B.c. Gem Trails 4th Edition

B.C. GEM TRAILS 4TH ADDITION by Howard Pearsons '

copyright

{£),

Howard Loammi Pear s ons , 1973

•• •

$ 2 .00 PREFAC:';

On the following page there i s a map of Bri tish Columbia with numbers I to 30 marked on t he map, which are r ock hunting areas. The f aci ng page has the name of the areas . In the succeeding pages you will find ma ps of each area with

t

a descr iption on the f ac i ng pabe .

We have hunted in e ach of t hese areas & have put down the conditions as we found t hem. But as for the time of year , that varies with the weather, so have put do wn t he average . You 'will notice there are some places wher e you must ask permission & some not . In the future that may change. So if you see a house ne ar the are a it i s as well to ask.

i

If you hunt several times or if a group hunts on private p~perty, we have f ound it i s a good pr actice to g i ve the owner a finnished ar t i cle , prefe r able f r om mater i al found on

his

pla~ e.

Be sure to leave all gates as you find them

& do not

l eave gar bage, cans or bott les l ay ing a r ound.

Do not expe ct t o fi nd ma t erial laying allover the place, it i s not that t hi ck & mo st of t he f lo at has been picked up. But with a day ' s hunt i ng & d i gging you s hould find some ni ce s pe cimens ..

A wo rd about ar tifact hunting in S .C . ~

From the 'lrch-

aeological & Hist or ic Si tes Protection A.ct it is Bgainst t he l aw to de s troy, deface , alter, excavate , or d i g i n an Indian kit chen- midden , she ll- heap , house-pit. cave, or other habitation site, or a cairn, mound, fortificati.on or other sit~ or

object.

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MAP

OF

ROCK

HUNTING

AREAS

r

I . Oyster River 2. Hornby I sland 3. Dallasite 4. Elkhorn S. Salt Spri ng Isl and 6. Jade 7. Shaw Springs 8. Hat Creek 9. Canim Lake 10.

,

Hixon Concretions

II. 12. 13. 14. IS. 1 6.

Any place there i s gravel in & around Prince Ge orge i s a good place to look for agate, jasper & wood. Some of the agates are nice shades of r ed. Kenney Dam Cheslatta Lake & Collinsite Smithers Agate Mountain or Willi s Ranch Princeton Root Casts Co almont

17..

Savona 1iounta in

18.

Tranquille

I9 .

Ferrierite

20.

Watching Creek

2I.

Barriere River

22. 23. 24. 2S. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30 .

Joseph Creek Robbin Creek McGlashan Lake Monte Lake & Douglas Lake Road Woods Lake Monashee Gold Fields Camp Si te Okanagan Falls Trilobites Honey onyx (Travertine)

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~» FLOWER

STONE

-• OYSTER

RIVER

I

TyPe of Material Porphyry (Flower Stone) . Elevation & Di stance from Car. You can drive within a hundred feet of river.

Tools Needed . No tools need ed. Time of Year.

March to November . The water may be too high to bunt in parts af the Spring . Condition);!

•

The highway is paved & it is easy walking along the edge of No rattle snakes . You can also find this the river . material on a number of the beaches on Vancouver Island. Permission if Needed. No permission needed.

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STRAIT Of

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V/lrvCOUVER

ISLIlIVO

AI1I1D/VITE

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______ HORNBY

2

ISLAND •

Type of Material. Fos s ils (A~nites & Baculites).

Some of the larger

Ammonites ar e over a foot through. Elevation & nistance from car. You drive about 5S miles north of Nanaimo on hwy. 19 to

Buckley Bay. Then t ake the ferry to Denman Island & drive across it to the Hornby Island ferry & take it to Hornby Island. Then drive north for I. B miles & you Vlill see a short ro ad to your left going down to an old

dock. Park there & walk about t mile up the beach to You will see a large clay bank & you can Phipps Point. dig the fossils out of it or look along the beach at low t ide .

•

There are more fossils at Boulder Point.

~riv G

2.6 miles from the ferry & then turn left on a dirt road . Drive till you come to a gate & park bes i de the road • Follow the path to the beach which i s on the left hand side of the fence & then walk along the shore to your right till . you come to a large clay bank. The fossils are in the bank & also on the Point, this i s about ~1' of a mile from the car.

Tools Needed. The fossils are in the mi ddle of Heavey hammer & chisel. concr etions & you have to split them to see if it has a fossil in it. Time of Year. All year & t he lowest tides come in the winter. Conditions. You must allow 2 hours from vancouver Island to where you park as the ferries do not always meet & check their

,

schedule

8S

they don 't run at nibht.

No rattle snakes .

Permis s i on if Needed. No permission needed unless you cross private property .

5T RAil

OF

GeoRG iA

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VAiVCOUVER

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~(------------------- DALLASITE Type of Mate r i al. Dallasite.

3

This i s a breccia made up of quar tz , ep i dote

& altered ba salt, also may have some pumpelleyite .

It

makes nice pen stands, book- ends etc. & take s a n i ce polish .

Elevation & Dist ance from

cor.

The turn off i s between QualicUDl Beach & C:ualicum Bay . Drive north 5.S miles from Little Qualicum River. Turn left. Then you follow t he map & I mile f r om the Hi ghway you will dr ive t hrough a loggi ng camp. Jus t at the f ar end of it the r oad branche s . Take the r i ght fork fo r 4 miles, t hen the r oads meet aga in.

Turn to your r ight

&

dri ve for ano ther 5.3 miles & then turn left till you r each t he river, which is only a few hundr ed yards.

Park here

you vlill find the Dallasite in the gr avel on t he bars. Driving in, there are quite a fe w very poor branch r oads ~ but stay to the ma i n r oad unle ss otherwise marked on map.

&

•

Tools Needed • No tools needed . Time of Ye ar .. Usually from March to December. is highest in late spring

The wat e r in the r iver

& e a rly summer .

Conditions .

No r attle snakes.

It is a good di r t ro ad .

Permission if Needed . No permission needed .

•

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________ ELKHORN

Type of

4

~.Jat erial.

Fossils' & ftJ mllonites, clams, oysters etc. Eleva tion & Di stance fr om Car. The fos s ils are in the clay banks of I:lk ho rn Creek .

The

best ones seem to be Q quate r to a ha lf a mile up the cre e k . There a re a lot of l ar l$e concretions & some of t hese have fossils inside . An ot her fo ssils will just be in the clay banks. The s tream i s not ve ry s t eep & easy wa lking. And youshould h a ve rubber boots as you

will be cr ossing the s tream quite often. Tools Needed.

Heavey hammer, chisels & a l a r be pick. Time of Ye a r.

•

From June till November , however after a hard r a in t he cr eek may be too h i gh t o walk up Condit i ons .. The walking No r at tle snakes. Very few mosquitos. can be very slippery as i t is mostly har d we t clay that you

a re walking on . . Pe~ission

if Needed.

No permi ssion needed.

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HOLLIWG'S

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SALT •

SPRING

ISLAND

5

Type of Material Rhodo nite. Elevation & Di stance from car. You can drive r ight into t he quarry_

Tools Needed. This material i s in very l ar g e seams so you ne ed sledge hammer & chisels to s plit chunks off. Time of Year . You can hunt most of the year except the odd time in the

wint er when they might have snow .. Conditions.

•

The r oad i s a bit r ough & muddy but qu ite solid .

No

r attl e snakes .. Pe r miss ion if Nee ded.

Mr . Fred Holl ing l1as this material claimed but he lets r ockhounds go i n

& dig t he ir own for so much a Ib ..

Or

you can buy it from h~ at hi s house for a bit more a

lb.

Be sur e to get permission from Mr. Holling before

you go into the qu arry .,

The locginL; roads are his too &

you may meet a logging truck •

•

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8RIOGE

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JADE

(

6.

Type of Material. Mostly jade, some agate, jasper, rhodonite & massive garnet.

Elevat ion &

Most of the ~ istance

a~ates

are very small.

from car.

The luoterial i s found on the bars of t he Frase r from. And i n t he Bridbe & Yalakom Agassiz to Lillooet. You c an Plus some in the coquihalla Rivero river s. drive down on some of the bars & to get to others i s a

long steep climb down. Tools Needed. Rock Hammer.

Time of Year •

•

The rivers are usually t oo high to hunt from the e nd of ro the best time of year is in fall Apri l t o August . & early spring. Conditions.

The Conditions vary from. one end to the other, so can hardly name them. But watch for rattle snakes a round Lytton.

The roads are good from Ab 8 s siz to Lillooet,

but the gr avel ro ad up t he Bridbe River i s very muddy in spring break- up & aft er a hard rain. Permission i f Needed •. Nearly all of the Bridge & yalakom Rivers are staked for jade, so check with the mininG r ecor der at Lillooet There are a lot of Ind i an to see where you may hunt. Reservations along the rivers & you can not hunt on thei r

bars .

SHAW Sf'!?IN"S AGATE5

•

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SHAI;

< Type of

SPRINGS

7

I~ate ri a l.

Agate nodules . banded agate .

some plume, smoky, fortification & Most of them less than a lb.

Elevation & Distance from car. The a rea south of c:havi Springs i s exactly a mile & you will see a 1.ar Ge cement culvert under t he r ailway tracks. you

•

climb the l'ailwaybank just to the ri,,;ht of the culvert & you will see some small r ock Qutcr oppings on the ribht side of the draw which are about a third of a mile ahead & above you.. The r e is agate on top of these outcr oppings & there is mo r e agate in the larbe cl iffs about a quar ter of a mile They are close to 1000 ft. above the car. farther on. The other area is I mile north of Shaw Sprinbs. a dirt ro ad which takes you almost up to thedi~ings, but at time s it is washed out & you have to walk , which is close' to 5 miles & 3000 ft higher than the hwy. The aGate i s right acro ss from ~anta claus rock in small cliffs. And t he re is also some above soap Lake . Tools Needed.

Rock hammer, heavey hammer & chisels. Time of Year.

The area south, from t he fir st of ,.,. pril till Novembe r . And the north are a, from t he first of May till the middle of October. Condi tions. Mosqu ito s are very thick in June & JUly , quite a few cacti, ve r y muddy after a r a in . a few r attle snakes. Permi ssion if Needed., No permi ssion needed.

•

1\

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HAT Type of

CREEK

8

~Jate r ial.

Jasper

& Jasp- agate.

hundr ed Ibs .

In size they go up to sever al

color s are bro¥m, yellow, green, black

&

a little r ed. Elevation & Distance from car. You drive 7 miles north of cache Creek, then 13 miles

on Hwy . I2.

Then 3.7 miles on the Hat Creek r oad to

Ift edicine creek.

you find the mater i al in Nledic i ne cr eek

for about I mile . •

.'

There is very little climb i ng .

Tools Needed • Rock Hammer. Time of Year. From the fi r st of May till the middle of October. Conditions . Mosqui tOB are very t hick i n June & July . snakes.

Dirt

& g ravel r oad.

No r at tle

Very muddy in spring

break- up which is usually in April . Pe~ission

if Needed .

You are on

~ehman ' s

ranch & althoU6h he lets ro ckhounds

hunt please don ' t leave tr ash or scare the cattle

•

0 Nt LtJ t:::ttt::J f-IOH04SE

, /

CANIM

LAKE

9

Type of Materia l. Agate, quartz geodes & a li tt le common opa l. 1iost of it i s f a irly small, but we s aw some pi eces up to several Ibs.

Elevat ion & Dist ance f r om Car. It i s on the ro ad cut so you can drive ri5ht to it. i s the first rock cut past t he end of the black top.

Tool s Needed . Heavey hammer & chisels . Time of Ye ar. From the middle of April to the end of October. Condit ions.

• •

No r attle s nakes. Mosqui tos & flie s are bad in l ate spring & e arly summer • Permission if Needed • No permission needed .

•

It

-~I •

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HIXON

CONCRETIONS

.

Type of Material.

"

These come in all manne r of odd shapes. Aver age in Quite often they look like little animals . size about 3 o r 4 i nches . Concretions.

Elevation & Distance f r om car.

It i s about a t mile walk on the t r acks. Although t here is a r oad just below the tracks y ou would have to cros s private proper ty as it i s nea rly all houses , so it i s

better to walk the tracks.

It i s i n a clay bank on t he

up hill side of the r ailway t racks.

There is a second

ar ea a couple of hundr ed y ar ds up the pipeline.

Tools Needed. Shovel or pick.

• •

Time o.f

Yea r ~

I;'iddle of April till the end of October •

gondi"tJ..QJ1 9..!,. l<;'l osquitos are worst in July.. No rattle s nakes . in clay so you should wea r rubber boots . Permissi0n

This i s

~f Needed~

Be careful you don ' t let the rubble go on the t r a cks G

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•

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("II J..fS TO CRf'fP )JTf _"'

?(_ _______ _ KENNEY

D~1.1

II

Type of Material. s ome large boulders of j a sp- agate & a little agate & 'ilood i n the grave ls of t h e river. ::.; l evat iol1 & Dist ance from Car .

You d rive about 59 miles from Va nder hoof on a dirt & l;.T8vel ro ad . And continue along the top of Kenney Dam. Jus t afte r you cross it a ro ad turns t o your right & you follow that for 5t miles till you come t o a camp site bes i de the river ", From this you will find 0 path he ad i ng down stream which you follow . ~ ft e r ab out t mi le y ou can go dOMl steep br avel banks to l ar ge bar s on the river, whe r e you f i nd the materi al.

Tools Needed. No t ools needed . •

Time of Ye a r .

Fl'om the mi ddle of I:ay till t he fir st of October. Condit i ons.

The second br idge on the side road aft er the Drua is down in quite a s teep bul ly. So it may pay to walk down it to make sur e you ca n go down & up the other Si de. (VI e had no

trouble with a Chev) . Mosquitos & black flies are bad in l a te cpring & early summer . Th i s would be a ve r y pr etty pla ce to camp as it hus cat a r a cts bes i de you & a ve r y nice water fall { mil e down. Permis sion if Needed. No permission needed •

•

I

_ _ _ _ _...,~--.,,~ DIJNS/r11V

GIi'I1SS)f PUlIIYS

•

CHESLATTA

(

LAKE

AND COLL1NS1TE

12

Type of Mate r ial.

Cheslatt a Lake, banded agate. Mead's Ranch Col linsi t e. There i s only t wo known localities of this mate rial in No rt h America. Elevation & Distance from car. The Collinsite is on Bill ."ead I s ranch which is about lIt

•

miles south of the south end of the Burn s Lake br idge . And then it is about 2 miles west on Br own Road. Then he will tell you how to Get to the mat erial as he charises by the lb. to dig it. It is only about, mile walk & easy going . Cheslatta Lake i s about 2Ii miles f r om Takysie Lake . From there on we have shown branch r oads but not lOGging r oads or obv i ous pr ivate r oads . The last 2 1/3 miles ar e on a nar row dirt road & just past the turn off i s a wire fence with a lot of barrels beside i t on t he right hand side of the ro ad. you park your car r i ght bes i de the lalee at the end of the dirt r oad.. Then you have about {mile walk up a slight hill. The diggintis start at the bottom of a narrow draw wit h a little st r eam r unni ng through it. And there is more diru;ing on the r ii;.ht hand s i de h i gher up. This is in a fairly weathered rock • Tools Needed. Heavey hammer, chisels, shovel & iron bar for both a r eas .

Time of Year . From May till october. conditions . 1'iosquitos are bad in June & July. Flies are bad du ring the summer. No r attle snakes. The r oads are good dir t &. gravel except the last 2 1/3 miles in to Cheslatta Lake, which is very ro utih t. muddy in wet weather. Permission if Needed.

•

Co llinsite. you have to see 'ir. Bill Lead for this mate r i a l as it is on his r anch &. he char~es to d i g . Cheslatta Lake. No permission needed •

/..0&

~ S'/~N Ho/?" fro 'WN

(JIfIF TW"'~ /) I rtlJ.E

Fo SS I<.S' 11 EP.S' •

-<:-- - - - - Type of

9
FOSSILS

13

I~l a teri Bl.

Leaf & inse ct & fish fo ss ils . These are ve r y dist inct & t he ro ck i s quite hard. Al so concretions. ~levat ion

& Di stance from Car .

You can drive within 100 yards of both are as .. You will have to walk a log across the creek to g et to the fossils, but it i s a 1arbe log & not very hioh. You can see the b unk with the slide beloVl directly in front of you. The concretions are in a clay bank on t he 3uckley Rive r. Tools Needed . Fer the concr e tions, a sho vel or pi ck. For the fossils a hammer & an old butcher or kitchen knife t o s plit t he r ock .

Time of Year.

• •

From the fir s t of May till t he llliddle of October.

eood it ions. The clay bank for concreti on s i s very muddy, so wear r ubber boots. The r oads are fairly go od. The mosquitos are bad in June & Ju)..y & the black flie s ar e bad in the summert ime.

Permi ssion

i~ Needed~

No permission

•

needed~

iVo. ) HW'I. •

No, 1 !iwy

•

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01"114

III- SLIPE

l'

N

f-(-- - AGATE

MOUNTAIN

OR

liILLI S

RANCH

14

Type of Materi a l. ':lood & Opal.

No f ire opal.

come s i n nearly every color,

but a lot is badly f r a ctured. Elevation & Dist ance from car. Drive I.7 miles eas t of Princeton from t he Similkameen

Rive r bridge & turn to your right on a black topped ro ad , which turns to a dir t ro ad at t he go lf cour se , & drive about 6 . 6 miles to '\.'illis :qanch. Stay on top r oad & ask permission to continue . Dr ive on to whe r e you park whi ch is about anothe r 2! mile s . Cr oss a small s tr eam at t he

•

lowe r end of the meadow & head for the s lide . Most of t he material is near the top by the cliffs. The slide i s s t eep & about 2000 ft. high • Tools Needed. Rock hammer & small s hovel .,

Time of Ye ar .

From the middle of l.'iay till the fir st of Octobe r. Conditions ..

Ther e are r attle hosquitos ar e the wor s t in June & July . The dirt r oad i s very snakes i n the Princeton ar ea. muddy after 8 hard r ain. Permiss i on if Ne e ded.

Be sur e & ask per mi ss i on at \'Jillis ::tench , as you drive

r i ght through t he ir y a rd & you are on their pr operty.

• ,

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•

PRINCETON

ROOT

CASTS

15

TYpe of IVJate rial .

The r oot casts ar e black & grey & Agatized r oot cast s. up to ab out 3 inches t hrough . Elevat i on & Di stance from

car.

Drive through Prin ceton heading North , j ust cross the Tulameen Rive r & t ake t he coal mont r o ad to your left. Fo llow it for 2.6 miles & y ou wi ll see a dirt r oad turn

off to your left , which you follow to t he end . fol l ow a path which leads you t o the d i ggings .

Then The best

cas ts ar e riGht at the bottom of the diggings i n a narrow seam of dar k grey volcanic ash . Tools Needed.

Hammer, chisel & shovel .

•

Time of Year • The first of April till the end of Octobe r . Conditions. Mosquitos are the wo r st i n June & July .. snakes in the Princeton area.

Pe rmi ssion if Needed . No permission needed.

Some r attle

•

, ,

•

• •

( Type of Mate rial.

COAlIviONT ,

16

lIMBER

Amber. From just specks up to pieces big enough fo r l arge cabs. El evation & Dist ance from Car. It i s just eeve r al hundred y ard s past the west edge of Coalmont , & in piles o f coal r i ght beside the road .

Tools Needed. A small r ake to go through the ol d coal & you could breuk up some of t he bigger pieces as t here mny be chunks

inside them. Time of' Ye ar.

From the middle of Apr il till t he end of October.

•

Condi tiona .

There ar e t wo places on t he ro ad from Princeton to Co almont wher e i t is quite na rro w & it would be one way

traffic, but the rest of t he r oad i s good dirt & gr avel . 1\'l ay be some r attle snakes.

Permission if

n eeded ~

Be sure to park off the ro ad

•

& do n ' t

le ave any gar bage.

•

, I

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I

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SAVONA

<

LIOUNTAIN

I?

Type of Late rial. ";,lhi te & green opal. moss & plume agate.

(No fire opal).

Plus banded,

These go up to sever al lb s. each .

Elev ation & Distance from Car.

The best area is about 500 ft. below the smaller to we r on the top of the mountain. And i s about half 0 mile to walk. This i s a hard climb back up with a load . The other ar ea you have to walk from the Tunkwa Lake ro ad abou t

It

miles up a small steam to the bose of l arge

cliffs . And you climb to the top of the cliffs through a dr aw. From t he car you climb about 2000 f t . It i s a fairly easy walk to the base of the cliffs, but qui te steep t o the top . Tools Needed. Heavey hammer, chisels & shovel .

An iron bar would be

handy.

•

Time of Year. From the first of June till the First of October. Conditions.

Quite 0 few mosquitos in June & July. The odd r attle snake . The road to the top of the mountain is D. bit rouGh & steep in spots, but pretty good fo r a mountain ro ad. Permission if Needed.

The area below the tower is claimed by the Lapidary Rock t.J.ineral Societ y of B . C. Free diyging with hand t ools, but no machinery or blasting allowed.

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2. If HILES ro H"'Y.•

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TRANQUILLE

"

18

Type of Material . From a few ozs. up to a few I bs. e a ch. Aga te nodules . /!. lot are clear but some have nice bands & fo rtificat ions. Elevation & Dist ance from Car.

Drive through Kamloops & cross the bridge to Nort h Kamloops. From the north end of the bridge you drive about 9 miles along t he Tr anqui lle Hwy. (past the a ir port). To a siGn post on a gravel r oad sayiny 'Red Lake, Copper Creek & Criss Creek ~. TUrn to your right on this r oad.. & cross the railway tracks, follow this r oad for almost 3 miles . Then tUrn left for 4/10 of a mile & then right for 7/IO of a mile or the end of the r oad . The aga te i s in t he ro ck Qut cr opinGs to your r ibht & abo ve you, & for about half a mile up the draw, & a couple of hundred feet above ito Tools Needed.

•

Rock hammer, heavey hmnmer, chisels & a bar is real handy .

Time of' Year.

From the first of April till the first of November. Condi tions.

The last b r anch road is a bit r ough but f ai r ly f lat .

A

few r attle snakes, cacti, ticks i n sprint; & a f'evl mosquitos in June & July.

Permission if

Needed~

You are on r anch roads so be sur e not t o block them or s car e cattle, & don rt leave any ga rbDge~

•

•

rN

WATCHING

• •

CREEK

20

Type of Mate rial. Agate & green opal nodules.

Some seams of opal.

Elevation & Distance from Car.

Drive through Kamloops & cross the bridge to No r th Kamloops.

From the north end of the bri dge you drive

about 9 miles along the

T ranquil ~e

Highway, (past the

a irport), to a s~gn post on a g r avel ro ad say i ng , 'Red Lake, Copper Creek & Criss Creek '. Turn t o your right onthis road & cross the r ai l way tracks. Follow

this ro ad for a

~ittle.

better than II miles at which point

you will cross t he Tran quille river the second time . Just a couple of 100 ft. on the other side you will see a

ro ad which turns

sharp~y

to your right .

It is too

sharp a tUrn to make, so you have to drive by & find a Follow i t to t he end t urning point & come back to it. which is almost 2 miles . You are noVi right above the creek, follow it up until you see a place you can climb down. The material is in the rock walls of the c r eek.

I t i s better hunting a quarter to h alf a mile up the creek . Tools Needed. Rock

h~e r,

heavey hammer & chisels.

Time of Year.

From April till the end of Oct ober. Conditions .

Wood tick s in the s pring. Mosquitos are wo r st in June & July . A fe w rattle snakes. Road is verymuddy after a hard r a in or in spring br eak- up .

Permission if Needed.

This is a Lapidary Rock & !!!ineral Society of B.C .

c~aiID .

Free digging with hand tools. No machinery or blast i ng al lowe d . No permission needed.

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BARRIERE

21

RI VBR

Type of Mate r ial. Rhodonite, cher t & red jasper. Elevat ion & Distance from car. You have to walk up t he river f r om one of the bridges as it is pr ivate pr operty on each side of the river. The Dee J ay Camp & Trailer park is a good place to start Qut, as it is riGht on the river & you can park your car & use the picnic t ab les a ll for a small fee.

Tools Needed. Rock hammer . Time of Year. Fall, winter (when there is no snow on the bar s) & early spr ing. Conditions.

Mosqu itos ar e wor st in June & July.

NO r attle snakes .

Permission if Needed. No permission needed to hunt in the r iver .

•

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.ros.

H

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ITfLE

Fo /l,r~

fl w y'

(11' , 5

i

N

JOSEPH OR

/

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BOULDER

CREEK

22

"

TYpe of Material. Le af & f ern fossils. Elevation

You t he you are

& Dist ance f r om car.

take t he ferry from Li ttle Fort to the east side of N.Thompson River . Then dr ive about 5 & 2/3 miles & park jus t before you cross Joseph Creek. The fossils about I OO yds . to your right i n the side of a hill.

It is almo s t l evel from the c ar .

Tool s_Neede d. He avey

h~er)

chisel & r ock hammer .

Time of Ye ar . From t he middle of April till t he end of october. Qo ndi t io n s~

•

Mo squi t aB ar e the worst in June & July & there are no r at tle snakes~ The road from t he fe r ry is quite narr ow & r oug h i n spo t s • .Permi ss i on i f Nee.ded.

No

•

perm~ ss ion

needed.

']01'1 So IVV~ I

• •

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,,' OI'oIVO

"/Vl!w powER

, •

LINe.

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)(OBBIN

CREEK

23

Type of Mai;.eriaJ..,-

& a few iri s agat e

Hill I.

Fortification, banded agate

Hill 2.

This hill has away the most mat erial. some fortification & i r is Bbate. A l ar ge

& plume a6ates .

percentage of crystal lined g eodes, a few ar e ame thyst.

Size of nodules up to 240 lbs. Elevation

from

~stance

car ~

You can drive to the foot of each hill. bet ween 300 & 400 ft . aoo'·c the r oad .

The he i ght s a r e

Too l s N..r:eded. Both hills a re columnar basalt

& very hard.

The agat es

are in nodule form & right in the columns, so you ne ed heavey tools. Hill I . Most of the agates are i n t he horizont al columns

& you must pr y t he columns apart t o

get at the agates.

To do this you need a Lar g e i r on bar ,

he avey hammer, chisels, rock pick

rubble . mo ss

•

Hill 2 .

& the

~a te

& shovel to r emove any

Most of the rock is cover ed wit h heavey is qu ite spotty on t his h i ll , but you

v/ill see whe r e nodule s have been duo out. And if you pull back the m OBS in t he surroundiflb area you may come acr oss a~ate s. They are nearly all on the east s i de of the hi l l above t he r ailway tracks.

Time of Ye ar ..

You can usually hunt from the middle of March to November. Conditi on s",_ Viood J..;icks a::-e quite thicl:: in early spring. Quite a f ew mosquitos i n June & July. NO r attle snakes . For dog ovmers, ther e are a lot of porcupines . The Barnhar tval e road is good gravel except in spring break- up, but st i l l pass ab l e, which is usually a couple of weeks in April . The Robbin Creek road is very muddy after a hard r a i n & impassable in spring break-up from the Hwy . e nd. Permi ssion if Needeq,:..

•

All of Hi ll I i s claimed for agat e by the au t ho r. rockhounds can di b: all t hey want with hand tools .. c an not blast or take i n any machi nery.

All But

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THE '1'000--,-., ,...~__ ~

'1 1'11/.£5

ro

ell f'11'Nu. MNr.£ !?IJI>().

'\ N(GLASffll lV LAkE

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~(_______________

MCGLASHAN

LAKE

24

Type of Material. This will not polish but it makes good Petrified ViOod. s pec~e n s & same of it ca n be used for t able t ops.

Elevat i on & Di stance from Car. I f you have a pick- up truck or a fou r wheel drive you can get within half a hlile of the wood & the~ t he re i s an-o ld cat t r a il you can follow the re st of the way . It is erod i ng out o f a dirt & r ock bank. And the r e i s als o pieces underneath the trees . If you have an ordinary car i t would be best to par k wh ere the X i s marked on the map , at the l ast br anch just befor e the lake, as the rest

of t he r oad is very bumpy.

But be sure to find a place

to pull off t he road as t here may be rancher s or othe r

people on either b r anch . t he way.

It i s fai rly flat the rest of

Tools Needed . Hammer •

& shovel.

Time of Year . From the middle of June t o t he middle of October. Conditions .

No rattle snakes. Permission i f

Mo squ ito s a r e qu it e b ad in June

Ne~ded.

No permission needed ..

& July.

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X'foNtl'ff~ I...P kL~

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"'_ _ MONTE

LAKE

"

Type of tr1aterial.

AND

DOUGLAS

h-'i. onte T3ke , moss & eye agates. bandeu & fortif i cation a~ates.

LAKL

ROAD

25

Doug l as Lake ro ad , moss,

Elevation & Distance from Car. Monte Lake, you can park your car right a c r os s the highway from the cut bank . Douglas Lake r oed , the first are a

is

6t

miles f r om 97 Hwy .

At the far end of a cut bank

& you wi ll find patches of abate here & t he r e for ab out another 2 miles , abo ve the ro ad anywhe r e fro~ a couple of hundr ed yards to a quarter of n mile .

Tools lieeded. Heavey hammer , chisels, iron bar & shovel .

Time of Year. From t he f irs t of Apr il t o the first of November .

•

Conditions . Quite B few wood t i cks i n early spring ., ~i osquitos a r e the worst in June & July. No r attle snakes . Douglas Lake r oad is good dirt & gr avel .

Permi ssion if Needed. No permission

,

needed ~

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"

G~rf N~Y LockED

Dr

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VlOODS

/'

LAKE

'l'ype of Material .

Jasper, moss agate & a few small pieces of carnelian. ~levation

& ryistance from car.

You drive east . 9 o f a mile from t he Sal mon River bridg e l ocat ed a t the east end of ··lestwold. Turn t o your right & drive 9 I/3 miles in on the log"in;, ro ad. Al l gate s are marked on the map with a st r aight line. "{Ie have only marked the more dist inct branch ro ads as there ar e t oo many to mark them all . But if y ou stay t o t he main road all the way & if i n doubt, take the right hand bran ch , you shouldn 't hav e any trouble.. Vt'here you park there i s a r amp bu ilt of cri ss- cro ssed logs that was u sed t o load logs on trucks . It i s the only one on the r oad. Then you will see an old r oad he ad i I16 up hill, Thi s goe s throug h an old saw mill site & then continues the other side of a fence & ends a t t he bottom of a bar e slope. At t he top of the slope you will see some rock outcroppings whi ch ar e in two t i e r s . Climb t o the top of t hese & you wi ll find seams of the ma t e r ial i n the r ock. This is about ~- of a mile from t he car & 500 feet higher.

To ols Needed. Heavey hammer &

c h isel s~

Time of Ye ar ..

Fr om the end of June till the Nliddle of October . Conditions . Flies are bad in summer. No r attle snakes . The logging r oad is very r ough & ver y muddy aft e r a har d r ain . Permission if Need ed .' Be sure to leave the gate s as you find t hem . No permiss ion needed to hunt r ocks. They ar e logging at times so watch out for t rucks. Or, better yet, wait & fo l lo w one in & out as you can' t always pass •

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7.1 H'LES TO

/1ONNiHEE G,rILQ

CHt;(f~YV'L'-F~

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JOo o

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+(i ___

27

MONASHEE GOLD FIELDS CAMP SITE

Type of Mate rial Sanded agate & quar tz geodes. Elevation & Dist ance f r om Car.

Follow h ighway 6 east from Ve rnon & 7.1 miles e as t o f

cherryville you will come to Monashee Gold Fields camp

S i te on your left.

Almost directly acro ss on your right

you t ake the forestry ro ad for 4 miles & you will see a wide spot on your left wher e you can park several c ar s . If you look ac ro ss the valley you will see s ome v ery

large cliffs about 3 mil e s& 2500 feet h i gher . The agat es start about half a mile along the cliffs f r om the near end .

This i s qu ite a long hard climb

& as y o u g o down

hill for t he first few hundred y ards & cross Heckman Creek you can ' t see where you are go i ng from that point till you reach the cliffs . So it woul d be very easy to get lost. Mr. J .Heal has all this a r ea staked . He doesn ' t charge for hunting on it, however he or hi s sons

,-

will guide you in for a re asonable fee . And we recommend that you take advantage of this , unless you a r e very familiar wi th hiking in the mounta i ns .. There is n o r eal

path to follow although Mr. Heal plans on putt i ng some colored streamers along the way .

Tools Needed .

t~ ost of this materi al is in the Heavey hammer & chisels . sl i de but in large chunks of basalt.

Time of Yea r .

Fr om April till the end of ceptembe r. Conditions . The forestry ro ad is a bit steep & r ocky for t he first half mile & can be quite muddy afte r a hard r a in i n spo ts. No r attle snakes. ,("ome ticks & mosqUitos in spring .. Permis sion if Needed . Be sure to get permission f r om Hr . or ~:i r s. Heal of Monashee eold Fields camp ~ iteO' As it takes a full day to go in & out their c~p site is a handy place to stay .

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DF" ~I"

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OKANAGAN

/

FALLS

FOSSI LS

28

Type of Mate ria l. Le af & evergreen fossils. Elevation & 'f)istance from Car.,

You drive 3 miles north from the bridge at Okanagan Falls to a gravel ro ad that turns off to your left through a r anch yard . Or drive .4 of a mile south from the junction of 97 & no .3 highways & tur n riGht on gravel

ro ad.

Follow the gravel ro ad for exa ctly 4 miles & you

will see the fossils in some road cuts.

Tools Needed. Hammer & chisels.

Time of Ye ar . From April till November. conditions . . Good gravel road .

Mosquitos are worst in June & July.

A few r attle snakes. Permiss ion if Needed. No permission needed .

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r HwY, 9511

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TRILOBITES

29

Type of Nlate r ial. Tr ilobite.fossils. In the easter n bed ther e ar e le ss of t hem but you may find a whole one, whi le i n t he we stern be d

t hey are qui te plent i ful but seem to be only the heads . Elevation & Distance f r om Car .

The bed. are about 7 to 8 miles east of Cr anb r ook. The eastern beds ar e about 1/3 of a mile in f r om the s i gn . And the western beds ar e about .~ of a mile fr om t he hi ghway . You can drive r ight to both of them.

Tools Needed. Shovel, hammer & Chisel. Time of Year. From the end of ' pr il to the middle of Octobe r . Conditions. The dirt roads ar e a bit r ough & would be muddy i n we t weather . No rattle snakes. Mosquitos are wor s t i n

June & July. Permiss i on if Needed. No permission needed.

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95 ffiKY.

T

WA1"ER rllLL

f

N

•

HONEY

ONYX

30

(TRAVERTINE)

---

Type of Mate rial.

Large masses of honey color ed Travertine, & a few stalactites.

Ibs .

Some of the masses go up t o hundreds of

Also some leaf fossils in the bank .

Elevation & Distance from Car.

You drive about 6t miles east of Go l den alons the Tr ans Canada Hwy. to a bridge t hat crosses the Kicking Horse Rive r .. .. 4 miles east of the bridge you will see a small

wate rfall coming out of Park your car about 100 you go down about a 200 The onyx is all through

the bank just above the ro ad.

ft. past the waterfal l. Then ft. bank towards the river.

the bank & in the river .

The

leaves ar e in the bank above the ro ad .

Tools Needed. Heavey hammer, chisel & r ock hammer . Time of Year . <

From April till October. Conditions .

Road is good. No r attle snakes. the spring & early summer . Permission if Needed. No permission needed.

Some mosquitos in