Hiking in Connestee Falls Connestee Falls Property Owners Association, Inc. 33 Connestee Trail, Brevard, NC 28712 828-885-2001, email cfpoa@citcom.net www.connesteefalls.com 1
Few private communities, or public parks for that matter, can rival the hiking trails at Connestee Falls! The community has over 13 miles of hiking trails maintained by volunteer trail stewards. The trails range from easy to moderate and wind through and around the community s many nature areas offering views of creeks, waterfalls, lakes, mountain vistas and much more. The trail system is extensive and quite elaborately planned and maintained including parking areas at main trailheads. We believe Connestee has one of the best private trail systems in the country! Trailheads are located where a P for parking is shown on the maps. To report a problem on one of our trails or volunteer to help maintain a trail, please contact Tucker Garrison (tgarrison5@comporium.net). Additional information about Connestee Falls hiking is available on the hiker s website at http://web.comporium.net/~tgarrison5/connesteehikers/hiker1.htm Contents Connestee Hiking Trails Overview... Page 3 Hiking Hints... Page 3 Amakola, Amakola Loop, Carson Creek, Middle Falls and Ogana Trails... Pages 4-5 Ecusta Trail System... Page 6 Equestrian Nature Trail... Page 7 Oakanoah Trail... Page 8 Salola Trail... Page 9 Tall Pines Trace... Pages 10-12 (Batson Farm Historic Site) 2
Hiking Hints When planning a hike, please follow these suggestions: 1. Wear good hiking shoes. 2. Carry plenty of water. 3. Have insect repellent available. 4. Have a copy of the trail map with you. 5. Pack healthy snacks. More hiking hints and scheduled hiking activities are published on the Connestee Falls Hiker s website at: http://web.comporium.net/~tgarrison5/connesteehikers/hiker1.htm Please note the miles noted on maps are distances for one (1) way. 3
Amakola, Amakola Loop, Carson Creek, Middle Falls, and Ogana Trails This complex of five trails and several spur trails offers the possibility of several different loop hikes. A suggested first hike in this area would be to take Amakola, Amakola Loop or Ogana Trail to the Connestee and Batson Creek Falls overlook, then return on Middle Falls Trail. 4
Amakola Trail (place where water makes rolling thunder noise) features several spur trails. The first spur after the trail head crosses the creek below Upper Batson Creek Falls and connects to the Ogana Trail. The loop trail to Pisgah View gives a winter view of Mt. Pisgah, and the Cave and new Carson Creek spurs have many interesting rock formations. Amakola Trail ends at an overlook that provides an excellent view of Connestee and Batson Creek Falls. Difficulty level: Easy. Amakola Trail Amakola Loop Trail follows Amakola Brook then crosses Chagee where it becomes an open forest. Views of the French Broad River Valley and Mt Pisgah can be seen from the area above the cave. Rare British Soldiers (Cladonia cristatella) growing on a dead log can also be seen in this area. A new trail extension now connects Amakola Loop directly with the Cave Trail. Difficulty level: Easy. Carson Creek Trail descends 200 feet in elevation from the end of the Cave Trail down 17 switch backs into a boulderfilled gorge to Carson Creek. The creek abounds with cascades and waterfalls before climbing up to intersect Amakola Trail near the top of Connestee Falls. Difficulty Level: Moderately Strenuous. Amakola Loop Trail Middle Falls Trail follows Amakola Brook and Batson Creek. The many cascades and Middle Batson Creek Falls can be best viewed by starting from the Ogana Connector at the north end of the trail so that you are facing the cascades and falls as you come up the trail. Rare Oconee Bells (Shortia galacifolia) and many other native wild flowers grow along the banks of Amakola Brook and Batson Creek. Difficulty level: Easy. Ogana Trail From Ticoa Dam, Ogana Trail provides access to a spur trail with a view of Upper Batson Creek Falls. Short connector trails connect to Middle Falls Trail and Amakola Trail. The Grotto features ferns year round and wildflowers in the spring and early summer, with abundant Jack in the Pulpit and Trillium. Ogana Trail continues past the lay-by for another mile where it passes through open forest and follows a mountain brook before exiting on Dotsi Drive. Difficulty level: Ticoa Dam Trailhead to The Grotto Easy; The Grotto to Dotsi Drive Moderate. Carson Creek Trail Middle Falls Trail 5
Ecusta Trail is a loop trail that follows the forested shore of Lake Ticoa, turns up a creek entrance with numerous cascades with heavy rhododendron and hemlock growth, then returns across ferny slopes under a light canopy. Tshakanawi Trail adds some stimulating elevation and open forest areas. Difficulty level: Ecusta Easy, Tshakanawi - moderate. Ecusta and Tshakanawi Trail 6
Equestrian Nature Trail The Equestrian Nature Trail entrance is off Ugugu across the street from the former Equestrian Center. The trail begins on a former logging road that follows along Middle Creek. Signs placed along the trail identify various trees and wildflowers. Rare Oconee Bells (Shortia galacifolia) grow prolifically along the banks of Middle Creek. Benches and a picnic table have been placed on the trail to accommodate walkers. Added to the original trail is the Island Trail, which is a favorite spot for seeing Trillium, Jack in the Pulpit, and other wildflowers in the spring. At the water tower, Wanteska View Trail continues to Kelley Mountain through an open hardwood forest that provides winter views of Brevard on one side and Lake Wanteska on the other. Difficulty level: First mile Easy; Mile 1 to Kelley Mountain Moderate. 7
Oakanoah Trail Oakanoah Trail begins as a maintenance road that turns off Connestee Trail road near the tennis courts and leads to a large water tank in a few hundred feet. Past the water tank it becomes a foot trail that ascends the crest of the hill, then descends to follow the bank of a beautiful creek through a rhododendron thicket. A proliferation of Flame Azaleas bloom along the trail in summer. The trail intersects Tili Court then continues at the end of Yuda Court. The foot trail continues under an open hardwood forest and ends where the trail becomes private property. Difficulty level: Easy. 8
Salola Trails Salola Trail Beginning at the Salola Lane Trailhead the trail meanders through mountain laurel beside a creek. A short detour brings you to the old Beasley Place ruins. Shortly thereafter the trail descends through hemlock and rhododendron alongside numerous cascades. Corral Rock provides views of a beautiful forest cove. The View Point has excellent views of Whiteside and Toxaway Mountains. Lower Salola Trail features many Spring wildflowers and a stream with continuous cascades. Difficulty level: Moderate.. 9
Tall Pines Trace Located at the end of Hokassa Court, Tall Pines Trace leads to the ruins of the Frederick V. Batson home. Built around 1910, the stone chimney is all that remains of the house. From the house, the trail continues 0.4 miles through the former Batson farmstead before returning to the trailhead. Difficulty level: Easy. Interpretive Trail Markers 1. In spite of the size of the pines, as of 2007, a professional forester estimated their age at 40-years. This land was cleared in 1910, farmed until 1925 and logged in the 1950s. 2. Fred Batson raised crops here, as evidenced by the discovery of a one-horse "Side Hill" plowshare point that was made in Syracuse, New York before 1914. Two of Fred's main known crops were corn and cabbage. 10
3. This is believed to have been a form of root cellar known as a "bank house", which is simply a cut into the bank with a wooden enclosure that creates even temperature storage for fruits and vegetables. Fragments of an iron pot and the base of a wood stove were found buried here. 4. This path leads to what is believed to be the Batson's water source. The creek is too shallow to even permit dipping a bucket, but a small earth dam would have pooled sufficient water for easy collection or bathing. 5. Driveway through the "yard", providing access to the road in either direction. 6. Site of Frederick Vernon Batson's 900 square foot two story frame house. Only the stone chimney remains. 7. Stone paved footpath from house to road and lower fields. 8. This area contains several clusters of small locust corner posts arranged in a rectangle. They may be the remains of a small chicken coop. 9. This road connected between Carson Creek Rd to the north (along Setsi Lane near Echota Lane, in Qualla Village), and to East Fork Rd to the south. At that time Carson Creek Rd continued from its current termination all the way to near Connestee's East Fork gate. 10. Headwaters of Laurel Branch creek that passes through Frederick Batson's farm and merges with the East Fork of the French Broad River. 11. Oral history suggests that Fred grew his sorghum cane between the house and the creek, which would include this area. Now club mosses grow here. 12. The Batson's cane mill would have been in this general area (see plaque), on as flat a spot as possible to accommodate the mule that would have walked around the mill that squeezed the juice from the cane. 13. Old farm road with a ford that crosses the creek. 14. Matching pieces of semi-porcelain dishes were found here, in the creek bed. The porcelain's markings identify it as being made in Baltimore in the period 1897-to- 1904. 15. There was, most likely, a simple log bridge here. This is the continuation of the road that you observed at marker number 9. Traveling south on this road would have taken you to the East Fork Road, near Masters Road. 16. Fred Batson's Barn. Batson Farm Historic Site In 1799, the Joseph Batson family moved from Virginia to Greenville County South Carolina and settled along the Reedy River. They prospered there for many years and many descendants remain in the area. Nonetheless, population growth reduced the availability of affordable land and pressured the more adventuresome members of successive generations to seek their opportunities elsewhere where inexpensive and available land existed. Joseph s son William Asbury was one such person. At the end of the American Civil War, forty-eight year old William Asbury Batson moved from Greenville County South Carolina to the Lake Ticoa area of Connestee Falls, North Carolina with his wife Letty (Lance) and at least 11
six of his nine children. One of his sons, Bayles, died in battle as a Confederate soldier near the end of the war. William lived out his life at Connestee as a farmer, Turnpike supervisor and was active in the community, serving quite often as a juror at county court in Brevard. William s second born son, Edward Earle Batson, settled near his father on the western slope of the valley formed by Batson Creek, in the vicinity of Connestee s current Inoli Circle. Edward was active in the East Fork Baptist Church and was an industrious farmer. The bottom of Lake Ticoa was a plateau that contained the Batson family cornfield. Jim Bob Tinsley recounts an interesting tale concerning Edward Earle Batson on page 116 of his book The Land of Waterfalls. Edward s life ended tragically. In 1906, at age 58, a head injury suffered in a farm accident sent him to the State Hospital in Morganton, NC, where he remained until his death in 1919. While Edward was a patient at Morganton, Edward s wife Sarah, along with several of her children, joined her oil-prosperous son William Oscar near Los Angeles, California, where she lived until her death in 1923. While Edward Earle Batson was at Morganton, his eldest son, Frederick Vernon Batson, purchased a fifty-acre tract of family land from his mother and siblings. This land was the same tract purchased by his father in 1877 and was but a small portion of hundreds of Connestee Falls acres accumulated by the Batson family. Upon what is now Connestee Falls Unit 2, Lot 274, he built a two-story frame house in about 1910 and finally sold it to a land consolidator in 1924. It was never occupied again and by the mid-1930s many of its planks had been scavenged by neighbors for firewood. Fred farmed these fifty acres and another 100, growing cabbage, corn and sorghum cane. Despite the steep slopes, Fred was able to grow sufficient surplus crops to sell in Pickens, South Carolina, and on several documented occasions he supplied the County with produce for the chain gang. He was one of the few to own a sorghum cane mill and cooker and his reputation for producing sweet sorghum syrup persisted long after he moved closer to Brevard in 1924. This site has been registered with the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, which designated it as historic site 31TV959** 12