Beautiful Spring Day on the Coosa Backcountry Trail

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Beautiful Spring Day on the Coosa Backcountry Trail

The Basics:

Event Type:

Hike

Event Location:

Vogel State Park

Hike: Beautiful Spring Day on the Coosa Backcountry Trail

Date(s) & Time:

Sun, Apr 5 2015 7:30 am >> Sun, Apr 5 2015 7:00 pm (Carpool Departure: 7:30 am *log in for location*)

Registration Opens:

Wed, Apr 1 2015 6:00 am

Registration Cut Off:

Sun, Apr 5 2015 6:00 am

Event Duration:

11 Hours 30 Minutes

Difficulty Rating:

D5: Difficult

Distance:

13.7 Miles

Pace:

Moderate

Trip Leader(s):

Ron S

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You must be logged in to get the Trip Leader contact information.

Member Cost:

None

Participant Info:

Who's Invited:

Members Only, 21 And Older Only

Maximum Group Size:

Minimum Group Size:

Number Registered So Far:

4 / 0 (To see who's signed up, log in to the Member Area)

Are Dogs Permitted:

Itinerary:

This is recommended by the parks people as a 2 day, overnight hike, but we will travel light and stop for the best views, which should be great because of the warm spring and young leaves. With spring in the air and wildflowers and new beginnings everywhere, this should be a beautiful experience (with a good workout thrown in for fun). We will not be in a huge rush and we'll stop briefly a few times at the tops of hills. This is not a fitness hike, so if you are a fast hiker, please be okay with dialing it back a notch or pulling me up the hills :-)

The vertical axis in the terrain profile map above is "slightly" exaggerated.

We will indeed go counter-clockwise since I don't like that long steep climb starting the other way. It is also a loop so there is no need for a shuttle.

Here is a map that's good enough for our purposes: http://www.gastateparks.org/content/Georgia/parks/trail_maps/Vogel-trailmap2013.pdf

We'll have lunch at Coosa Bald which is a short detour off the main trail about half way around the loop. That's where we should see that benchmark in the photo above.

The time actually on the trail should be 6 to 7 hours, including lunch. We'll try to get back home to the park and ride by 7:00 pm but some of us may want to have dinner in Dahlonega on the way back. So we may have to rearrange rides back ... no biggie.

See you there!

Required Items to Bring:

Good hiking shoes or boots
Appropriate layers of clothing
Rain gear if necessary
A good breakfast in your belly
A substantial lunch in your daypack
2 or 3 liters of water
There are restrooms and water near the park office
There are several smalls streams along the way from which you can filter more water.

Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.

Water filter if you like to travel even lighter
Camera
Binoculars
Poles

How to Get There:

Event Directions:

GPS location of Vogel State Park parking lot: 34.766092, -83.923530

Street Address:
405 Vogel State Park Road
Blairsville, GA 30512
Union County

Take 400 north to GA 19, through Dahlonega, all the way to Vogel State park. Watch for signs or follow somone who knows and drivers should have a reliable GPS navigator. Vogel State Park has a 5$ parking fee, so if you have a State Park Pass, please bring it along (handy if you're a driver).

Carpool to Event Distance (round trip):

135Mile(s)

Carpool Departure Time:

7:30 am

Carpool Location:

Carpool Directions:

Carpool Cost:

Estimated cost per vehicle for this event is $54.00 using a reimbursement rate guideline of $0.400 per mile. The total amount should be divided by the number of people in the vehicle, including the driver. This is a guideline, not a rule, for drivers but the cost should not be higher unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Notes:

If some other trip leader wants to help me co-lead this event, thank you.

* We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines while participating in AOC events.

Cancellation/Partial Attendance: Please review the AOC cancellation policy.
*Note:

I can handle a drizzle or scattered showers, but I will cancel this if the weather forecast is steady rain.