[Journal entry for November 2, 2014; Bare Rock, Sterling Forest State Park, NJ] Dallas and I park at the Highlands Environmental Research Institute off of Old Forge Road. We hike south and west along the shore of Sterling Lake, passing the old Sterling Iron Furnace. It’s a high stone structure built in Revolutionary times to refine the iron ore that was once mined here in the Hudson Highlands. We pause by the spillway of the dam. A strong wind is blowing from the north, raising whitecaps on the lake. The trees along the lakeshore are in late fall colors – ambers, dull reds and browns.

We take the Bare Rock Trail (blazed in orange) toward Greenwood Lake. It first follows a woods road up into the hills, crossing a footbridge over a stream with almost no water. The fall has been rather dry and all the lake levels are low. Pretty amber beech trees overhang the trail; their leaves are backlit by the sun and glowing. The bedrock here is gneiss, but we pass many glacial erratic boulders of Schunemunk conglomerate, brought in by Ice Age glaciers from Bearford Mountain, a few miles to the west. Some of the boulders are precariously perched on the hillside. We pass the intersection with the Sterling Ridge Trail (blazed in blue). A fire tower is located three quarters of a mile to the south along this trail; we will visit it on the way back if we have time.

The trail descends into a valley. We cross a little stream flowing sluggishly through boggy ground. Winged Burning Bush, with its striking red fall leaves, is common beneath the canopy; it thrives in the damper areas. The trail takes a short jog south, following an old woods road, and then another jog to resume its westward course. We pass an old stone foundation, perhaps from a small hut, for it is only about ten feet on edge. We then climb up another ridge which leads to the overlook, a bare rock ledge just below the crest of the ridge. It commands a superb view of Greenwood Lake and Bearford Mountain, the long ridge on its western shore.

The lake and mountain are pretty sights, lit up by the bright but low sun. The lake is one of the largest in the area – about five miles long and a half mile wide. Its western shoreline is fairly built up. The town of Greenwood Lake, New York, clusters around its northern shore and docks as marinas are scattered along its length. However, we see no boat traffic on this blustery fall day. The ridge is mostly wild and has beautiful late fall foliage. We search for the overlook on it that we visited in the spring, but it’s too far south to make out.

We then head back, poking around the ridge crest a bit as we leave. Its topography is quite complicated; a narrow deep valley is set near its western edge. Several stands of Red Cedar grow on its summit. An extremely large conglomerate erratic is perched on a rock knob just above the overlook.

The days have already grown short and the sunlight is failing by the time we reach the Sterling Ridge Trail. We decide that a side trip to the fire tower would leave us in the dark, so we continue our hike back. The hills on the far side of Sterling Lake are partly in shadow. It’s a pretty effect and we stand on the lakeshore for a few minutes admiring it. In a few minutes, we are back at our car.

About two and a half hours.