Indian Hill Loop, Sterling Forest

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
3/13/2021	4.1 miles	2 hours 48 minutes	599'	1.5	19.2

Map: NYNJTC Sterling Forest Trails, Map 100
Parking: Parking area labeled P1, off Route 19

Directions: Take yellow blazed Indian Hill trail from upper parking area. Head south. Turn right (south) on the red blazed Furnace Loop Trail. Turn right onto the Indian Hill Trail again. Pass the blue blazed Sapphire Trail which leads to the Appalachian Trail. Pass the green and yellow blazed Warbler Trail. Return to the lower parking area and hike up to the upper parking area.

The dirt road off of Route 19 to the parking area was pretty rutted, and we did hit bottom on a snowbank, but we were able to get to the upper lot. I don't think parking is allowed near the gate, which I mentioned as the lower parking area above, but we did see one car there. After yesterday's 70 degree weather, today felt like winter again. We've only hiked in this area once before, but I remember I liked it. This hike has a few views, but is mostly wooded. One of the highpoints of this hike is that it passes the Southfields Furnace. I found an article on it in Wikipedia. The furnace was built in 1803 and was in operation until 1887. The ruins are still there (amazing!) but are in bad shape. They are surrounded by a chain link fence to keep people out, as the ruins look very unstable. The second highlight of this hike are the wide stone walls. Near the northern end of the loop, the trail briefly follows a woods road which is surrounded on both side by parallel stone walls that look around 8 feet wide. I'm very curious why. Stone walls are common in our area, but rarely are they this wide. I tried to do some research but didn't find anything. There were trains in the area previously (probably for the furnace). Were there train tracks on top of the stone walls? Between them? Or were they that wide for another reason?

We hiked without Krummholz today, which I ended up being glad about, because we encountered more ice and loose rocks today than yesterday. I was hiking exceedingly slowly going downhill. I'm hoping with regular hiking that my fitness increases a lot this year. Here's to no orthopedic problems in the upcoming year!