Bland to Brushy Mountain

Bland to Brushy Mountain

Day Five – Friday, March 28, 2014

15 miles

8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This morning it was 51 degrees in Bland.  What a difference! Bubba took us back to the church parking lot on Highway 52 and pointed us in the right direction to get on the northbound trail.  We had to walk down the highway, over the I-77 overpass then veered off to the trail. 

We zigzagged up the mountain and back down to Va. 611 by 12:30.  Between Va. 611 and Jenny Knob Shelter we did a lot of ridge walking, looking down on both sides to the valleys below. We went through some pasture land, and then started ascending Brushy Mountain. 

Stealth Camping on Brushy Mountain

We had a hard time finding level ground atop Brushy Mountain for our stealth camp but finally made a spot just off the trail somewhere around mile 602.4 as best as we could figure.    

As we were eating our dinner, we got a phone call from our daughter that rocked our world.   She is expecting her first baby in July and had visited her doctor today. During a routine ultrasound they detected enlarged ventricles in the baby’s brain.   Thus began a long, stressful journey for her, her husband and us as she was referred to a high-risk doctor and the news got worse and worse over the next few months. 

We went to sleep that night praying to God for the health of our precious granddaughter and comfort for our daughter and son-in-law.  The coyotes joined in as they ran on the mountain all night.