Balsam Cap

Balsam Cap is a Catskills High Peak in the Slide Mountain Wilderness in New York State. It is a trail-less peak, and a part of the range of mountains located on the Catskill Divide.

Popular Routes

The most direct access would be from Moonhaw Road, often done from this direction in combination with Friday Mountain as the hiker will practically walk right past Friday to get to Balsam Cap. Another popular pairing is to do Lone, Rocky, Balsam Cap, and Friday together from either the Denning Road Trailhead which provides access to the Fisherman's Path along the East Branch of the Neversink River. These are four trail-less peaks that constitute all of the high peaks above 3,500 ft. elevation in the Catskills that require bushwhacking. If a hiker were to take this pairing but add Table and Peekamoose, this route would be known as the Catskill 6, and can be done as a loop or traverse, from Denning Rd. or Moonhaw Road. Further add Slide, Cornell, and Wittenberg and this route is called The Catskill 9, one of the toughest but most efficient peak bagging routes in the Catskills. This route can be started and finished at multiple different points and requires navigation of the Dink, which is an extremely densely forested ridge that connects the Catskill Divide with the Burroughs Range.

Summit and Views

The summit has an orange canister as is the custom for bushwhacked high peaks in the Catskills. It is a wooded area with a relatively easy to follow herd path leading from Friday. There are some views just north of the summit looking to the east, where the Devil's Path range of mountains and the Ashokan Reservoir can be seen.

Water

As with most of the peaks in the Slide Mountain Wilderness, there is not much water to speak of near the summit. In an emergency, descending to the west into the Neversink Valley would provide water in the form of drainage creeks depending on the time of year, but hikers should plan accordingly and bring plenty of water when attempting to summit.

Camping

There are not many good options for camping near Balsam Cap, though often times hikers will plan to attempt it as the stretch between Balsam Cap and Friday could be considered a half-way point when attempting the Catskill 9 as an overnight backpacking trip. The Catskill camping rules apply here, meaning no camping is allowed above 3,500 ft. elevation (except in the winter season) or within 150 ft. of a trail, water source, or lean-to shelter. Luckily for would-be campers, there are none of those three mentioned landmarks near the summit of Balsam Cap. Unfortunately for them, the forest is so thick with steep inclines on all sides of the summit that there are no good camping options to speak of. Finding a clearing to properly pitch a tent can be almost impossible, though hammock campers may have more luck finding two trees to pitch between.