Little Greenbrier

Date: 8/1/2015
Distance: 8.6

This morning was just perfect for hiking.  The skies were clear, the humidity wasn't quite as high and the temperatures were just right.  I left the house about 7:30 and was at Wear Cove Gap and ready to hike about 8:30.  There are just a few parking spots at the gap, but I was the 2nd car, so no worries there.

Little Greenbrier begins with a small rise up onto a ridge that the trail then follows for 1.9 miles to the Little Brier Gap Trail intersection.  This portion of the trail was in great shape with a few ups and downs.  It climbs a very manageable 500' or so and loses 100' or so before reaching the LBGT .  About 1.5 miles into the hike there is a fairly wide trail that leaves to the left and just 10 yards or so off of the trail, there is a wooden platform with great views of Wears Valley.

 At the 1.9 mile sign, the trail takes a turn up the mountain.  This 2.4 mile section climbs more aggressively up the mountain.  Early in the hike, even in the 1.9 mile section, a ridge is visible off the right front side of the trail.  Up on this mountain is where the Little Greenbrier Trail terminates, so you get a view early on of where you are headed.  This portion of the trail was still in mostly great shape with just 1 or 2 overgrown areas.  This part of the trail instead of being on the ridge like the 1st section is on the side of a mountain.

 It climbs anther 1300' feet or so to the Laurel Falls Trail.  The Falls was just 1.8 miles away from here, but I needed to be home by 12:30, so at the sign (about 1:30 into the hike) I turned around and headed back to the car.

 The downhill section went quickly as I did a little slow jogging down the mountain.  Back at the platform, I took a couple more photos of the valley.  There were several nice little flowers (lots of frilly orange flowers) but the photos were all poor, so I didn't include them.

 Made it back to the car after 2:34 and was home about 12:15, but I stopped at Little River Outfitters on the way home.  My Solomon Boots have developed a hole in the side, so I'm starting to look at replacement boots.

Little Greenbrier was a perfect limited time hike.  The drive was about as short as you can get, the trail was in nice shape, there were a few views and enough of a climb to get the sweat pouring.