The Happy Camper: Charleston’s Blue Mountain Hike and the Search for Rare Pitch Pine
There’s a hilltop that’s close to where I live that I’ve wanted to visit since I moved to southeastern Ontario just over a year ago. Blue Mountain is a granite ridge poking out of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere—what the First Nations labelled the “spine of the earth.” It’s just north of Kingston, Ontario and south of Charleston Lake Provincial Park. The views create a spectacular panoramic view of the St. Lawerence farmlands of Leeds and Grenville United Counties; in the distance there’s a sight where Ontario’s Algonquin Park rubs shoulders with New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Now, that’s a sight to see!
There’s two basic ways to do the hike. The first is the most notable one. You begin at Charleston Lake Provincial Park and canoe or kayak over to the trailhead at Huckleberry Hollow. From there, you scramble uphill for a 5.7-kilometre roundtrip. The second, however, is more of a locally known back entry way, which doesn’t require a canoe or kayak. You park your vehicle at the country junction of Warburton Road and Blue Mountain Road and then use a farmer’s dirt laneway through his fields to hook up with a wooded trail leading to the hilltop. It’s a longer hike (9.6 kilometre total roundtrip) but a little easier and more convenient if you don’t own a canoe or kayak.
I chose the back entrance for my first ascent due to it being late in the year and a little too cold for me to paddle across the brisk waters of Charleston Lake.
To note, rumour has it that this back entrance was closed for some time. I’m guessing the farmer got pissed at some idiots trashing the place and closed it off. When I arrived, however, the trailhead was marked, signed and maintained. So, it’s safe to say, don’t mess up this private invite from the farmer for future trail users.
A good portion of the initial trail is along the farmer’s dirt pathway, full of potholes that’s lined with gray dogwood, willow and farm fields. I’m guessing probably a buggy place in early summer. But soon it leads into a deciduous woodlot with a number of “wolf” pine trees left by the loggers and settlers who figured they were too gnarly to obtain good timber from.
Three properly maintained bridges lead you closer and closer to where a fork in the trail points you upland to the pinnacle. There’s a trail marker that indicates the link between Charleston Lake’s Huckleberry Hollow access, the Warburton Road access and the top of Blue Mountain.
It’s not a far walk from here, and not as steep as I envisioned. The rocks are slippery when wet and polished from all the hikers who have summited the peak, though. Hiking poles are recommended.
What I really came for was not the fall colours and magnificent view. It was the rare pitch pine species which show themselves as you reach the top of the mount of Blue Mountain. It’s a common tree across the border, growing from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. But here in southeastern Ontario, there are only two clumps that sprout out of granite—one being at the top of Blue Mountain. This was my carrot in front of the horse that day.
I’ve worked in forestry for years, taught tree IDs for post-secondary students for over three decades, but I’ve never seen a pitch pine before. Now was the time to check this unique conifer out.
I spotted the first pitch pine halfway up the climb. It was an obvious ID. The branches were twisted, giving it the look of a bonsai tree. The pinecones were tightly enclosed, like that of jack pine but more ice-cream shaped rather than jack pines’ bent-like shape which looks like poop on a stick. The bark was also chunky with a blurred reddish colour. But the kicker was the needles that were in clusters of three; not two like the red pine, not five like the white pine—but clusters of three
Most of Blue Mountain was made up of pitch pine. There were some old oaks, patches of low bush juniper and the odd solitary red cedar. But mostly there was pitch pine. They had survived past loggers who wanted it for railway ties, ship building and construction of canoes due to their rot resistant abilities. It’s thick outer bark also protected it from forest fires. These trees stand on the mount of Blue Mountain more than any historic statue in some city park.
The view on top of Blue Mountain was outstanding. I was given the graze of a clear autumn day. There was a crisp view of a maple and beech forest rich in fall colours all around, the crystal blue waters of Charleston Lake to the north and a far-off peak of the Adirondacks to the south.
It took me an hour and a half to summit Blue Mountain but just under an hour to shinny back down to the car. Two deer and a shy porcupine blocked my path on the way down. The walk was more than I asked for…farm fields, an ancient woodlot, rare pitch pine and a panoramic view of a very picturesque landscape from the highest peak in the region.
Awesomeness!
Check out my video of the day on the KCHappyCamper YouTube channel
