Mt. Apatite is fun place to explore

Yesterday we went hiking at Mt. Apatite in Auburn to do some rock mining and research for a geology project. The morning started off eating pancakes while reading print outs from the Maine Geological Survey about the area. We opted to go to Mt. Apatite for a hike to complete our research because well, we like it there and research is much more fun when it's done "in the field." The rain was coming down pretty hard so we took some umbrellas along with our mining gear (hammers, chisel, flathead screwdriver, gloves and safety goggles). Mock me if you will but the umbrellas kept us - and our gear - relatively dry. And you know, walking in the rain really can be pleasant if you're prepared for it. And if you're 10, walking in huge puddles can be the highlight of any trip. We went to the dump side of the Maine Feldspar Quarry to sift through the rocks there before moving on to the other side of the quarry further up the trail. L. did some rock splitting and found some small traces of apatite (the mineral namesake for the mountain - and a valuable gem if you can find a larger sample of it) as well as garnet. In the past we've also found small pieces of tourmaline but we didn't find any on this trip. We did however discover that this area also has a basalt deposit like the one we found in New Hampshire on our EarthCache adventure and were all excited we actually recognized it and knew what it was. Yup, field research is a whole lot more fun. You can find quartz, feldspar and mica in all shapes and sizes easily at Mt. Apatite. My kids enjoy swinging a hammer and cracking rocks open so we bring along the mining gear but it's not really necessary for kids. They'll likely have you serving as a pack mule in no time with all their newly found treasures they simply can't leave without. There are two quarries at Mt. Apatite open to the public, the Maine Feldspar Quarry and Greenlaw Quarry. We have yet to find a good map of this area so we took our GPS unit to save a track of our hike so other families could find these quarries more easily. Mt. Apatite Trail at EveryTrailMap created by EveryTrail The one odd thing about this trail is getting from the trail head to the trail. The trail head is located next to a National Guard post and you have to walk down their private road to get to the public lands trail. There are several signs posted with "no trespassing" so visitors stay on the road and not explore the woods near the post. It's a little confusing if you've never been there but the road is open to pedestrian traffic headed to Mt. Apatite. Go to this map to get directions to the trail head