Balm of Gilead

Thirteenth Lake, Adirondacks, NY. A short hike took me to the top of Balm of Gilead Mountain, with a view into the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. The name is a strange one...is it for a plant (Populus candicans) with healing properties that may have been found here ? Or maybe some past pioneer named it after a biblical passage in Jeremiah, who seeks a cure for the ills of his people. I kind of prefer the latter, that coming to this ledge high above the forest was like a balm that would soothe troubled shoulders for awhile. Thirteenth Lake reflected the mountains in autumn, and bisected a vast nowhere. My map didn't show much in the way of trails and destinations. Good, let it be, I thought. You could get lost in that nowhere, and I stood on the edge of it, on one side or the other. I rested my eyes a bit, knowing that the balm would wear off soon, when I start back down the trail.

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Image Size: 4096x1820 / 12.2MB; Adirondack Mountains Adirondacks ADK autumn Balm of Gilead Balm of Gilead Mountain Thirteenth Lake landscape landscape photography ledge Ray Palmer Photography panorama
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Thirteenth Lake, Adirondacks, NY. A short hike took me to the top of Balm of Gilead Mountain, with a view into the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. The name is a strange one...is it for a plant (Populus candicans) with healing properties that may have been found here ? Or maybe some past pioneer named it after a biblical passage in Jeremiah, who seeks a cure for the ills of his people. I kind of prefer the latter, that coming to this ledge high above the forest was like a balm that would soothe troubled shoulders for awhile. Thirteenth Lake reflected the mountains in autumn, and bisected a vast nowhere. My map didn't show much in the way of trails and destinations. Good, let it be, I thought. You could get lost in that nowhere, and I stood on the edge of it, on one side or the other. I rested my eyes a bit, knowing that the balm would wear off soon, when I start back down the trail.