Fieldtrip Report:

Grimshawe Sapphire Mine,
Transylvania County, N.C.,
March 19, 2005

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Hello members, we had a great time on this fieldtrip, an excellent turnout as usual, around 20 members gathered to visit the Grimshawe Mine and hunt for sapphires, many new members attended today which was great. For me, it was a recon mission to view the rehab work done by the Forest Service and to see if it was still a productive site for collecting. After observing the work done by the Forest Service, I have mixed feelings, they did a good job of re-routing the creek, but in the process destroyed countless trees and plants in the area, also the creek that once flowed quite well is now a trickling stream which I doubt can support the trout population in the area.

When you arrive at the site, you will park at a campsite built by the Forest Service, if you walk a couple of hundred yards into the woods, you will find this 20 foot high hidden waterfall, it is a great place to take a bath if camping here in the summertime.

We had many new members attend this trip, George, Jane and Christopher Thomas, Chris Wells, Mr. Harrigan and his Grandson, the McCoy family, Gene Jeffers and his wife, and more, if I missed your name, let me know, there were so many new faces it was hard to keep track of everyone.

Above are the two signs that you will encounter when you arrive at the site, one gives the distance limits to be followed, the other is actually a sign that applies to gold panning, but the Forest Service decided to use it here to save money on making new signs, the "pans" part applies to your sifting screen.

As I entered the woods (what was left of them) it was sad to see the damage that had been done. In order for them to get their equipment into the site to work on the creek and fill in the holes, they had to destroy many trees in the area.

Dead Laurel Trees and brush covered the ground.

For those who had visited this site in the past, you will remember the heavily wooded area that surrounded the creek, it was a great place to come in the summertime, sit in the shade in the creek and sift for sapphires, now it is a cleared out area, no shade today.

One of the goals of the Forest Service was to fill in all the holes in the area of the creek, and they accomplished that task, I thought it was funny that the only hole left un-filled was a hole I had started over 8 years ago and had found 3" hex sapphire crystals in. It is still there untouched and will remain that way with their rules in place, it is hard to look at the hole knowing that there are great specimens just a couple of feet under ground under your feet, standing there and not digging was a true test of will power for me.

My old hole hidden under some brush.

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