(April 6, 2019/ Author: Tim Bondy) On June 7, 2014, a group of rockhounds headed for eastern Oregon to meet up with the Idaho Gem Club for a trip to Beacon Hill for some thundereggs and agate nodules. Beacon Hill is a mining claim owned by the club and is located about 11.5 miles northwest of Weiser, Idaho and just east of the Snake River. Read on to find out where this claim is located and what to look for if you get lucky enough to get an invite to rockhound there.
Beacon Hill Rockhounding Permission
Rockhounding at the Beacon Hill Thunderegg Claim is by permission only. This claim is owned by the Idaho Gem Club out of Boise, Idaho and is located on private property. The club doesn’t own the land these thundereggs come out of but has owned the mining claim for about 40 years. Complex legal ideas best left to lawyers to muddle up for us. Just in case you are thinking of heading up there and doing some “unpermissed” prospecting, you just need to go through 3 locked gates…good luck with that 🙂 Just a heads-up.
Getting There is Rougher Than a Cob
The claim is only about 5.7 gravel and dirt road miles off the pavement and that doesn’t sound too bad. But the Beacon Hill Road is rough, bumpy and something best left to vehicles with a little extra ground clearance and a set of excellent tires.
As mentioned above, you have to contend with private property and locked gates. But there are also some stretches of public BLM lands along the drive too. You will encounter cattle or at least plenty of signs of grazing, depending on the season I suppose. Getting lost on this treeless journey isn’t likely but there are a few “wrong turn” options available to you.
Typical Dramatic Idaho Landscape
I have come to love the nearly treeless and rugged mountains of southern Idaho. And from our turn off County Road 70 and up the 1,450-foot elevation gain to the Beacon Hill Thunderegg claim, this westernmost point of Idaho didn’t disappoint.
On the drive up Beacon Hill Road keep an eye out for the sweeping views over the green agricultural lands in the Weiser area. The deep blue thread of the Snake River set against the burnt tan of this deserty landscape is pretty dramatic also. The mountains in this area are quite steep and rugged, adding to the beauty.
The Rockhounding
The Beacon Hill claim basically sits high on a ridge-top overlooking the Snake River Valley to the west. Other than a locked gate and sign, there is barely any obvious clues to suggest cool rock sit just inches under the surface or even right on the surface. Look closer and you’ll see pieces of agate in the dug up areas. And even digging into the concrete hard soils of this area doesn’t inspire confidence…unless you know what you are looking for.
You’re looking for sort of rounded grayish rocks that have been flattened somewhat. Maybe more like a razor clam, but bigger. Or maybe like slightly porous river rock or even a turtle shell. And to complicate matters, there are golf ball sized and shaped Beacon Hill thundereggs in the ground also. These too look like river rock, only rounder. Some of the various type of thundereggs will be hollow inside and the other will be solid agate. The hollow eggs I saw had a crystal coating inside. A solid core egg I broke open in the field wasn’t very impressive. But I suspect a slabbing of a solid core would result in pure coolness.
Hike Around the Ridge
I took a walk, with eyes glued to the ground, up a hill just to the north of the main digging area. The upper parts of the hill showed some really cool looking agate pieces laying on the surface. So I suspect but have zero direct evidence, there are cool rocks just below the surface up there also.
The real gem of this little hike was the view from up there. Well worth the short walk up the peak just to the north of the digging area. WARNING: The hillside is a breeding ground for cheatgrass. I stole approximately 65,123 cheatgrass seed pods from this little area and stored them in my socks and boots for the ride home. Hopefully, the landowner doesn’t find out about this 🙂
Links and Info for Beacon Hill Rockhounding
- Latitude / Longitude of Beacon Hill Dig Site: 44.334123, -117.169690
- Elevation of Dig Site: 3,475 feet MSL
- Idaho Gem Club Website: http://www.idahogemclub.com/
- On-Line Map of the Beacon Hill Area: http://www.acme.com/mapper/?ll=44.33412,-117.16970&z=14&t=T&marker0=44.33412%2C-117.16970%2C44.334123\%2C%20-117.169690
- Link to more photos from this trip: https://picasaweb.google.com/112532322025941965882/20140607?authuser=0&feat=directlink
This story was originally published on June 13, 2014, on the BondyBlogs.Com website. I decided to move it over to this website on April 6, 2019, and updated it some.
This is my life just off Interstate 84 in Mountain Home, Idaho
T.B.
Tim Bondy
Freelance Writer
Ending Pun: My friend said, “There’s a lot of gold in those hills.” I replied, “That’s a load of bullion.”