This well-traveled route packs a lot of punch for a short climb. Blue Hill Mountain, which local indigenous peoples (the Penobscot) refered to as Awanadjo, "Small, Misty Mountain" is a single monadnock rising directly from the ocean. The summit provides breathtaking views, particularly at sunrise as you look east across Blue Hill Bay and over Acadia National Park. This route has a little bit of everything- traversing planks, deciduous canopies and gently sloped meadows, and ultimately, technical, steep and demanding rocky and rooted terrain on the upper portion. This ascent is also a portion of the looped route in Blue Hill Mountain Trail Fest.
This route begins in the town of Blue Hill directly behind the Post Office, and you'll see the trailhead begins with a short set of granite stairs. Almost immediately, you'll encounter a set of planks on the trail to prevent excessive deterioration, but those quickly give way to a gentle grade single track. The Post Office Trail continues on, gradually increasing in grade, until it intersects with Mountain Rd. Crossing the road, the Osgood Trailhead is directly in front of you and is essentially a continuation of the previous trail. Osgood becomes much more technical with rocks, roots, and steeper grades, all of which can be slick depending on time of day and precipitation. After a right bend and steep ascent in the final third, the end of the route flattens out before you hit the cairn marking the summit.
After summiting and hopefully bagging the FKT, be sure to take your time on the descent and look for wild blueberries to enjoy.
