Walking the Blue Hills

By Marty Basch

Talk about a hike to nowhere. That could be the reaction before the jumbled cairn under the pine tree at the summit of Parker Mountain. Even the most outstretched neck couldn't make out a thing over, under and between the trees.So why hike it?Tritely speaking, because it was there. And there was time to kill.A pleasant woods walk, plentiful blueberries in season and a jutting ledge out to a forested lookout of the Blue Hills all make the Parker two-and-a-half mile circuit a worthwhile southeast New Hampshire outing.These aren't the Blue Hills outside Boston, where a tiny feeder ski area sits on the Canton-Milton line. These are the small hills that form a range in Strafford and Farmington. Parker Mountain is the highest at 1,410 feet. According to the Appalachian Mountain Club's "Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide," the range from west to east is comprised of Evans (1,232 feet), Parker, Mack (1,170 feet), Blue Job (1,357 feet), Nubble (1,030 feet), Hussey (1,204 feet) and Chesley (1,035 feet).Frankly, instead of a hike to nowhere on Parker, a short trek to somewhere would be the fire tower atop Blue Job Mountain in Farmington. It's a pimple of a hill, but the tower above the cluttered summit takes in Mount Washington to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.But first, it's a trip to nowhere on Parker Mountain. The short, steep way is a one-mile out and back shlep along the Spencer Smith Trail from the Route 126 trailhead. Pop out onto the ledges after about a quarter of a mile and see the pond, fields and forest below. The mountain with the fire tower is Blue Job. Head up to the forested summit. Nothing.If expending energy is part of plan, consider the loop using the Mooers Loop, Link and Spencer Smith Trails. The wide woods road Mooers Loop with its soft pine needles underfoot, follows the fern-rich southeast side of the mountain. Boulders lay motionless, providing that big mountain feeling.The Link Trail means rougher footing as it climbs the largely pine woods. Holes in the standing dead trees are signals that the pileated woodpecker has been around. Rock slabs with the splotch of lichens and berry bunches in waiting are passed.A crude flat stone foundation with a fire pit mark what many take to be the summit. It isn't. The Spencer Smith Trail is the passageway. A left goes about a quarter mile to the tree summit. Truth be told, the view at the summit and at the fire pit are the same nothing.Heading downward to complete the loop, the pines are tunnel-like. Chipmunks and birds happen by. Calories are lost as walking around Parker Mountain is gained.Then there's family-friendly Blue Job Mountain on Crown Point Road.It was 1913 when the mountain saw its first lookout places on the summit. Two years later, a steel tower some 24 feet high was built on the top. A cabin was constructed in 1930. Stairs were put in to replace the ladders used to gain access. Then in the 1980s, the tower raised eight feet and outfitted with a new cab. The tower is manned and at one time served both Maine and New Hampshire.Two trails lead to the summit from the trailhead a footpath and an old cart path. The cart path passes through private property. Forget about it. Stick to the footpath for the roundtrip easy mile.Though the trail isn't marked, it's simple. Through the boulders and to the right. The wide path is sometimes rocky. Though initially level, it passes a stone wall in the mixed wood forest. The trail passes over granite ledges on its way up the mountain's south side with its cone-bearing softwoods.Climb above the summit's jumble of structures via the fire tower. To the east, try and spot the Isle of Shoals off Portsmouth. To the south, it's possible to make out the Boston skyline. Another manmade object, closer than Beantown, is the drive-in theater in Rochester. Mount Monadnock rises to the west with other peaks like Kearsarge and Sunapee. All hikers took to the north in New Hampshire, and there they will find Mount Washington and some lower Sandwich range mountains too.Those views are always weather dependent. As summer approaches, its intense haze can filter out the scenery, making it more of a hike with vistas to nowhere, instead of somewhere.Marty Basch can be reached at rodeman@aol.com.