Beautiful bear face Indian Trail Tree in North GA
Wow, this one looks like an old bear. I’ve seen similar ones in pictures but have never encountered one this impressive “live”. If you haven’t heard of trail trees, they were basically used as road signs/markers (and sometimes secret message drop boxes, hence the bear’s mouth?) by Native Americans. From what I’ve read, the white man had no clue about this early stealth communications & trails network until many decades after the Native Americans had been removed. Now that’s stealth!
Cherokee and many other mostly eastern tribes, bent and tied saplings that are now of course twisted and curved, very mature trees. To think that a warrior could have made one of these over a hundred years ago, to lead his comrades and their horses to water or to leave them some tree mail, and that it has survived and grown to a gnarly behemoth, is simply amazing. Some you hardly notice; some are overpowering. I spotted this one on a lot that’s for sale (you can see the black silt fence on the 1st picture). I hope it doesn’t meet the fate that so many have.
If you have one of these on a property you’re developing, please do your best to preserve this irreplaceable piece of history. Furthermore, they are a great selling point (mountain cabin curb appeal if you will) and in my opinion increase the value of a property. And keep your eyes open for them. They’re all around this area, and you might have one in your backyard that you haven’t even noticed.
The author of the book Indian Trail Trees
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Shelley,
I find the information and pictures of the Indian Trail tree very interesting. I had never heard about that before. We have some property in Morganton so I will be checking it out for trees like that. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Hi Wanda,
Trail Trees are scattered all over the Southeastern United States (as well as the Northeast & Midwest) but there seems to be a high concentration in Fannin & Gilmer Counties. Some folks say many point to Ellijay, and I would guess a lot in Morganton point to the old river bed that’s now the lake.
I want to try to make people aware of these unique pieces of history in an effort to preserve these beautiful trees because a lot of people simply haven’t heard of them. I spot them quite often in my line of work as you might imagine. I know of several in Morganton. I’ll take some more photos when I get over there - let me know if you spot any.
Shelley
Shelley,
I agree with you. People need to know about those trees so they can protect them and not allow them to be cut down. They are defnitely unique pieces of history that needs to be preserved. I would love to see some more pictures if you ever get a chance to take them. I will let you know If I see any of them on our property.
Thanks,
Wanda
Something should be done to make it illegal to cut down these trees. In fact, I’m surprised something hasn’t been done already. Maybe a petition could be started? If so, I’d be glad to sign it.
i have a house with a beautiful bent indian tree. we live in cleveland, ga
my children love the tree because it is so different looking.
amy
we live in cherry log and have two trail trees on our 5 ac. Both pointing to the creek. We purchased the land 3 years ago and noticed the” Funny Looking trees” Then found the trail tree book. Wow we were glad to know and Yes we are protective of them. I would like to get together a flyer to be given at closings Telling of these local trees. Someone buying a home of vacant land would be glad to know and look for them. I moved here for the beauty of the mtns and I am reminded daily how blessed we are to be here in mother nature’s backyard. Millie
Hi, Ms. Draper
I come up in october for the leaves and would like to know exactly where this bear tree is..meaning I need driving directions or a location. I rent a cabin just outside of blueridge off hwy 5….if could take me from downtown blueridge I would appreciate any help thank you, Tommy Wilson
Check out http://www.mountainstewards.org. These wonderful people have been charting/marking supposed “trail trees” throughout the Southeast, primarily using Google Earth to mark coordinates. They are even taking core samples of numerous trees near Big Canoe. They have many pictures on their website. But, even they acknowledge that we don’t really know for sure the history of these unusually shaped trees. We can only speculate, and the idea of Native Americans using them for trail markings and secretive communication is easy to understand and accept. I find it totally fascinating! I have 2 “trail trees” on my 16 acres in NE Mineral Bluff (just south of the NC state line) and the Mountain Stewards have them in their database. One I fondly called the “giraffe tree” for several years until I happened upon the book “Indian Trail Trees” by Elaine Jordan and realized that’s what my giraffe tree is! My giraffe tree points to a nearby spring head, and another trail tree points toward Hothouse Creek, but could also have been used as a hide holder for scraping. There are a couple of trail trees along Salem Road that point to Hothouse Creek. There are many, many in Fannin and Gilmer Counties. Some are deep in the woods, others can be driven to.
Lynne Smith
Shelley,
Thanks to you, we’ve identified a large trail tree on my land in Blue Ridge. It actually helped me find a long lost spring that I had been unable to find in years! We have pictures of it with my wife and 4 children. Go Shelley!!
Tim Murray
Shelley:
I have never heard of this but how interesting. The pictures are awesome and I will check out the book. Great post.
Wow,
Very interesting tree.
I also liked the post with the http://www.mountainstewards.org/ link.
I can’t remember ever seeing a tree with this much “character”.
Osiyo Shelley,
I love your site. I was checcking out the other sites and wondered if you have registered these trees with http://www.mountainstewards.org they are keeping a record of all these trees in hopes to save them all. Please let those who visit your site that they should register any of these trees.
Wado
Willow
Shelley how much is the lot where this indian trail trees is located?
This is most sacred. I am cherokee and I could see myself living on that lot.
I read the previous comment and noticed that someone else has mentioned the mountain stewards, sorry.
Willow
Hi shelly My name is Jennifer I am Elaine Jordans daughter I was wondering along the web site and came across yours and I found it quite Joyful to see that you to are all for the trees. If you will please contact me to talk about Elaine you may E-mail me back at jennifer1983699@yahoo.com
Hi Shelley,
This post is a great look into how intelligent the Native Americans were and how they were able to outsmart the settlers. Blue Ridge Country’s September/October 2010 issue is going to focus on Great Trails in the Blue Ridge mountains and would be a great opportunity to discover more Indian Trail Trees. We also have a section titled Kurt’s Hikes, a blog which highlights our editor-in-chief’s weekly hikes and adventures. Hope you can check them out. Thanks for posting this article and these great pictures!