Disappointment at the Devil's Pulpit


The trail to the Devil's Pulpit

It is hard to unravel a mystery without actually getting "on site". Every detective from Sherlock Holmes down to Jimmy Perez in the BBC show Shetland has to get to the scene of the crime. They look for clues and observe and interview and ponder.

 So I too must get "on site" and once again return to the Forks of the Credit nestled in the Niagara Escarpment to search for the Devil's Half Acre. From the previous posting here I mentioned that the distance is correct and the timing of the blossoms of the Calla are correct, it just comes down now to beating the bushes. I had always heard about the Devil's Pulpit that exists here in the "Forks" but had never climbed up to it. Anyone who has hiked the Bruce Trail through this section knows of this brutally steep section of trail. So I too must climb to the Pulpit. Yes BRUTAL. Yes fascinating. The trail follows an unopened road allowance straight up the escarpment, gaining several hundred feet of elevation within half a kilometre. At the very top there is a sheer cliff face with steps created from slab inserts and wire rope as a handrail. When you search this site on Google or UTube you will see multiple videos and selfies as hikers negotiate this challenge. 
The top steps to the Devil's Pulpit 
But the Devil isn't what he used to be and neither is the Pulpit. Now overgrown by mature trees that block the view either out to the valley or even to be seen from below it was actually a disappointment. No the cliff face now looks like a cross between an Anasazi cliff dwelling and the remains of a wild bush party with graffiti defaced boulders.
Party time at the Devil's Pulpit!

But close by is what is interesting. A side trail leads to the remains of a huge industrial sized lime kiln on the side of the escarpment. The huge fallen chunks of limestone were crushed and burnt in a kiln to create lime for the cement industry of the 1800's. I wondered if this was the remains of the Devil's Half Acre, removed as building material? Leaving only the cliff face which then in local jargon evolved into the Devil's Pulpit? As further circumstantial evidence the village where the workers lived was called Brimstone! Remember the biblical quote about the Caanites being destroyed by "Fire and Brimstone"?
The ruins of the lime kiln below the Devil's Pulpit

Since I had done my due diligence in climbing to the Pulpit, the next step was to see if I could in fact find the Calla Lily that Muir had most likely collected here. The botanist from the Conservation Authority had told me that the plant does exist along the river's edge here in the Forks. Part two of this day was to don a pair of hip waders and a life jacket and wade the rushing river to scour the shorelines. Within minutes I had found what I thought was my prize. I notched the location and went back to the car to get the book of specimens. Ultimate disappointment again on this day when I realize that I am looking at a marsh marigold that had been trampled by fishermen. It was somewhat similar to the Calla but the leaves were all wrong. (Drat! as my mother would say politely.)
Marsh Marigold - the living plant
Calla Lily image
on the left hand page
(wild ginger on the right)
So a beautiful day of climbing and wading in a pristine river but  no reward of the actual plant to prove beyond the shadow of doubt that John Muir sauntered through this valley! 

 © Robert Burcher 2017

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