Garnets - Early reminder

[allen_idaho]

Hi everybody. I'm just posting this as a heads up. There is still a couple of months to go but the Garnet dig site in Emerald Creek should be opening up around Memorial Day.

Those of you that want to go out and get some Star Garnets can find more information at:

http://www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/rec/activities/garnets/index.html

I know there are only about five people that ever read this section but I thought I'd post this anyway.

Later.


p.s. the link site might still be down temporarily. It should be back up soon.

 

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[Korban]

Thanks for the info. Ive been up there once before. It was when they diverted the stream and you could dig in the stream bed. Thats was fun, I know now its different but I still want to go there this summer.

 

[airborne1092]

Yes, they're closed for the year;

However, I wanted to say this was a blast! I went with my family in early July and went back with several friends from work. The second time I dug up about 15 oz (certainly not a record!) but found some nice stones!

I had a pair of earrings and a pendant made for my wife. The jeweler was local and did a superb job! The price wasn't out of the question, either. I did NOT have them cabed, simply just tumbled for several days and set.

Also, my wife enjoys acquiring a Christmas piece everywhere we travel to, so my big suprise for her is a sterling silver ornament that reflects North Idaho. I'll post pictures once it get the piece back!

 

[Shiloh1]

This sounds like a hoot. I never knew the site was so close. Think I will give it a try this summer.

 

[airborne1092]

Wow! How things have changed. I went to Emerald Creek Garnet area today and there was good news and bad news. The good news is, the permit is still 10$ for an adult (5$ for children 6-12) but the bad news is, the USFS didn't negotiate a contract to dredge the creek this year.

Back in 2008 when I came here the first and second time, there was a motocross mountain of dirt to shovel and sift through. This time, people we're trying to break down into the ground BELOW the level of the pile bottom, and there was no pile to speak of! The best practice was IMO, was to find a slight rise in the walk way ( I know, I *AM* a PITA) and level it out at where I visualized the real ground should have been. I found a few places that held promise with the garnet type dirt and for my wife and I and my two boys, we hauled away over 8 oz in 3 hours time. Most of them were broken pieces and shards or the little turtles. We did get 6 or 7 nice, full garnets and one even was very nice with consistent color and great opacity and shallow inclusions.

Bring water, sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat and something to put your finds in. Also bring a shovel - the USFS have some available but they were all being used. When we arrived, the parking lot was full except for 2 spaces and there was probably 50 or so folks there.