On Sat. May 15th we went over the mountains to First Creek northeast of Cle Elum. It was a gorgeous spring day. Maybe a little too hot (80 degrees F.) We had 20 people on this trip making the 2 mile hike in and digging for the bluish agate nodules and crystal filled geodes and geode fragments. Wood ticks were not an issue this trip. I only saw one on my glove. Robert M. dug out a very nice big crystal plate and Tim B. hammered out a nice geode from an outcrop. I collected 1/3 bucket of agate and geode pieces.
Phillip found some nice partial geodes and clued me into a couple other spots worthy of checking out next time. Beautiful material here, but the hike is long, especially in warm weather.
Next trip is scheduled for June 12th at Little Naches for thundereggs and lilypad jasper. The DOT is well on their way to clearing Chinook Pass for a Memorial Day weekend opening.
Submitted by Roger Danneman CMS Field Trip Guide.