Gobbler Smoky Quartz part 2

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Headed up to Devils Head Colorado in late May on a gorgeous spring day to test my luck with finding Smoky Quartz crystals.  I decided to visit a location I had luck with on Thanksgiving 2013 to see if the pegmatite continued on into a bigger pocket.

I started by digging more into the harder country rock directly behind where the pocket from last year pinched out.  I went about 5 feet (of hard rock digging) around that area and found nothing of interest.  Then I decided to head the other direction, which was piled with tailings and pegmatite rocks so I had some housecleaning to do.  Immediately upon getting below the surface I pulled out a microcline that looked good…probably less than 2 inches below ground.  I took another scrape with the shovel to remove sticks and top soil and a girthy 2 inch smoky popped out of the ground!  This is the closest pocket to the surface I have ever found, the pocket bottomed out about 4-5 inches deep!

I took some video pulling out medium sized smoky quartz from this small pocket.  As quickly as it started, it ended.  I dug for 5-7 feet more but determined that the pegmatite at that point would have been above the current ground level.  It was getting late and I was several miles from the car, so I buried the hole, packed up and hiked out.

Upon thinking about this more, I will pay another visit to this area and start prospecting down the hill for float that may have come out of the seam over the millions of years of erosion in this location (usually I find float and dig uphill towards the hopeful pocket). Never thought of doing this before so we’ll see if this twist on my normal routine pays out.  ???

This cluster was at the bottom of the pocket.  Note the back side where the graphic granite is obvious.  This is what you want to look for when digging test holes or while prospecting!
This small cluster was at the bottom of the pocket. Note the back side where the graphic granite is obvious. This is what I look for when digging test holes or while prospecting!  Curious on the light colored smokey in the center.
Some examples of the smoky quartz I found (still to be cleaned)
Some examples of the smoky quartz I found (still to be cleaned).  The right most is the one with the broken tip.  Interestingly, so far this year each pocket/seam I’ve hit has one (and only one) nice smoky with a broken tip….in each case I have found it near by.  Interesting…

5 Comments

  1. Hey there,

    Big fan of your videos and blog posts about rockhounding! I go all over the pikes peak range ! Would love to get together w you sometime! Email me and lets see if we can get a pocket together.

    1. Howdy. I hope head up again in late Sept or early October; would be fun to get several folks stating they are interested together for a trip up somewhere. Stay tuned…

  2. What should I look for before digging? I know the area I’m going to dig. Just need help to dig in the right spots to increase my odds of finding something, instead of random holes.

    1. Hey Randy. Yeah, that’s the trick, what to look for to find a place to dig. I have a project I started last year that I plan to continue until it is done to hopefully answer this question–and show it via video. In summary:
      1) Look for float, and then search uphill until the signs go away…then dig down
      2) Look for flat sided rocks/stones on the ground, then dig
      3) Look for reddish dirt/rocks then dig
      4) Look for pegmatite rocks on the surface, then dig (or look uphill)
      These are just some of the technique’s I’ve had luck with so far.

      Good luck digging, let me know if you find anything!

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