Old Slope Field Trip Report June 2017

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 Gem Show is on June 29th and 30th, with set-up on June 28th. Roger is looking for volunteers, so be prepared to help when he calls or emails you. We need a volunteer to ensure all the signs we need inside the venue are made and printed. We also need a volunteer to order street signs for our new location, place them before the show, and take them down. Then I am looking for a volunteer to take charge of the club sales table and set up the sales table. We need

Meeting Announcements

  • Topic: Out-of-state rockhounding sites by Roger Danneman Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana, etc. – So many rockhounding places! We have a few members who have combined a road trip vacation and rockhounding that will collaborate on this. It’s interesting to see the variety of material from these areas. After this meeting, you may want to plan a road trip too! Show ‘n Tell: Show us something you have found or bought on a road trip.

  • April 11th – Rock Bingo (Spring Break) and Food Drive This meeting is our annual “Rock Bingo” night. It is held during spring break so our Young Tumblers and their friends can attend without worrying about school the next day. Each member is asked to bring 3 wrapped items for each person who intends to play Bingo. You can play up to 3 games in person, and every person goes home a winner. Please try to donate an item you would like to receive, not junk slabs and rocks. Let’s all plan to have a fun evening together. Guests are welcome, and we encourage our Young Tumblers to bring their friends. Food Drive – We are collecting food for the Kent Food again. Try to donate 1 item or more for every person playing Bingo.

Current News