A Day Trip Treasure Hunt
A herald-like note of notice: I have an extra special adventure that occurred during my most recent garnet hunting outing this past summer. Describing everything relevant to the tale would be far too much for one blog post, so you all get a little garnet hunting series. Today, we will set the setting!
I live in Idaho. Our state gemstone is the star garnet:
The star garnet was designated the official state stone or gem of Idaho in 1967. More precious than either star rubies or star sapphires, the Idaho garnet is usually dark purple or plum in color, with four rays in the star (occasionally the star has six rays, as in a sapphire).
This beautiful gemstone is only found in two places on this earth, India and Idaho. What's especially cool is that any member of the public can cruise on down to the Emerald Creek Garnet Area, pay a small fee for a permit, and mine garnets yourself.
Be forewarned. You will most likely get garnet fever. I have gone garnet hunting three times over the years, and each time I lose track of time filling buckets with tailings, sifting those tailings on the provided screens, and finally sluicing those screenings looking for those beautiful deep burgundy garnets.
A typical garnet hunting day proceeds as follows:
Get up before even the farm animals do. Pre-dawn. Make sure your vehicle is packed with plenty of comestibles, liquid hydration, and that it's occupants either like each other or are very good at passive aggressive silence. A long drive is ahead of you and your crew. There is no cell service for most of it. No apps for you!
A full tank of fuel is a good idea, I like to get this step out of the way the night before. Other people that I live with don't.
Proceed to the star garnet mining area. Half of the vehicle's occupants will not be morning people. The other half will be wound on coffee and will be trying to engage the groggy half in car games, songs, and generally will be incredibly annoying. Resist urge to leave them on the side of the road, they can help later by using their unrepentant life-glee filled energy to lug the lunch cooler.
Drive to the site. If you are coming from Coeur d'Alene It's around 80 miles on roads that resemble country lanes. People that get car sick should plan accordingly.
Arrive in the middle of the wilderness after traversing gravel logging road 447 for 8 miles. Look out for free range cattle.
Park and wait for people to use the outhouse. There will probably be a line if it is crowded. Bring your own emergency toilet paper. You will thank me for this advice tidbit.
Hike a half a mile, up hill both ways, til you get to the site. You will promptly forget about the pain in your glutes as soon as you see the ranger shack.
Procure a mining permit from the most friendly and helpful United States Forest Service employees ever. These poor people have to deal with folks from all over the world, and were nothing but solicitous and kind throughout the day. It's $10 for a permit, and that piece of paper allows you to leave with up to 5 pounds of garnets.
Start your mining engines!
Grab a 3 or 5 gallon bucket from next to the ranger shack. I know that some of you will want to go big, and in all honestly I usually do, but remember, you have to pack that bucket down a hill full of heavy clay packed tailings. I saw lots of people wimp out after a few buckets. You walk up a short hill to the gigantic tailings pile that the USFS so kindly supplies from the garnet bed down the road. You proceed to use the supplied shovels and fill your bucket. Try not to injure your fellow miners.
Pack your moderately heavy bucket down the little hill to the screening area. Those of you that know how to do the twist will really excel here. You pour tailings into one of the assorted, provided screens and begin to shake away the excess. DO NOT SCRIMP on this step. Really put some effort in. It takes about 4 screenings to get through a five gallon bucket, I can do that in less than five minutes. Plus, I like the looks that I get when I really get that hip action going. I don't care if I look like a dancing queen, my sole goal is to get to the fun part: sluicing
The garnets are really obvious when you are washing your screenings. They are a brilliant burgundy red. Don't worry though, the USFS rangers give demonstrations on how to spot them, and are there to help anyone that is struggling. I love sitting at the sluice on a stump and looking for garnets. It's so much fun!
After you have exhausted your screenings, you walk across the road and dump out your "not garnet" leftovers in the discard pile. Chuck your garnets in a container (the rangers have baggies for those that don't remember to bring a garnet receptacle).
Repeat entire process until your body collapses into uncontrollable spasms or the rangers tell you to get out.
That big fella in the middle weighs in at an ounce. Usually you find chips or if you are lucky little round symmetrical ball shaped garnets. I found that big one on my very first screen in the sluice. The ranger told me he hated me. lol
Hunting garnets is a fun thing to do as a family, or with friends, or even by yourself. You won't be lonely, as there are usually quite a few people there. For those seeking a more solitude filled experience, I would recommend going after school starts back up. The crowds to be more diminutive in size that time of year.
There is a primitive campground a bit before the site for no-services camping, but as I live withing a hundred miles, I've always made garnet hunting a day trip.
Also, they say you can take up to 5 lbs a permit. HA HA! I mined from open to close with a 15 minute lunch break and ended up with 2 and a half pound of garnets. So, with that in mind, a person should expect, with a modicum of effort, to leave with 1/2 to 1 lb of garnets. You will be proud of yourself though.
And finally, do not wear nice clothes. You will look like you went to a spa and they went a little crazy in the mud pack application. Mica clay mud will be on every external part of you.
At the end of the day you'll head back to where you lay your head and feel a sense of accomplishment concerning your mining skills. You might also feel a sense of gratitude that you are not a miner from the old days. Those poor folks did not have it easy, but I bet their triceps were respectable!
This picture just doesn't do the wine color justice. They are really pretty stones, even in the rough like this one. I hope to have some of my better garnet rough cut and polished one day.
Tomorrow's episode: Suburban Shenanigans...
As always, with the exception of the cited pic, all of the pictures in this post were taken on the author's decrepit camera or mica clay smeared iPhone.