Wilkie Sugar Loaf is a Canadian peak in the

Cape Breton Highlands The Cape Breton Highlands (french: Plateau du Cap-Breton, gd, Àrd-thalamh Cheap Bhreatainn), commonly called the Highlands, refer to a highland or mountainous plateau across the northern part of Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of N ...

near the community of Sugar Loaf in the province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Description

Wilkie Sugar Loaf is a forested

pyramidal peak A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from the cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples ...

rising from the shore of

Aspy Bay Aspy Bay () is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean near the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Principal features along the bay's coast are the Wilkie Sugar Loaf hill and the Aspy Fault. Communities along the bay include Smelt Brook, White ...

, north of the Cabot Trail. There are few stand-alone mountaintops in Nova Scotia, but one of these is Wilkie Sugar Loaf, climbing to more than 400 metres/yards above sea level in less than 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mi). This peak belongs to the North Mountain range of hills bordering the Aspy Fault, but has been separated from the rest of the ridge by the deep ravines cut by Wilkie Brook and Polly Brook.

The name

Wilkie Sugar Loaf has been the official name for this mountain since April 21, 1936. The mountain's name is a combination of both "Wilkie," the family name of a pioneer family in who settled in the area in 1820, James Wilkie Jr. was an original land grant recipient in the area in 1852, and "Sugar Loaf", a descriptive name for the mountain's distinct pyramidal shape, which suggests a "

sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a r ...

". The name Wilkie Sugar Loaf was already in common use in official publications such as Admiralty Charts and Sailing Directions by 1860. The

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

name for the mountain was "Squa-dichk," meaning "the highest point."

Triangulation station

Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the dep ...

Geodetic Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

Survey Division Station, Unique Number (Station Number): 23107, Station Name "SUGAR LOAF 19659", is located near the summit, consisting of a copper bolt sunk about 1 inch in a standard concrete monument. The remains of an astronomic pier lie about away to the east. In the late 1960s there was a tall wooden tower on the summit, located over the survey station. While the station can still be found, there are no remains of the tower.

The trail

Access to the summit is possible by hiking the Wilkie Sugar Loaf trail which leads from a trailhead on the west side of the Bay St Lawrence Road, 1.15 kilometres (0.71 mi) north of the entrance of

Cabots Landing Provincial Park Cabots Landing Provincial Park (official spelling Cabot's Landing Provincial Park) is a small picnic and beach park on the shore of Aspy Bay in the community of Sugarloaf, north of the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. ...

, to the peak of the mountain, offering views from two mountain top look-offs. One look-off faces toward the Aspy Fault plateau and Aspy Fault including the plateau of the national park in the distance to the south-west as well as the beach at Cabots Landing, Aspy Harbour and the villages of Cape North and Dingwall to the south and east. The second look-off presents a view of the hills to the north and to Bay St. Lawrence and the Gulf of St. Lawrence beyond. On a very clear day it is possible to see all the way to Newfoundland.

References

External links

Nova Scotia Geographical Names Database entry for "Wilkie Sugar Loaf, County of Victoria" (includes map)Wilkie Sugarloaf on TrailPeak.com (with map and photos)Wilkie Sugarloaf on Geocaching.com
{{Mountains of Nova Scotia Mountains of Nova Scotia Landforms of Victoria County, Nova Scotia Mountains of Canada under 1000 metres