Oct 15th, 2022, Red Top Field Trip Report

Once again a great day for our field trip, this time to Red Top. Th=e late summer weather just keeps on giving. 17 vehicles, 34 people, and 2 dogs made up a pretty large group heading out of Cle Elum. Quite a few new members. Everybody made it up to our first site which is still a good productive site for nice colorful agate and jasper. We spent a couple of hours here digging and collecting, and then about 1/2 the group hiked up the Indian Creek Trail to the Red Top Meadow where we spent another 2 hours. I had read a post that the dig pits up at the meadow had been all closed up, but that was not the case. Still lots of holes up there so a person can continue someone else’s hard work. Very dry and dusty in the pits though. I didn’t do that well at the meadow, but I was out of energy and didn’t like the dust. Did well at the lower dig site though. The roads in the Red Top area have really been worked on. Graded, potholes filled, and the side trees clipped. It’s in the best shape I’ve ever seen it and far above the forest roads of our other sites.
Next trip is to First Creek on Nov. 12th which is our last scheduled trip of 2022.

Attendees: Erica D. and Chris, Ananda C., Joye E. and Nancy, Gina M., Julie M., guests Charlie and Christina, Ann S. and dog Tess (met us at the meadow), Loren M., Kamera M. and dog Gracie, Nik B., Chris W., and dog Cody, Jenn S., Melissa T. and John, Jenn R. Meghan and Ashley, Sara N. group of 7, John N. and Mason, Tanya K., Artem T. and son, and of course me.  Sorry if I forgot anyone.  It was a large group.  But lots of fun.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: October 21, 2022 — 9:36 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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