It's OUR Waterfall Now

I own a waterfall now.  Actually, I own two waterfalls.   [OK, I am a part owner along with all the residents of our county.] 

One of the most beautiful waterfalls in our county is Connestee Falls, a twin waterfall in which two streams drop to form a common creek, part of the French Broad River Basin.  Connestee Falls drops from Carson Creek and its twin, Lower Batson Falls drops from Batson Creek.  The origin of both creeks is a mere two miles away at the Eastern Continental Divide.  The two waterfalls are commonly called Connestee Falls.  Lower Batson Falls is owned by our community.  For years Connestee Falls was privately owned although the owner allowed public access.

Several years ago the owner of the larger Connestee Falls decided to have the waterfall and land surrounding it placed into a land conservation.  A fund-raising drive began and with the efforts of many people the falls became part of Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Transylvania County Parks and Recreation.  When donations fell short of the asking price, the owner reduced the price and sold the waterfall and land.

Access to Connestee Falls was closed for most of the winter to allow the constuction of the new walkway and observation deck.  It is handicapped accessible so more people can now enjoy the falls.

A new wood and galvanized steel walkway leads the short path to the top of the falls.

This view from the observation deck shows part of the drop of Connestee Falls with part of Lower Batson Creek Falls in the background.

Also taken from the observation deck, this photograph shows the roaring Connestee Falls dropping to join Lower Batson Creek Falls.  A gift from Mother Nature gave several inches of rain in the days before the grand opening, filling the creeks and making the falls even more beautiful.

The view of Connestee Falls itself is accessible only from our community.  Members of our community frequently hike down the trail.  The trail follows Batson Creek and is a gorgeous and moderately strenuous hike with two other waterfalls along the path.  The hike ends with Lower Batson Creek Falls and this beautiful view of the Connestee Falls.  The photograph below was taken during one of our autumn hikes.

Connestee Falls.  The observation deck from which the above photographs were taken is at the top of the waterfall you see in this photograph.  The water in the right side of the photograph shows part of Lower Batson Creek Falls.  The fencing in the middle left is a remnant of earlier times when access to the falls was further down.  Future plans include creating a trail and a second observation deck from which visitors will be able to view both falls at once.

Connestee Falls was named in 1882 by Dr. A.F. Miles who owned nearby Caesar's Head Hotel.  Connestee was a Cherokee princess who, according to legend leapt to her death from the top of the falls because of a lost lover.

The two waterfalls are tiered cascade waterfalls.  Connestee Falls drops one hundred and ten feet and Lower Batson Creek Falls drops eighty-five feet.  The sight of the two waterfalls is impressive indeed.  With the new deck, visitors need only to park and walk (or use a wheelchair) a hundred feet or so to view the falls.

How nice to see the citizens of our county come together to make this possible.

Gated Communities

I do not like the idea of gated communities. They bring to mind a certain type of person who wants to exclude people from his or her community. These people seem to achieve a sense of power when the guard recognizes them at the gate.

Well, I have a confession to make. I live in a gated and guarded community. Some people think we live in this community because we are rich. In fact the opposite is true. If I were truly rich, I could afford to purchase enough land to give me a buffer. Alas, I cannot. So the next best thing is a gated community that provides the same land use values I hold dear.

My community is almost 40 years old, ancient for a gated mountain community. It is four thousand acres and more than 50 miles of paved road. Green space between lots is owned by the Property Owners Association (POA), as are the facilities and amenities. Yes, we have a clubhouse and a golf course. But we also have a bluebird club that builds and maintains bluebird houses all over the golf course. The golf facilities are increasingly subsidized by the POA because more and more of the residents are hikers and fewer and fewer are golfers.

My community has very strict land-use regulations that some people would not want to live with. We have no problem, because the regulations mirror our own environmental concerns.

So why, you may ask, do you need a buffer? The answer is quite simple. Transylvania County has NO county-wide zoning restrictions. The idea is that "a man can do what he wants to do with his own property." There is nothing to prohibit your neighbor from opening a loud honky tonk, or a dirt bike rally, or a garage. Almost as important, there is nothing to prohibit the junk he may accumulate in his yard.

Here are a few snapshots of people I don't want for neighbors:

So I live in a gated community. Where else can I go less than a mile and watch the hazy mountains come to life? This view from a byway near one of the trail heads.

Where else can I take a hike down to one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the area? This is the waterfall for which my community is named.

One of these days I will take you on a tour of my community. You would love it here.

Hike to the Base of the Falls

[NOTE: We're going on a short vacation, so I will be offline for a week or so. I will miss reading your blogs and promise to catch up when I return. Look for a new post from me on Wednesday or so.]

As regular readers know, our community is full of wonderful hiking trails. One of our favorites is the Amakola Trail which leads to the base of Lower Batson Falls at the confluence with the larger and more impressive Connestee Falls. The trail declines steeply and runs along Batson Creek with three waterfalls and some lovely cascades on the way.

These photographs were from a mid-October hike, so the foliage does not represent the bare trees we see outside today. Enjoy the hike. You are lucky. You don't even have to make that climb back up.

This is the reward for the steep hike. Connestee Falls, a cascading waterfall with a 100-foot drop. (If you click on the picture, you will see the woman near the railing. That gives you some size perspective.) We have to take a breath and a drink of water before heading back up.

Waterfall Wednesday

Batson Creek and Carson Creek make spectacular twin waterfalls and then converge into one stream. The Carson Creek waterfall is known as Connestee Falls and the Batson Creek waterfall is Lower Batson Creek Falls.

Access to the top of Connestee Falls is easy, a 50-yard walk from a parking lot. Most people think they are looking at Connestee Falls, when in fact they are standing at the top of Connestee Falls and looking at Lower Batson. The view of Connestee Falls itself requires a strenuous hike to the bottom of Batson Creek Falls.

This is Connestee Falls. To the right you can see the end of Lower Batson. At the top of the picture you can see the observation area at the top of the falls. The size of the woman on the deck provides scale for the size of the waterfall. (You may wish to click to enlarge.)

The picture was taken last fall. So far this spring, I haven’t had time to hike down.

This is Lower Batson Creek Falls, taken from the top of Connestee Falls. In the middle right you can see the steps from which the preceding picture was taken. (You may need to click to enlarge.)



It amazes me that the two creeks making these waterfalls are small. They meander down, collect in pools and then take the gigantic plunge over the rocks.

This is Batson Creek.

This picture was also taken during a fall hike to the bottom of the falls.

This is Carson Creek, less than 25 yards from the top of Connestee Falls.

Connestee Falls is privately owned, but the owner allows public access to the top of the falls. Negotiations are underway to have the falls purchased by the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy.

Lower Batson Creek Falls lies entirely within my community and I own part of it. (In reality the land is green space owned by the Property Owner’s Association, and since I’m a property owner, I own a tiny portion of the falls.)

No waterfall story could possibly be complete without the ubiquitous Indian princess legend. Folklore tells us that Princess Connestee (from the Cherokee Nation) leapt from the top of the 110-foot falls to her death on the rocks below. She jumped for the same reasons all folklore jumpers take the plunge – loss of a lover. Her English husband returned to England and she was so heart-broken she just couldn’t go on. As is the case in most legends, there isn’t much evidence to support the truth of it. It is said that if you go to Connestee Falls at midnight during a full moon you can hear Indian chants rising from the gorge at the foot of the falls.

The falls were named in 1882 by F.A. Miles. He named the falls after the legendary Princess.

There are more than 250 named waterfalls in Transylvania County. I will try to bring one each Wednesday, although I'll certainly not hike to some of the most remote ones.