Coosa Backcountry Trail   Buddy of mine and I just got done with the Coosa trail (early march). Temps. were great...We opted to stay the night at Calf Stomp Gap. 2nd half of the hike was very tough as much of the trail was covered in ice and snow. Overall, pretty tough hike with packs. Last 3 miles is a nice reprieve. Says Bill Turner Did Coosa trail on 27Dec09. Full 12 mi loop in 7 hours. Counterclockwise, of course. Strenous hike, but the secret weapon was the hiking poles! Says     Kyril I recently hiked part of the coosa trail in Dec. 07 with some friends in order to get to the Appalachian Trail which would lead us to our destination of the shelter atop Blood Mountain. We left out of Vogel State Park and headed towards Bear Hair trail. Due to a late start we only covered about two miles before we had to camp for the night. The next day we proceeded with our journey until we merged onto the Coosa trail. We walked about a tenth of a mile and lost the trail, we then back tracked about one hundred yards and I looked to my left and noticed the marker, it was straight up hill. We proceeded up the side of the mountain realizing that being in our early twenties   would not save us from severe exhaustion. We found ourselves stopping every five minutes or so to catch our breath. To add to the intense climb, about half way up it started to rain which made the 40F weather a little colder. We decided we were to far into the journey now to turn back, so we pushed on. After a few hours of strenuous hiking we reached the junction of the Coosa and Appalachian Trail. We pushed on for another hour or two until we reached the top and I saw the better than I expected shelter at the summit of Blood Mountain. We staggered in about two at a time a few minutes apart, each small group repeating the same emotion of screaming here it is, or we found it, finally. We camped in the shelter with two other parties and proceeded to drink the liquor we brought with us which helped us keep our mind off the fact that the temp was falling under twenty degrees making for a cold night. The next morning the mountain was covered in ice and light snow. The view was spectacular as you can stand on a HUGE rock that is right next to the shelter. Blood mountain seems to tower way over the surrounding mountains which is great for taking pictures. While the journey up which takes about a full day if you follow the trails we took, takes merely a few hours to get back to Vogel as we stayed on the Coosa trail the whole way back. I throughly enjoyed the hike with my friends and look forward to building on my first hiking experence. Says Adam SUBMIT INPUT     Map Map Campgrounds Nearby List of Nearby Campgrounds Weather Local weather forecast These outdoors activities are available near Coosa Backcountry Trail.   Trails Near Coosa Backcountry Trail: DeSoto Falls Trail, Lumpkin County , 4 miles away Arkaquah Trail, Union County , 7 miles away Raven Cliff Falls Trail, White County , 9 miles away   Campgrounds Near Coosa Backcountry Trail: Vogel State Park, Blairsville , 1 miles away Nottely River Campground, Blairsville , 2 miles away Blood Mt Shelter - Appalachian Trail, Blairsville , 3 miles away Woods Hole Shelter - Appalachian Trail, Blairsville , 4 miles away Chestatee Knoll Campground, Lumpkin County , 4 miles away   Whitewater Near Coosa Backcountry Trail: Helton Creek, Union County , 2 miles away, Class -blank- - 3 miles long (US 19 to Nottelly River) Blood Mountain Creek, Lumpkin County , 5 miles away, Class III-V - 1 miles long (to Dicks Creek) Frogtown Creek, Lumpkin County , 6 miles away, Class III-V(V+) - 2.9 miles long (US 19 to US 19 at Turners Corner) Dicks Creek, Lumpkin County , 6 miles away, Class IV - 2 miles long (Waters Creek Campground to Turners Corner) Dicks Creek, Lumpkin County , 6 miles away, Class V - 0.75 miles long (WMA Gate to Waters Creek Campground)   Public Lands Near Coosa Backcountry Trail: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Atlanta - GA , 54 miles away Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg - TN , 60 miles away Vogel State Park, Georgia , 1 miles away Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia , 4 miles away Unicoi State Park, Georgia , 14 miles away   Hotels Near Coosa Backcountry Trail: Paradise Hills Resort And Spa, Blairsville , 2 miles away Best Western Milton Inn, Blairsville , 6 miles away Comfort Inn Blairsville, Blairsville , 6 miles away The Ridges Resort And Marina, An Ascend Hotel Collection Member, Young Harris , 13 miles away The Ridges Resort And Club Fieldstone Rs And Conf CT, Hiawassee , 13 miles away   Lakes Near Coosa Backcountry Trail Bowen Lake, Union County , 11 miles away Lake Qualatchee, White County , 12 miles away Nottely Lake, Union County , 15 miles away Chatuge Lake, Clay County , 16 miles away