Leaving the loop road, the trail to the falls climbs a bit, bringing us out onto the high plain of white Shawangunk conglomerate and Sam’s Point, where a curiously sinuous retaining wall encircles a large glacial erratic, perched near the cliff edge. What impressed us as much as the sweeping vista we enjoyed from this point was the unique character of the vegetation here. The word unique is perhaps as overused, and abused, as any in the language these days (“His home is one of most unique in the neighborhood.”). But it truly applies to the landscape of Sam’s Point: this forest of dwarf (less than 16 feet tall) pitch pine, with a dense understory of huckleberry, blueberry, sheep laurel, and red berry wintergreen, is “one of a kind.” According to the New York Natural Heritage Program, Sam’s Point plateau has the only known occurrence of “dwarf pine ridges” in the world!
The pitch pine is familiar to hikers in the Shawangunks, its dark-green, bristly profile, branches studded with stubby cones, so typical of the ridge. In other places, like Near Trapps, however, the pitch pines are larger, though still stunted by the elements, and sparser, not forming a dense forest as they do at Sam’s Point. Pitch pine cones persist for years, unlike those of other pines, without opening. They are serotinous, sealed shut with resin, until the heat of a fire opens them, releasing their seeds to germinate in the ashes. This adaptation, along with its ability, unique among conifers, to sprout new growth from its trunk, helps the pitch pine survive fires that kill off most other trees. In fact, the greatest threat to the survival of pitch pine-dominated communities in our area is the long-term suppression of all fires. That’s why Mohonk Preserve and the Nature Conservancy are working to preserve the fire-adapted communities of the ridge by developing the practice of controlled burning.
