Becker Hollow Bushwhack

[Tom Rankin]

I've wanted to do this for a long time. I got a day off from work and Laurie was game to go, so off we went, getting a late start to avoid some rain. The trees still have a lot of leaves, but we could see pretty well. We took the trail across the bridge (which could use some work), and then explored the dam. After that we left the trail and followed an old road up first the right and then the left side of the stream. This was interesting enough that I might have to go back and follow it some day! We tore ourselves away from the road and started up Becker hollow proper. It's not very big at the bottom. We were not even sure it was the correct hollow. The stream was just about dry. We kept going and worked our way slowly up. There are some hints of an old road, but we could not be sure. The gully is usually pretty narrow and steep. I climbed up and out a few times to see the lay of the land. Eventually there was more and more moss and then amazingly, water started showing up. Soon it was a decent flow down the creek bed! As we climbed higher it kept getting wetter! It started being so slippery that we abandoned the creek bed and stayed to the sides. At one point we saw a cairn off to the right. I went to explore it and heard voices. This was all I needed to leave the steep slippery creek and strike out for the trail, which we soon found. The map makes it look like we might have hit the trail if we had just kept going straight up, but looking down the trail, we did not see any obvious water course. At the junction, we turned right and filled up our water bottles from the spring. Soon we were at the summit and we enjoyed the views. The tower has had some refurbishments and we were pleased to see this first hand. We opted to finish the loop around the summit area, took in the views towards Leavitt, and then descended the steep trail back to the car. It was a fun whack!

Pics at facebook

https://www.facebook.com/tfrankin/m...3843.1073741853.1542878017&type=3&uploaded=41