2022-01-12: Balsam Mountain

Last week, I summited the final two mountains of the Catskill High Peaks, thus completing my longstanding goal of climbing all thirty-three. However, for membership in the 3500 Club, a peakbagging organization dedicated to climbing the High Peaks, prospective members must re-climb four of the peaks in the winter months. At 3605' in elevation, Balsam Mountain is the shortest of those four peaks. I climbed Balsam Mountain back in October 2018, but low clouds and fog blocked any view, so the peak was an easy pick for my first winter re-hike. 

Always seeking to hike somewhere new, I began my hike in Hardenburgh NY at the trailhead on Rider Hollow Road to climb from the northwest side; in 2018 I had hiked from the southeast along McKinley Hollow Road. This 'new' hike followed a loop trail, ascending the mountain via Mine Hollow and descending via Rider Hollow. The recent ice and snow storms that had kept me inside the past week had certainly made their impact on the mountainside, but the hike up was relatively easy in spite of the slippery conditions. Strong winds and cold weather did make the hike seem relatively 'serious', and the ice and snow made for much slower going than in the summer months.

The Rider Creek runs parallel to the trail for the first half-mile or so, its waters a deep, frigid black.

Balsam Mountain is visible through the leafless trees along much of the trail through the hollow.

While stepping off the trail to avoid an area of dense ice, I fell through a mound of dirt that had been raised a good six inches by these groundwater ice columns. Similar columns made for a cumbersome hike on Blodget Hill last week.

Snow hides the moss-covered rocks along the Mill Hollow Creek, near a steeper part of the trail.

I stopped to rest in a hemlock grove on the slopes of Mill Hollow. Breaks on this hike were short and rare owing to the low temperature and high wind.

These rocky outcrops below Balsam's summit would probably be scrambles in the summer, but ice and snowdrifts have filled them in to be relatively evenly inclined.

Snow covers the dark fir forest at the summit of the appropriately-named Balsam Mountain.

In about an hour and a half I arrived at the summit, a fairly wide plateau covered in deep, snow Balsam Fir forest. I passed two other hikers on my way up, a relatively rare occurrence on a winter weekday like today, and pushed on to the top. A sign denoted the 3500' elevation line, as they often do in the Catskills; I hadn't climbed a trailed Catskill peak in almost two years, so it was a bit odd to me to 're-discover' this fact. Soon I arrived at the overlook, which unlike last year was unobscured with great views to the northeast, and afterwards headed off to the true summit about a thousand feet farther down the trail.

A wide-angle view from the overlook with low clouds overhead. I counted at least seventeen High Peaks visible from here, although I may have missed some (not all are in this photo).

A direct northeast view shows Sherrill and North Dome (L and R), with Rusk peeking out between them and Hunter to the far right. A limb of Windham High Peak, twenty-five miles away, rises beyond Rusk.

Buildings along Route 28 in the hamlet of Big Indian seen from the overlook.

West Kill (L) and Hunter (R) formed the centerpiece of the gallery of High Peaks visible from the impressive overlook.

A closer shot of the buildings in Big Indian, including a mechanic's shop (L of center), in the noontime winter sun.

Sugarloaf and Twin Mountains, two peaks of the Devil's Path Range, seen far to the northeast.

Kaaterskill High Peak rises above series of nearer mountains, disappearing into shadow as afternoon clouds begin to move in.

A closer shot of Kaaterskill and its sharp peak helps understand how it was once a symbol of the Catskills region.

Peaks of the Blackhead Range far to the northwest rise beyond nearer, rime-covered small peaks.

The summit proper of Balsam Mountain, some distance from the overlook, is marked by a roughly three-foot standing stone.

Before heading down the mountain, I took a mile-long detour to nearby Haynes Mountain, a minor peak with no overlooks and not much to speak of, simply to say that I had climbed something new on this trip. Afterwards I headed back to the car via the Rider Hollow Trail, a somewhat steeper and far icier trail that crossed over several streams. The trail was covered in a number of dangerous icy areas, but soon I returned back to the car for an overall three-hour, six-mile winter hike.

A view of snow and short hardwood forests at the 3411' summit of Haynes Mountain.

Ultra-slick blue ice covers one of the more dangerous parts of the trail on descent.

Chunks of ice and snow line an unnamed creek higher up on the trail.

Odd, beautiful spheres and patterns of ice cover floes along the unnamed creek.

A large field of rounded boulders sit beneath recent snowfall in Rider Hollow.

Remarkably, this fifteen-foot waterfall on the Rider Creek isn't marked on any maps I've found. The brilliant blue ice lining the falls was one of the most beautiful scenes of the hike.

The contrast of blue ice, white snow, and ink-black waters made me stop and appreciate the scene for a few moments in spite of the cold conditions.

A view down the Rider Creek from an odd footbridge, one of many crossings on the creek, and one of the only crossings with a bridge.