Treasure hunting is not usually what one thinks of when looking for an adventure but getting out and both going to an unknown location and doing something new is. In this particular case traveling south through St Maries, Idaho to the Emerald Creek Camp ground and parking in Forest Service parking lot beside a nice forest stream was worth the leisurely drive. From the parking lot it is a short quarter mile walk to the "dig" site. Once arriving at the site there are helpful Forest Service employees who take your $10 fee and promptly explain how to go about panning for India Star garnets.
Here is the process, find a spot in the very large pile of dirt and fill a five gallon bucket. Take the bucket over to the screening area and screen the little particles out, quite a bit of little stuff filters out and you are left with pebbles and round balls of clay, most of the soil is made of clay. Next you take to dirt over to the sluice and work your way through your bucket picking out the garnets as they appear. It is a treasure hunt. The rangers tell you that you can take up to five pounds per $10 permit. After four hours of panning I came away with 8oz, and according to the forest rangers that was pretty good, only one man that they know of has ever gotten five pounds and he brings all his own equipment. Then for a little more adventure I decide that a different route home would be exciting. Driving on instinct and no map is always exciting and can lead to very interesting finds, but this is a subject for another blog.
Here is the process, find a spot in the very large pile of dirt and fill a five gallon bucket. Take the bucket over to the screening area and screen the little particles out, quite a bit of little stuff filters out and you are left with pebbles and round balls of clay, most of the soil is made of clay. Next you take to dirt over to the sluice and work your way through your bucket picking out the garnets as they appear. It is a treasure hunt. The rangers tell you that you can take up to five pounds per $10 permit. After four hours of panning I came away with 8oz, and according to the forest rangers that was pretty good, only one man that they know of has ever gotten five pounds and he brings all his own equipment. Then for a little more adventure I decide that a different route home would be exciting. Driving on instinct and no map is always exciting and can lead to very interesting finds, but this is a subject for another blog.
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