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I'd had my eye on Blue and East Blue for a while, and had scouted for access several times to no avail. Golden Gate State Park provided a reasonable solution once again as I discovered looking at maps after hiking Tremont Mountain a few weeks prior. There is a good trail to Windy Peak (Windy peak shown in photo on right). The snow the day before mdae this a good day for a lower elevation outing such as this. I made Windy Peak in quick time (Windy's Summit) and began a northeasterly descent on a trail apparently common for equestrian traffic. Skirting much of the ridge of Blue Mountain on its southern side kept me on State property.
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There were a few false summits along the way, and an intermittent trail of sorts. The fresh snow lining the ground was disappearing quickly. Blue Mountain provides a number of options to acquire its summit, and I chose to be more ambitious than necessary, ascending a fun scrambling wall. There were interesting veiws to the north from
Blue's Summit. I looked at the route to "East Blue" and set off toward the final objective for the morning.
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On the left, nearing the saddle, "East Blue" is featured bathed in morning light. A bit of a bushwhack acquired the west ridge, and fun scrambling sections litter the upper slopes. The summit was rewarding, having looked at this peak so many times from the metro area wondering if I'd ever figure out a way to get up it. I set the summit "tower" and its pole back up. There was a register with entries from some fellows who like to hike this peak on Super Bowl Sunday each year. I chose a more direct descent to Golden Gate and was out in short time.
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