Old Slope Field Trip Report June 2017

Field trip reports
Over 30 turned out for our March field trip to Old Slope in the Greenwater area. I met people that traveled all the way from Graham and Seattle. The weather was beautiful for a drive to Greenwater.  
Mount Rainier greeted us when we arrived at the Enumclaw Ranger Station. We met and Tony and he filled us in on the plan for the day. 
Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier

Tony Johnson briefing

Tony Johnson briefing the pack

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove from Enumclaw to the parking area to begin our hike to the Old Slope collection area.
Parking area for collection site is here: Parking Area The collection site is about 1/2 mile hike from the parking area. The hike in was generally easy with a slight gain in elevation and a couple of small streams to cross.

Hiking

Starting the hike in

Hiking

On the hike in

 

Our first look at the Old Slope

 

Old Slope

Old Slope first look

Old Slope

Old Slope our Destination

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Slope was steep and muddy. It didn’t slow the crew down much. There was a lot of material at the base of the slope that was easier to pick. Mostly Jasper and Agate. The mud made it difficult to actually see what you had.  I am pretty sure I was not the only one to bring some leaverite home today.

Rock Collecting

Collecting at Old Slope

I believe everyone left with material from old slope. By the time we got back to the parking area I know I was wishing I had a pack mule to carry me and the rocks.

Since it was such a nice day it was decided that we would continue up the road to check out some other collection sites Tony was aware of. I took advantage of the collection of CMS Members and got this photo.

CMS members

Part of the CMS Crew

We continued up the road to a site that was a good spot to eat some lunch and look for seam agate.
With a view like this it was hard not to enjoy the day.

landscape view

View from the collection site

Landsacpe view

View from collection site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The site is a road cut and the road was wide enough to allow parking on the shoulder. This site was a lot dryer since it was on the sunny side of the mountain. Good collecting from the bottom of the slope and in the ditch.

Road cut

Collection Site for seam agate

road cut

Seam Agate collection site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was also some Jasper discovered. We tried to go even farther up the road but ran into snow and snowmobilers that had the road blocked. We turned around and called it a day. Some of us stopped and scoured the creek at the bottom of the hill since it was such a nice day.

It was a great day and thanks again to Tony Johnson for putting this trip together. Thanks for the folks from the Puyallup Valley Gem and Mineral Club for partnering with us today to make this trip a success.

Mark Hohn
CMS Board Member

Updated: January 7, 2018 — 9:00 pm

Presidents Message

  • From the Top of the Rock Pile Our annual club picnic went off great. The grass and Arboretum area was not wet or muddy, plus it didn’t rain while we were there. We had the usual club members attend, plus a few new faces. I forgot to count how many people attended, but I estimate around 40. Thank you, Angie and Brian, for shopping for the food and setting everything up. Thumbler’s Tumblers donated a tumbler for our picnic auction and another one for our holiday auction in December. The new double-barreled 15# tumbler sold for $120, approximately one-third the …

Meeting Announcements

  • We are going to show a video of the most unusual and amazing things found in Amber. It isn’t just insects. We are also going to have a recap of how our Gem Show did last month. Show ‘n Tell: An item that has something trapped inside or a picture rock, thunder egg, or geode that looks like it has an insect, animal, or face inside.

  • Maureen will speak on the geology and the movement of the Washington coastline over millions of years. Show ‘n Tell: Favorite rock or mineral from Washington

  • Glen Ripper is a leading authority on Obsidian. He is a walking encyclopedia which should make this an interesting and educational meeting. Show ‘n Tell: Obsidian – let’s see your colors.

  •   We start the day off with a potluck holiday meal. The club provides roasted turkey and ham. Members fill in with their favorite holiday potluck dish. We follow our meal with the election of officers for the coming year. Our final activity is our club auction. It is a great time to pick up great bargains on rough rocks, polished rocks, slabs, fossils, opal, etc. Our Young Tumblers can use their Rock Bucks to purchase auction items. This meeting is also our semi-annual food drive for the Kent Food Bank. Please remember to bring something. The Food Bank has informed us that they need feminine hygiene products and grape or strawberry jelly. People donate loads of peanut butter but never jelly. They also receive very few donations of feminine hygiene products.

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