The assembled group included Jody Young, remarkable for her orange outfit, ski poles and poodle dog, Pluto! Also present were Scott Bailey, a geologist up at Hubbard Brook and his Dad, Leon, a back-sliding rockhound from Springfield, MA. Welcoming him back in the fold, we made him promise that he would come back in 2003 for an underground trip. Included in our field trip group were Denis and Chris Field and their son, Doug. Also present was the Tellman’s "granddaughter-for-the-day," Victoria Guay. The two enthusiastic preteens added a great deal to the trip. Still later, Bob and Marlene York arrived, swelling our numbers to 18.

As the day progressed the temperature rose and more and more of the dumps were uncovered. I was nervous that someone would slip on the wet leaves and slush, but no one did, and none of the cars slid off the road.

After awhile the Capital Mineral Club men and lady who had come to load the mine equipment had everything on board. Bob Whitmore cheerfully called, "We’re going along now. Pat, don’t forget to lock the gate behind you." My face must have reflected my consternation, because Bob grinned and said, "You can do it!" Groan, well I guess I must! He recited the five part instructions which Tanya, Victoria and I repeated carefully.

Well, I was amazed at how much was found "in the snow." Nice little finger-sized beryl, including several gemmy bits were found by Jim Holmes and Dave Tellman. Handsome apatite crystals, not micros either, were found by Denis Field. And a whole bunch of people found some very attractive scorzolite lumps over on the back dumps. Bob York found colorful pseudomalachite on the lower dumps, and I’m sure there were other nice things too.

Finally, we decided to button things up at 3:00 since it gets dark so early. I wanted to go to the Capital Mineral Club meeting that night. Oops, we had lost Jim Holmes. The other Presidential Club members assured me he would turn up, and sure enough, he did. We started down the mountain at 3:30. We stopped along the way to let people off at their cars. At the gate Tanya, Victoria, and I held up the cable while reciting the 5-part mantra. With no problem, Dave Tellman and Bill Lessard had the gate closed and locked. We were on our way.

Later we learned that Jody, who had left early, had found two hunters parked in the road! They were surprised, believing that no one was up at the mine, but Jody firmly disabused them of that idea.

Everyone expressed gratitude to Bob Whitmore for allowing us to visit the mine, especially on the busy wrap-up day. Many people assured me it was the best field trip, while I was very thankful that the day was over and everyone would come back in 2003 when the ground is bare!