09/23/06
Craborchard Falls

Executive director Tom Eshelman and the folks of the Valle Crucis Conference Center deserve a lot of praise. They not only allow access to Craborchard Falls, which is on their property, but I am now told they have signed a conservation easement through the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund and The High Country Conservancy to protect their section of the stream. Their neighbor, who owns the other half of the creek, also has placed their property under a protective easement.

In my trail description of Craborchard Falls on page 76, I state that if the boardwalk is wet it's safer to climb down the bank. Given the choice between breaking a leg or contributing to bank erosion, most people would choose the latter, although the proper course of action would be to avoid both. Regrettably, I did not discuss the safety issue of the boardwalk with Valle Crucis Conference Center before publishing the book. Mr. Eshelman has since told me that one of the reasons they installed the boardwalk was specifically to keep people off the bank. All I did was contribute to his problem. To address the safety concerns of the slippery wood, Mr. Eshelman informed me in June that they had begun installing sheets of metal lathe to the wood for traction. So, disregard what I said and stay on the boardwalk. And if you see anyone from the Center, tell them thanks for letting the public visit the waterfall.