Canyon Park Cabin

It’s comin’ up on “maple syrup” time. March 15th, that’s what the old timers say. No use in even starting collection until that date. It needs to freeze at night and get above 32 degrees during the day or the sap doesn’t run. I’ve tried several times to begin before that date and while I’ve gotten some sap, the weather is just not consistent enough to make all of the work worth the effort.

So, typically I’m gathering up (finding) the tools; the brace and bits, spiles, boiling trays, hydrometer, big tin cans and other equipment to get ready for the makin’ of the syrup. The most difficult part can be getting some concrete blocks for the fireplace….. they are usually frozen together, unless…………….
It’s a simply amazing process. You need to gather the sap from the sugar maples, about 50 gallons will garner a gallon of syrup. You can get about three or four gallons a day from each spile (in good weather). Then boil it down and down and down. The trick is to add enough sap to replace the water vapor that boils off. The process can take eight to ten hours and there is something to do every fifteen minutes. You need to keep the fire hot, add sap as necessary to the dribble can and be sure to keep an eye on the “foam”. If foaming becomes a problem (it’s really a highlight of the day) you need to be ready with a half teaspoon of butter to drop in the hot pre-syrup. (In the old days they would place a piece of bacon on a string just above the pan and when the foam rose high enough it would touch the bacon and retard the foaming action.)