b.c. gem trails 4th edition

B.C. GEM TRAILS

4TH ADDITION by Howard Pearsons '

copyright {£), Howard Loammi Pear s ons , 1973

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$ 2.00 PREFAC:';

t On the following page there i s a map of Bri tish Columbia

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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 a descr iption on the f aci ng pabe .

We have hunted in each 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 area it i s as well to ask.

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 , prefer 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 garbage, cans or bott les l ay ing around.

Do not expe ct t o find mat erial laying allover the place, it i s not that t hi ck & most of t he f loat has been picked up. But with a day ' s hunt i ng & di gging you s hould find some ni ce

s pe cimens ..

A word 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 , shell- heap , house-pit. cave, or other habita

tion site, or a cairn, mound, fortificati.on or other sit~ or

object.

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( MAP OF ROCK HUNTING AREAS

I . Oyster River 2. Hornby I sland 3. Dallasite 4. Elkhorn S. Salt Spring Island 6. Jade 7. Shaw Springs 8. Hat Creek 9. Canim Lake

10. Hixon Concretions Any place there i s gravel in & around Prince George i s a good place to look for agate, jasper & wood. Some of the agates are nice shades of r ed.

II. Kenney Dam 12. Cheslatta Lake & Collinsite 13. Smithers 14. Agate Mountain or Willi s Ranch IS. Princeton Root Casts 16. Co almont 17.. Savona 1iounta in 18. Tranquille I9 . Ferrierite 20. Watching Creek 2I. Barriere River 22. Joseph Creek 23. Robbin Creek 24. McGlashan Lake 2S. Monte Lake & Douglas Lake Road 26. Woods Lake 27. Monashee Gold Fields Camp Si te 28. Okanagan Falls 29. Trilobites 30 . Honey onyx (Travertine)

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OYSTER RIVER I

TyPe of Material

Porphyry (Flower Stone) .

Elevation & Distance 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 the river . material on

is paved & it is easy walking along the edge of No rattle snakes . You can also find this

a number of the beaches on Vancouver Island.

Permission if Needed.

No permission needed.

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~<'--______ HORNBY ISLAND •

Type of Material. Foss ils (A~nites & Baculites). Ammonites ar e over a foot through.

Elevation & nistance from car.

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Some of the larger

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 Phipps Point. You will see a large clay bank & you can dig the fossils out of it or look along the beach at low t ide . There are more fossils at Boulder Point. ~rivG

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

a large clay

along the shore to your right till bank. The fossils are in the . you come to

bank & also the car.

on the Point, this i s about ~1' of a mile from

Tools Needed. Heavey hammer & chisel. The fossils are in the mi ddle of 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 .

VAiVCOUVER

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~(------------------- DALLASITE 3

Type of Mate r i al.

Dallasite. This i s a breccia made up of quar tz , epi dote & altered basalt, also may have some pumpelleyite . It makes nice pen stands, book- ends etc. & take s a n i ce polish .

Elevation & Distance 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 branches . 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 few very poor branch roads ~ but stay to the ma i n r oad unless otherwise marked on map.

Tools Needed •

No tools needed .

Time of Ye ar ..

Usually from March to December. The wat er in the r iver is highest in late spring & e arly summer .

Conditions .

No r attle snakes. It is a good dir t road .

Permission if Needed .

No permission needed .

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~< ________ ELKHORN 4

Type of ~.Jaterial.

Fossils' & ftJmllonites, clams, oysters etc.

Elevation & Di stance fr om Car.

The fos s ils are in the clay banks of I:lk horn Creek . The best ones seem to be Q quater to a half a mile up the creek . There are 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 very s t eep & easy wa lking. And youshould have rubber boots as you will be cr ossing the s tream quite often.

Tools Needed.

Heavey hammer, chisels & a l ar 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 hi gh t o walk up

Condit i ons ..

Very few mosquitos. can be very slippery are walking on ...

Pe~ission if Needed.


No r at tle snakes. as i t is mostly har d

The we t

walking clay that you

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Type of Material Rhodonite.

SALT SPRING ISLAND

Elevation & Di stance from car. You can drive r ight into t he quarry_

Tools Needed.

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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 quite solid . No

r attl e snakes ..

Per miss ion if Needed. 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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( JADE

Type of Material.

Mostly jade, some agate, jasper, rhodonite & massive

garnet. Most of the a~ates are very small.

Elevat ion & ~istance from car.

The luoterial i s found on the bars of t he Frase r from.

Agassiz to Lillooet. i n t he Bridbe & Yalakom

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rivers. Plus some in

And

the coquihalla Rivero You can

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

April t o August .

& early spring.

Conditions.

ro the best time of year is in fall

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 gravel 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

to see where you may hunt. There are a lot of Ind i an

Reservations along the rivers & you can not hunt on their

bars .

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SHAW Sf'!?IN"S AGATE5

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< SHAI; SPRINGS

Type of I~aterial.

Agate nodules . some plume, smoky, fortification & banded agate . Most of them less than a lb.

Elevation & Distance from car.

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The area 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.. Ther e is agate on top of these outcr oppings & there

is mor e agate

farther on.

in the larbe cliffs about a quar ter of a mile

They are close to 1000 ft. above the car.

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 here 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 area, from t he first of May till the middle

of October.

Condi tions.

Mosquitos are very thick in June & JUly , quite a few cacti,

a few r attle snakes. ve r y muddy after a r a in .

Permission if Needed.,


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HAT CREEK 8

Type of ~Jate rial.

Jasper & Jasp- agate. In size they go up to sever al

hundr ed Ibs . color s are bro¥m, yellow, green, black & a little r ed.


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 fir st of May till the middle of October.

Conditions .

Mosqui tOB are very t hick i n June & July . No r attle

snakes. Dirt & g ravel r oad. 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 trash or scare the cattle

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/ , CANIM LAKE 9

Type of Materia l.

Agate, quartz geodes & a litt le common opal. 1iost of it i s f airly 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. It i s the first rock cut past t he end of the black top.

Tools 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 & early summer •

Permission if Needed •


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HIXON CONCRETIONS .

" Type of Material.

Concretions. These come in all manner of Quite often they look like little animals . size about 3 or 4 i nches .

Elevation & Distance f r om car.

odd shapes. Aver age in

It i s about a t mile walk on the t r acks. Although t here is a r oad just below the tracks you would have to cros s private proper ty as it i s nearly 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 yards up the pipeline.

Tools Needed.

Shovel or pick.

Time o.f Year ~

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

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l<;'losquitos are worst in July.. No rattle snakes . in clay so you should wear rubber boots .

This i s

Permissi0n ~f Needed~

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

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?( _ ________ KENNEY D~1.1 II

Type of Material.

s ome large boulders of j a sp- agate & a little agate & 'ilood i n the gravels of t he river.

::.; l evat iol1 & Dist ance from Car .

You drive about 59 miles from Vander hoof on a dirt & l;.T8vel road . And continue along the top of Kenney Dam. Just after 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 er ab out t mi le y ou can go dOMl steep br avel banks to l ar ge bar s on the river, wher e you f i nd the material.

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 after the Drua is down in quite a s teep bul ly. So it may pay to walk down it to make sur e you can go down & up the other Si de. (VI e had no trouble with a Chev) . Mosquitos & black flies are bad in l ate cpring & early summer . Thi s would be a ve r y pr etty pla ce to camp as it hus cat ar a cts bes i de you & a ver y nice water fall { mil e down.

Permis sion if Needed.

No permission needed •

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( 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 material in North America.


The Collinsite is on Bill ."ead I s ranch which is about lIt miles south of the south end of the Burns 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 road. 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 during 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 routih t. muddy in wet weather.


Collinsite. 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 •

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-<:------- 9<lITHERS FOSSILS 13

Type of I~l ateriBl.

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

~levation & Di stance from Car .

You can drive within 100 yards of both areas .. You will have to walk a log across the creek to get to the fossils, but it i s a 1arbe log & not very hioh. You can see the bunk with the slide beloVl directly in front of you. The concretions are in a clay bank on t he 3uckley River.

Tools Needed .

Fer the concr etions, a shovel or pick. For the fossils a hammer & an old butcher or kitchen knife t o split 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 concretions i s very muddy, so wear rubber 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.

Permission i~ Needed~

No permission needed~

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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

River bridge & turn to your right on a black topped road , which turns to a dir t ro ad at t he golf cour se , & drive

about 6 . 6 miles to '\.'illis :qanch. Stay on top r oad & ask

permission to continue . Dr ive on to wher e you park whi ch

is about another 2! miles . Cr oss a small s tream 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 shovel .,

Time of Ye ar .

From the middle of l.'iay till the fir st of October.

Conditions ..

hosquitos ar e the wor s t in June & July . Ther e are r attle

snakes i n the Princeton ar ea.

muddy after 8 hard r ain.

Permiss i on if Nee ded.

The dirt r oad i s very

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

r i ght through t heir yard & you are on their pr operty.

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PRINCETON ROOT CASTS 15

TYpe of IVJaterial .

Agatized r oot cast s. up to ab out 3 inches

The root t hrough .

casts ar e black & grey &

Elevat i on & Di stance from car. Drive through Princeton heading North , just cross the Tulameen Rive r & t ake t he coal mont r oad 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 . Then fol l ow a path which leads you t o the di ggings . The best casts ar e riGht at the bottom of the diggings i n a narrow seam of dark 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 wor st i n June & July .. snakes in the Princeton area.

Pe rmission if Needed .


Some r attle

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( COAlIviONT , lIMBER

Type of Material.

Amber. From just specks up to pieces big enough for l arge cabs.

El evation & Distance from Car.

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It i s just eeve r al hundred y ard s past the west edge of Coalmont , & in piles of 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 are t wo places on t he ro ad from Princeton to Co almont wher e i t is quite narrow & it would be one way traffic, but the rest of t he r oad i s good dirt & gr avel . 1\'lay be some r attle snakes.

Permission if needed ~

Be sure to park off the ro ad & don ' t leave any gar bage.

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< SAVONA LIOUNTAIN I?

Type of Laterial.

";,lhi te & green opal. moss & plume agate.

(No fire opal). Plus banded, These go up to sever al lbs. each .


The best area is about 500 ft. below the smaller towe 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 about 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 . handy.

Time of Year.

An iron bar would be

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 road.


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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" Type of Material .

Agate nodules . /!. lot are clear

TRANQUILLE

From a few ozs. up to a but some have nice bands

Elevation & Dist ance from Car.

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few I bs. e ach. & fortificat ions.

Drive through Kamloops & cross the bridge to North Kamloops. From the north end of the bridge you drive about 9 miles along t he Tr anqui lle Hwy. (past the air 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 agate 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 br anch road is a bit r ough but f air 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 care cattle, & don rt leave any garbDge~

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WATCHING CREEK 20

Type of Mate rial.

Agate & green opal nodules. Some seams of opal.


Drive through Kamloops & cross the bridge to Nor th Kamloops. From the north end of the bri dge you drive about 9 miles along the Tranquil~e Highway, (past the airport), to a s~gn post on a gr avel ro ad say i ng , 'Red Lake, Copper Creek & Criss Creek '. Turn t o your right onthis road & cross the r ail way tracks. Follow this ro ad for a ~ittle. better than II miles at which point you will cross t he Tranquille 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 t urning point & come back to it. Follow i t to t he end 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 cr eek. I t i s better hunting a quarter to half a mile up the creek.

Tools Needed.

Rock h~er, heavey hammer & chisels.

Time of Year.

From April till the end of Oct ober.

Conditions .

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


This is a Lapidary Rock & !!!ineral Society of B.C . c~aiID . Free digging with hand tools. No machinery or blast i ng allowed . No permission needed.

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( BARRIERE RIVBR 21

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 all 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.

Mosquitos ar e wor st in June & July. NO r attle snakes .


No permission needed to hunt in the r iver .

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/ JOSEPH OR BOULDER CREEK 22

" TYpe of Material.

Leaf & f ern fossils.

Elevation & Distance f r om car.

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

Tools_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.

Qondit ions~

Mosqui t aB ar e the worst in June & July & there are no r at tle snakes~ The road from t he fer ry is quite narr ow & r oug h i n spo t s •

. Permi ss i on i f Nee.ded.

No perm~ssion needed.

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)(OBBIN , ----- CREEK 23

Type of Mai;.eriaJ..,-

Hill I. Fortification, banded agate & a few iri s agat e & plume a6ates . This hill has away the most material. Hill 2. some fortification & i r is Bbate. A l ar ge percentage of crystal lined geodes, a few ar e ame thyst. Size of nodules up to 240 lbs.

Elevation ~stance from car ~

You can drive to the foot of each hill. The he i ght s ar e bet ween 300 & 400 ft . aoo'·c the r oad .

Too l s N..r:eded.

Both hills are 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 horizontal 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 , heavey hammer, chisels, rock pick & shovel to r emove any rubble . Hill 2 . Most of the rock is cover ed with heavey mo ss & the ~ate is quite spotty on t his h i ll , but you v/ill see wher 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~ates. 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.

Condition 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 passabl e, which is usually a couple of weeks in April . The Robbin Creek road is very muddy after a hard r ai n & impassable in spring break-up from the Hwy . end.

Permission if Needeq,:..

All of Hill I i s claimed for agat e by the aut hor. rockhounds can dib: all t hey want with hand tools .. c an not blast or take i n any machi nery.

All But

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~( _______________ MCGLASHAN LAKE 24

Type of Material.

Petrified ViOod. s pec~ens & same

This will not polish but it makes good of it can be used for t able t ops.

Elevat i on & Di stance from Car.

I f you have a pick- up truck or a four wheel drive you can get within half a hlile of the wood & the~ t here i s an-o ld cat t r ail you can follow the re st of the way . It is erod i ng out of a dirt & r ock bank. And ther e i s also pieces underneath the trees . If you have an ordinary car i t would be best to park where 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 other people on either br anch . It i s fairly flat the rest of t he way.

Tools Needed .

Hammer & shovel.

Time of Year .

From the middle of June t o t he middle of October.

Conditions .

No rattle snakes. Mo squ itos ar e quite bad in June & July.

Permission i f Ne~ded.

No permission needed ..

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• "' __ MONTE LAKE AND DOUGLAS LAKL ROAD 25

" Type of tr1aterial.

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h-'i. onte T 3ke , moss & eye agates. bandeu & fortif i cation a~ates.


Dougl as Lake ro ad , moss,

Monte Lake, you can park your car right across the highway from the cut bank . Douglas Lake r oed , the first area i s 6t miles f r om 97 Hwy . At the far end of a cut bank & you will find patches of abate here & t her e for about another 2 miles , above 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 ., ~iosquitos ar e the worst in June & July. No r attle snakes . Douglas Lake r oad is good dirt & gr avel .


No permission needed ~

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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 of 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;, road. Al l gates are marked on the map with a straight line. "{Ie have only marked the more dist inct branch roads as there ar e t oo many to mark them all . But if you stay t o t he main road all the way & if i n doubt, take the right hand branch , you shouldn 't have any trouble.. Vt'here you park there i s a r amp bu ilt of cri ss- crossed logs that was used t o load logs on trucks . It i s the only one on the r oad. Then you will see an old r oad head i I16 up hill, Thi s goe s through an old saw mill site & then continues the other side of a fence & ends at 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 er s . Climb t o the top of t hese & you wi ll find seams of the mat 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 & chisel s~

Time of Ye ar ..

Fr om the end of June till the Nliddle of October .

Conditions .

Flies are bad in summer. r oad is very r ough & ver y

Permission if Need ed .'

No r attle snakes . muddy aft e r a har d

The logging r ain .

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 low one in & out as you can' t always pass •

7.1 H'LES TO CHt;(f~YV'L'-F~ /1ONNiHEE G,rILQ

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+ ___ MONASHEE GOLD FIELDS CAMP SITE (i 27

Type of Material Sanded agate & quar tz geodes.

Elevation & Dist ance f r om Car. Follow h ighway 6 east from Vernon & 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 across on your right you t ake the forestry ro ad for 4 miles & you will see a wide spot on your left where you can park several car s . If you look across the valley you will see s ome v ery large cliffs about 3 mil e s& 2500 feet hi gher . The agates start about half a mile along the cliffs f r om the near end . This i s quite a long hard climb & as y ou g o down hill for t he first few hundred yards & 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 ar ea staked . He doesn 't charge for hunting on it, however he or hi s sons will guide you in for a reasonable fee . And we recommend that you take advantage of this , unless you ar e very familiar wi th hiking in the mountai 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 . Heavey hammer & chisels . sl i de but in large chunks

Time of Year .

t~ost of this material is in the of basalt.

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 after a hard r a in i n spots. No r attle snakes. ,("ome ticks & mosqUitos in spring ..

Permission if Needed . Be sure to get permission f r om Hr . or ~:i rs. 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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/ OKANAGAN FALLS FOSSI LS 28

Type of Material.

Leaf & evergreen fossils.

Elevation & 'f)istance from Car.,

You drive 3 miles north from the bridge at Okanagan Falls to a gravel road 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 & turn riGht on gravel road. Follow the gravel road for exactly 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.


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TRILOBITES 29 , Type of Nlate r ial.

Tr ilobite.fossils. In the eastern 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 bed 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 anbr 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 from 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 October .

Conditions.

The dirt roads are a bit r ough & would be muddy i n wet weather . No rattle snakes. Mosquitos are wors t i n June & July.

Permiss i on if Needed.


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HONEY ONYX (TRAVERTINE) 30

---Type of Material.

Large masses of honey color ed Travertine, & a few stalactites. Some of the masses go up t o hundreds of Ibs . Also some leaf fossils in the bank .


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 the bank just above the road. Park your car about 100 ft. past the waterfal l. Then you go down about a 200 ft. bank towards the river. The onyx is all through 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 .



Some mosquitos in

b.c. gem trails 4th edition

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