Fieldtrip report:
Lake Chatuge,
Clay County, N.C.,
December 11th, 2004An Official Fieldtrip Of The:
Mountain Area Gem and Mineral Association
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Hello members, another great turnout today despite the chilly weather. We met and departed from the Silver Armadillo at 9:00 in the morning and headed to Clay County for a day of sapphire/corundum collecting at the lake, on the way we made a stop at the entrance of Chunky Gal Mountain to pick up several more members before proceeding to the lake, it was snowing pretty heavy on top of the mountain but once we arrived at the lake , no snow, just a bit chilly. The mountains in the distance were covered with snow and frost which made a beautiful scene.
Although the water is still high for this time of year, we had plenty of room to dig and collect.
Everyone was dressed for the weather. (John D.)
I have to take a moment to plug my new boots, they are called "Muck Boots" and they are the best investment I have made in boots, high top, water proof and I never felt the cold all day, great boots!
Bob and Cindi took the comfortable approach to collecting.
Grant cleaning some rock.
Some of the larger corundum pieces Grant found, (uncleaned).
Andrea with a sack of sapphires!, she found one of the nicest pieces of the day, a crystal, white with dark blue radiating evenly around the edges of the crystal, very nice.
Thomas cleaning some rocks.
Danya and Diana decided to stay warm in the truck.
Steven doing some surface hunting.
Dave decided to come out of hibernation and join the club today, he also took the dirtydigger award from Thomas, but it was worth it, he found the biggest pieces!
Some of Daves smaller corundum. (uncleaned).
Daves big 2 pounder!
As always, a great day collecting. A note to those who plan to visit the lake, the TVA is keeping the water level up longer this year due to severe whining by the locals, it has limited collecting at several other locations at the lake, I talked with them the other day and they advised that January or Feburary may be the better time to visit.
Until next time, happy rockhunting!
