Dirt road and view from Bryant Creek Road on the way to Calver Hill Mines
After a good nights sleep at the Sportsman Motel in Melrose, Montana we headed up Interstate 15 and west on Highway 43 past the small town of Wise River. About five miles past Wise River and just before Dickie Bridge, we made a left on Bryant Creek Road. We unloaded our Arctic Cat ATV near a small camp ground right off the highway.
Getting to the Mine
Coordinates of Turn off Highway 43: 45.850049, -113.068342
Bryant Creek Road is a dirt/gravel road that gradually climbs and heads west into the Pioneer Mountains. The scenery is the typical excellent Montana stuff with plenty of pine trees and steep hillsides. The road is rather rough in places and the higher you go the more rutted it gets. Still, the road is something most cars could handle. Approximately 6 miles from where we turned off Highway 43 we entered the flats that mark the Calvert Mine area and its many tailing piles.
The Mine Area
Coordinates: Big Pond Area – 45.847303, -113.154007 and Little Pond Area – 45.848965, -113.153672
As you travel the dirt road through the mine area you’ll start heading north. The mine tailings on the left once you see a large blue pond is a good place to find some very cool rocks and some small green crystals embedded in bigger rocks. There are mine tailing all around this flat area. We only explored a few places so you might have better luck searching further off the beaten path. If you go past the lake you’ll come to a dead end spur road containing a large horseshoe shape mine tailing area. I’ve read that during the wet season, there is a small pond in the deep depression in the area. On July 20th, 2010 it contained only a large puddle. The rocks in the “little pond” area are quite amazing and somewhat different than near and around the “big pond” area. Overall, you’ll likely not find any rocks or gems that will make you rich. But some of the rocks will knock your socks off for their beauty and coolness.
The Big Pod
I heard the “big pond” is quite deep and has some nice sized trout in it. The two times we have been up to Calvert, I’ve checked out this pond and never seen a fish in it. The water is crystal clear and has a very cool blue/green coloring. I know the rock hounding in this area can become all consuming if you let it but take some time to really check out the big pond…it’s quite stunning. Rumor has it parts of the pond are over 200 feet deep.
What We Found
We spent about 3 hours digging through the mine tailings and came out with about 35-40 pounds of cool rocks. I’d say 97% of them will end up in our garden while the coolest rocks will end up on display somewhere in our house.
Is this red calcite? I don’t know
More Hounding and Some Sightseeing
We decided to head west out of the mine on Calvert Loop Road to see if some other tailings could be found. The road was the same rough and rocky dirt road winding through some magnificent scenery. There is a large meadow about one mile past the mine area that is quite scenic and is a must see if you have the time. In one road cut we found some type of blood red crystallized rock we think is calcite? But for the most part we didn’t find anything else exciting.
Other Things You Might Want to Know
The deer flies and mosquitoes were horrible on this day. I have the welts and bite marks to prove it. We were in this same spot on June 1st, 2010 and the biting bugs were non-existent. My advice is to try rock hounding early or late in season. While it may be unusual for this area, this day was also quite sweaty and hot even at the 7,100 foot elevation of the mine area. Maybe another reason to come in the spring or fall. Crowds at the Calvert Mines? We had the entire area to ourselves on this Tuesday rock hounding trip. I think one truck was headed up the road when we left. But there are stories of this place becoming somewhat crowded.
Check Back
The rocks we found on this trip are soaking in water and soap. In the coming week or so I should have time to take some pictures of the wonderful things we found at Calvert Mines. Sometimes knowing what the rocks look like before cleaning or polishing makes rock hounding easier. But to full appreciate what we found, getting the dirt off may be the only way to photograph our specimens. Come on back in early August 2010 and some pictures should be posted by then.
Link to a few more photos of our Calvert Mine trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.bondy/MontanaSPioneerMountainsDay2?feat=directlink
Thanks for visiting and commenting on this Montana outdoor rock hounding adventure.
Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author