Agate Hunter

I love rocks. Some of my favorite rocks are agates. I hunt them on our local beaches.

This is a typical Northern California Agate.

Agates are a semiprecious variety of chalcedony that have banding of different colors and minerals.

They glow in the sunlight.

I find them on beaches like this in Northern California. I look for the gravel beds after storms or very low tides.

What appeals to me the most about agate hunting is the mindfulness of the activity. Being on the beach, not thinking about anything except rocks. The whole experience is immersive, like a form of meditation for the mind and body.

It can be hard at first to find them, but once you train your eyes to look for the subtle differences in rock color and the way they pick up the light, you begin to be able to distinguish them from other rocks.

I also collect jade, jasper and petrified wood. Or really any rock that appeals to me.

The love the way the light shines through them.

This is my special agate hunting tool. It’s on a long adjustable rod that can grab the agates out of the surf that are just out reach. I also learned to wear wear rain boots. However, even with these precautions, I still get munched by some random large wave the second I stop paying attention. It’s my fate, I have accepted it.

I love to notice the small things. You have to slow down in order to do so. It is like mushroom hunting in that way. It feels the same to me.

I am especially happy to find agate hearts.

This is my agate hunting buddy Nacho. He guards my rock piles. (Not the dude in the back of the photo, I just noticed him.)

I keep my agates and found treasures around my home.

I hope you find some of your own treasures to search for!