Amos and I circled the 1,300' summit of the small mountain that has at its highest point an impressive 32-room fireproof mansion built in 1908. Designed and constructed by James McCormick Cameron, who, besides being a political influencer in Harrisburg, owned a lot of land in the the Kings Gap region including farms, equine facilities, and a mountain full of cut-over, charred remains of a forest. He was considered one of the "cultivated men" of the turn of the century, self-named "conservator of the family fortunes." This is a good first stop to visit the local geology, since Cameron had the stone quarried and dressed from nearby. Richly hued pink Antietam quartzite shimmers in the sun and is the same rock that caps ridges throughout the South Mountain complex from the Maryland Line through South Central PA.
I'm counting this ankle-buster as #6 of our 2022 52-Hike Challenge and look forward to coming back to hike the lower trails through the valleys and shoulders of this steep-sided landscape. Using a combination of trails, Amos and I hiked just below the summit for about 5 miles through forests that have been cut over repeatedly since the mid-1700s. Many of the trails including Maple Hollow and Forest Heritage are underlain with quartzite cobble so it was slow going - a real test for balance and ankle stability hiking without poles. But there were long patches of mossy carpet as well and after scree and cobble, it was nice to have such lush cushioning underfoot.
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| A welcomed mossy trail! |
The forest has been extensively used over hundreds of years so there were no massive oaks or stately pines to admire. What was evident everywhere we went was the spindly nature of the next generation of hardwoods growing across the slopes where trees shot straight up in a race to capture light. A few stump-sprouted elders could be found and give an idea of the massive girth of the ancestors. Most of these had a diameter of six feet or more so I imagined a landscape of forest giants including the once-dominant Chestnut before the cutting began.
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| Stump-sprouted from a 6' cut base. |
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| Chestnut Oak |
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| Black Gum |
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| Pitch Pine |
The soil up here is high in tannin, a chemical produced by oaks and pines to fend off insect pests. Decaying wood leaches tannin back into the soil and makes it very acidic. After generations of logging, wood slash left to decay on the forest floor not only added to tannin levels but fueled the massive fires that occurred in the dry years after a cutting. Lowbush Blueberry Wild Azalea, Mountain Laurel, and other heaths dominate the understory.
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| Wild Azalea in bud |
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| A new forest - ready for the next cut? |
As we made our way around the height of land I wondered why Mr. Cameron built his fireproof mansion? I tried to imagine this place in 1908 and how, after a hundred and fifty years of repeated cutting to make charcoal for the iron furnaces downhill near Mt. Holly Springs and Boiling Springs, the mountain must have seemed like a wasteland to someone in the market for an estate on which to build a summer home. The clues to the fire history though weren't hard to find. As is common for hiking in these parts, one not need go far to find a charcoal pit or hearth site, and there were dozens on this five mile circuit. Even the soil along Maple Hollow Trail, once a charcoal wagon road, was blackened with charcoal dust from spillage and fire.
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| Amos sits in a charcoal hearth... |
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| ...that at one time looked like this. |
Just years before Cameron purchased the mountain, a historic fire ravaged the landscape in 1900, one of a series over time that ravaged the South Mountain region for two hundred years. Some of the darkened soil underfoot was surely from that fire. The summit was consumed leaving a bald where who wouldn't want to site a mansion with a view? Old photos of the just-built mansion show a treeless summit where one could easily see the massive water tower behind, its brick base topped with a still intact wooden tank. Besides providing water to the mansion and caretakers home, the water tower was an important addition for fire suppression. The pump house is still standing down mountain and was used to pump water from Kings Gap Hollow Run up to the tank.
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| Leaky water tank makes for impressive ice! |
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| The original tank 10,000 gallon atop the brick-built tower. (Photo credit: |
After purchasing the whole mountain, about 2,000 acres of burnt over land, Cameron got to work replanting the wasted slopes and consulted with foresters, fresh from the new Pennsylvania Forestry School at nearby Mount Alto, about how to manage the landscape for regrowth and fire resistance. Walking up through the original estate, we looked at the carriage house, generator house, icehouse, caretakers house, stables, and outbuildings - all still standing - and each was made of nonflammable materials like concrete, brick, stone. He was serious about fireproofing!
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| The view from the mansion - Blue Mountain in the distance. |
What were these newfangled forest management practices that Cameron had invested in? Young foresters graduating out of Mont Alto were scientists and technical men. They applied scientific skills to ensuring that Pennsylvania's devastated forests could recover, albeit with time and careful management. How much time it would take to fully restore the state's forests was wildly underestimated, however. Cameron didn't live long enough to see his forest fully recover. Chestnut Blight, two world wars, economic crashes, and near constant assault by invasive plants, fungal disease, and insect invasions were just a few of the serious challenges forest managers faced for the next century. It wasn't until 2000 that Pennsylvania forests had been successfully restored to over 60% of its former range and was declared healthy enough to show resilience against the challenges they continue to face.
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| Mont Alto Forest Academy 1911 - the only prerequisite was to bring your own horse! |
I asked a park ranger upon our return to the education center what she though Mr. Cameron might think if he were to show up today to inspect his estate. "I don't think he would recognize it, in a good way. I think he would be astounded, honestly. Although, looking at those old pictures of the mountain the year he purchased it, I don't think we can fully appreciate just how bad it was. He put his faith and family fortune in the hands of those young foresters fresh out of the academy!"
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| Our rambling 5-mile circuit hike using seven different trails |
I've already mapped out my next hike at Kings Gap of about 8 miles to explore the lower flanks of the mountain, to get down into the hollows, and and maybe hike the Buck Trail all the way to Pine Grove Furnace State Park within sight of Pole Steeple. I'd also like to learn in more detail about those "modern" forestry practices that the young foresters from Mont Alto applied to Mr. Cameron's estate. I'm thinking a weekend camping to take in both the next hike and a visit to the old Mont Alto campus.
Here's the video I made of this hike (with Amos). Be sure to subscribe to my new YouTube Channel Roamin' Bones which I've started as a new-ish way to journal about my hikes and adventures. Hug a forester!
Notes:
James McCormick Cameron in: Pennsylvania Center for Culture Studies https://harrisburg2.vmhost.psu.edu/hum/McCormick/jamescameron.htm
Pennsylvania's first school of forestry, the Forest Academy, was establish in Mont Alto in 1903. https://montalto.psu.edu/information/history#:~:text=Penn%20State%20Mont%20Alto%20was,in%20the%20Michaux%20State%20Forest.
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