Rockhounding - A Beginner's Guide

There are many different categories of rockhounds. Some people are fascinated by the broad field of minerals and focus on finding the perfect specimen for their collection my personal obsession is wulfenite.

Fossils are another favorite and can be found all over the world in one form or another. The connection to Earth's past that one feels when discovering or holding a fossil can easily become a rockhound's favorite reason to hunt.

As children, we're all drawn to shiny things. Some people keep that passion and collect nothing but crystals.

The lapidary rockhound, however, is always searching for cutting rough stones to grind, cut, carve, and transform into new creations of beauty.

There are as many different types of rockhounds as there are rocks.

Even walking through your backyard, picking up a shiny stone, and trying to identify it is a true rockhound experience!

To begin, there are several important things you need to know and safety comes first.

Always carry a well-stocked first aid kit, bug spray, a pocket knife, waterproof matches, plenty of drinking water, energy bars, and a few bandanas. (You'd be surprised how many ways a bandana can come in handy in the field!)

A cell phone is nearly indispensable these days, but keep in mind it may not work in remote areas.

Always tell someone where you're going and when you plan to return. If you'll be in a remote location, leave a note in your vehicle with details about your destination and expected return time.

Be aware of your surroundings. Will you need sunscreen or a hat?

And never go alone!

The equipment you'll need depends on where you're going and what you're collecting.

Sometimes, all you need are a couple of five-gallon buckets one for your supplies and tools, and the other for hauling your finds. Other times, a sturdy pack basket or backpack works best.

In addition to the basic safety items, my field kit may include:

an Estwing medium-weight hammer, a short-handled 2-pound sledge, two chisels, a jeweler's loupe, a pickaxe, a plastic spray bottle of water (yes, I've been known to lick rocks, but spraying them is a safer way to see their true color), a 35-foot length of nylon rope, a potato rake or small hand rake, leather gloves, a few small plastic bottles for tiny finds, and a partial roll of paper towels to wrap delicate pieces.

Sometimes I also bring a rock and mineral field guide and my camera.

It might sound like a lot to carry, but what you bring truly depends on what you're searching for and where you plan to go!

You will also need a good rock and minerals field guidebook that will help you identify what you find.

I like the Golden Guide to Rocks & Minerals, which is a small paperback I often throw into my pack. For home use, I recommend, 'Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals', by Frederick H. Pough.

This book will get you started and as you advance, you will discover your personal favorites among the many resources available today.

You can begin basic Rockhounding on your next trip to the beach or walk in the woods.

Pick up any rock that looks interesting.

When you take it home and begin looking through a book or two to identify it, you will begin reading and learning about all of the wonderful materials that are beneath our feet.

The next step will be deciding how you want to label and display your treasures.

A small collection can easily find a nice home in a bookcase, with each specimen labeled with its' name and the location where it was found, maybe even the date. After collecting a lot of material, your may wish to progress into lapidary work by purchasing a good tumbler, followed by a small saw, then a flat lap, cabbing machine, grinders, faceting machine.

and soon your hobby takes over the back kitchen, or the basement or the garage; rocks begin to pile up both inside and outside of your house, and one day you realize ~ you are a rockhound!

To plan your own rockhound excursions, I recommend that you pick up a 'Gem Trails' book, written for your region of the country.

These books are wonderfully complete, listing not only what you can expect to find, but many also include the equipment you may need, road conditions, hiking requirements, and pictures! The authors have also written about their personal experiences at most locations and tell you what you may expect.

Due to the fact that land often changes hands, please read all of the warnings in the books as well, because new landowners may not want people to trespass!

This brings me to the part where I need to tell you about rules.

Legal rules and Moral rules. Let's begin with Legal rules and laws.

Of course, you should always check with the owners of private property to receive permission to dig on their land.

You also need to know if a miner's claim has been filed, which gives all of the mineral rights to the person who has registered such a claim.

A visit to your local county clerk's office and a call to your state's Bureau of Land Management, (BLM), office will give you all of the information you may need. Use common sense.

If an area is posted "No Trespassing", that means stay out!

You also need to know where and what you cannot hunt. It is against the federal law to remove rocks, fossils, artifacts, minerals etc. from any and all United States Parks Service properties, including parks, Monuments and Wilderness areas! For full details please check out these government websites:

United States National Park Service
https://www.nps.gov/

U. S. National Parks Geology
https://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/

U. S. National Parks Paleontology
https://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/paleontology/

Bureau of Land Management
https://www.blm.gov

U. S. D. A. National Forests
https://www.fs.fed.us/

U. S. D. A. National
https://www.fs.fed.us/grasslands/

There are also specific rules for collecting petrified wood.

For personal use, you may collect up to 25 pounds per day, plus one additional piece, but no more than 250 pounds in a year.

Hunting for fossils also has its limitations, as you cannot collect any type of vertebrae fossil without a written permit from the BLM, however there are many, very cool, fossil specimens of non-vertebrae life forms that you can keep! The best advice is to check the rules before planning a serious excursion.

Now for my personal favorites, the 'moral' rules.

• Always fill any holes you dig back in and tamp down, especially those dug under and around tree roots. (While you're at it, fill any holes left by folks who came before you too!) This can help to prevent damage to both your and other people's lower extremities, as well as to any animals who live there.
• Do not leave your non-organic trash. If you carried it in, carry it out, along with any left behind by less conscious people.
• Do not purposely cut, scar and or damage trees! One can always find dry wood around if a small fire is needed, or a hiking staff.
• If a fire is desired on a cold day or a long dig, build a small fire ring away from any shrubs or trees and be very sure to put out every ember and then cover the fire area with dirt when you are finished.
• If needed, dig a small latrine and fill it in before you leave!
• Do not harass local creatures ~ they were there first.
• Do not allow children to run amuck!
• At the end of the day, gather all of your finds and carefully sort through them, taking only those you really like/need for your collection or lapidary needs.
• Leave only footprints behind.

And last but not least, my personal favorite rule: 'If you want it and you can haul it, you can have it.' Just remember that heavy rocks get even heavier as you carry them back to your vehicle!

Here, I have given you just a taste of the information available; there is so much more to learn about collecting rocks and minerals! Visit your local library and see what they have to offer.

Spend an afternoon at a local museum and check out their mineral display.

Use your favorite search engine to find the closest rock and mineral club to your hometown and pay them a visit.

Be safe, have fun, and remember the words of Chief Seattle: "The Earth does not belong to us, We belong to the Earth!"