April 10, 2012
Sosebee Cove Trail and Coosa Backcountry Trail - GA
Today's hike was on two trails in Union County, GA. The Sosebee Cove Trail is a very beautiful short trail in an old growth forest featuring one of the richest wildflower habitats in the southeastern U.S. The Coosa Backcountry is nearby and is a 12.7 mile loop beginning and ending at Vogel State Park. We accessed the trail at Burnett Gap and hiked an out and back portion to Wolf Creek
Trail information
Sosebee Cove is a beautiful short trail in a botanical paradise that was last logged in 1903. It is a memorial trail to Forest Ranger Arthur Woody. Woody loved the north GA mountains and created the first wildlife management area in the South. The trail features huge trees and a wide variety of wildflowers and plants. The nearby Coosa Backcountry Trail is a 12.7 mile loop that begins and ends at Vogel State Park. Our portion today was from Burnett Gap to Wolf Creek and back
Directions
Take highway 129 N. out of Cleveland, GA and continue past Neels Gap and Vogel State Park . Just past the entrance to Vogel State Park, turn left (west) on GA Hwy. 180 and travel 4-5 miles. Look for the Sosebee Cove sign on the right. Next, we accessed the Coosa Backcountry trail back down the road about a half mile toward Vogel State Park. The trail crosses Hwy 180 here at the start of a Forest Service Rd. Another great day for a hike! Distance hiked - 5.5 miles. Difficulty: Sosebee Cove - Easy - Coosa Backcounty - Moderately Strenuous due to elevation change
Conditions
Fair changing to mostly cloudy and cool with temperatures ranging from 58 to 68 degrees F.
Hikers (10)
- Phil Brownrigg
- Greta Driggers
- Jim Driggers
- Bill Hunt
- Jack Jacobi
- Jeanne O'Connor
- Donna Presley
- Tony Presley
- Vic Robson
- Carole Wintle
Flowers in bloom
Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Dogwood, Star Chickweed, Umbrella Leaf, Pink Lady Slipper, Squaw-root, Mouse-eared Chickweed, Yellow Violet, Sweet White Violet, Purple Violet, Halberd-leafed Violet, Spurred Violet, Purple Toadshade Trillium, Yellow Toadshade Trillium, White Erect Trillium, Large-flowered Trillium Blue Cohosh, Foam Flower, Showy Orchis, Yellow Mandarin, Solomon's Seal, May Apple, Bellwort, Meadow Rue, Field Buttercup, Hooked Buttercup, Toothwort, Cut-leafed Toothwort, Wild geranium, Dwarf crested Iris, White Baneberry, Golden Alexander, Pussytoes, Robin's Plantain, Cinquefoil, Huckleberry, Wild Geranium, Rue Anemone and Barren strawberry
Birds identified
Crow, Pileated Woodpecker, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Vireo, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Cardinal, Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, Pine Warbler, Towhee, Oven Bird and Junco
Photos (14)
Near the start of the Sosebee Cove Trail you pass one of the largest Yellow Buckeyes you will ever see. . Hundreds of Large Flowered Trillium were blooming. Showy Orchis were all along the trail. A nice large mushroom. Next, we head down the Coosa Backcountry Trail. Early into the hike we cross a creek with waterfalls. A critter condo with mushroom awning! Wolf Creek was our lunchtime destination . Lunchtime at Wolf Creek. Looking upstream from the bridge. We saw hundreds of Dwarf Crested Iris along the Coosa trail. Another great day for a hike! We saw several Pink Lady Slippers. The OFHC gang for today's hike! (l-r) Phil Brownrigg, Vic Robson, Carole Wintle, Bill Hunt, Jim Driggers, Donna Presley, Greta Driggers, Jeanne O'Connor, Jack Jacobi and Tony Presley.