Brushy Mountain

Date: 12/5/15
Distance: 11.8

Today I hiked the Brushy Mountain Trail for the 2nd time.  I hiked the exact path as this post from a couple of years ago. Brushy Mountain

The 1st mile of the hike was on Porters Creek Trail.  It was a gravel road with a slight incline, so the hiking went quickly.  At the end of the road, the Brushy Mountain trail heads up the mountain.

I saw many old walls in the 1st mile of Brushy along with a nearly tame deer.

Brushy covers 4.5 miles to the Trillium Gap Intersection and then continues on for 0.4 miles on a spur.  This nice cascade was about 1/2 way up the mountain.

 There were a few nice views through the trees.

 The views at the end of the spur were really nice.

 The top of Brushy is a heath bald with bushes that were over head high.

 After a few moments at the bald, I back tracked to the car.
Right where the Porters Trail meets Brushy Mountain, there is an old barn and cabin.

The climb was about 3000' over the 5.9 miles to the top, so it is a good workout.

Brushy Mountain Trail

Date:  11/2/2013
Distance: ~12

The Brushy Mountain trail begins from the Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier area of the park.  The first mile of the Porters Creek trail is a gravel road which passes many historical sites.  Look for the post about Porters Creek for the details.  At the end of the 1st mile, the Brushy Mountain trail leaves Porters Creek.

From this intersection, the signpost indicated that it was 4.5 miles to Trillium Gap.

The 1st section of the trail was through a hardwood forest with many colorful trees.

After a total of 5.5 miles, the trail meets the Trillium Gap trail which goes to Mt Leconte.  I sat here for lunch before walking the last 0.4 miles to the summit.

The peak of Brushy Mountain is a Heath Bald.  The trail winds through the bushes which are over head height most of the time.

However there are several overlooks which give great views of both the park, and areas outside the park.

 This was a strenuous hike due to the elevation rise (3000').  The rise is steady and while it is tiring, I didn't find the need to stop to rest often.  It did offer awesome views at the summit and many beautiful forest scenes along the way.

Start time: 9:40am
Trillium Gap: 12:00
Back to Car: 2:25pm