Balsam Mountain - Winter Hike

Balsam Mountain is another hike that you must complete in the winter to become a member of the Catskill 3500 club. A couple of weeks ago we took on Panther Mountain during a snowstorm. I must say it was a great experience. Now it's time to take on another mountain for the winter.

Most of the snow that was on the ground had melted due to a bunch of weird weather changes. After the storm hit a couple weeks ago, the sun came out and the temperature increased to the mid 50's......In the middle of January. It was very odd and it melted the snow and created some good amounts of ice. I've done Balsam Mountain before so I knew what to expect. The climb isn't that bad, no real steep places and the last climb isn't difficult.

The hike starts out flat as you cross over a creek that was flowing nicely from the melted snow. The sound of the rushing water was very relaxing. We went parallel with the creek for quite awhile then started to head up the mountain and gaining in elevation. Right when we started up in elevation, we took no chances and put on the microspikes so we can battle the ice if we had to. The last time I was on Balsam, I got to spot a black bear cub on a part just below the top, plus it was also my first hike in the Catskills so it hold a big place in my heart. The first part you have to climb isn't steep, but it has a nice grade to it that will slow you down. Especially in the winter when the air is thinner. Travis doesn't get to hike as often as me, so we had to break occasionally for his slow ass ;-)

The hike is only 5.1 miles and since there isn't much a of challenging hike, I don't have any great stories to tell you. We battled some hard packed snow and ice as we got higher and higher. Nothing too serious though:

The one thing that is rewarding is just after the summit of the mountain is a stunning viewpoint that you will never forget. To me, its one of my favorites because it was my first Catskill hike and it will always be remembered

We meet a really cool guy at this viewpoint and had our lunch. We talked about the mountains he's been to and where we were from. I believe he was from New Hampshire but I'm not quite sure. After that we headed back down the western side of Balsam mountain where it can get a little risky, especially from melted snow and ice.

The west side of Balsam comes very close to a small creek that flows downhill and then combines with smaller creeks on the way down. It looks like a never ending small waterfall really. But the trail crosses with it at different points and the ice is all over the place. We took our time going down and very carefully took each step seriously. Its not steep, but one slip and a broken leg, ankle or knee can come about and that would be no bueno. But we made it down safe and reached the flat par,t which was almost the end, of the hike. One last place on the way back was the lean-to. It sits right on the edge of the stream and it has a notebook in it where people can write there stories of the adventures they had. For example someone was kind to leave a beautiful poem for us and others:

So we left our note:

Walk in the park after that. The trail followed along the stream and before you know it we were back at the brige we came over in the beginning and back at the car. Another winter hike in the books!!