Unicoi Trail Services

Unicoi Trail Services Effective May 1, 2026, we are no longer providing shuttles on the AT. We are a licensed and insured AT hiker shuttle business. We are available when you need us.

Watch for news on our page for updates in regards to what we will be doing on the AT, local trails as well as other National Scenic and Recreational Trails around the South East. We routinely perform services associated with trail angels by placing water and other items of need at trail / gap crossings and informing the hikers of there locations via FarOut. Hikers are not on the trail only 9 to 5,

so I don’t carry those hours. I have pulled people off the trail at 7 AM in a lightning storm and got a hiker to a another hostel when the one he chose was closed at 9PM.

Karla and I started off with the bicycles on the Knox & Kane Rail Trail between Kinzua Bridge State Park and Lantz Corne...
06/22/2026

Karla and I started off with the bicycles on the Knox & Kane Rail Trail between Kinzua Bridge State Park and Lantz Corners. With plenty of the day left, we went in search of the northern most Pennsylvania trail head of the North Country National Scenic Trail. (NCST).
We found that to be the Rt346 Trailhead and it is 1.1 miles from the PA/NY border.

From the 364.6 mm I knocked off that little bit with a 2.2 mile round trip walk to get my 100 mile hike quest of the NCST started.

As soon as I can get this sciatica / disc decompression issue resolved completely, I look forward to getting back up here to PA and get at least 99 more miles done. The 2.2 round trip walk wasn’t bad, but there certainly was some discomfort that would not be welcome on a 10 mile section hike.

https://www.relive.com/view/v7O9goWDgLq

On my return trip from Charlotte a craving for coffee struck me. Instead of hitting one of the chains I took the opportu...
06/04/2026

On my return trip from Charlotte a craving for coffee struck me. Instead of hitting one of the chains I took the opportunity to stop and visit Brad and Campground Coffee, right off I40 & 321 in Hickory NC.

I’ve know Brad since he shuttled with Unicoi Shuttle back in 2023. G-Man has had the opportunity to stop by for a cup of Joe but this was my first. He has a great setup here. If you live in the area or are passing through, stop by for a cup & one of his many baked goods available. Support a small business 👍 Tell them Unicoi Trail Services sent ya.

It’s not often you have a section of the AT that you can use a yard tractor on. But when a 1.1 mile section of the Iron ...
06/04/2026

It’s not often you have a section of the AT that you can use a yard tractor on. But when a 1.1 mile section of the Iron Mountain Gap detour follows a FS roadbed, you take advantage of that. This should help keep the hikers out of the stinging nettles and cut down on ticks.

Thanks to G-Man for breaking away from doing shuttles here in the Erwin area to help us out! He can be reached at 423-268-0929 for the time being until we get the Unicoi Shuttle phone number transferred over to him and Madison.

A day of rest and we were back at it again today! Met up with Randy of Lost & Found Shuttle this morning at the Maple G...
06/03/2026

A day of rest and we were back at it again today!

Met up with Randy of Lost & Found Shuttle this morning at the Maple Grove Diner in Unicoi for breakfast before heading towards the infamous detour around Iron Mountain Gap. Having the ability to drive in 2 miles certainly helped, but just like everyone else, we had to climb the stairs.

Took the line trimmers and “little screamer” up to the north end of the detour. All in all I think we mowed right at a little over a mile! Additionally we were responding to the report of a blowdown on FarOut. We found it. Over a half mile north. Please use FarOut mile markers please folks so we know where to find them. 🙏.

Several hikers, section and through passed us. 2 hikers were also dropped off at the actual Iron Mountain Gap by a shuttle driver from an area hostel. His lack of knowledge of the trail could have put these 2 hikers in serious trouble with the USFS ($fines) had they gotten caught in that closed area. Please use reputable shuttle companies who know the trail and have good information. They will make sure you are getting the best information to help you make good decisions. These 2 didn’t even know they were in a closed area.

With all the rain recently, the weeds are a growin’. Several other members of TEHCC were out today as well. Joe was cutting over near Greasy Creek Gap and reported someone was up near Beauty Spot Gap as well. I drove Unaka Mtn Rd home and I can testify that the weeds have been cut back from the gap up to Beauty Spot at least.

We also identified 2 stealth tent sights on this half of the detour through we will be sharing with FarOut as well, for them to ad to the guide.

See ya on the trail!

Time to get caught up for the last couple days! Getting behind just a tad. Sunday we loaded up the 4R with the trail ge...
06/03/2026

Time to get caught up for the last couple days! Getting behind just a tad.

Sunday we loaded up the 4R with the trail gear and headed up to Temple Hill Gap. Our section only has about 100 yards of mowing (weedwacking) needed as most of our 2.5 is tree covered. We knocked that off and then proceeded north approximately .4 miles. That is Dr Haires’ section but as TH Gap is a difficult one to get to, we figured we’d help him out since we were there.

While we were working, we left a cooler of water and apples for any hikers coming through. I think it was 9 total. Section and through hikers. Roo, Cheeks, Detour, Erica and her pup Steve, to name a few. It was nice being able to get some much need work done, visit with hikers and not have to be running off to do a shuttle. I think this retirement thing might work. 😉

I’ve been meaning to do this for a couple months now but shuttles and life prevailed. Life things still go on, but not r...
05/20/2026

I’ve been meaning to do this for a couple months now but shuttles and life prevailed. Life things still go on, but not running shuttles anymore has and will allow me to start spending more time on the trail, performing maintenance and providing information to hikers in my area.

Over the last few years I’ve been able to provide information to the good folks at FarOut. They have always been very supportive in passing it on to hikers via the AT Guide. I recent walked the .5 at the south end of the Iron Mountain Detour (mm360.5) and identified 2 potential water source locations and 1 for tenting. Admittedly, at the current time the water sources are minimal at best, but with precipitation in the forecast, hopefully that will change.

Hope this information proves beneficial. A lot of hikers had commented to me about the lack of waypoint information along the detour.

Don’t know why but I always feel the need to “scout out” the trail heads before I hike the section. Guess I don’t want t...
05/04/2026

Don’t know why but I always feel the need to “scout out” the trail heads before I hike the section. Guess I don’t want to be the person who doesn’t know where they are when they get to a road crossing. 🤷‍♂️. Believe me and I’m sure you can imagine, I can tell ya some stories 😂.

Still .8 from the Northern Terminus but you know I have to find “it”. I’ll be back to hike it soon.

Address

Erwin, TN
37650

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 6pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 6pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 6pm
Thursday 7:30am - 6pm
Friday 7:30am - 6pm
Saturday 7:30am - 6pm
Sunday 7:30am - 6pm

Telephone

+18287755809

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Unicoi Trail Services posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share