New trail takes the long route

By Leslie Kelly
Special to The Seattle Times

After seven seasons of sweat and loving care, and more than 10,500 volunteer hours, the Lime Kiln Trail will be dedicated in a grand-opening ceremony Friday.

"It's wonderful," said Steve Dean, a volunteer who in 1998 launched the effort to build the Granite Falls-area trail. "All of the volunteers are extremely excited to reach the climax of the project. ... We are just elated to be at the end point, where we can share our work with the public and actually see people walking on the trail."

Dean, who personally led 175 work parties to complete the trail, will be on hand at 3 p.m. Friday when Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon is expected to recognize the volunteer efforts of at least 325 people who helped build the 3.5 miles of trail in Robe Canyon Historic Park.

The park was begun in 1991. In 1997, it was expanded under the leadership of then-County Executive Bob Drewel, and ideas for the new trail took root.

Pat Kenyon, a senior park planner for the Snohomish County Parks and Recreation Department, said that if dollar amounts were put to the efforts of the volunteers, the Lime Kiln Trail would have cost the county around $115,000.

"There's no doubt that, with county funds as tight as they are, the trail would never have gotten done without the volunteer efforts," Kenyon said. "We've had Boy Scouts, retired folks and professional people all working together to see this project through."

Getting there Take Highway 92 east into Granite Falls, then turn right onto South Granite Avenue. Turn left onto East Pioneer Street, which becomes Menzel Lake Road. Turn left onto Waite Mill Road. Turn left again when the road forks at the pavement's end. A white gate marks the trailhead, 0.1 mile on the left. Information about the trail and Friday's grand-opening ceremony is available from the Snohomish County Department of Parks and Recreation at 425-388-6600.

There were 178 volunteer events, some lasting two days, adding up to 1,152 volunteer days. Most of the work was done over the past seven summers.

"Some people do it for the satisfaction of the craftsmanship of the trail itself," Dean said. "Others just like being outdoors. And some of the volunteers have said this is their way of giving back — out of their sense of duty because they enjoy hiking trails so much."

An added bonus, Dean said, was learning the history of the area.

"[The trail] travels through an area that has a rich history," he said. "Just being able to open that up for others to enjoy is quite a bonus."

The area was once a busy railroad route that brought minerals from deep in the mountains to nearby towns. The Everett & Monte Cristo Railway was built in 1892-93 and abandoned in 1934. Vestiges of a railroad trestle lie on both sides of the Stillaguamish River's South Fork near the trail's end, where a side path leads down to the water.

The trail's name — Lime Kiln — is significant because at the trail's 2.6-mile mark there is a stone-and-mortar structure, 20 feet tall on one side, which was used as a kiln to cook limestone taken from a nearby hill. Lime was then shoveled out of the kiln into railroad cars and carried to a paper mill in Lowell, now part of Everett, and to a smelter in North Everett.

Other highlights along the way include a view of an abandoned railroad grade, sights of the Stillaguamish and the historic site of Cutoff Junction.

Dean said the trail is rated easy to moderate with a 300-foot gain in elevation. A round trip can be done in three to five hours.

On Friday, some volunteers plan to hike the trail before the dedication. There is a 25-car parking lot built by the county at the trailhead, at the end of Waite Mill Road.

County park officials suggest that people car pool to the dedication to reduce the impact on the neighborhood. The public is invited to attend, and refreshments will be served.

This is the second trail in Robe Canyon Historic Park. The other trail, the two-mile Old Robe Trail, was built and opened in the late 1960s by the Lake Stevens Boy Scouts, and sections of it were rebuilt by volunteers in 1996, Dean said. It provides access to the historic Robe townsite, two railroad tunnels and the upper end of Robe Canyon.

"We've all made some really good friends working on this project together," Dean said. "It's not like going to work, where sometimes you have to be with people who don't share your vision. We were all here because of a common bond — nature — and because we chose to do this. It's really a joy to see it completed."