Maple Mountain

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Maple Mountain

Maple Mountain rising over Tupper Lake
Elevation 642 m (2,106 ft)
Location Temagami, Ontario
Range Canadian Shield, unnamed range
Prominence 351 m (1,152 ft)
Coordinates 47°23′N 80°20′W / 47.383, -80.333
First ascent  ???
Easiest route hike

Maple Mountain is a mountain, located within Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park, Temagami, Ontario, Canada, estimated 642 m (2, 106 ft) above mean sea level. It has a higher vertical rise over the surrounding landscape, 37 m (121 ft) higher than the Ishpatina Ridge, which is the highest point of land in Ontario rising over Scarecrow Lake. Maple Mountain rises over Tupper Lake and is considerably better known than Ishpatina Ridge and often mistaken for the highest. It ranks thirteenth, but when ranked by vertical rise it is the highest of the top 25 peaks in Ontario. The 100-ft fire tower is also still intact and attracts many as well. A 3.2 kilometer long hiking trail leads to the abandoned fire tower.

Located in Timiskaming District of Northeastern Ontario, the mountain is not very accessible; roads and trails in the remote area are difficult to travel in poor weather. The most popular approach routes to Maple Mountain are by canoe and/or float plane.

Long before recreationists, bureaucrats and business interests were turned on by the mountain, the Temagami First Nation reined over it. They called the mountain Chee-bay-jing, meaning "the place where the spirits go". It was a sacred site, the most powerful in their realm. The first known non-aboriginal to scale the mountain was Dr. Robert Bell of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1888. Bell also named the mountain.

Though the formation of the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park avoids logging on Maple Mountain, it is happening outside the park. With clear-cuts to the east creeping closer, they might soon be visible from the summit.

On July 11 2005, lightning struck Maple Mountain, producing a fire 1.3 kilometers north of the 100-ft abandoned fire tower and was detected by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

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