Warmup #1: Blue Job - 5/3/20
1357 feet - approx. 3.0 mi
Blue Job is a small mountain in Farmington, NH, about 40 minutes away from our home. My wife and I have each climbed it a few times before, but since it's pretty easy we figured it would be a good starting point. It was the first hike for the dog and I since last fall, and it had been even longer for my wife. We got there around 8:30am, and as expected there were already a few cars in the parking lot. There was a very slight drizzle but the forecast called for sun so we pressed on.
There are 2 trails up to the summit, the North and South trails. We ascended via the South trail, which is slightly shorter but steeper. The first half of the mountain was a little sloppy as it had been raining off and on the past few days. We tried our best to stay clean but where the humans succeeded, the dog failed. Not a big deal though; she just got hosed down before we let her in the house afterward.
Blue Job climbs pretty steadily for the majority of the ascent to the main summit. The trails are well maintained and marked, but they are strewn with rocks and roots. This is par for the course in New Hampshire though, so nothing we weren't ready for. The trail to the main summit is less than a mile, so we arrived quickly at the foot of the old fire tower at the top, by which time the weather had cleared up as well. It provides some good views of the surrounding area, and I can never resist climbing the rickety stairs to the viewing platform. There are trees and some kind of radio tower that impede the view a bit, however.
Beyond the fire tower there is a trail that leads down the ridge towards the summit of Little Blue Job. The trek across the ridge involves slightly more scrambling on rocks, especially as you get close to the second peak, but its nothing the average human or energetic dog can't handle. There is also a small pond right in the middle of the col.
The summit of Little Blue Job is barren and rocky, but affords excellent 360 degree views of the surrounding area. On clear days, you can see all the way to the White Mountains, which felt portentious. We took a short break here for some water, snacks, and pictures.
There are multiple trails down from the summit of Little Blue Job, including ones that don't lead back to where we parked. We returned via the same route we came in, and opted to go back to the main summit before descending, though there is a trail that goes straight down from the ridge to the parking area. We took the South trail down from the summit, and made it back to our car without incident. All in all a good first outing to break in the hiking shoes and convince the wife that the outdoors can be fun before she commits to climbing nearly 50 mountains.