Lime Kiln Trail

Well today I was back in my home town and looking for a hike I've never done before. This one just happened to be only a short distance from where I lived so I thought I'd give it a go. I headed toward the trail slightly later than I anticipated and when I normally would have gone. But when I got to the trail head I found out I was lucky I did, because the trail head is closed until 7:00 am. So I got there about 7:20 am and started during a slight drizzle and about 56 degrees. The trail started out looking like a bonafide rain forest. (Or perhaps it just seemed that way since I just spent the last week hiking around the much dryer central Oregon.) But needless to say it was very green, with trees, ferns and moss all under a beautiful canopy.

After a short distance the trail opens up, the canopy disappears and you are walking down a wide path that looks like a 4wheeler trail (although they aren't allowed here). The trail is mostly heavily packed dirt and rocks. There is little elevation change and is quite easy. The scenery changes off and on from under a thick canopy and narrow trail to an open trail where you can look to the sky, which happened to be covered in clouds today, however the light drizzle did stop shortly after I started this morning.

Once I got to the kiln site I was amazed at how big the kiln actually was. It was much bigger than I anticipated. I did have the desire the climb it, but there was a sign that said "Please do not climb" so I didn't. But all in all it was an impressive thing to look at and examine. To be able to build such a thing hundreds of years ago is quite a feat. At the site there is also a bunch of scattered bricks and metal shards of old tools. After the kiln I continued on the trail which descends to the South Fork Stillaguamish River. Down at the river it seems to be a common practice to stack rocks on top of each other...which seemed a little strange to me.

I jogged about half way on the way back. This trail is well suited for trail running, however I didn't run the whole way because I wasn't wearing my trail running shoes, and my hiking shoes weren't made for jogging. On my way back I only came across 6 people. Which isn't entirely surprising considering its a Friday morning and not-so-great weather. But it made for an enjoyable hike for me. This is a great hike for kids and the whole family, its easy and it has some interesting history to it. Check it out.

Vegetation: Lots, everywhere, including but not limited to conifers, deciduous, and evergreen trees, ferns, moss, wildberries, mushrooms, skunk cabbage, wildflowers, and sticker bushes.
Wildlife: I heard lots of birds singing along the whole trail. While walking along I heard some movement in the bushes, I'm assuming they were just birds. I saw a rabbit, slugs, snails and a snake. Bugs were almost non-existent. I didn't have any problems with pesky bugs or mosquitoes, too cold for that still.
Water Source: About 1.3 miles in you pass Hubbard Lake which is small and is easy to miss from the trail due to thick trees and vegetation. About 1.7 miles in the trail follows South Fork Stillaguamish River, but you cant access it very easily because the trail is high above the river. But the trail does end up at the at the River after 4 miles.