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The Solemates
07-19-2005, 15:47
Gonna do the Coosa Backcountry Trail this weekend on saturday, then head over to Brasstown Bald to mess around. Anyone ever done this trail near the AT in Vogel State Park (just North of Neels Gap/Blood Mtn) and have recommendations? We will be arriving late Friday night. Are there campsites available after hours in Vogel?

Footslogger
07-19-2005, 16:22
Have done it over a dozen times during the years I lived in the Atlanta area. It comes very close to the Blood Mountain/Slaughter Gap area and I have bushwhacked over on occasion.

Unless they've changed it, the trail is marked with yellow diamond shaped blazes. It's a loop that runs about 13 - 14 miles if my memory serves correctly. At one point you hike paralell (but not next to) a nice lake. At about the half way point you cross an old forest service road and climb up and out on a great overlook area, complete with campsites. As you round the corner and head back toward Vogel State Park you intersect with a little day hiker trail called the "Bear Hair" and there are some nice little waterfalls just before you walk back into the park.

There is a nice lake out in front of the ranger station that is usually teaming with geese. If you have bread or something else to eat and sit down on the ground they'll often walk right up to you en mass and beg. It's quite a sight.

Speaking of the ranger station ...they used to ask you to sign in and get a tag for your pack so that they can keep track of how many hikers are out on the trail. There is a little gift shop with snacks and bottled juices/water, which is a nice treat after the hike.

I've done it both as a day hike and as an overnighter with a group of boy scouts. Not very difficult but some great scenery ...and it's not too far up the road from Walasi-Yi at Neels Gap. Stop in and say HEY to Winton and Maggie for me.

Enjoy ...

'Slogger

Footslogger
07-19-2005, 16:25
Just realized that I didn't answer your questions about campsites after dark. To be honest ...I've never inquired about them. Once you hike out of the park itself you can pitch a tent just about anywhere you'd like and there are lots of good spots for tents. You would want to walk in a ways though to get out of ear shot of the cabins and weekend RV campers.

Hope that helps.

'Slogger

briarpatch
07-19-2005, 21:45
If you continue north on the road past Vogel, you will see Wolf Creek Road on the left just before Sunrise Grocery (I think thats the name). There are several campsites along the road a few miles in that you might use. I haven't been there in a few years, but used to go camping along Wolf Creek with my son's scout troop a lot about 4 or 5 years ago.

thestin
07-19-2005, 23:27
Vogel is one of the most, if not the most popular state park in Georgia, and there probably won't be any campsites in the park available, but once you walk in a short ways there are plenty of places to tent, so it shouldn't be a problem.

How late will you be arriving? They may close the gates at 10 or 11 pm.

Two Speed
07-20-2005, 06:11
Could try reserving a site. Vogel's website is:

http://gastateparks.org/net/go/parks.aspx?locationid=100&s=0.0.1.5

Happy Trails

The Solemates
07-20-2005, 09:27
Vogel is one of the most, if not the most popular state park in Georgia, and there probably won't be any campsites in the park available, but once you walk in a short ways there are plenty of places to tent, so it shouldn't be a problem.

How late will you be arriving? They may close the gates at 10 or 11 pm.

thats good to know. i checked the web and they close at 10pm. Theres no way we will make it by then, so we will just plan on camping in Natl Forest land along the road somewhere and head into the park in the morning. that will avoid having to pay for a campsite as well, which I am greatly opposed to.

does anybody know if my coonhound will be allowed in the park? if not...im going somewhere else.

The Solemates
07-20-2005, 09:29
just answered my own question...pets allowed on leash. guess i gotta go find a leash :) we dont even own one.

The Solemates
07-25-2005, 10:57
We had a great time this weekend on the Coosa Backcountry Trail. We arrived at the Walasi-Yi around midnight Friday night to find it all locked up. I was under the impression that it never really got locked. Needless to say, we were unable to stay there, but we did put the tent up in the small grassy area just in front of the hostel. The campsite was a little noisy, as the trucks that went by during the night tended to wake us up. And evidently the power went out over the course of the night, so at 5AM the power company rolls up, almost running over us before stopping just short of our tent, full headlights into our eyes. We went back to sleep and slept til 7AM. When we woke, we realized there was one hiker in the hostel, so maybe he was the one who locked the door. No hard feelings, but Im surprised he didnt open the door for us when we tried to get in the night before. They never did get the power back on by the time we left at 8. We drove down to Vogel, signed in, and were off. Vogel State Park, by the way, is really nice.

The trail was well marked with yellow blazes, but it was also very overgrown in many places. It was never really that hard to follow, but scraping up against the brush in 90 degree heat and lots of bugs, while climbing, got to be a little daunting at times. Nonetheless, it was a great trail and the lack of travel it obviously gets gave it a bit more "wilderness" feel that the adjoining GA AT. There were some significant climbs on portions of it, but not really all that difficult. The heat just made them seem longer. Once we reached Slaughter Gap, we skipped over to Blood Mtn for the night, arriving at the shelter around 5PM. There were already several people at the top, and before the night was over some 12-15 people had arrived to camp at the top, all of them travelling via the AT, mostly just up from Neels Gap. We opted to get a small secluded campsite in the area that Im pretty sure used to be the crapper (I wasnt aware they added a privy recently), but it was actually really nice. Of course a shelter stay would have been more traditional, as the Blood Mtn shelter is reknown for mice and skunk, but the tent provided a nice place away from everyone, and we didnt have to put up with the dark, damp, dank shelter. Besides that, we had my coonhound and I didnt want to impose on anyone. We had supper atop the rocks at the shelter and watched the sunset and had a great time.

When we awoke the next morning, we realized that no one out of the 12-15 people had slept in the shelter. Everyone took to their tents; I did not realize there was enough flat ground up there for 6 tents or so. The hike down was just that, lots of downhill. We passed lots of small waterfalls along the creeks that we followed down, which made the glades in the creekbeds nice and cool. I bathed in one of the creeks on the way down and it was really refreshing.

Once we got back down to the park, we took a shower in their campground bathhouse in order to wash the sticky salt off us. We then drove to nearby Brasstown Bald, the highest point in GA, and climbed it before heading back home. In all, it was a great weekend, but we definitely learned that we enjoy 3 season hiking more. But unlike others, our 3-seasons are spring, fall, and winter. Therefore, 1) no bugs, 2) no heat, and 3) no people.

Pictures will follow soon.

Footslogger
07-25-2005, 11:07
Soulmates ...your description is pretty much the way I remember it - overgrown and buggy. Then again, like you said, it gives a more "wilderness" feel than the well beaten trails in the area.

'Slogger

The Solemates
07-25-2005, 15:18
Soulmates ...your description is pretty much the way I remember it - overgrown and buggy. Then again, like you said, it gives a more "wilderness" feel than the well beaten trails in the area.

'Slogger

Solemates :datz

Footslogger
07-25-2005, 15:54
Solemates :datz======================
Oooppsss ...my bad !!

'Slogger

The Solemates
08-04-2005, 08:30
I finally got around to uploading those pictures, which are on my yahoo photos page under the album "Coosa Backcountry Trail".