Hike #386 11/23/8
11/23/8 Sterling Ridge/Hewitt with Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, Shelly Janes, "DJ Ray" Cordts, Jillane Becker, "Commando Tom" Petrucci, Jason Itell, "Amish Paul" Hassler, "Action Adam" Stevens, Jason-Michael "Jamal" Flintosh
Taking a break at Sterling Tower
Someone witnessted a car crash on the way there.
Ruins, Long Pond Ironworks State Park
Long Pond Ironworks SP ruins
Long Pond Ironworks SP ruins
Long Pond Ironworks SP ruins
Long Pond Ironworks SP ruins
Long Pond Ironworks SP ruins
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Long Pond Ironworks SP house. YES that is Mr. Potatoe Head. Don't ask.
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Long Pond Ironworks SP house
Abandoned car in Long Pond Ironworks State Park
Abandoned building in LBI SP
Historic marker
Long Pond Ironworks SP ruins
Highlands Trail at Long Pond Ironworks
Highlands Trail, Long Pond Ironworks
Long Pond Furnace
Long Pond Ironworks SP furnace
Historic marker at the furnace
Furnace at Long Pond Ironworks
Furnace at Long Pond Iron Works
Furnace at Long Pond iron works
Historic marker
Wanaque River
Wanaque River
Furnace at Long Pond
Highlands Trail in Long Pond
Highlands Trail in Long Pond Ironworks SP
View from the Sterling Ridge in Highlands Trail
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge view along Highlands Trail
Sterling Ridge view along Highlands Trail
Scene along the Highlands Trail heading up Sterling Ridge
View on Sterling Ridge along the Highlands Trail
The Highlands Trail crossing NY/NJ state line
Highlands Trail crossing NY/NJ state line
NY/NJ state line, Highlands Trail on Sterling Ridge
On the Highlands Trail in Sterling Forest
Along the Highlands Trail on Sterling Ridge
Boulder along the Highlands Trail
Weird layered ice
Weird layered ice
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge view. I think this is the first picture Jillane and I were ever in together.
Sterling Ridge
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge view
Sterling Ridge
Sterling Ridge
Sterling Ridge
Sterling Ridge
Sterling Ridge. This is the first picture I ever took of Jillane.
Sterling Ridge
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower Smoky
Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
View from Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
Sterling Tower
What better place to build a camp fire than at a fire tower?
Little fire break
Jamal
DJ Ray with a pot on his head
Lunch break near the tower
Lunch break
FIRE!
DJ Rough
Along Firetower Trail
Fire Tower Trail, flooded by beavers
Fire Tower Trail, Sterling Forest
Fire Tower Trail, Sterling Forest
Beaver pond
Frozen beaver pond off Fire Tower Trail
Swamp along the trail
Action Sterling Adam
That's my butt, yes. And a yellow hand ready to grab it?
Carefully crossing the wetlands that froze over along Fire Tower Trail
Flooded Fire Tower Trail
Coming off of the flooded section of Fire Tower Trail
Weird ice
Beaver dam along Fire Tower Trail
Beaver dam along Fire Tower Trail
Car along Lake to Lake Trail
Car along Lake to Lake Trail
Car along Lake to Lake Trail
Off trail near Jennings Hollow
Off trail exploration near Jennings Hollow
Meadow near former Monksville
Long abandoned Patterson Mine
Meadow near Monksville looking toward Sterling Ridge
Abandoned at Long Pond Ironworks SP
This was a major turning point in my life, though I didn't know it when I wrote this journal entry.
It was on this hike that I met Jillane, with whom I would fall in love in a very short time.
We didn't realize it right away, but we had actually met on Point Mountain in Hunterdon county years before, but informally.
We began communicating through myspace.com and I'd often invite her on the hikes. She admits recently that she saw the videos put up by Commando Tom and that was what finally made her decide to come out, probably the Farney Highlands one. It's neat that I'm responsible for Tom and Laura's relationship, and how he in a way is responsible for mine.
Jillane and I were kindred spirits, and I think we knew it even before meeting. We'd see each others pictures and how we were visiting the same places. It was only a matter of time before our paths would cross again either way it would seem.
On this first hike I never thought anything would happen between us, in fact I was trying to convince Tom to ask her out. I'm glad he didn't!
My next hike would lead my group and I to the Highlands Trail and adjoining trails on the Sterling Ridge, beginning in the village of Hewitt, NJ. Joining me this time were Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, Shelly Janes, "DJ Ray" Cordts, "Commando Tom" Petrucci, Jason-Michael "Jamal" Flintosh, "Amish Paul" Hassler, Jason Itell, "Action Adam" Stevens, and newcomer Jillane Becker whom I'd met through myspace.com. We'd also met briefly on Point Mountain a few years earlier we'd found. Shelly and DJ Ray ran behind a bit because there was an accident along the way (0a). We began walking the Highlands Trail from the parking area at Hewitt. We followed the HT into the woods and soon came to some ruins of old buildings (1). Immediately after we found a couple more buildings (2). There was a kiosk set up with a picture taken from that same spot (2a, 2b). The first ruined building had framework set up around it, apparently for restoration (3). A larger house still standing, though in disrepair sat behind it farther off the trail, which followed an old road at this point. We wandered around the house taking pictures, and I checked out an old car and some ruins behind the house. We also fond a Mr. Potatoe head and threw it into an open window on the second story (4-9a). We continued down the old road which led to the abandoned iron smelting furnace, Ringwood Furnace, with another one of those kiosks with the that was then, this is now theme (10-10d). We climbed around on it, and Jason had a rock fall out on him, so that was the end of the climbing on the furnace. We then continued on along the Highlands Trail, coaligned with Sterling Ridge Trail. We passed under a cool fallen tree (11). The trail began to ascend somewhat steeply up the Stirling Ridge, and we got some good views to the south of Monksville Resevoir (12-13b).
There were also some cool ice formations (13c,13d). We continued on passing by more viewpoints (14-16).
We eventually crossed Fire Tower Trail and continued up the ridge steeply (17-19) on the way to the Stirling Ridge Fire Tower (20,20a). We hung out for a long time at the fire tower, which was great. We all took turns going up the tower and taking in the views of Greenwood Lake area, Stirling Forest Lake, and more. I also signed the trail register (20b-26b). Down below, Jason of course started a fire as usual with Commando Tom (26c,26d). We hung out here for a while, goofing around and laughing (27-29).
After our break, we headed back down the way we came to Fire Tower Trail and turned right heading west (29a). The trail descended to a swamp where a beaver dam had overtaken much of the trail, so we had to carefully get across (29b-32). We continued on the trail which led to a parking area along the east side of Greenwood Lake. From here, we followed an old woods road which became the Lake to Lake Trail. This took us up hill and we found an abandoned car (33-33b). We continued on Lake to Lake Trail, but ended up missing our old woods road turn off, and bushwhacked out over a nice exposed rock (34,34a), then through the woods until we reached the Jennings Hollow Trail. From here, we followed along the marsh land (35) and then back out to the Highlands Trail. We turned left on highlands Trail retracing our earlier steps, then up on an abandoned road which led us to the abandoned Patterson Mine (36). We had a look around at all of the old mine pits, and Jason tried to ascertain the dept by putting sticks in and using some rope with a stone attatched, and we concluded that it was incredibly deep. Somehow, here we lost Amish Paul and Action Adam. They had turned back to their cars following Amish Paul's GPS. The rest of us followed the old road back to another road which led to Greenwood Lake Turnpike. We were going to use some of the other parallel trails to the road, but we opted not to on this occasion because it was getting dark. The views of the Stirling Ridge from Greenwood Lake Turnpike were breathtaking (37). We headed along the road passing some of the old buildings (38) until we got back to the parking area. We all went out to dinner at a diner in Wanaque before heading back home.
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