Bushwhack Question

[rachelsdad]

Going up to Tirrell Pond from Durant and then spend Saturday heading west along the trail and Climb Blue Mt for the first time in my life.

Is it possible to bushwhack North/NorthEast off the summit of Blue to skin a couple miles off the return trip...not too worried about time or cutting mileage (as I know it will be a lot more strenuous), just looking to add a bit more zing to the final trip of the fall.

Topo does not look horrible, and based on my last post we spent a good 4 hours+ bushwhacking and quite frankly I enjoyed it.

There are three of us, fairly experienced bpackers w over 20+ years together and in decent shape. With the exception of Peter we are pretty good at map and compass as well

Anyone ever do it?

Thanks!

[Justin]

Pretty sure the western, northern and eastern sides of Blue Mtn is all private property, and the public must stay on the trails. Only the summit area and the southern third of the mountain is state land.

[Bill I.]

A friend of mine hiked the service road to the summit along the northern slopes a couple years ago. I don't recall the full details, but I didn't get the sense it was a wonderful experience.

One thing to bear in mind is that the west, north, and east slopes of the mountain are private land. The state only owns the summit and southern slopes.

[rachelsdad]

Oh yeah, that is why it is shaded in brown.......ok it was early and I had not had enough coffee yet.