May 9, 2022

Sterling Forest
West Valley Loop

foot traffic only

Well, hello there! Thanks for dropping by! Today I’ve got a nice little loop in Sterling Forest that I’d like to tell you about. I didn’t do this one with my kid, though. That was approved prior to my departure. All I had to say was “There’s climbing involved” and it was BAM! Stamp of approval for me to go it alone.

I was super excited about this loop because it meant I would be able to complete the Lake-to-Lake trail which I began last year. I didn’t….uhhh… however… expect this trail to be so… messy. Wet, sopping mud up to my ankles kind of messy. Poor shoes. They tried. I had to hose them off when I got home. It took a few days for them to dry out and even so, they never quite smelled the same (PU!). But it was messy in kind of a fun way - where you just have to surrender to it because there’s no way to avoid it. Embrace the suck, as they say! Besides, it was a glorious spring day. The temps were high, the sun was out, the spring green was popping out everywhere! What was there to be upset about, really?

I parked at P14 off of East Shore Road in New York and settled in for what felt like a really fast hike. I started sobo on the Lake-to-Lake trail (white blaze), the headed north on the West Valley trail (green blaze), and then brought it all home southwest bound on the Fire Tower trail (red blaze). The slowest portion of the trail was West Valley which skirts a swamp. And in the spring “skirt” means “sits directly on top of”. I imagine in the drier months of the year this trail is really fast and fun with the potential for beaver sightings along the wider portions of Jennings Creek. Speaking of creek, there was creek run off directly across the trail. Scroll down. You’ll see it. I somehow managed to rock hop across but because my shoes were so muddy I was fully prepared to slip off said rock and land in the drink. Poles helped and I proud to say that I managed to keep both feet out of the water!

I saw no one on my loop until I got to the scenic viewpoint along the Fire Tower trail overlooking Greenwood Lake. There was a young couple, lounging in the warm sun and melting off the last of their wintery sorrows. They were really adorable, actually, and very kind to me, letting me obstruct their view for a couple of photos.

And that’s pretty much it. I was very happy and sing-songy and didn’t mind anything that came along the trail because I was just glad spring had officially arrived with purple flowers and green sprouts from every limb of every tree.