[Journal entry for March 2, 2014; Surprise Lake, Bearford Mountain, New Jersey Highlands]. Dallas and I joined Jonathan and Sarah Stelling on a hike to Surprise Lake, a small pond nested between two ridges near the summit of Bearford Mountain, just west of Greenwood Lake. We parked a small trailhead lot uphill from the Greenwood Lake Marina, off Jersey Avenue (Route 210) just south of the New Jersey - New York border. The day was overcast, with temperatures in the mid-thirties Fahrenheit. About a foot of soft snow lay on the ground. Jonathan and I wore twelve-point crampons for traction; Dallas and Sarah wore micro-spikes. We took the State Line Trail, blazed with blue and white, steeply uphill through the woods. It follows small stream, which was running fairly strongly, being fed with snow melt. The rocks here are of Schunemunk Conglomerate, locally known as puddingstone, a purple colored rock easily recognizable by its large, white quartz clasts and its hard, well-lithified character. We passed many boulders, clambered up many ledges and scaled one low hog back as we ascended. We connected with another trail, blazed in yellow, and took it up to the ridge crest, an overall climb of about an hour. This ridge is the easternmost of the several that compose the massif of Bearfort Mountain. These ridges are conglomerate highlands separated from one another by valleys composed of more erodible siltstone. The trail took out southward along the ridge. Here my crampons came in handy, for they provided good grip on the snow covered rock ledges, which were steep in places. The ridge is open, except for occasional Pitch Pine trees. Jonathan pricked his finger examining one of the cones, which was surprisingly thorny. The view of Greenwood Lake and the New Jersey Highlands beyond is extraordinary. The ice-covered lake was bustling with activity. We saw many people on ATV’s and dirt bikes racing along its surface and a few people ice fishing too. The hills beyond the eastern shore of the lake are small but steep. I could see Bare Rock Overlook, in a similar position to the ridge on which we were standing, but on the other side of the lake. I had visited it for the first time last fall. I could also make out the Sterling Fire Tower, on another of the hills on the east side. The little valleys between Bearfort’s ridges are marshy. Directly below and to the west of us sat a little wetland, at the base of a steep slope covered with large slabs of conglomerate. The trail left the ridge and headed west, past the southern edge of the wetland, through a short section of woods, to Surprise Lake. This elongated pond is about three tenths of a mile long and a few hundred yards wide, with a mostly wooded shoreline. The trail led to a clearing on the east side of the lake, marked by a distinctive natural table of conglomerate besides which people had been building bonfires. The lake was frozen, with a rather bumpy but icy surface. I walked around it a bit, admiring the trees and bushes along the shore line, several which had been cropped by beaver. We all sat on a ledge by the shoreline for a few minutes, eating our lunch and chatting. I had brought a thermos of tea and some sweet bread. We then headed back. The climb down was easier and faster than the ascent. I had time to explore the little stream, which has many beautiful ice formations. About three hours.