“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.”
Mary
Davis
Today
we are heading to the Georgia mountains and whenever we head north to
the mountains, we search for waterfalls and beautiful trails. There
is nothing like seeing the power of a waterfall with the water
rushing over the rocks and down to a pool of water below. Size
doesn’t matter as they are all beautiful along with the trails that
lead us there. Since we didn’t have a whole lot of time, we
found the Warwoman Dell which was not far from our last stop in
Clayton and saw there were a few waterfalls nearby. This area is
just outside the town of Clayton in the Chattahoochee National Forest
in the northeast corner of Georgia. We saw the sign and made a sharp
right into the parking. We chose the short trail today, but there
is a 1.5 mile loop that would make a great trip on a day when we have
more time.
We
headed straight on the lower part of the trail walking through the
gorgeous ferns, rhododendrons, and dormant wild azalea bushes. The
leaves were off most of the trees and the path had an earthy scent as
the leaves crunched under our feet. The trail was lush even with it
being near the end of November. There are signs describing the
flora and stating in spring it is beautiful with all the wildflowers
blooming and when everything is green. Other interpretive signs told
the history and geology of the area. Today was a perfect fall day
for hiking since we really got to see the lay of the land through the
bare trees.
On
one of the signs it described a dell as a small hollow or hidden
valley that is usually lush and green. This area has also been
referred to as the Warwoman Shear which is a crease in the mountain
and was used as a travel boulevard for the Indians. The shear goes
from Helen to the South Carolina state line.
We
walked by a lovely covered picnic area that was built by the Civilian
Conservation Corps in 1930 and had picnic tables, several grills, and
fireplaces. What a lovely spot to have a picnic. At one time, there
were 129 CCC workers who worked for months for a dollar a day plus
food and shelter. The average common laborer at that time was making
$0.45 an hour but considering that was the second year of the
depression, they were lucky to have work, food and shelter, and make
a wage at all. They lived nearby at Camp Warwoman while improving
this site.
They
also built a trout hatchery area where they raised speckled trout to
stock the local streams. There is still remnants of that along the
trail. The CCC had plans to build a railroad that was to go from
Charleston, South Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee, and onto
Cincinnati, Ohio. Plans got halted in 1858 because of the Civil War
and the Blue Ridge Railroad went broke. They were building the
railroad to transport coal from Cincinnati to Charleston. Warwoman
Dell is the westernmost point that was reached in the 1850’s for
this railroad.
We
continued down to a small waterfall before heading back towards Becky
Branch Falls. At first I thought the smaller waterfall was Becky
Branch Falls but later realized it wasn’t. We walked back and
across Warwoman Road and up a fairly steep incline that was slippery
from all the fallen leaves. The tall trees surrounded us.
As we
got closer, the sound of falling water got louder and louder and then
we saw her, Becky Branch Falls in all her glory. The falls were
beautiful and so worth the short walk. As we stood and watched the
water tumble over the rocks, we enjoyed the serene beauty of this
place. After that we headed back to our car. When we got back we
noticed a pebble lined beautiful babbling stream which bordered the
parking lot. We walked up and stood on the wooden foot bridge and
listened to the sound of the stream and the birds singing out to us.
There
are many legends as to why this area was named Warwoman Dell and who
was the War Woman. No one really knows. But this is what they do
know.
One
story is that there was a lady named Nancy Ward who was born in 1738
and lived till 1822. She was a respected leader of the Cherokee
tribe. During that time it was the woman of the tribe who were the
ones to decide on questions of justice and war. The word Tsi-ge-yu
means a beloved woman or pretty woman but when translated by white
settlers it meant War Woman. It is said, the last War Woman was
Nancy Ward who was known as Nanyehi.
It
was said she helped fight against the Creek Indians with her husband
and when he was killed, she kept on fighting and helped the Cherokee
people defeat the Creek people. She later married Bryan Ward, an
Englishman and spent the rest of her life trying to make peace
between the Cherokee people and the settlers in the area.
Another
legend/possibility was about Nancy Hart who joined a woman’s
Militia company during the Civil War and helped defend towns from
Union Soldiers. She was said to be six feet tall, scarred face, red
headed and muscular. In spite of being cross eyed, she was known as
a crack shot. She went against the crown during the Revolutionary
War and fought for independence.
While
her husband was out fighting the war, she stayed home with her eight
children in Elbert County. It was said the Loyalist watched her home
and she was known to defend herself, her children and her home. She
also dressed as a man so she could go to the garrison to collect
information. She was later honored in that Hart County and Lake
Hartwell were named after her.
William
Bartram, a botanist and naturalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and spent four years exploring the southeast to study flora and fauna
as well as native American Indians. He spent time in Rabun County
and the Bartram Trail connects to Warwoman Dell. He learned much
about the native plants in the south collecting seeds, taking notes,
and making many drawings.
This
area has a lot of history and much beauty. Stop by and enjoy. I
only wish it wasn’t as close to the road as you can hear some road
noise. It is a great stop that I would recommend. Next time I will
bring a picnic lunch. Bye for now.
“Nature
is not a place to visit. It is home.”
Gary
Snyder
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