So, it was WET and MUDDY, but we had a great time! It took us exactly 2 hours from my house so we arrived at 10:30 am. There was still snow on the ground in places so you can imagine the mud. Even when it warms up, you might consider wearing wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and clothes that you don't care about. YOU ARE GOING TO GET WET! (I've washed my shirt 3 times and can't get the "iron mud" out of it). Also, watch out for the repaired screens because they will rip your gloves. <p>

It took us some time to figure out what we were looking for and locate a good stash in the pile of dirt you ultimately take to the sluice. (Ignore the forest service rangers who tell you to dig in the “dry dirt” first because it’s “easier”) The key is to move around the dirt pile until you find an area that has garnets. I think we found the majority of our garnets the last hour. Don’t spend more than a few minutes on each screen, they are either in there, or they’re not! <p>

I noticed that someone with a handicap sticker drove up to drop off a person who couldn’t walk the ½ mile from the parking area to the garnet site. It's uphill and a fair hike. For your $10 they provide all the equipment, so wear your rubber boots, a hat for shade (or rain) and pack a good lunch with plenty of water. I overheard a discussion that weekends can get so busy that you have to wait your turn to use the sluice. With 30+ people, it was a bit crowded already but we were still able to use all the equipment without waiting. There is no shade & only 3 picnic tables. Check out my album at http://cash-and-treasures-wiki.travelchannel.com/album/18496/kabnfvr. Worth the trip but if you expect to bring home handfulls of gem quality garnet - forget it! For every 100 garnets you find, you MIGHT find one star garnet worth making into jewelry. In our almost 2# of stones - I think we have a couple that MIGHT have potential. Kabnfvr

 out of  found this valuable. Do you find this valuable?    

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