Unicoi Trail Services

10/22/2026

Neglected to post this Tuesday evening. After I finished with the line trimmer work north of Porter Gap and got back to the truck, it was 2pm cst. Had time to explore my next section for hiking.

Took a ride up past the Pinhoti Ridge Retreat on County Rd 600-2. High clearance vehicles only! But fun 😁.
Stopped at the first trail crossing and walked south for 1.7 then walked back up the road to the truck. Had to go back in as I found 1 blowdown needing attention. And I left my tracking pole next to it 🤦‍♂️

I’ll pick up my hike at mm 65.0 next time.

10/21/2026

Stopped on my way home and met Brandon at Elevated Grounds. Like the folks at the POC, he is a wealth of knowledge about the Pinhoti from Piedmont & north.

Looking forward to making my way further north in my quest for 100 trail miles on the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail.

10/21/2026

Day 2 on the Pinhoti.

Hiked back in to pick up where I left off yesterday and get that last .4 to the top.

Cut back the grasses and brush exposing a lot of slash left from the controlled burns. Cleared out what I could with the lopping shears. A couple burned up trees could stand to be cut back further, just to make work easier with the line trimmer next year, but they are out of the trail at least for now.

Got done just in time. Was running low on fuel and on my last 12’ of trimmer line.

10/20/2026

Back at the POC for the night. Just finished up dinner, time for a hot shower then hit the rack. Yeah, sun goes down, eyes go down. Especially after a day of trail work.

Got 3 or 4 small trees cleared off the trail in the first mile or so then started with the line trimmer towards the top of the mountain. Only (only 😂) .4 to go tomorrow.

And yes, I’m down in Alabama helping out on the Pinhoti. The Pinhoti hosts a collection of point to point and loop marathons and the Pinhoti 100 Ultra Marathon takes place Nov 7. Anyone interested in participating can find information at https://www.pinhotitrailseries.com/

10/17/2026

Fall has arrived. Beauty Spot. 7am. Still dark. A very blustery 37*

10/13/2026

10/12/2026

While temporarily stepping back into the role of full time shuttle operator for a couple days to fill in for Madison, I had the opportunity to work with Pradip & Amar once again as the continue their section hike north.

It had been an over a year since I had the pleasure of speaking with them so when they reached out to me at the 828 # a couple months back and Madison replied they were a bit surprised.

They, and I were both even more surprised when we found out I’d be picking them up from the airport yesterday. Was very glad the timing worked out and we were able to visit together again on the drive to The Braemer Castle Hostel in Hampton TN.

We dropped Ben a call along the way and he welcomed them at the door as we arrived. Also will hook them up with a shuttle to the trailhead in the morning

10/11/2026

A little late on this post but things got busy around the house, trail @ UJs

Earlier in the week, Dr Craig Haire reached out to me about helping out with my brush clearing project near the old Cherry Gap site and south. At the time, weather wasn’t a concern so we tentatively planned on Saturday morning. With the development of the storm, we decided to get out on Friday instead and work nearer to Iron Mountain Gap.

We met up in Unicoi and drove to the trail from there. Started about .5 south of the gap as I had already done some work there Tuesday evening. Me made it a little over .3 sobo to the top of the stairs and a little beyond. Still a coupe tenths to do before getting to the tree line. I’ll try to get back up there soon. Anyone want to join in the fun, let me know. Could use a sawyer to help clear the cut offs and a swamper too. A tri tip steel blade wouldn’t hurt as well.

Many thanks to the “Doc” and his trusty line trimmer, “Beth, the destroyer of worlds” for their assistance. He is the maintainer adjacent to me. He covers Temple Hill Gap nobo to Unaka Springs Rd, near UJs and works on many other trails in the area besides the AT. 🙏🙏