I joined the Catskill 3500 Club for a hike for the first time in over a year (thanks vaccines!) for hike up Balsam Lake Mountain via Mill Brook Ridge. My previous two jaunts up that peak had been round-trips from the north. Mill Brook is a longer hike, making it perfect for a shuttle and thus for a group hike.
We started at Alder Lake, following the north shore of the lake, then began the gradual climb to the top of Mill Brook Ridge. This is one of the Catskill 100 highest and was as a stand-in for Doubletop during the past year. (It only misses the 3500 criteria by 20 feet.) We followed the trail as it descended, followed a ridge, and climbed again to end at a junction with the Balsam Lake Mountain Trail. From there, it is only .25 and mostly flat to the tower.
While the tower cab wasn't open, we could walk to the top of the stairs and get a fine view.
Hiking out was only 1.5 miles, starting out quite steep and moderating to flat at the end.
A couple of us returned to the start and did a full loop around the lake. This is almost entirely flat - there is one very modest hill.
Total mileage for the day was 10.8 miles.
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