Hiking Blue Hills - Great Blue Hill

http://friendsofthebluehills.org/hiking-near-boston/
The link above it to a great site with maps and explanations of trails depending on how far and how hard you want to hike.
This past weekend I was kid free and in the mood to hike again. I had a 5K race to run Sunday so I wanted  to keep it shorter than last weekend.
Google search here I come.
Blue Hills had tons of trails and looked like what I wanted.
I was lucky enough to snag a hiking partner. Phew, at least I had someone to talk to this time and he always agrees! Oh and he looks good in pictures so you can't beat that.
Although I would love to do the whole Skyline trail it is across all of Blue Hills and is about 10 miles. Instead I chose a smaller circle of the Skyline that would take us to the top of Great Blue Hill.
It was cold but beautiful, sunny and crispy. Surprisingly I was overdressed. i am still learning about gear and layering.
The Skyline route was a little over 3 miles......if you don't get lost.
I started just behind a small visitor center where I was able to buy a map. Remember last weekend 7 miles, no map? I wanted to be better prepared.
This little hill was the beginning of the trail. Should have known this was another "no joke" hike from the get go.

 The thing I am finding about hiking is the beauty that can be buried in places you wouldn't expect or that you have driven by at 80mph every day. I also like how it seems to calm my soul. Maybe I am sweating it out, I really am not sure. I like challenging routes so I exercise my body and my brain ends up feeling relaxed. I can't explain it. I guess you know it if it is your thing.

 We stopped and took photos for the kids dad. I wanted him to know he was being a good boy.

 Following the Blue  blazes to the sky. There were many of these stairs cases on this trail.

 This beautiful tower was at the top. Perfect place to have some lunch or water. Picnic tables and maps to plan. This photo below is the view from the top.

 We headed back over the bridge on what I thought was our way back. Funny thing about hiking, you need to pay attention closely sometimes. So when you walk past that beautiful stone pillar with the name of your trail remember that is where you turn, it isn't just for decoration. :)

 But we got to see this! I came out of the scruff and onto this rock ledge and just let out a Holy Crap!
Mugsy wasn't as impressed but the couple behind me agreed. This was a 270 degree view that went on forever. There was a Mountain all the way to my right that the other folks said was Watchusett. All I know is that it was incredible and worth the sweat on my brow.

 After a short maybe 3/4 mile detour we made it back to the car. Mugsy seemed grateful for heated seats and curled up in a sweatshirt nest and fell asleep.
I found a store for more water and realized that this is where we had just climbed. We came in from the other side but that antenna at the top is the weather station that was 1/4 mile past the Tower. My wrong turn took us down this side when we needed to be on the other but isn't that part of the adventure? We just hiked around a side trail until we could reconnect to the Skyline trail. Thank God for the map this time.