Spent the afternoon yesterday just out and about wandering some streams. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just scouting some new areas. I had been reading a bit about the controversy over Maryland's State Gem, the Patuxent River Stone. Below is an image of said stone.
 |
| Tumbled River Stone |
The only reason I brought it up, was because my travels took me to Patuxent River State Park for some hiking. I of course searched the stream beds for any possible examples of the state gem, but came up empty. Maybe I was in the wrong part of the river (most likely), or it is just not that easy to find (also probable). Needless to say, the park is wonderful! I am so happy that MD has so many nice streams and rivers to enjoy. I started at the north end of the park @ Long Corner Road. Parking was easy and the path to the stream just slightly over grown. MD has not faired well with the recent wind storms, so there are numerous trees down in the park and across the stream bed. Please use caution if traveling the area due to downed trees, slippery paths, poison ivy, and numerous insects.
The most notable location I stopped at was the intersection of Hipsley Mill and Annapolic Rock Road. This location is actually on Cabin Branch (a tributary of the Patuxent) and showed some amazing local outcrops. Unfortunately, the overgrowth prevented me from getting back into the woods to really examine them. I will have to come back in the winter!
The second reason this area is so notable was the spider bite I recieved while there. I felt a spiderweb on my head and something touching my ear while looking into the woods, so I brushed it with my hand. Not surprising, there was a spider now attached to my right index finger. It was not happy and actually bite me for my action. Taking care not just crush the spider or flick it away before identifying it, I had to overcome my surprise and fear of spiders, and actually look at the offending bugger! A close friend of mine was bitten by either a Black Widow or a Brown Recluse last November and he is still recovering. One of the things his doctors said was that it was a shame he didn't know which it was, as it would have helped in treatment. So I looked. What I found was a rather upset Wolf Spider. The bite was very quick and didn't actually penetrate the skin much, but it was my wake up call. I do not really want to get bitten too often, so I may scale down my searching a bit till autumn arrives.
After searching for a few hours and walking the stream, I noticed that most of the quartz in the area is rather fragile and crumbly. Large concentrations of Iron inclusions have been rusted away from these stones and they crush very easily. I also found samples of quartzite, schist, shale, slate, and many mixed rocks. The boundary for the metamorphic and sedimentary rocks seems to be interwoven in this nice little valley and it is easy to find smaples of both types of rocks side by side. Closer examination of the local outcrops appear to be Phyllite (metamorphic rock between shale and slate). Some of the banding in the outcrops showed further metamorphism and had bands of quartz (ite) interwoven within.
One of the lessons I also learned was that I may want to get a less expensive camera to take along with me. I was hesitant to bring the Nikon into this area due to the slippery surfaces, so I have no pics to add.....
Until next time!
lots of deer ticks too. Tiny little ones that give you lyme. Anywhere in MD make sure to check yourself for ticks. I hunt around there and that area up there is particularly bad for lyme. I really like your site btw.
ReplyDelete