Transylvania Dreamin’

No, not that Transylvania...

Transylvania county is located in western North Carolina just south of Ashville.  Home to the town of Brevard, beautiful waterfalls and great hiking.  It's my home away from home.

Join us for an autumn weekend adventure including hikes in Shining Rock Wilderness, DuPont State Forest, Ceasars Head State Park, and Table Rock State Park.  Fall colors should be at their peak in this corner of North and South Carolina so be ready to take lots of pictures.

Trip highlights include,

- The colorful autumn foliage, streams, and waterfalls around Transylvania county, NC

- The treeless, scrub landscape over Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain with 360 degree views

- Remote, back country hiking through Slick Rock and Pisgah Forest

- Dense forests and streams around Ceasars Head Park

- Panoramic slickrock overlooks from Table Rock Mountain

- A host of spectacular waterfalls;  Bridal Veil Falls, Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, High Falls,  Connestee Falls, Raven Cliff Falls

Thursday - DuPont State Forest Waterfall Tour - We'll start the weekend with this easy hike to Bridal Veil Falls taking in Lake Julia along the way (7 miles, 800 ft).  Time permiting we'll take a short drive and visit Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and High Fals (4 miles, 400 ft).  We may also stop by Connestee Falls while we're at it.

Link to Bridal Veil trail in AllTrails

Directions to Bridal Veil trailhead

Link to waterfalls trail in AllTrails

Directions to waterfalls trailhead

Friday - Shining Rock Wilderness  - Friday morning we'll take an hour drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  From the Graveyard Fields parking area we'll climb Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain along the Art Loeb Trail.  Following the trail into Shining Rock Wilderness we'll turn west and descend to Hwy 265 at Big East Fork before looping back to the start along the Big East Fork and Mountains to Sea Trails.  I haven't hiked a couple a these trails which accounts for the exporatory listing. 19 miles, 4000 ft (D6)

Link to Shining Rock trail in AllTrails

Directions to Shining Rock trailhead

Saturday - Ceasars Head State Park - From the Raven Cliff parking area just 15 minutes up the road we'll hike around Ceasars Head State Park and through the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area.  This loop hike follows beside mountain streams much of the way.  On the Naturaland Trust Trail we'll descend sharply to Matthews Creek before the steep climb up to Raven Cliff Falls. After crossing over the swinging bridge at the top of the falls we'll have an easy ramble back to the cars. 15 miles, 3500 ft (D5)

Link to Ceasars Head trail in AllTrails

Directions to Ceasars Head trailhead

Sunday - Table Rock State Park - We stop at Table Rock State Park for a final hike as we head back to Atlanta.  This popular trail starts at the park visitor center and takes us to slickrock overlooks atop Table Rock Mountain.  After enjoying the view we'll take the Ridge Trail to the top of Pinnacle Mountain and then loop back to the park visitor center.  The park charges $6 admission per person ($3.75 if you're 65). 11 miles, 3300 ft (D5)

Link to Table Rock trail in AllTrails

Directions to Table Rock trailhead

You'll need prior D6 or strong D5 level hiking experience to join this adventure.  The longest hike is 19 miles with over 4000 ft elevation gain.  You should be comfortable with hikes lasting up to 8 hours with minimal stops.  Expect an email from the trip leaders if there's no recent D6/D5 hikes in your club profile to assess your fitness for the trip.

We will be staying near Cedar Mountain which is just outside Brevard. We have rented a house that sleeps 5 people with everyone having their own bed. There are 3 rooms that are king rooms so we do have room for couples on the trip and will adjust the maximum persons allowed accordingly but not exceeding AOC trip limits. Kindly check below for cost breakdown. Trip Leader Tim owns a second home in the area and the house is situated close to his home. 3 people plus Tim will be staying in his house and the rest of the people will stay with Leigh in the rental. Again, familiarize yourselves with the cost breakdown stated below. The house has 4 bathrooms, a half bath and a large kitchen. Trip Leaders will assign the accomodation to everybody who signs up. 

House duties will be assigned in both places so we can be efficient. Any breakages in the rental will be the responsibilty of the person who caused the damage although we will be way too tired for wild parties. We will scope out the 3 best places for dinner, but as of now it looks like 2 nights in the Cedar Mountain proximity at some casual brewery/biker bar type places and one night in the center of Brevard. 

The cost shown above includes accomodation and non refundable $25 AOC fee. All gas and food costs will be additional to what is shown. There is a $6 charge for Table Rock State Park also. We do have room in the accomodation for couples. If couples sign up the cost per person will be reduced, but each person in the couple pays the fee. There is also accomodation being used in the home of one of the Trip Leaders. Due to this, he is not included in the cost of the accomodation but will still pay the AOC fee. Members staying in his home will also pay the full fee which offsets the cost of the rented accomodation. 

You will pay the Trip Leader (Leigh) directly by either zelle, venmo or paypal. Venmo is the preferred method please. Leigh pays for the house and will forward the AOC fees to the AOC administration. Prompt payment is appreciated as the funds for the house have been already paid. 

Accomodation is limited near Cedar Mountain. We had to choose between a small, older property that was not great or one that is a little upscale. If we do not get 9 people to sign up and the cost would increase, we will switch to the inferior accomodation and let you know immediately the changes. Once sign up is live, we will see if we have the maximum sign ups. Once you have paid for the trip, you will not be reimbursed unless someone from the waiting list takes your place. 

Please be sure to understand the cost analysis above.