Saturday’s Hike: Eagle & Balsam TR

Eagle & Balsam 6/12/2010

Work has been incredibly busy for me the last few weeks. I’m afraid to count the hours I spend in the office each day. So when I got home on Friday afternoon (left early; good riddance) and was still all knotted up in the shoulders and WAY too intense about every passing thought, I decided to go for a run. A couple of miles later (I truly dislike running, btw) and a nice long, hot shower later, I was feeling more at peace than I had been since the last time I was in the Cats.

After taking care of a few errands and social requirements, I was relaxing with my sci-fi novel and my last few spoonfuls of dinner at around 11PM when Scott the Fat Vegan texted me “want to go hiking?” We’d planned Eagle and Balsam (#s 33 & 34 of 39 for him) for Saturday. I knew what he meant and thought about it. A minute later, the next text said “I mean now”. I texted back “I know what you meant. I’m thinking.”

So we left the suburban wastelands of NNJ around midnight, first stopping for a venti black coffee for me, and headed up to our (by which I mean all of us) beloved Catskills.

We hit the McKenley Hollow PA around 2:30 and headed up the road to the second “Private Property/Beware of Dog” sign before turning around and getting on the trail. Whatever, it was dark.

I tore up that first incline. We didn’t realize how long and steep the trail was until we were on the way back down (one of the benefits of night hiking is that one can only see about 8 yards in front of one’s face), and it was definitely long and steep. (This would be the red-blazed Oliverea-Mapledale Trail, for you fellow n O_o bs.)

At the saddle we banged a louie onto the blue-blazed Pine Hill-West Branch Trail, went up & over Haynes Mountain (a PUD, according to the redoubtable Halia and Flammeus) and then to the summit of Eagle. The trail seemed to this no0b like it had not seen all that many feet this spring – lots of blowdown and overgrowth. This was his peak to tackle, so Scott led for most of the way – I doubt I could have done as good a job navigating – from the rear, it felt like a ‘wack. Safety glasses on my face, to avoid another cornea re-scratch. We initially passed the herd path to the summit clearing/cairn of Eagle, but found it quite easily after ‘wacking for about 20 yards. The herd path was more of a trail than the PWB was until then.

There was enough light out to switch off our headlamps by the time we left Eagle. Then it was back up & over Haynes and on to Balsam. It looked like kind of a daunting climb from the saddle, but was surprisingly quick and easy – just the way it looks on the map.

No views to speak of at any point during the hike – even though half of it was in the dark. I tried several different ‘vantage’ points, but only got this one:

Then it was back down the mountain for a sleepy drive home. Showered and in bed by 10AM and awake later to run errands and dance the night away with some damn-fine lookin’ women.

That makes 7 peaks in the dark for me – anybody want to go in on a set of greyscale 3500 Club Patches or a ‘night’ rocker?

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