Nov 9th 2019 – New – rescheduled (from 10/19) Greenwater Field Trip

Past Field Trips
This trip is on.  I was up there today (Monday 11/4) and conditions look good.  The only change will be to our meet time.  Meet 8:45 AM at the Enumclaw Ranger Station (450 Roosevelt Ave E, Enumclaw, WA 98022; also known as Hwy 410).  We’ll leave from there at 9:00 AM.
Roger Danneman (roger.danneman@gmail.com  425-228-8781 or cell # 425-757-3506).
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On Sat. Oct 19th a few brave souls met me at the Enumclaw rendezvous point, but it was really raining hard and had been raining hard all night as well as the previous days.  I had concerns about the spur road being heavily under water, and snow being at the 3700 elevation, and weakened tree roots from all the rain and gusty winds.  So we decided not to attempt the trip.  I’m rescheduling this trip to the Greenwater area for Sat. Nov. 9th.  If the area has a dry spell and the snow level stays above 4000 feet, there’s a good chance we’ll get in there for some rock hounding.  I’ll make the call by Nov. 5th.
Previous notes for this trip posted on Oct 14th:
Going to the Greenwater area for black agate and red jasper, not to Redtop as previously planned.  Red Top is at 5000 foot elevation and moisture is moving into the area this week and through the weekend and I believe snow will be an issue at that elevation.
Head up 410 through Greenwater, turn left on FR70 and then up FR72. This is a dig site next to the road, so no hike is involved.  Bring dig tools, lunch, and plan on a wet day.
A word about vehicles: the road is generally good going up.  Just a few pot holes and washboarded areas.  The last 1.5 mile is a spur off of FR7222 that has standing water in a few places.  My Hyundai Santa Fe made it in and out with no problems on Sunday.  Not sure I can recommend a low clearance vehicle though, like a Prius.
We’ll plan on working this dig site for 3 hours and then move on to the red jasper site also on FR72.

Roger Danneman (roger.danneman@gmail.com  425-228-8781 or cell # 425-757-3506).

Updated: November 10, 2019 — 6:57 pm

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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