Bear Hair Gap and Coosa Backcountry Trails

We'll start at the Vogel State Park. We'll have a stop at the ranger station to get the permits to hike the Coosa Backcountry Trail.

There is a short trail that connects the parking lot to the loops. From there we'll start hiking the Bear Hair Gap trail clockwise. This loop is about 3.8 miles long and has a moderate elevation change and it goes over the lower ridges of Blood Mountain. In the middle of the loop we'll take a short side trail, the Bear Hair Gap spur, that leads to an overlook of Lake Trahlyta. The trail is about a half of mile round trip. I'm guessing that the total time for this part will be less than 1.5 hours.

After this warm-up hike, we'll regroup at the end of the loop and start hiking the Coosa Backcountry trail counterclockwise. It is a 12.9-mile loop with roughly 4000 ft of elevation change. Some people consider it one of the hardest trails in Georgia. The park rangers estimate that it takes more than one day to complete the loop. However we can probably finish it in about 5 hours.

If you are a fast hiker and you know the trail, you can go ahead. Be aware that the blazes on the Coosa trail are very confusing. You may end up hiking the Duncan Ridge trail or the Appalachian trail. You don't want to get lost there. Both trails are very long and it will be very hard to find you. Also there are some false paths that take you out of the loop, so make sure you know where you are going, or stay with the group.