Balsam Lake Mountain

There's really not too much about the hike up to the top of Balsam Lake Mountain. Except..... A FIRE TOWER!!

Balsam Lake Mountain is 3731 feet in elevation and is the 17th highest in the Catskills. There is nothing really difficult about the overall hike up to the top. But the great thing is that a fire tower awaits you at the very top of the mountain. I was definitely looking forward to this. After going to the Hunter Mountain fire tower and seeing a stunning 360 degree view of the Catskills, I guess you can say I was really excited.

Fire towers were created in the Catskills as early as 1908 and over 20 were built by 1950. The fire lookout tower is a small building, usually located on the summit of a mountain or other high vantage point, in order to maximize the viewing distance and range. From this vantage point the fire lookout can see smoke that may develop, determine the location by using a device known as an Osborne Fire Finder, and call fire suppression personnel to the fire. Lookouts also report weather changes and plot the location of lightning strikes during storms. - I used wikipedia for that information. Much easier to explain. :-) At times, the forest ranger who was watching in the fire tower would have to do 12 hour shifts with another ranger, day and night. Most fire towers had a cabin that the ranger would stay in for different shifts, so that the ranger wouldn't have to travel home, then come back. Just imagine that. 12 hour shifts, with no technology, looking over mountains to spot a fire. Would it be boring? Or would you be able to occupy yourself by staring at those beautiful mountains? Or those beautiful stars at night? Or the beautiful storms coming in? Ill let you be the judge, but I would take it!! Today, there are only 5 fire towers in the Catskills still standing.

Back to the hike. The hike up is very easy, no difficult sections or climbs. The way up is an old carriage road where the rangers would drive their vehicles or their carriages up to the top for the time they had to work in the fire tower. Seriously, this is a very easy hike. I don't have anything to say other than it was a beautiful day to hike. It was sunny and around 75 degrees. Perfect. A three mile hike up and and a three mile hike back made it a beautiful six mile easy hike.

I knew I was getting close to the tower when saw the cabin. It definitely looked like something I would want to stay in for a very long time. Very small, but perfect for up in the mountains. You can only go into the cabin while on the weekends when a steward is there. In the summer, a steward is at the fire towers greeting you and offering info on the fire towers and also the Catskill Mountains. Here's a view of the cabin from the fire tower:

Buried deep in the conifer trees, on top of a mountain would be a great place for solitude.

I also noticed this when I got near the tower. Ask my how I found it, I do not know. For some reason, it caught my eye.

When I got to the fire tower, I sat down on a picnic table and had lunch. Listening to the wind and watching the clouds flow through the sky is a great way to have lunch!

After that, I headed up to the tower to catch my 360 degree view of the Catskills. Now the top of the fire tower isn't open during the week when the steward isn't there. I don't know why but I'm guessing its because of vandalism or something stupid along that way. When I got above the treeline it was stunning. A full view of the Catskills!!

Pictures can't do it justice. It was beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, memorable. I could go on and on with words. But one word can't describe what it looked like. I must of spent at least an hour up there. Just staring at the mountains. Since I hiked up pretty fast, I had a lot of time to spare, so I spent it looking at everything. Left and right. View after view. The clouds were rolling through and it made it even more picturesque. After taking a lot of photos and contemplating of whether I should leave or not..... I headed back down the tower and on my way back to the trail-head. Since the slope was easy and not steep, I was basically jogging on the way back and made pretty good time. Another day and another amazing hike in the Catskills!!