Crystal Mountains
January 1 & February 20, 2005
New Year's was done right, with an
afternoon trip with the boys down to the Crystal Mountains just
outside Mount Ida. The weather was awful - overcast with a
constant light mist - but we had fun and the boys were on their
best behavior.
We took Hwy 27 South of Mount Ida then
turned East onto Forest Service road 177 to the Crystal
Recreation Area campsite. I was hoping to stop there and make a
short hike on a loop trail, but the mist was a little too heavy
so we continued down the road. Cliff started seeing white
quartz rock on the side of the road and we stopped several
times so he could pick up some pieces. We stopped to check out
a neat picnic shelter, Collier Spring, but the heavy mist
forced us back in the truck.
We continued along the road as it wound up
the Crystal Mountains and intersected with Owley Road. Another
short loop trail, at the Crystal Mountain Scenic Area, was
supposed to be near the intersection but we never found any
signs, so we headed back west toward the highway.
By this time the mist finally subsided and
we stopped at our main destination of the day, the Crystal
Vista quartz collecting area provided by the Forest Service. We
had to hike a good mile up the mountain to the crystal
collecting area, which is the site of an old commercial crystal
dig. On the way the boys stopped several times to pick up small
crystals on the surface along the trail, and Grant used a
hammer and Cliff a garden fork to scratch for stuff below the
surface.
The actual collecting area at the top of
the mountain wasn't much to look at but the boys found lots of
small quartz crystal points. We stayed there for about an hour
until it started to get dark. On the way home we grabbed some
mini pizzas from one of the convenience stores in Mount Ida.
It would be seven weeks before we had the
opportunity to return to the Crystal Mountains in favorable
weather. While I shot pictures at Collier Spring with the good
camera, the boys did what boys do - get dirty and wet looking
for crystals and throwing rocks in the stream. The picnic
shelter, which is located at a surprisingly lush area along
Collier Creek, is built right on top of a spring. A hole in the
side of the structure allows the spring water to gush out.
We headed up the mountain and managed to
locate the Crystal Mountain Scenic Area, although there was no
sign there. The short loop trail took us down below a sandstone
outcrop, and the boys found nice crystal points everywhere.
I’d read that there was some 300-year old pine trees
along the trail, and I was looking forward to seeing them, but
we didn’t see any that really stood out.
From there we drove back down the mountain
on the same Forest Service road we came in on - 177. Below
Collier Spring there were some interesting rock formations I
just had to stop and take some pictures of. The lines in these
rocks were tilted almost perfectly vertical. And the area was
home to some nice Beech trees with their stubborn copper
leaves.
We made one last stop near sundown at the
Crystal Recreation Area. We didn't have time to hike the short
loop trail, but the boys had had fun playing around a native
stone dam.
