5/6/23: The final piece of Mica has been taken from this geocache (despite explicit instructions not to take the final rock from any of the caches in this series); there is unfortunately no more Mica to see here. You can see pictures of the original contents of this cache, and read more about the rocks, below.
During the great quarantine clean of 2020, I discovered my rock collection, assembled over years of studying geology in college and just picking up cool rocks along the way. Having way more rocks than we knew what to do with, we thought it would be fun to share them with fellow geocachers in a new series along the Merrimack River: the rock collection! These 15 caches are hidden in a linear fashion along a portion of the Bay Circuit Trail which can be walked or biked, across AVIS's Deer Jump Reservation (and a couple other reservations as well). The containers vary in size, but each should be an easy find. Each one highlights a different really cool rock. Tradeables may not be left in these caches, though if you collect rocks yourself you can keep a rock from some (but not all) of these caches. Coordinates for a possible trailhead are provided, though there are many places you could begin your hike.
Mica
Mica is a mineral commonly found in many rocks, including granite and many types of metamorphic rocks. It is flakey and shiny in texture. The two most common types of mica are biotite (darker color) and muscovite (lighter color). Though it is a very common mineral, large chunks of solid mica are much rarer and I don't know where these came from. As long as there are a few rocks left in the cache, feel free to take one for your own collection!
