Interested in seeing the Randolph Community Forest Crystal Mine? Save the date!

The Presidential Gem and Mineral Society will be making a trip to the Randolph Crystal Mine, also known as the Randolph quartz location, on Saturday, October 11th, weather permitting.

Non-members who would like  to visit the mine are welcome to join them.  The group will meet at the Bowman Trailhead at 9:00 am.

For those planning to come, a few notes courtesy of trip leader Dave Tellman:

From the Bowman meeting area, only pickup trucks will be allowed to drive onto the Community Forest access road. There is not sufficient clearance over rocks, culverts, etc. for cars to negotiate the route. There have been sufficient pickups in the past to accommodate riders, to the beginning of the trail into the mine.

It is a good location for children to participate in but, they, like the adults, should have safety glasses and sturdy shoes or hiking boots.

A rock hammer is nice to have but not generally necessary since one can be borrowed from another collector. Carpenter hammers are never wise, since the steel is not sufficiently strong to preclude breaking when striking rocks.

It is good to have a couple of small pill bottles with some cotton or cloth for small crystals and a couple of sheets of newspaper to wrap a larger find in. It is a great disappointment when arriving home to discover a broken crystal that had gone into a pants pocket along with other rocks.

As with any other day hike, please bring water, lunch, a rain shell and warm clothing.