The Balsam Route rises above and to the north of Mahoney Lake as it makes its way along a height of land that is, in effect, the southwestern flank of Mt. Hawthorne.  The trip is comprised of a combination of single and dual-track trail, the dual-track dying out in the forest and singletrack continuing from there.  Approached from the south, one discovers that Mt.Hawthorne is composed of two separate heights of land; a long, rounded ridge running north to south, and a main height of land; Mt. Hawthorne’s summit, further to the north.  A shallow saddle of land separates these two adjacent areas.  Further scrutiny demonstrates that the height of land dubbed Mt.Hawthorne is actually the southern end of a mountainous, undulating ridge stretching from Mahoney Lake in the south to the intersection of White Lake road and highway 97, some nine kilometers to the north, northwest.  There, Mt.McLellan and the Vault-Prospect lowlands cap the ridge of peaks and undulations.

The western face of the initial north-south shoulder section that you will be ascending features a trio of stepped ridges rising up from the west like a giant staircase, each sporting trails along its length.  The route described here attains and follows the highest of these ridges, where it heads north before looping tightly back and tracing the length of a lower, parallel ridgeline approximately 120m below it.  The ascents are brief and challenging, but the sweet singletrack and views that you enjoy on-route more than make up for the effort.

The image included with this chapter portrays a route in / loop-back / route-out.  The area may be entered from several routes; here we will access it via a two-track service road located at the northeast end of Mahoney Lake.  An easily bypassed tubular metal gate blocks the road, behind which you will find a route proceeding toward the northern tip of Mahoney Lake.  The road runs beyond Mahoney and soon reaches an information kiosk where it splits left and right.  Continue to your right for approximately one kilometer, at which point you will arrive at a small pond.  At this point, you are approximately 1.8km beyond the yellow entry gate.

Depending on the season you visit, this pond may not be holding water.  Keep right of the pond, travelling on a steepening, dilapidated roadway until it begins to dissolve into the forest.  300m in, the road splits; head left.  250m beyond this point the two-track road fades out altogether and singletrack trail begins.  145m of steep climbing later the trail appear to dissolve (it is to your actually strait on and a little to the left).  At this point a lookout appears to your right, check it out, and then use the rock cairns that you will see in the area to backtrack and relocate the trail.

A brief but brutal singletrack climb commences, continuing for 500 meters before crossing a cattle-fence and entering a slight bowl in the land.  You can bypass the fence by going around the large tree on your left.  This area is known as the Balsam Root Bowl, as it oftentimes features one of the greatest densities of the plant in the area.   The name for this trail was chosen as a tongue in cheek ‘thank you’ to suggestions from Howie Richardson and Brad Houston.

Bear left and ascend a moderate slope featuring numerous game trails; a large fallen tree beyond the fence roughly points the way forward.  Skirt along the edge of the steep cliffs overlooking Kearns Creek Valley or seek a singletrack trail that fades in and out, making its way through sparse stands of trees as it meanders up a draw in the land.  The forest trail is smoother, but foregoes the aforementioned vistas.

One thing about this loop that stuck with me was the sheer volume of bear scat.  In fact, on the top section I consistently witnessed some of the highest densities of droppings that I have seen anywhere in the Okanagan.  Oddly, I have never actually seen a bear in the area, and I generally see them all over the place in the valley.

About a kilometer and a half along the ridge, you will notice a thickening of the deciduous trees to your right.  A closer look will reveal a small marsh, which if navigated around and to the northeast, presents you with a rolling grassy field sporting a variety of cattle trails.  Though I have yet to fully investigate them, two appear to lead down to Green Lake and private property, one doubles-back to your right, making for the highest reaches of the shoulder that you have been walking north on.

You can safely ignore this entire area for the time being as the ridge that you have been travelling north on soon begins a steep descent into a valley separating Mt.Hawthorne and the height of land that you have been exploring up to this point.  This descent occurs approximately 4.7km into the trail as a whole.

At the base of this shallow valley, the trail splits left and right; the intersection is well marked with logs and rock cairns.  A right turn leads you to Hawthorne’s summit, the peak of which is soon visually obvious; see the Hawthorne Mt. trail description elsewhere in this publication.  In our case, we seek the left hand turn at the aforementioned intersection.  This route doubles back and heads for the small pond encountered 1.8k into the trail.

This singletrack trail makes its way along a path situated approximately 120 vertical meters below and parallel to the route you travelled atop the ridge.  It narrows in several places, but generally remains a well-trodden and navigable singletrack trail.  Hiking this singletrack is moderately difficult, due to severe side-hill and loose soil for brief sections, riding is a technical feat that I would only recommended for cyclists with extremely high confidence and bike handling skills to match.

In many spots, a fall to your right will hurt a great deal; death is a strong likelihood!  A pair of wooden ramps over fallen logs on the path indicates that a rider or two has made their way up or down the mountain via this route at some point in the past.

2.2km into the singletrack descent, you will junction with a well-travelled road. This is an extension of the two-track route that you travelled earlier in the day, prior to meeting the pond and detouring to the right to begin your ascent.  Turn left and travel this road back to the pond, Mahoney Lake and your vehicle, located approximately 2.5km beyond this junction.  If you were to turn right at this junction, you would end up at the White Lake Observatory.  See the chapter titled Mahoney - White Lake Loop elsewhere in this publication.

Getting there From the Peach in Penticton, drive south on Winnipeg St. to Fairview. Take Fairview to the Channel Parkway (Hwy.97)  Head south on the Parkway to the lights at Skaha Lake.  Take Hwy. 97 south to Okanagan Falls, turning right onto Green Lake Road just before the bridge on the outskirts of OK Falls.  Drive 7.5 kilometers until you see the entrance to Mahoney Lake and the yellow metal gate on your right hand side.  Park safely off to the side of the road opposite it.

Low: 497m | High: 818m | Length: 9.8km Loop | Water: Not potable | Cell Access: Mostly