Pamo Valley Treasure

Rose quartz

Although the San Diego Natural History Museum‘s new “All That Glitters” exhibition gives visitors the impression the county is home to many family-owned gem mines, only a few remain. One that I recently had the fortune to visit was featured on a hike sponsored by the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy (SDRVC).

 

Our group’s destination was the rose quartz mine located up Carney Canyon in the Pamo Valley.  Wyatt Allen, who owns the mine, showed up to greet us.   A local drilling contractor and devoted rockhound, Allen acquired the mineral rights on the property about four years. He made it clear that scraping away at the hillside with his backhoe is a hobby, not a living.  But eventually he hopes to use diamond-core drills to unearth large specimens of clear rose quartz, the sort of pieces coveted by museums and other collectors. 

 

As fun as it was to chat with Allen, an even greater pleasure was discovering the Pamo Valley. In all my years of living and hiking here, I’d never heard of it. Located about seven miles north of Ramona, it’s part of the San Dieguito River Park (hence the SDRVC-sponsored outing). The valley’s east and west slopes belong to the Cleveland National Forest, but the the City of San Diego Water Department owns the valley floor and years ago developed plans to dam Bear and Temescal Creeks to flood the place.

 

For positical reasons, those plans were never carried out. At almost every step of our excursion, I breathed thanks for that. The valley reminded me a bit of Brigadoon — a secret enchanted place, but one inhabited by cattle ranchers instead of singing Scotsmen. (Members of one of the oldest resident families have posted a comprehensive history of the area online.) So much was blooming: deerwood, monkeyflower, yarrow, manzanita, and chamise dripping with creamy white flowers.

 

  A few times we crossed or hiked beside streams running through shadowy oak forests.

 

 

  

 

Lusardi Road, which runs right through the middle of the valley, can be accessed off Pamo Road, about 6.3 miles west of where Haverford Road becomes Pamo.  It’s open to the public.  I highly recommend a stroll through this gem of a different sort.