Taking a Hike

Bearfort Mountain - Surprise Lake Trail

Brutal yet beautiful, this is how I describe my 7 mile hike at Bearfort Mountain (West Milford/Greenwood Lake area NJ).

Beautiful as you walk along the puddingstone ridges and through lush rhododendron tunnels. Three different types of mountain dragonfly' and wonderful vistas. Most trail guides take you to Surprise Lake (along the Yellow Trail), then have you return back. I strongly recommend continuing on to the State Line Trail (Blue) for amazing vistas overlooking Greenwood Lake. 

Brutal as you hike up many rock scrambles; some steep. A good challenge, which I enjoyed. However, these scrambles and the heat (July) bested me from completing the yellow trail loop, which touched a small segment of the Appalachian trail.

During this hike, I sighted a young Buck and a snake (see photo). We surprised each other on the trail. There have been reports of bears. Alas, no sightings. 

A secondary hike is to start from the Blue Trail by the Greenwood Lake Marina (see trail map for details).

This is a highly recommended trail and may be worth a revisit in the cooler Fall weather. View the complete set of photo images from Bearfort Mountain - Suprise Lake.

Sterling Forest - Highlands & Fire Tower Trails

This was advertised as a level '3'  eight mile journey; which turned out to be 11 miles and level 4: but who's  counting. The Sterling Forest trail was a tremendous hike with more than 2,500' of total ascends through rocky and scenic trails. I attended this hike with Doug Gould's  Adventures Unlimited hiking group.

The hike began in NJ at Long Pond Iron Works State Park (near Ringwood NJ), crossing into NY  State and through to the 55' Sterling Lake Mountain Fire Tower  (Teal Highlands Trail & Red Blazed  Fire Tower Trail).  Along the way; we encountered a large rattle snake. One hiker in our  group reported seeing a juvenile bear running parallel to the trail. The ascends were often steep and rocky; presenting a good challenge. The high-point was reaching the Sterling Lake Mountain Fire tower, with magnificent views of Sterling and Greenwood Lakes. This fire tower (circa 1922) welcomes hikers to climb to the top offering an incredible vista.

One tip for this hike; wear black fly bug spray.These small flies are a major nuisance. Another tip for those seeking less of a hike; start your journey from the Sterling Visitor's center, which will reduce the length and some of the steep ascends.

View images on Flickr: Sterling Forest and Fire Tower hike.