8. Balsam Lake Mountain
Catskills 3500
All is Loneliness by Moondog
19June2023 - Boreal means North. For instance, Aurora Borealis simply means northern lights.
The summit of Balsam Lake Mountain sits in a real, living boreal forest. The Balsam Firs appear at around 3,400 feet. By the time you’re standing on the summit, it’s Balsam Fir City. It’s a forest. If you ever wondered what a boreal forest looks like in person, climb to the summit of Balsam Lake Mountain in the Catskills.
You’ll be standing in a forest of fir at the summit. Surrounded by thick balsam firs all around.
There’s a 47 foot tall fire tower on the summit, too. Balsam Lake Mountain is the site of the very first Fire Tower erected in New York. Back then, they were made from wood. They reconstructed it in 1930 with the galvanized steel that you see today. It was constructed by the Aermotor Windmill Company, an outfit that specializes in building, you guessed it, windmills. The windmill uses wind to pump water into a tank. The company changed hands and places frequently. A group of West Texas Ranchers recently bought it.
“Aermotor Windmill has continuously manufactured windmills since 1888 and is the only windmill manufacturer in the USA.” Their “about” page reads like a promotional pamphlet from the early 20th century. It adds to the history and mystique of the fire tower for me. To tell you the truth, I never expected to learn about a 114-year-old windmill company when I wrote this. Life is funny sometimes.
The National Register of Historic Places has recognized over 20 Aermotor constructed fire towers and windmills across the United States. Balsam Lake Mountain Fire tower is one of those.
Climb the fire tower on the summit and rise above the tree line. You’ll soon see what you were standing on a few moments ago. Balsam Fir tree tops as far as you can see. As you get higher, the view unfolds. Neighboring mountains come into view. The hills and peaks are lush green in summer. It feels like the mountains go on forever. You feel like a minuscule dot on the planet. It’s humbling.
The Balsam Fir is a hearty tree that thrives in northern (boreal) forests. Traditionally, people used the resin or sap for medicinal purposes. There’s ample mention of it in the Bible, for instance. Jacob’s sons brought some to bribe Joseph in Egypt. It’s been a traditional remedy among Native Americans for eons. Fir needles are digested directly off the trees by animals. Long treasured for its effective analgesic qualities, the website “naturalmedicinalherbs.com” reports that the resin has been known to treat sore nipples, gonohorrea, and diahrea. That’s an unholy trinity right there, but it’s good to know, I suppose. If I ever find the need to make a midnight run to the woods for some Balsam Fir resin, it’d probably best to get out of my way and give me a wide berth.
They are well-known to many. It’s the most popular species for Christmas Trees. Instead of being cut from the wild, local farmers cultivate them to meet the demand for the winter holidays.
I was alone on the day I climbed up this mountain. The weather was brisk for a mid-June afternoon. The wind wailed through the steel frame of the fire tower as I climbed up. Loose wires clanged, echoing deep and metallic and bell-like. It’s not often I get that kind of privacy in the mountain. It felt desolate and lonely. It’s odd when I think about it. That’s the reason I’m heading to the mountains, isn’t it? For the solitude? A satisfying day for this hiker in the woods includes encountering other humans, even if it’s just a nod or hello. Perhaps it’s some kind of internal coping; if there’s someone else doing the same thing, maybe I’m not crazy after all. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the city and have grown accustomed to seeing people around. Whatever it is, the emptiness felt endless but not altogether uncomfortable. It would be some time before I enjoyed such piercing quiet again
.