By January 3, 2005 we were ready
to resume our exploration of pocket MMP28-04. Besides Skip Simmons,
Peter Lyckberg from
Luxembourg had come over to participate. Peter felt that a major pocket
comes along infrequently enough to warrant a hastily arranged trip to
Maine. Although the ' Upper Chamber' and the 'Passageway' and
been nearly dugout, the 'Room' was essentially untouched. (The general
layout of the pocket and the major
pieces recovered to this time are shown in the sketch to the
right.) The first order of business was to pump out the water and
, as much as possible, make our workings habitable.
Winter was rapidly taking command of our operation.
Eventually we settled down to the business of working the 'Room'. Prior
to getting started Peter Lyckberg captured this view into the
chamber. As can be seen, large quartz crystals and masses of feldspar
covered the top of the pocket. Mary and Richard did most of the 'heavy
lifting' within the Room. Soon they had dug it down enough that they
were able to stand up inside the cavity. 5 gallon buckets of pocket
dirt were handed out to an assistant stationed in the
Passageway. A steady stream of these buckets moved to the
screening table.
Mary attacks the Room
(P. Lyckberg photo)
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and passes a large
elbaite out into the Passageway.
(P. Lyckberg photo)
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Richard and Bob Whitmore
working the screens
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One  of
the first significant pieces to emerge from the this new work in the
Room was the base to the large pink elbaite found just after Christmas. When the pieces were assembled the crystal
reached 54 cm. As the Room was enlarged dozens of quartz groups, many
with attached tourmaline were recovered. Gradually the Room achieved
the proportions of its name ( see image to the left). The work
was messy and muddy and not to mention cold. The high temperatures
reached on January 3 to 5 never exceeded -3C ( 25F). The temperature in
the Room was more moderate however. As the contents of the Room
emerged over the next three days perhaps 2 events stand out. The first
was the removal of a huge cathedral quartz group by Richard. The piece
required considerable effort to remove as its mass approached Richard's
own. The second major find was a huge elbaite recovered in two pieces
by Mary.
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Richard rests after
finally extracting his quartz crystal
(P. Lyckberg photo)
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Mary's tourmaline after a little cleaning
(P. Lyckberg photo)
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Some of the quartz groups from MMP28-04
Karen Webber photo
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Some of the tourmaline from MMP28-04
Peter Lyckberg photo
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