July 25, 2023
Coosa Backcountry and Bear Hair Gap Trails
Another great day for a hike with sunny and warm temperatures, 67 degrees to 77 degrees, but humid conditions that made it seem much hotter. The shady conditions under the high forest cover were appreciated. The trail was in fair condition considering its heavy use. It is a mix of rocky, rooty and occasionally packed smooth, loamy surfaces. While mostly uphill for the first half of the hike, the grade was not terribly steep. We did take the side trail to the Vogel Overlook with limited views of Lake Trahlyta. We only saw a few wildflowers and no wildlife. Overall this is a moderately difficult hike.
Today's Hikers: Rex Wade, Susan Wade, Shelia Getman, Ken Kellerman, Gary King, Rich Brown, Lynn Steele, Jane Brown & Squirt, Heather Wall & Toby, Beth Hawkins, Charles Hawkins, Matt Henderson, Jenny Bell , Renée Corbett & Mike Bell.
The route
6.7 mi · 1,371 ft climbing · 4h 3m out, 3h 28m walking · 1.9 mph moving
Elevation
Hover over the profile to see the elevation and steepness. Your position will be shown on the map.
- Steepness
- Gentle under 5%
- Moderate 5–10%
- Steep 10–15%
- Very steep over 15%
19 photos are shown on the map where they were taken — click one to see it full size.
Photos (19)
Just a nice forest hike today! Today's hikers (L-R) Back: Mike, Rex, Susan, Shelia, Ken, Gary, Rich & Lynn; Front: Squirt, Jane, Heather & Toby; Beth, Charles, Matt, Jenny & Renee. Headed out from the parking lot at Vogel State Park. Good trail signs, but not much blazing to keep on the right trail. Headed out and up the Bear Hair Gap Trail. The path parallels Burnett Branch and Wolf Creek in several sections. A couple of these unusual spider webs caught our eye early on in the hike. Just sporadic instances of a few summer wildflowers. A hazy view of Lake Trahlyta from the Vogel Overlook on Not many mushrooms, but the one shown on the top pane was a whopper at 12" to 15" across! Lunch time. Except for Heather, its hard to take an attractive photo of people eating. Our trail dogs seem to have a good time. . . Toby on the left, ever eager to get going, and Squirt, just sauntering along. How about the gall on this tree near our turn-around point? And next to the tree with the large gall, was this tree with great character! It's a "tree kind of day" with this large, older oak towering above the trail. Headed back through a gauntlet of large boulders. Charles Hawkins leading the way across this rocky wet crossing. How about these Indian Pipes sprouting through Dwarf Iris leaves. And lastly, we cannot forget about this well known "tree growing on a large boulder" feature along Burnett Branch as we finish our hike.