Sapphire Trail-Agony Grind

Sapphire Trail-Agony Grind, Sterling Forest (8/17/2013)

We hiked up to Agony Grind way back in early 2008 when we parked at the Elk Pen in Harriman. This time we approached it from the north, taking the Sapphire Trail along its entire extent. We still had to climb the mountain but it was much more gradual than last time when we approached the vista from the south.

We parked in the huge Harriman Railroad station lot on Route 17. The trailhead for the Sapphire trail is across the street, which requires walking up the entrance ramp and crossing a relatively unbusy Route 17. We entered the woods and headed south, climbing the ridge eventually reaching the Appalachian Trail which we took east to the amazing vista at Agony Grind before heading back to the Sapphire Trail and returning north. But instead of taking it all the way back, we took a woods road east and then north, paralleling Route 17 from above (the noise from the NY Thruway was louder than the relatively lightly-used Route 17). This woods road had a few blow-downs that were easily navigated. It also contained the ruins of a concrete bridge over a stream. I assume a mine had been here since there was a huge pile of tailings at one point. The road, interestingly, was of deteriorating asphalt, so the activities that took place along this road had to be more recent than what we usually encounter in the woods.

Total distance hiked today was 5.7 miles in 3 hours and 15 minutes.

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