We've geocached, orienteered and navigated our way through a corn maze. With each activity it was not only being outdoors, but the spirit of treasure hunting that we liked. Not knowing what we'd find at the end - or along the way - added an element of excitement that made the adventure even more fun.
So when someone from the kids' 4-H club mentioned mining for quartz and tourmaline at Mt. Apatite in Auburn we knew we had to try it. The prospect of a new treasure hunt was a one we couldn't resist.
We set out on a rare sunny afternoon in May to find the trailhead for Mount Apatite, one of several quarries open to the public in Maine. Unfortunately, we became confused once we got there.
"Mommy it says we can't go there! We don't want to get in trouble." said my 10-year-old nervously after reading the "Keep Out" and "Warning Government Property" signs.
But after reading ALL the signs (and there were a lot of them), I realized that as long as we stayed on the marked trail past the Army National Guard training area, we would link up with the public trails of Mount Apatite.
There wasn't a map of the trails online and when we arrived at the trailhead we didn't find one there either. We assumed we'd find the quarries eventually so we set out on the trail.
Although there were a lot of trail markers, none specifically identified the trail that led to the quarries. It was a beautiful spring day and we had a nice hike around the mountain, but the 3-mile trek was quite a bit longer than we'd planned.
It turned out that the quarry was only about 1/2 mile from the trailhead if only we had made a different trail choice earlier. (We should have followed the main trail without taking any turns and would have run into the first of the quarries.)
"Ooops," I said when the kids complained about it during our snack break.
"We got some great exercise and never would have seen those cool wildflowers if we didn't take that wrong turn," I reminded them.
"OK," said my 8-year-old, "but next time I want to be the leader."
After looking around one of the small quarries (there are a couple in the same general area), we found a spot to pull out our mining gear. With their hammer, chisel and safety glasses in hand, the kids picked up a rock and started hammering to split it open.
The kids were hoping to find some tourmaline when we set out on this expedition, but they had so much fun hammering, splitting and peeling rocks (we found clumps of mica that peeled apart easily), they really didn't care about the tourmaline.
"Look mommy! Look at this pretty crystal!"
"Oh wow, this one is cool! I can peel the rock and now it looks like mica."
"No wait, this one with the sparkles inside is even prettier!"
You would have thought we just struck gold based on the kids' enthusiasm for all the crystals they found in that small quarry.
I realized that in addition to the supplies we had, I really should have packed gloves. After splitting a large piece of quartz, a sliver got under my 8-year-old's skin. The sliver was glass-like and I was really glad we had a pair of tweezers and antibiotic cream in our emergency kit to remove it right away.
Because we had set out in the afternoon and took a longer-than-planned hike, we only spent about an hour at the quarry before we had to race against the setting sun back to the car.
When we got home, the kids were not satisfied with the number of crystals they had. They wanted more. So I agreed to a return trip and added gloves to our mining gear.
After some direction from a couple of boys on the trail the next day, we found another area to mine. The kids liked the spot because they had to chisel off chunks of quartz from large boulders.
"Aaaaagh! Aaaaagh!" screamed my 10-year-old.
"What honey?! What's wrong?" I asked.
"Ooooh, there was a big spider and he was going to crawl on me!" she replied.
Yes, even with all the outdoor activities we do, she can still be a girly-girl sometimes.
We spent about two hours hammering and collecting before packing up what felt like 40 pounds of rocks (well, maybe it was more like a heavy 20) and pulling out a couple of more quartz splinters from my 8-year-old's hands because she didn't like her gloves. But before we could leave the mountain, we tracked down a geocache nearby to round out our treasure hunting for the day.
Once we got home, I wondered what we were actually going to do with all the quartz we found. It turned out that the heavy May rains inspired us to be creative with our indoor activities.
With craft wire and some tulle from the girls' old dance costumes, we spent an entire afternoon making necklaces and headbands from the smaller crystals. The tulle was perfect for hiding the rough edges and awkward twists of the wire. When we ran out of small pieces of crystal, we took some of the larger ones outside - yes, in the rain - and broke them into smaller pieces, sanded off the rough edges and made more jewelry.
Mining was a lot of fun and one that our whole family found fascinating. It gave us a whole new perspective on the beauty of quartz and rocks in general. And even if you don't know much about mining and rocks, your family can still enjoy a day at the quarry with a few simple tools and an appreciation for the spirit of a treasure hunt.
Trip: Mining for gems
Where: Mount Apatite in Auburn
Learn more about Mining and Quarrying in Maine.
This collector's guide lists 45 mineral collecting sites in Maine. Be sure when choosing a site make sure you find out if access permission is required before you arrive.
Directions to get there: Take Route 202 to Auburn then take Left onto East Hardscrabble Road (it's the first left - happens fast! - after the 95 overpass in Auburn) - go 1.0 mile. Bear Right onto Hotel Road - go 1.2 miles. Left onto Merrow Road - go 1.3 miles. Right onto Minot Road, which is Routes 11/121 - go 1.0 mile. Left onto Garfield Road - go about a mile. Left onto Mt. Apatite Road where the National Guard station and baseball fields are. Drive to the end of the road (very short) and park where the cement barricades are.
Once you park there's a lot of weirdness with signs. It says No Trespassing but you can walk on the sand by the National Guard fence onto the trail. Once on the trail you have to stay on it - you can't venture off onto the military land.
To get to the quarry you follow the wide trail for about 1/2 mile. There are forks in the trail but stay on the wide trail that goes straight ahead (and it's uphill but not too steep). Then you see a stone bridge at a fork in the trail. Take a left and follow that narrow trail to the quarries.
Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, June 2006
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