Blue Job Mt. 12/12/09

[hikethesummits]

With plans for White Ledge scrapped 'cause Scott needed to sleep in (and he really did need it!) I thought we would try out Blue Job Mt. in Strafford & Farmington, NH. We came across the trailhead sign once in our travels and it spiked my curiosity. We started out of the parking lot at 1:30pm. The trail is very gradual and had nice snow pack from other hikers (only one coming down). Following the bright orange blazes we came to a trail junction with a sign pointing right reading "to fire tower" and that is the way the blazes went, it wasn't traveled through at all though ... the packed trail continued straight. We opted to take the easy way! The vague discription I read said there was a loop trail, apparently it isn't marked?

We continued on gradually and came to an open cone area. We climbed it and soon came out to a very windy knoll, and the summit and firetower behind us We continued to the top of this knoll with great views. What I believed to be Monadnock to the West, Alton Mt. and Mt. Major to the North-West, and Ossipee, Washington & Chocorua to the North. Having had enough of spending a couple minutes in the 60 mph winds we headed back, saving the true summit and fire tower obs. deck for a more calmer day. Total trip time was about 40 min. Round trip including the actual summit would probably run about 80 min. I would think.

Pics of this hike here> http://www.flickr.com/photos/excape1/sets/72157622863067079/

 

[w7xman]

That's a great little mountain, and the fire tower is worth heading back to.

I'm suprised how strong the snow gradient is in the SE part of the state right now. 2" at the mass line, about 4-5 inches of crud in Epping, and it looked great there!

 

[Amicus]

Blue Job offers a sweet vista for a short walk, although it would have been sweeter before all those discs on the tower. To discover what you're looking at, check out Scudder's White Mtn. Viewing Guide, which identifies about 60 peaks you can see from Blue Job on a clear day.

 

[hikethesummits]

Blue Job offers a sweet vista for a short walk, although it would have been sweeter before all those discs on the tower. To discover what you're looking at, check out Scudder's White Mtn. Viewing Guide, which identifies about 60 peaks you can see from Blue Job on a clear day.

Thanks for the info. Amicus!

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Sweetest Cab

Happened to catch a fire watcher there early this summer who let us up in the cab. It looks the same from the outside as any other cab but had just had a make-over with electric baseboard heat, birch wainscoting, maple floor and new vinyl windows, it was sweet! Nicer than some of the places I have slept!

KDT

 

[bryan]

i live about 10 minutes from the trailhead so (when i'm not laid up as i am now) i'm usually up there a couple times a week. my favorite hike is a loop over the two summits using the firewardens loop trail to the firetower, dropping down the north side of the peak and picking up a jeep road around the open summit of "baldy". then head up the open north side of "baldy" and depending on motivation head back up over the firetower peak and down the other part of the loop or pick up the trail that heads straight back out to join the loop trail a couple tenths from the parking lot. without snow it usually takes about an hour (going back over the firetower summmit a second time) and maybe 90 minutes or more with snow. getting off of the main loop and the main trail to baldy offers lots of nice unbroken snowshoeing once the snow builds up. sounds like the loop wasn't broken out when you were out there.
didn't know about the scudders panorama for the peak. will have to check that out. the views of the whites from baldy on a clear winter day are surprisingly stunning for a peak so far south.
thanks for posting.

bryan


bryan