Rockhounding
Close To Home

 

Everyone is talking about "stay-cationing" this summer-----meaning vacationing by staying home and enjoying the sights in your own neighborhood.  That can mean looking for rock collecting sites close to home that may be new to you, within a half-day's drive or less.  We are so fortunate here in San Diego County, Southern California, as our terrain is so varied, from the desert to the mountains to the ocean, it is possible to find many such collecting sites.  There is an excellent resource available online to help you find new sites---http://www.mindat.org.  When you do a search for a site using an old well-known mine such as the Packrat Mine, you can click on the link for "nearest localities".  It will give you a multitude of additional coordinates for mines or prospect holes within a 10 mile radius of the known mine.  This gives you a starting point, from which you can search the surrounding area for similar rocks and minerals, such as garnets, tourmaline, gold, etc.

Of course, you must be sure to respect any claim markers and restrict your search to the surrounding area, when at a patented claim.  Many times, you can make a great new find or at least have a memorable day looking for "goodies" in the surrounding areas.   One of these areas near us here in Santa Ysabel, is the McCain Valley Resource Area just north of Interstate 8 and the little town of Boulevard, CA.  There are several old mines here---the Packrat Mines no. 1 and no.2, and the Beebe Hole, among others.   Kunzite, aquamarine, tourmaline and hessonite garnets are some of the gems that have been found in the past, along with asterated quartz and smoky quartz.  These mines are located in the pegmatites of Tule Mountain, adjacent to the Sacatone Springs Overlook.  From the overlook, you can see the Carrizo Gorge with the tunnels and track of the San Diego and  Arizona Railroad clearly showing in the foreground.  The Salton Sea is visible to the far left and the Imperial Sand Dunes near Yuma to the far right of the panoramic view.  You can read the history of the railroad at the San Diego Railroad Museum website.  Currently it is operating as the Carrizo Gorge Railway.  The view alone is worth the trip to the McCain Valley area, as it is the only way to view this historic railroad unless you are willing to make the arduous hike from the desert floor.  If the trains are running, foot traffic in that area is forbidden, as you have to pass through the same tunnels and walk along the same track that the trains are using.  As you can see from the overlook, there is no safe place to get out of the way of the trains! 

One of the old mines near the overlook is the Old School Mine, formerly called the Crystal Gem Mine.  The main focus of this mine was beryllium, in the form of beryl crystals.  There is evidence of some hand digging on the slope immediately above the short drift, but there is little to see except a lot of clear quartz.  We restricted our search for garnets and quartz crystals to the areas outside the claim markers, finding some rusty garnets and a couple of odd-shaped quartz crystals.  As this was a scouting trip for us, we did not continue to look in this area, but decided to visit the second overlook, the Carrizo Gorge Overlook, about 8 miles from the Sacatone Springs Overlook.  Along the way, we passed the Lark Canyon OHV (off highway vehicle) day use area and Campground, as well as numerous exfoliated granite boulders and balancing rocks which were fun to look at and photograph.  There were a number of  roads taking off from the well-graded main road, intriguing for sure, but alas, no time that day to explore them.  This would be a great area to come to for a few days of camping and exploring.  I am sure there are unexplored pegmatites all around the old mines with the real possibility of some good collecting to reward your diligence!

Just be sure and make this a safe trip by bringing a first aid kit (and some common sense)  as it is high desert and inhabited by rattlesnakes and scorpions. Lots of water, Gatorade, portable shade, a good hat and some sunscreen would certainly be in order.  Late fall, winter, and early spring would bring some comfortable temperatures but also the chance of a little snow, as this valley is located at 4000 ft. in elevation.  Happy hunting as you "stay-cation"!

by Marilee J. Strech