Discovering Wolfe Island - Part I

May 28

This week’s hike took me out of the city for my coveted Canadian right of passage, the May 2-4 Long Weekend. The unofficial start of summer for Canadians. As for most summer long weekends, our family travels to Wolfe Island Ontario.

A random house on many acres. This is a common. Quiet and peaceful. I often tell people it is like Little House on the Prairie as you actually feel that you are going back in time when you arrive.

Wolfe Island is the largest of the Thousand Islands and is located at the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. in Lake Ontario. It is a piece of land situated between Kingston and Cape Vincent, New York. Wolfe Island is part of Frontenac County and the Township of Frontenac Islands.

Normally it is highly unusual to see farms located on waterfront property. That is not unusual “on the Wolfe”

This is where todays hike started. This was once a Christmas tree farm on the water. It’s 14 acres encompasses, forest, beach and many different types of rock including limestone which is well recognized in Kingston architecture.

Today’s hike started from our family’s end of the island which is referred to as the foot of the island. This area is a mixture of farms and some cottages. The farms range from soybeans, corn, hops, and what Wolfe Island has been known for for centuries, which is dairy farming. Wolfe Island has been the site of various cheese factories over the years including one once operated by Kraft Foods. This barn and dairy structure is my favourite on today’s hike.

The island was part of the traditional hunting lands of the Mohawk people and the original name of the island is **Kawehnóhkwes tsi kawè:note** ("Long Island Standing") It was also called *Grand Island* (*Grande île*) by early French settlers.
In 1792, the island was renamed from Grand Island to Wolfe Island, after British General James Wolfe. This old cemetery (St. Lawrence Cemetery) on today’s hike is home to many of the old English and Irish settlers on this end of the island.

You know you are not urban hiking anymore when you are hiking past hunting lodges.

The roads are so quiet, you see the odd car or tractor or just some guys on ATV’s.

The quality of modular pre-fab “Bunkies” have so much potential to have such a posative impact on isolated areas. This one on the hike I find quite attractive.

Island Humour. On one side of the island is Canada and on the other side is the U.S. Island legend Roly buildt this outhouse for tourists visiting the “Foot”.

Here is the route for the rest of the hike.

Interesting Vintage Find This Week

As many of you know, I am an unapologetic vintage hunter. When I am hiking on my own, I also incorporate thrifting as if the two functions were meant to go hand in hand.