Limekiln Gulch

 

Limekiln Gulch is a short but neat hike that takes you to, well, what the gulch was named after, an old Limekiln. At a .15th of a mile it is a quick excursion.

Still experiencing our bizarre winterspring it was a beautiful sunny day, unfortunately accompanied by winter like freezing wind. I had hoped being in a canyon would help with that.

After winding around and up through the neighborhoods we found the small trail situated between houses.

Before long you find yourself in a nice scrub oak filled canyon.

And then rather abruptly you see the old building. I was kind of surprised it was not further back.

Just have to climb this quick steep white (I’m guessing lime covered) slope before you can really check it out.

And here it is in all it’s old glory! 1 of 3 limekilns built in the 1850’s. Wow it’s is in amazing shape for being such an old building.

Oh. According to the sign there has been some restoration, and the gates and fencing added to help prevent further vandalism. So they have had to do significant repair and restoration, and then add fencing because stupid humans can’t respect history.

Anyway, this is pretty significant as not very many limekilns remain standing today. This was the largest and only remaining of 3 kilns in the area. They would mine lime nearby and burn it here to purify it and then the remain product was used in masonry and quite a few other things. It is really rather interesting.

A look inside, through the grate. I was curious why they wouldn’t bother removing some of the old trash some thoughtless people had left behind before fencing it off, but as you will see in a moment, I bet they did, but people found a way around it.

A look inside another opening.

Different angle.

I climbed up the hill to see the remains of the chimneys. the sign mentions they did not restore them as any attempt would not have done justice to them.

So this is where I believe the trashy people are getting in, and see they have damaged the grate just to dump garbage in them. THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS!!!!

Ahem. Moving on.

I glanced up the hill and noticed this old looking cross. Huh, well since this is a historically significant area I wonder what it is.

Oh. 2008, not old at all. I wonder who this Ty person was, and why this marker ended up here.

there is a good view above the kilns here though.

And a great view of downtown!

So the kilns were really neat, but it wasn’t much of a hike, so we decided to see what else this canyon might have to offer.

Pretty little gulch.

However the trail doesn’t seem to take what appears to be the easiest route up.

I just liked the clouds here.

Getting up, quite quickly. You can just make out the kilns just below the view of the valley below.

Okay, the trail was a bit tough and now the winds were blowing us about and it was getting chilly. aside from the chilly weather is was not particularly pretty so we weren’t having a very good time so we headed back.

View down before heading back.We probably went another .15 to a quarter of a mile. It didn’t look like it went much further before connecting to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.

View down.

View of the hilltops above.

Returning to the kiln looks a little creepy with the trees.

Another angle of the kiln.

I really just love this old building!

Scrambling down the lime covered slope.

Miserable wind or not, the clouds are fun today.

Near the trailhead where the trail veers off around this homeowners driveway.

You know, vandalism or not, I am glad that the trail remains open and public. this is unique history and people should be allowed to explore it. I am happy this trail exists. We should all get to explore and learn about history and it shouldn’t always have to be in a fee area or a museum or state park. yes, open like this leaves it vulnerable to trashy people as we learned today, but I wonder if we can find some balance somehow. I think posting the historical significance is a start, but I’m not sure what else we could do without making it a fenced off fee area. Interesting subject to explore more.

if you do visit, please do your part in preserving our history. Leave only footprints, take only pictures.

Aside from the winds today I really enjoyed this trail, and I really liked exploring and learning about the old limekiln. Not a lot of people today so I am going to say it was a great adventure. Removing 1 squirrel due to the maze like neighborhoods we had to navigate and the nearby civilization.

As for difficulty, it wasn’t bad at to the kilns just that quick… 20 ft steep climb which if you really want you can avoid by following the trail around the hill and back tracking a bit. Going with a DR3.

Dogs are allowed! Please remember to clean up after your furry friend.