RedTop Mountain — Saturday, Aug. 16, 1997

RedTop mountain (off highway 97 near Mineral Springs) lets you drive nearly to its summit, and from there a fairly long ridge hike can be done, all the while searching for agates. They are asking for trailhead permits there, so I guess you can call it a legitimate trail. The first portion of the trail goes through a ""War Zone"", at least it looks that way due to the hundreds of pits and holes which have been dug by rockhounds. The elusive cryptocrystalline quartz nodules and seams are highly sought after. I found an agate arrowhead on this ridge last year...Dont let anyone tell you that they find the famed ""Ellensburg Blue"" agate here. They are mistaken. The agate from Red Top, while somewhat blue, appears translucent pink when held up to a light source. True Ellensburg Blue is as blue as the sky on a clear day and never appears pink...Total length of the ridge is about 3.5 miles...I found agate chips all the way out to the end... Bring Plenty of water-this is a dry one... Good Luck!