Hunter Mountain Fire Tower Via Becker Hollow Trail
On Monday we completed Hunter Mountain fire tower. This time we took the blue trail instead of the red Devil’s path trail. If you’re going to hike Hunter Mountain via Becker Hollow Trail know that it is shorter but a 2,240 feet elevation gain. For two miles you just keep going up until you get to the tower. Unlike Mt Tremper or Overlook fire tower trail, Hunter Mountain trail is rocky, steeper and more narrow. It starts off wide, in the woods and straight but quickly changes once you cross over the water bridge.
After completing the two miles up, you will have the option of going .35 miles right or .6 miles straight up. We decided to take the .35 miles to the tower. This trail was beautiful and worth the loops. We arrived at the tower at the same time a group did that took the .6 mile trail. After taking a break and eating our snacks, we walked up the tower stairs to enjoy the views. It was very cold and windy so I went back down and enjoyed the scene that was on the ground. Hikers were enjoying their snacks in every corner before heading back on the trails.
Down Hunter Mountain via Becker Hollow Trail
Going down Hunter Mountain via Becker Hollow trail was fast, challenging, and painful for the knees. My left knee was not happy with me so I tried to push it as hard and fast as I could. I think the knees hurts less when you go down faster but there was no way in hell I could run down the trail. Instead of taking the .35 mile Yellow Connector Trail, we took the .6 mile trail down to the intersection. Then we followed the Becker Hollow trail again. The loose rocks did not make it easy to get back to our car in a jiffy but we tried our best to.
Overall, Hunter Mountain fire tower via Becker Hollow Trail is a short 5 mile trip in total but it will take you some time to complete. It took us almost 2.5 hours to get to the tower with our numerous breaks. We’re proud of our friend for completing the trail and her Hunter Mountain fire tower challenge. She now only has Overlook fire tower left to complete the Catskill Fire Tower Challenge.
