this trip. There’s interesting jasper (with golds, greens, browns, and reds) metamorphed into layers and swirls, a lot of quartz veined rock, and a blueish agate in sand/gravel pockets.  Iron is present, giving bright reds to some of the material.  I found at least one nephrite tremolite jade rock which is predominately light cream in color and had a density of 3.4.  Other rocks from the trip will be further diagnosed.  I put a batch in my tumbler and plan to bring some for the April meeting.  All in all, I think a good spot for a March trip while the reservoir is at a low point and plan to return next year.
Submitted by Roger Danneman CMS Field Trip Guide.

Updated: May 6, 2019 — 4:23 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  Thanks to everyone who came to the club camp out at Teanaway campground near Cle Elum last month. After a brief spell of rain the first night, we were blessed with sun, clear skies, and rockhounding the rest of the weekend. And a big thanks to Roger Danneman for doing all of the trip organizing, and keeping us all warm and well fed during the weekend. This month I’ll be giving a talk at our club meeting about how to use Gaia for rockhounding. If you have specific questions, please bring them along or feel free to email …

Meeting Announcements

  • 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.

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