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Brushy Mountain hike by Mike Howitz 06/16/06

I got an unusually late start on this hike, but I had not planned on hiking today. When we woke up that morn the kids wanted to go to Wonder Works in Pigeon Forge so I decided that was my excuse to hike. Fortunately we had two vehicles so I grabbed a bottle of water and headed out to Greenbrier. By the time I reached the trailhead the van was covered in dust. As soon as I got out of the van I spotted a six point buck. I got within thirty feet of him and watched him for a few mins before he took off. I do not even know what time I started hiking nor did I care. I had about six hours to kill until supper. The first mile was gradual uphill following Little Pigeon river. At the point where the road turns into a footpath there is an old farm with a barn, house, and an out-house. The house was rebuilt in the 1930's and belongs to the SmokyMntns hiking club. From this point the trail ascends thru the forest crossing several small streams for about a mile before it begins to open up to the valley below. At about two miles there is a Hugh flat rock in the trail and a good place to look out over the valley and other peaks. At about this point I noticed the mount laurel and rhododendron were in bloom and all the way to the top. This trail was narrow in several spots with jewel weed and nettle weed on either side. This trail intersects with Trillium Gap trail and Brushy Mnt continues to the right another quarter mile. This part of the trail tunnels up thru rhododendron on top of a dried up creek bed-quite a sight when they are in bloom. On top of the mnt the sights are very impressive with views of LeConte lodge, Charlies Bunion, the sawtooth part of the App. Guyot, Chapman, and the valley below. Brushy Mnt is what is known as a heath bald where nothing grows very tall due to acidic soil conditions which allows for a panoramic view. The trip down was pretty uneventful other than an occasional call of a woodpecker or two. So far I had seen no one on the trail nor would I see anyone either. About two miles down I was casually walking down the trail when I saw a black bear. I rounded a bend and there he was fifty feet in front of me trotting down the trail. Well I immediately stopped and let the bear build distance between us, but the bear decided to stop and look at me for a few seconds before continuing on. I was a little leery for the next few bends in the trail not knowing where the bear was but never saw him again. Well I thought the rest of the trip would be uneventful and it was until I passed the old farmhouse. I was on the road part of the trail about a mile from the car when I saw a big black colored snake on the side of the road. Well I got closer and all of a sudden I heard the rattle sounding off to warn me that he was there. What I thought was a black snake was a timber rattler about three and a half feet long. Well being a snake lover I had to get a closer look and as soon as I got within six to eight feet he got in his defensive position ready to strike. That would have told most people its time to leave but I know from what I've read a snake can only strike up to half its body length so I was just testing out the theory. I have hiked hundreds of miles over several diff. trails and this is the first time I've seen a bear or rattler on the trail. I have seen several bears in dumpsters, along side the road, and at chime-nays picnic area, but to see one on the trail in his habitat with no protection is thrilling. This is one of my more memorable hikes with a total of 11.5 miles.

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