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Finney Creek Jade Gallery Page 1
Pictures link to Photobucket slide-show to aid in identification Profile/ Jade Gallery 2.0/ Finney Creek
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| Finney Creek Jade Gallery Page 1 |
Finney Folly
Worst Trip Ever
(I don't recall the date)
So I was suffering from a bout of insomnia and around 5 in the morning decided to go hounding on Finney, hoping for good luck as the water should be low. I stopped at the last point where the road crosses the creek and hiked down stream about a mile and a half, past the first "box" canyon as the creek ran through bed rock. Despite the low waters I simply did not do well at all. And I lost my good hunting knife. I did bring back two large boulders that I thought were jade, making the hike back up the creek a trial. After that I went a little lower on the creek and tried my luck there, spending about another hour and a half. I found a couple of possibilities, but nothing that made me feel good about the trip. I did figure out what the hematite looks like finally, almost throwing my back out picking up a big piece of it. Obviously I wasn't going to pack it out unless I dumped all my "jade"...turns out I should have taking the hematite! Below is the folly, though one piece I've cut into is quite pretty, and maybe there is jade in this pile, it was still a stinker of a trip. BTW There are some real pieces near the end.
So I was suffering from a bout of insomnia and around 5 in the morning decided to go hounding on Finney, hoping for good luck as the water should be low. I stopped at the last point where the road crosses the creek and hiked down stream about a mile and a half, past the first "box" canyon as the creek ran through bed rock. Despite the low waters I simply did not do well at all. And I lost my good hunting knife. I did bring back two large boulders that I thought were jade, making the hike back up the creek a trial. After that I went a little lower on the creek and tried my luck there, spending about another hour and a half. I found a couple of possibilities, but nothing that made me feel good about the trip. I did figure out what the hematite looks like finally, almost throwing my back out picking up a big piece of it. Obviously I wasn't going to pack it out unless I dumped all my "jade"...turns out I should have taking the hematite! Below is the folly, though one piece I've cut into is quite pretty, and maybe there is jade in this pile, it was still a stinker of a trip. BTW There are some real pieces near the end.
Serpentinite Detection Kit
on Finney Creek Hematite
 Dry Wet   Notice here the look of the fracture edges, as well as the waxy look to the stone. I usually don't see big chunky pieces of quartzite like this. Quartzite is usually broken down into smaller chunks and rounded edges, and with a more grainy feel and look to it. Go figure.  | Finney Folly1 14 lbs of Quartzite This was the last rock I grabbed, thinking "finally, jade!". I threw it my pack and practically skipped up the creek. If only I had taken a moment to truly examine it. The relic bedding planes should have been my first clue that something was wrong with this piece. The second clue I should have noticed was that it sparkled like quartz (confirmed after I got home by taking off a fresh chip). You can make out the sparkles kind of in the bottom photo. Other than that though this rock exhibits as jade, from it's fractured edges, color, and even to an extent, it's "feel". The overall shape is also something I look for when scanning the gravel bars, as jade often exhibits those flat plans and angles when in big boulders like this. Heck, maybe I'm wrong, but I really doubt it. Wishful thinking and desperation can play tricks on you in the field. |
 Ol'Smokey | Ol'Smokey Or Finney Folly 2 28 lbs of quartz This was the other act of desperation. How could I have been so fooled? It's just a big, heavy piece of quartz. No sparklies were evident until I got home after lugging it about a mile up creek. But once broken into it was obvious I was a fool. Why did I think it might be jade? besides desperation, the fracture edges were consistent with jade. I saw no sparkles, and it appeared to have a rind (which it does, just not a jade rind). And the internal look could be a grey translucent jade. Maybe it's not quartz, but something else. Part of my thought process was that there were no other quartz-like rocks like this one on the creek, though the creek is covered in quartz. This one just went through a different weathering process. Laugh it up everyone, that, and the educational potential of these follies are the only reason I'm posting these garden rocks. |
 aLittleSomething | This is just a little maybe pebble of the mottled stuff. |
 MetaFinney | I believe this is the same kind of "metasomatic" opaque jade that I find on Deer Creek. In the slide-show, notice the layered, talcy look to the rind areas that are not carried over to the internal jade. important when looking for this stuff as it is often not broken thusly to reveal the inside. |
 Interesting | I don't know what this stuff is, I just picked it up because I found it interesting. Any Ideas? |
 WeatherLesson | A lesson in the affects of weathering here, weather or not it's jade. There is no tug from the magnet, but it is mostly just soft enough to scratch with a knife. It is translucent, meaning it might cut something nice, irregardless of what it is...unlikely to be jade though. |
 BlueHard | This one has some potential. The nice waxy blue areas are hard enough to "scratch" the knife (the rest is scratched a little, sometimes...indicative of a rind effect). The slide show shows the metal leavings of the knife from the scratch test. Come back for the cut shots. |
 ButSoftish  | ButSoftish Classic jade still encased in some serpentinite with a little bit of soft rinding. The edge is harder than the flat planes. as you run the knife over the various surfaces, sometimes it scratches, sometimes it is "scratched". On the edge (left picture) you can make out the translucency, as well as what is called vulcanization (the brown weathering). On pieces like this, you just don't know what's really inside, good jade all the way through, or just junk cleverly disguised...sometimes it's just junk. I have to rate this one jade however, based partly on it's heft. This is the stuff you have to really sort out from all the blasted serpentinite on this forsaken creek. The only thing that keeps me coming back to it is the fact that not only is there nephrite, but there is jadeite here. Never, ever forget your "serpentinite detection kit", i.e. a knife and a good magnet. Check the rock with the magnet first, especially if it needs to be dug up, scratch test only if the pull or tug from the magnet is absent or too weak to be conclusive. Doing this will save you hours of useless digging, scratching and chipping. |
 ButSoftish2 | See above, but let me double check this one...yup same deal, except the dark areas are really nice dark translucent jade. Neither piece exhibit a noticeable tug from the magnet. This one doesn't have as much excess junk associated with it, and may be mottled with white (the orangey areas on the rind). |
 Garn | I believe this is garnierite. Stay tuned, it's on the cutting block. |
 Garn2   Beautiful!   | I thought this was garnierite, but now that I cut it and see it's beauty, I don't know. I need to actually cut some "known" garnierite from Grandy Creek and compare, and maybe confer with Bob Jackson, as, based on one of his books, I know he knows what it looks like. It does seem a little heftier than it should, but it "cuts like butter", not a sign of jade I would imagine. Maybe this is listwanite? Or even HGG...it's a great confuser, so stay tuned, I'll find out soon....after cutting various specimens from other localities, and scratching, and googling, I'm calling this listwanite...with a noted Mohs hardness varying between 4 and 7, I was able to put a scratch on the fresh surface...can't be jade then, still might be garnierite as I'm having a difficult time distinguishing the two without a known sample...hopfully Bob will have one to post with good resolution. I'll start a page with all the cut samples, and here is where the link will be: 'Listwanite or Garnierite?' NOT JADE |
 NewClassic | I believe this is jade like the ones above, but with no junk attached, just a bit of a hard rind. This one is on the cutting block as well. "Classic" as it reminds me in it's own way to the 'ClassicCobble' from Deer Creek (JG v1.0 pg 10). It is quite hefty.... |
 NotButWhat   | It's Not Jade But What is it? |
  FloJade  | FloJade I found this one almost strait away. It stands a good chance of being a jade lens, and should be compared with the 'FloodJade' (JG v1.0 pg 1) I found earlier in the year on Finney, though it isn't as stunning, it shares a similar habit. It is, however, pretty much soft all around, but just barely. There is no discernible tug from the magnet, and as those piece above, is harder on the edges, indicative of hidden jade. It's opaqueness all around is disconcerting though. |
 Pebble | Just an interesting bumpy pebble I thought I'd share. |
 OldBrokenFinney | This is something I picked up on my very first trip to Finney Creek, and broke. It looks just like all the serpentinite on the creek, but slightly off the color. It is hard, and does not tug a magnet....Jade, maybe, these are odd. |
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gamaliel114 |
Latest page update: made by gamaliel114
, Sep 2 2009, 12:06 PM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| gamaliel114 | Finney Creek Folly | 9 | Aug 4 2009, 10:24 PM EDT by retiredoldfogee | ||
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Thread started: Jul 27 2009, 12:13 AM EDT
Watch
I know I keep pumping these out, but I had a back log and I didn't get to get out this weekend, so I did this instead. Besides, it helps me analyze my finds, and should help others in the off chance they stumble on these pages. I tried to make them at least mildly entertaining, if not informative, even if there are no "wow" pieces. I'll start bringing the camera out with me so I can show you pretty places I go, and what you are really up against when looking for the jade. I have a feeling I sometimes make it look easy, but really it's a lot of work. Not your casual beach combing. I regularly spend 8 to 10 hours searching a trip, and as this trip report shows, sometimes come back with very little to show for it besides an aching back! I'm going to cut all week, so you will get to see some of the hidden "wow" later. Enjoy the Folly.
http://cash-and-treasures-wiki.travelchannel.com/page/Finney+Creek+Jade+Gallery+Page+1 ~Zeke |
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