September 2, 2005...
Steve Dean and Terry Osborn completed the construction of the
kiosk! Click on the Photos link above.
Summer 2005...
Here are the latest Robe Canyon highlights...
- We've completed all the planned work parties for 2005. The Lime
Kiln Trail is in good shape and is getting a fair amount of use. The
Old Robe Trail is repaired as far as the slide before tunnel 6 (the first
tunnel). More work parties may be added in the fall, depending on
need and interest.
- We are working to build a trailhead display (two-sided, perhaps
appropriately called a "kiosk") for the Lime Kiln Trail.
Current plan is to build it on Aug. 1 & 2. We've received
contributions from Home Depot and roofing materials from Champion Metal.
The display will enable us to post maps, regulations, trail & safety
information, and historical photos at the trailhead.
Cheers!
- Steve
July 2005...
Greetings!
The salmon berries are growing like crazy down on the trail. We have
two volunteer work parties scheduled this month, and our primary focus will
be to trim-back the fast-growing green stuff. If you would like to
help, we would greatly appreciate your help for one of the following dates.
Thursday, July 14
Saturday, July 16
As usual, these work parties are organized by Volunteer for Outdoor
Washington. We will meet at the trailhead for the Lime Kiln Trail at
8:30 a.m. and return there by 4:30 p.m. Please send me an e-mail or a
phone message if you plan to join us. I will return messages on July
12.
Cheers!
- Steve Dean
360-652-7181
June 2005...
Greetings!
At our last work party in May
(24th), we were treated to a show by the bald eagles nesting across the
river (¼-mile beyond the lime kiln). It looked to us that the parents
were demonstrating how to fly to the eaglet(s) in the nest. Come join
us for the two work parties in June and see how the eagles are progressing.
And bring your binoculars!
We have two outings scheduled for
June:
Thursday, June 9, and
Sunday, June 12.
Current plans are to work on the
trail beyond the lime kiln (about 3-mile hike from the trailhead). We
are attempting to open an old culvert (a clay tile pipe left over from the
railroading era). We will also be digging the mud from the ditch-line
that approaches the pipe. Nearby, we need to trim back the
fast-growing brush. So there's a good variety of work to choose from,
a nice hike, and a chance to catch a glimpse of one of the eaglets.
Hope you can join us!
As always, please let me know (by
e-mail or phone message) whenever you plan to attend.
Cheers!
- Steve Dean
360-652-7181
Spring 2005...
Greetings!
Following successful completion and
opening of the Lime Kiln Trail in 2004, volunteers have assembled a lighter
schedule for volunteer work dates at Robe Canyon for this year. The
following spring and summer schedule of volunteer dates hosted by Volunteers
for Outdoor Washington includes at least one mid-week date and one weekend
date each month, April through July. Please see below for specific
dates. We plan to take a break during August, and volunteer work for
this autumn will be scheduled based on volunteer interest.
We will begin this year's work on
the Old Robe Trail, where we will repair some of the winter storm damage.
The remaining eight work parties are planed for the Lime Kiln Trail.
There we will perform routine work, including brush trimming and drainage
maintenance. We will also improve the tread surface and drainage in a
few critical locations and build some resting benches along the trail
corridor. And we may begin work on a spur trail to the old limestone
quarry behind the lime kiln.
In a departure from past years, for
all work parties we will meet at the trailhead (Old Robe trailhead for April
17, Lime Kiln trailhead for other dates). For directions to each
trailhead, please refer to www.robecanyon.org.
For all dates, we will meet at 8:30
a.m., and we will finish our day by 4:30 p.m. As in past years, please
sign-up for each work party in advance. There are three ways to do so:
by phone:
360-652-7181 (after April 11)
I hope you can join us again this
year!
Warm regards,
Steve Dean
Coming up for
2005...
We
plan to post our 2005 maintenance work party schedule by March, so stay tuned!
Lime Kiln Trail
Grand Opening...
Mark your calendars:
October 3, 2004 -- Volunteer Celebration and Potluck at 12:30 p.m.
October 15, 2004 -- Official Dedication Event at 3:00 p.m.
Click
Here for all the details.
2004 Summer Update...
The Lime Kiln Trail is built
except for a few finishing touches! It will officially open near the
end of the summer.
With the trail construction
winding down, volunteers will seize the opportunity to work on the Old
Robe Trail during the first two Thursdays of August. However, we
will continue to meet at the parking lot of the Community Center/Boys
& Girls Club in downtown Granite Falls (meet at 8:20 am, leave at 8:30
am, return to G.F. by 4:30 pm) In addition, on Sunday, August 8, Bob
& MJ Creamer will be installing the last two trail signs (near the
lime kiln) while other volunteers trim brush and fine-tune tread on the
trail nearby (meet in G.F., same times). Please join us for any of
these dates if you are able. Please let us know by e-mail or phone
call if you can attend.
Thurs., August 5: Old Robe
Trail
Sun., August 8: Lime Kiln Trail
Thurs., August 12: Old Robe Trail
When the trail officially opens,
we will have a celebration. When the date is set, we will let you
know.
Here are summary data and a few other points of information.
- Total volunteer hours logged for
work on the Lime Kiln Trail, 1998 to present, are 10,419. This
number includes 8,212 on the trail with the balance comprised of
administrative hours (paperwork, phone calls, e-mail, tool sharpening,
etc.) and volunteers' travel time from their homes to Granite Falls.
Not included in the above tally are the hours invested in making the trail
signs and historical markers (approximately 120 hours).
- Total number of volunteers: 325.
- Volunteer work-days: 1,139
- Number of work parties: 176
- Including the work that
volunteers have performed on the Old Robe Trail starting in 1995, plus the
work on the Lime Kiln Trail, the total is 12,886 hours.
- We have worked with volunteers
from Lake Stevens Rotary Club, various Boy Scout troops, high school
students fulfilling their community service requirements, CSR/Rinker
Materials, The Mountaineers, Sierra Club, Stillaguamish Citizens'
Alliance, cadets from Marysville Junior ROTC, high school students from
Arlington's Weston High School Step-Up program, and youths working through
Snohomish County detention alternatives programs. Additionally,
groups on the Old Robe Trail have included Washington Trails Association,
Lake Stevens Family Center YAK program for junior high school-aged youths,
and Explorer Scouts.
The County Parks folks graded the
trailhead parking lot in early July!
In July, volunteers have installed trail
signs and historical markers, finished grading, and brushed the trail in
anticipation of a mid-summer opening. We celebrated the
completion of the trail by inviting those volunteers who have worked the most
to put a capstone on our project by installing the trail signs. In each
of the July work parties, we installed signs (17 locations in all).
And, we added three Thursday
dates to the summer volunteer schedule. For all three dates, we will be
joined by a crew from Arlington's Weston High School. The first date,
July 15, will feature final-stage work on the Lime Kiln Trail. For the
other two dates, August 5th and 12th, we hope to work on the Old Robe Trail.
Here are are the details of the
up-dated summer schedule:
- Thursday, July 8: finish grading
of first 1/4 mile of trail and install signs in the first mile of
trail.
- Sunday, July 11: grading &
brushing in the first 1½ miles of trail; install signs in the second mile.
- Thursday, July 15: brushing
& drainage in the middle of the trail; install signs.
- Saturday, July 17: brushing,
drainage, and install signs near Lime Kiln.
- Tuesday, July 20: brushing &
tread work as needed; install signs at the far end of the trail and at the
trailhead.
- Thursday, August 5: Old Robe Trail
(likely location - meet in Granite Falls as usual)
- Thursday, August 12: Old Robe
Trail (likely location - meet in Granite Falls as usual).
We will have more news later about a
celebration of the public opening of the trail.
Hope to see you on the trail!
Early 2004 News...
Volunteer trail construction work
parties on the Lime Kiln Trail at Robe Canyon resumed for 2004 on
April 15th! Please share this information with anyone who might be
interested. Click here for the new work party
calendar.
Volunteer trail work at Snohomish County's Robe Canyon Historic Park is
sponsored by Volunteers for Outdoor Washington (VOW) and the Stillaguamish
Citizens' Alliance.
Construction of the Lime Kiln Trail
has been an all-volunteer effort led by VOW, with participation from
community and outdoor groups, including The Mountaineers, Boy Scout troops,
the Sierra Club and many others. The trail construction began in 1998.
Since then, three miles of trail have been completed. In 2004,
volunteers will complete the project, and the new trail, 3½ miles one way,
will be opened to the public. Highlights of this new trail include
views of the South Fork Stillaguamish River; the remains of the 19th-century
Everett & Monte Cristo Railway; the lime kiln - a 120-year-old rock
structure used for converting limestone into lime; and the river-loop trail
segment at the far end of the trail near the site of an old railroad bridge
over the South Fork Stillaguamish River. Please join us for our final
year of construction on this exciting, new trail!
For each volunteer work day,
volunteers will meet at in Granite Falls at 8:20 am and return to Granite
Falls by 4:30 p.m.
Presently, we meet in Granite Falls
at the parking lot of the Granite Falls Boys & Girls Club / Community
Center, located on South Granite Avenue, 2½ blocks south of Stanley Street
(Hwy. 92). We leave the parking lot at 8:30 a.m.
Please be sure to sign up for each
work party in advance. For all dates other than June 6, sign-up by
contacting Steve or Nancy Dean at 360-652-7181 or steveandnancydean@msn.com.
For June 6, contact Bob or M.J. Creamer at 425-303-0739, r.creamer@gte.net.
2003 Trail Work
Summary...
In 2003, Volunteers for Outdoor
Washington (VOW) and other volunteers invested a great amount of time and hard
work in the River Loop trail segment at the end of the Lime Kiln Trail.
That segment was completed at the end of the summer. We finished the
year by making improvements to and finishing sections of the Lime Kiln Trail
that had been skipped over in our initial rush to reach the end. All of
the critical sections were improved by the final 2003 work date on October 19.
This fall, Snohomish County Public
Works replaced the bridge over Hubbard Creek (located at about the one-mile
mark of the Lime Kiln Trail). This an important accomplishment, as the
County Parks folks had very much wanted to complete this bridge replacement
prior to opening the new trail, due to their concerns about safety.
Remaining work needed to be completed
prior to opening the trail:
1. Make and install trail signs.
2. Build the front ½-mile of
trail (currently only roughed-in).
3. Construct trailhead parking
area (to be done by Snohomish County Parks Dept.)
We have a volunteer (Terry Osborn) who
has expressed interest in making the trail signs. He will be working
with Project Coordinator Steve Dean on that project during the winter.
Installing the signs and building the
front ½-mile of trail is our volunteer work for the coming year (these
projects should not require a full year).
And the Snohomish County Parks
Department was planning to build the trailhead parking area this winter;
perhaps they've already begun.
It looks as though we should be able
to open the trail sometime this coming summer, perhaps July.
The Old Robe Trail sustained a fair
amount of damage during the fall flood. It has been proposed to the
County that we start our 2004 work on Old Robe Trail, with perhaps our first
six work parties scheduled there. We am currently awaiting a reply from
them. After receiving their reply, we will develop our 2004 volunteer
calendar. Folks who would like to be involved in the selection of
volunteer dates should contact Steve
Dean. Also, if any qualified individual would care to lead some of
our Robe Canyon work parties, we could schedule volunteer dates without being
constrained by Steve's travel schedule for the new year.
See you on the trail in 2004!
Fall 2003 Recap...
October marks the last month that
volunteers have scheduled to work on the Lime Kiln Trail at Robe Canyon.
Here are the remaining work dates:
Thursday,
October 2
Sunday,
October 5
Saturday,
October 11
Thursday,
October 16
Sunday,
October 19
As in the past, we will meet at 8:20
a.m. in the parking lot of the Granite Falls Boys and Girls Club (located on
S. Granite Ave., 2-1/2 blocks south of Stanley St. [Hwy. 92]). We will
return to Granite Falls at 4:30 p.m.
This year, we have built the
beautiful, new river loop segment at the end of the Lime Kiln Trail.
During October, we will continue making grade and tread improvements
along the length of the 3 miles of trail completed to-date. Volunteers
will have an opportunity to hike to the end of the trail to have a first
hand look at the finished portions of the new trail. We expect to
complete the trail in mid-2004, with efforts focused on the first 1/2 mile of
trail.
Please send an e-mail or call on
the telephone if you will be able to join us on the trail in October!
July 2003 Recap...
After half a year of labors, the river
loop trail segment at the end of the Lime Kiln Trail was completed on July 31.
A great amount of hard work was poured into this trail segment, and it shows.
We think the loop will be the highlight of the trail when it opens next year.
But don't wait to see it. Come
on out to one of our September work parties and get a sneak preview!
Work dates as follows:
Sat., Sept. 6
Thurs., Sept. 11
Sunday, Sept. 14
Please note that we've cancelled the
work party planned for Thursday, Sept. 4, due to calendar conflicts.
During Sept., we will be improving the tread at the far end of the railroad
grade (shortly before the river loop). So you can still enjoy a nice,
leg-stretching walk to the work site. We also have five work dates
planned for October, during which we will be making improvements along the
first two miles of the railroad grade trail. And in spring of 2004, we
will build the first half mile of trail - - the last remaining work before
opening the Lime Kiln Trail.
2003 TrailFest...
Washington Trails Association is the
best single reason why we have trails, in hiking condition throughout Washington
State. WTA is hosting Trailfest on JULY 19, 2003 and Janet & Bob
Schimpf of Middle Earth Llamas will be featured presenters:
9:30 a.m. & noon: Packing with Llamas, Janet & Bob Schimpf
"Come see how llamas are used for packing, and the equipment necessary for
llama packing. They'll also cover trail etiquette and the qualities of a
superior pack llama."
Info & DIRECTIONS
http://www.wta.org/~wta/cgi-bin/wtaweb.pl?0+tf-main
Activities in the MSR Tent (Mountain Safety Research):
http://www.wta.org/~wta/cgi-bin/wtaweb.pl?0+ts+MSR
***********
At 11:30 am & 1:30 pm see the Evergreen Packgoat Club, "Packgoats are a
great trail partner, leave no trace, enjoy carrying your load, and they love to
hike. Join them as they hike to the Educational Center".
CAMERAS & Photography: FILM 3:30 & DIGITAL 4:30 pm Better Trail
Photography: FILM, CAMERAS "Jim Miotke, BetterPhoto.com"
"Are you frustrated with the nature photos you get when hiking or camping?
Would you like to take pictures like the professionals? During this short walk,
you will learn Jim's Top Ten Tips for Improving Your Photos."
June 2003 Recap...
During June, we continued to make good
progress on the river loop segment of the Lime Kiln Trail. As often
seems to happen in the summer, the number of volunteers has dropped.
This and tedious trail building on the final leg of the river loop has slowed
our progress. Still, the trail is looking great, and the challenges of
building many rock walls and support cribbing make this a rewarding section of
trail to build. If we can recruit a handful more volunteers
for the four July work parties, we might yet finish the river loop before
taking August off for vacations. Please come out and help on
the trail if you can!
Here are the July dates:
Tuesday, July 1
Sunday, July 6
Saturday, July 12
Thursday, July 31
Also, if you might be interested in a
3-day, backpack - trail maintenance outing, a handful of volunteers will be
working on the Walt Bailey - Bald Mountain - Ashland Lakes trails on July 25 -
27 (Fri., Sat., Sun.). Please contact Steve
Dean if you're interested.
May 2003 Recap...
May was an odd month, with low
30 degree temps and snow on the 17th. Many deciduous trees shed
limbs, and quite a large number of trees were broken at the trunk by the weight
of the snow and hail. The road and trails were a mess. Thanks to the
good work of all the volunteers, both the Old Robe Trail (thanks Bill!) and
the Lime Kiln Trail were cleared in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
As for the construction of the Lime Kiln Trail, despite the set-back due
to weather we made excellent progress. Many thanks to all the
volunteers, including the Mountaineers, Boy Scout Troop 43 of Lake
Stevens, and students from Snohomish H.S., several Everett & Seattle area
schools, and three universities for joining us this month. The new river
loop segment is now two-thirds complete and looking great. It is without
a doubt the highlight of our six years of construction on the Lime Kiln Trail.
Now that May has ended, the weather folks are telling us of warm,
resort-style temperatures. For anyone who was shy about the cold, rainy
spring, now may be just the time to come on out and enjoy a day on the new
trail. In June, we will continue to focus on completing the river loop
segment, though our agenda for Saturday, June 21st is still in flux, depending
on what works best for the scouts who will join us that day.
Here are the volunteer dates for the month:
Thursday, June 5
Saturday, June 21st (together with scouts from G.F. Troop 28)
Tuesday, June 24
Sunday, June 29
We continue to meet at 8:20 a.m. in G.F. in the parking lot of the
Community Center/Boys and Girls Club, on S. Granite Ave, between Union &
Pioneer streets, returning there at 4:30 p.m.
Please be sure to let us know in advance when you can join us, so that we can
have a good count of whom to plan for. Hope to see you on the trail!
April 2003 Recap...
During April, volunteers made a good
start building the River Loop at the end of the Lime Kiln Trail.
The new loop will be the most scenic section of the trail and the most fun
to build. It will continue to be the focus for our volunteer
trail work throughout the Spring. Meanwhile, when the weather
cooperates, we will devote several work parties to improving drainage and
tread in the last 1/4 mile of the railroad grade portion of the trail.
Read a Seattle Times article dated April 9, 2003 about the Lime Kiln Trail.
Read
archived Seattle Times articles about the Old Robe Trail.
Read
The History of Robe, Washington and The Robe Family Who Settled It, by Margaret
Robe Summitt, Ph.D.
March 2003 Recap...
Volunteers made good progress at Robe Canyon in March. We improved
the tread and drainage on the Old Robe Trail, installed two culverts and made
drainage improvements on the Lime Kiln Trail, and started work on the new
River Loop at the end of the LKT.
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© 2003 Stillaguamish Citizens'
Alliance. All rights reserved.
