GC292V2 Old Lime Kiln
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Flutiste @ | Hide Date: 05/23/2010 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 27.591 W106° 56.967 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
         

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The cache is located near Bambi's Trail off of the Gold Basin Road (CR 38), south of the heart of Hartman Rocks. Trailhead takes off from the cattle guard where the pavement ends and the dirt begins. Cache is a 1/2 mile/15 minute fairly easy hike from the road. Elevation at the cache: 8260'

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Follow the gulch up Bambi's Trail. Be sure to follow the GULCH. Cache is near an old lime kiln in the bottom of the gulch. LOOK OUT FOR BIKERS!!! This is a popular mountain bike trail, and they go fast! Bambi's Trail is closed to all usage in early spring until May 15th.

The old lime kiln dates back to the 1800's, and was used to bake calcite (calcium carbonate) rocks into lime. Lime was used as a bonding agent in cement and as a flux for smelting. It was also used in plastering interior walls and in the mortar used to chink the gaps in log cabins. There is a dirty-white vein of calcite in the surrounding granite which can be seen in the bank of the gulch near the kiln. This is a type of banded calcite known as "travertine". The main travertine vein which was mined for the kiln is in a trench on the hillside about 150' above the kiln. (See Waypoint Chart below.) There is an old wagon road leading from the trench down to the gulch, upstream of the kiln. It hooks up with another old wagon road which is still visible on the ridge opposite the kiln. Discarded ash can be seen on the gulch bank opposite the kiln.

A careful look at the flat slabby rocks that make up the kiln shows that they are quite different from the surrounding granite bedrock. These rocks are pieces of volcanic "welded tuff", and were brought into the gulch from the hillside 150' above the kiln. There are kilns similar to this one scattered about the Gunnison Country. The "Arboritum" geocache (GC14KYC) off the Lake City highway is located next to another old kiln.

Cache is in a clear plastic box with a red rim.

Additional Waypoints
TQ292V2 - Travertine Quarry
N 38° 27.571 W 106° 56.866
Trench where travertine (calcite) was mined for use in the lime kiln.

05/15/2019 By rdmtanner
No cashe but did find the kiln

11/04/2018 By amayo_009
Nice hide. TFTC!

07/23/2017 By Gunnywolfspider
Fun

07/26/2016 By mom & pop
took a hike from the mysry cache to get this one SL Thanks

07/14/2016 By SoldierGrrrl
TFTC, CB_Beauty showed me where this one was as she had previously found it, as we were hiking Hartmans on our way to a FTF. I am amazed to find cached near old remnants of these old kilns and further amazed the CO seems to know where all of them are at in the county. Fun hike, easy find.

04/23/2015 By cb_beauty
TFTC! This cache seemed kinda lonley so I came up here to visit it. I love this little trail. Thank you for providing the history on the lime kiln. I always enjoy looking for Flutiste caches.

11/09/2013 By farmer05
TFTC. Great area to walk around in.