abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 15, 2021 2:11:37 GMT -5
Hi everyone, I'm new here so I'm still learning the forum. I'm planning on making a roadtrip out to the Clear Creek area in San Benito County, California either this weekend or next. I know vehicle and individual permits are required to visit, I've done that research on the government website. However, this will be my first rockhounding trip that isn't to an ocean beach! I've never looked for rocks inland before, and I'm looking for a little advice on, basically, how to do it and what to look for.
I've prepared myself with a bucket for finds and a few water spraybottles (other than snacks, drinking water and sunscreen, of course). What other tools would be useful for a rookie rockhounding venture? Folks who have visited the Clear Creak area, what spots do you recommend visiting? Should I stick in the creek, or should I venture into the dry hills?
Any information you think would be useful for a rookie rockhound would be helpful. I'd also love some input into what minerals to keep an eye out for. I'm aware of the plasma agate (that's what I'm most prepared to look for), but I know the area is very mineral rich and there are other things I should look out for. What minerals other than plasma agate might I find looking through the creek bed or just hounding the surface of the ground (I'm not planning on mining on this trip)?
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 15, 2021 2:23:53 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! I'm not much help for advice on the area you're planning on heading to in the near future, but I bet there's some people on the forum who would have some pretty good advice and will chime in sooner or later. I will give you one bit of advice...bring more buckets that you already have planned! If you're like me when you're hounding, you'll likely want to pick up every other rock you see!
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Post by rmf on Jan 15, 2021 4:17:54 GMT -5
wear leather gloves, watch for snakes and other unfriendly locals. figure out what you are looking for and look at images on the web so you are familiar. Look for details that say "these characteristics" defines that mineral/rock. Train you eye what to look for.
For example if I were looking for Galena or Fluorite The first thing is I would look for rocks with cleavege. Know what that looks like. If I were looking for agate I would see if there are banding or moss etc. Look at colors that are different from back ground rock, or a waxy luster. Thing out of place/different
I found a vertebra once because there was a round circle on one end. A perfectly round circle is not typical in nature... ding ding ding check that out.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 15, 2021 9:34:30 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
Can't help on Clear Creek because I've never been there, but do look into bringing a rock pick with you to help you dig out any rocks that look interesting and so you can knock a chip off to window anything you need to see inside of to decide whether you actually want to lug it home with you.
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abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 15, 2021 11:22:57 GMT -5
I will give you one bit of advice...bring more buckets that you already have planned! If you're like me when you're hounding, you'll likely want to pick up every other rock you see! Haha, good advice, thank you! I'll be nabbing a few more buckets then before I take off. If it's anything like when I first started hounding for abalone, I'm sure I'll be a lot less selective of the samples I want to take home with me, so more buckets than I think I need is probably a good idea!
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abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 15, 2021 11:24:27 GMT -5
wear leather gloves, watch for snakes and other unfriendly locals. figure out what you are looking for and look at images on the web so you are familiar. Look for details that say "these characteristics" defines that mineral/rock. Train you eye what to look for. For example if I were looking for Galena or Fluorite The first thing is I would look for rocks with cleavege. Know what that looks like. If I were looking for agate I would see if there are banding or moss etc. Look at colors that are different from back ground rock, or a waxy luster. Thing out of place/different I found a vertebra once because there was a round circle on one end. A perfectly round circle is not typical in nature... ding ding ding check that out. Thanks for the tips. I'll look online to see what kinds of animals I may need to watch out for in the area, that was something that hadn't occurred to me. On that note, any first aid you recommend I bring along?
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abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 15, 2021 11:25:36 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
Can't help on Clear Creek because I've never been there, but do look into bringing a rock pick with you to help you dig out any rocks that look interesting and so you can knock a chip off to window anything you need to see inside of to decide whether you actually want to lug it home with you. Great tip, I was going to bring a small garden shovel but given that the area is going to be really dry I'm sure the ground will be a lot harder to pry away than I planned for.
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Post by rmf on Jan 15, 2021 20:52:32 GMT -5
abalonehound said "Thanks for the tips. I'll look online to see what kinds of animals I may need to watch out for in the area, that was something that hadn't occurred to me. On that note, any first aid you recommend I bring along? I usually have a generic first aid kit in the car/truck along with jumper cables just as a matter of principal. Beyond that duck tape or electrical tape. Have used these several times to tape a cut. I usually have a estwing pick, gad, rock hammer, crack hammer and a small shovel and an ice pick. the ice pick is used for hunting fossils. if you hit a rock with an ice pick it pings if you hit bone it thuds. Plus you dont have to bend over as far.
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Post by Pat on Jan 15, 2021 21:21:23 GMT -5
The only advice I can give you about Clear Creek, is watch out for scorpions. They glow the same blue as Benitoite under UV light.
I think you need a permit before you go.
Plasma Agate and serpentine are plentiful as is Clear Creek Jade. Enjoy!
By the way, welcome from California.
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abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 18, 2021 16:40:52 GMT -5
The only advice I can give you about Clear Creek, is watch out for scorpions. They glow the same blue as Benitoite under UV light. I think you need a permit before you go. Plasma Agate and serpentine are plentiful as is Clear Creek Jade. Enjoy! By the way, welcome from California. I did end up going on Saturday (had the permit and everything). I had no idea scorpions were in the area, but luckily we didn't see any! Found a lot of plasma agate! I'm very excited to post some photos once I have them ready to post. Found some lovely serpentine as well. My friend and I even found a HUGE jade boulder! Way too big to take home with us, but really cool to see.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,648
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Post by Tommy on Jan 18, 2021 20:05:06 GMT -5
Found a lot of plasma agate! I'm very excited to post some photos once I have them ready to post. Found some lovely serpentine as well. My friend and I even found a HUGE jade boulder! Way too big to take home with us, but really cool to see. Sorry I didn't see this thread sooner but it sounds like you had a good time and stayed safe and caught some rocks so it all worked out well. Did you find the plasma agate in the creek or did you venture up to the mine? Just curious about the jade boulder - did you use any type of test to confirm it to be jade? There is a mountain of very jadie looking beautiful serpentine boulders in the creek.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 18, 2021 21:31:32 GMT -5
The only advice I can give you about Clear Creek, is watch out for scorpions. They glow the same blue as Benitoite under UV light. I think you need a permit before you go. Plasma Agate and serpentine are plentiful as is Clear Creek Jade. Enjoy! By the way, welcome from California. I did end up going on Saturday (had the permit and everything). I had no idea scorpions were in the area, but luckily we didn't see any! Found a lot of plasma agate! I'm very excited to post some photos once I have them ready to post. Found some lovely serpentine as well. My friend and I even found a HUGE jade boulder! Way too big to take home with us, but really cool to see. Can't wait to see the trip pics!!! Hey, I hope the jade boulder you saw wasn't this missing one! forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/93827/slab-jade-stolen-gift-shop
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abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 20, 2021 10:17:02 GMT -5
Can't wait to see the trip pics!!! Hey, I hope the jade boulder you saw wasn't this missing one! I just need to figure out how to embed photos in my posts, haha! Wow, can't believe someone stole that huge slab! Luckily, the one I saw looked like it had been there for quite a long time. And it wasn't slabbed, it was a bumpy, lumpy boulder.
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abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Jan 20, 2021 10:24:19 GMT -5
Found a lot of plasma agate! I'm very excited to post some photos once I have them ready to post. Found some lovely serpentine as well. My friend and I even found a HUGE jade boulder! Way too big to take home with us, but really cool to see. Sorry I didn't see this thread sooner but it sounds like you had a good time and stayed safe and caught some rocks so it all worked out well. Did you find the plasma agate in the creek or did you venture up to the mine? Just curious about the jade boulder - did you use any type of test to confirm it to be jade? There is a mountain of very jadie looking beautiful serpentine boulders in the creek. I went with my friend, and we stuck to the creek - we actually didn't venture very far into the ACEC area due to being a little scared of the narrow roads through the tall hills. We stopped at several different spots just inside the ACEC area where the creek starts, walked up and down the section of the creek, then drove to the next spot, etcetera. When we got to the part where the road just heads up the side of the cliffs with no end in sight (and the creek fell away to the bottom of the cliff, too far away to climb down to), we ended up turning around and just exploring the creek at the bottom of the cliff before leaving. But if you have any recommendation for more fruitful spots in the ACEC area, that would be cool! I also have never mined before, so I figured I'd just plan on sticking to the creek anyway. I probably wouldn't venture to the mines unless I had an experienced rockhound to accompany me. As for the jade boulder, the only test I had available to me was a basic scratch test using a stainless steel appliance. You're right about the serpentine, though - my friend and I looked around the boulder to try to find pieces of jade, and all we could find was convincing serpentine imposters. Who knows if the boulder would still look like jade to me when I go back next time, sometimes rocks look very different in the light of one day versus the next. For example, a lot of the plasma agate I brought home I didn't even realize was plasma agate on the day. I'm still a rookie so my eyes aren't as trained when it comes to recognizing rocks. I'm excited to go again, because I'll have a much better idea what to look for. I'm planning on waiting for the next rain so the creek can wash away all the accumulated algae (and hopefully reveal more treasures)!
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,648
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Post by Tommy on Jan 20, 2021 12:15:36 GMT -5
I went with my friend, and we stuck to the creek - we actually didn't venture very far into the ACEC area due to being a little scared of the narrow roads through the tall hills. We stopped at several different spots just inside the ACEC area where the creek starts, walked up and down the section of the creek, then drove to the next spot, etcetera. When we got to the part where the road just heads up the side of the cliffs with no end in sight (and the creek fell away to the bottom of the cliff, too far away to climb down to), we ended up turning around and just exploring the creek at the bottom of the cliff before leaving. But if you have any recommendation for more fruitful spots in the ACEC area, that would be cool! I also have never mined before, so I figured I'd just plan on sticking to the creek anyway. I probably wouldn't venture to the mines unless I had an experienced rockhound to accompany me. Where the road turns and goes to the top of the ridge, and over the ridge to the mine, isn't too bad - it's mostly a well-maintained smooth dirt road other than the first part that is a bit steep and rocky. My knuckle headed son tried to go up it in his Ford Ranger with balding street tires and he popped two tires and I had to tow him all the way out to the main road for triple A to meet us. Other than that any decent AT tires would be just fine. That being said we typically stay in the first five miles of creek from the gate to the uphill turn and find it very enjoyable to just walk the creek looking for treasures. To take that one step further, I personally like the material that comes out of the creek better and I think the two materials should be called by different names. The creek material has very distinct fibrous "stringy" patterns that I believe to be the presence of natural asbestos, while the mine material (in my opinion) is just kind of blah unless you get a premium piece that has bright red cinnabar (mercury ore) in it.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,455
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 28, 2021 12:20:22 GMT -5
Just a small word of caution. Clear creek is home to a large deposit of asbestos. I doubt just a little digging would give you much exposure but you might want to wear a dust mask if you dig very much. Lots of rattlers around in warm weather and often annoying motorcyclists.
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