Benton MacKaye Trail Hike - Unicoi Gap to Coker Creek

This hike was a moderate hike that was mostly downhill. It was completed in about 5 hours of leisurely walking. Very lush forest on this section of the Benton MacKaye and not much in the way of panoramic views.

The trail had no blooming plants until the very end of the hike at Coker Creek. There were numerous Mountain Laurel in bloom along the creek.

The hardest part of this trip was the driving to the trailheads and the auto shuttle. Driving time on this trip was over 5 hours, due to the difficulty of the mountain roads and the "road" distance between trailheads.

Four of us did this hike, with two of the hikers taking ther first hike with us.

This 8.7 mile hike will be a mostly downhill hike from Unicoi Gap to Coker Creek on the Benton MacKaye Trail and will have about a 1060 foot drop in elevation. The trail will follow the ridge line on Unicoi Mountain all the way to TN Highway 68. From there we will have a slight ascent and then begin the descent (steep in places) to Coker Creek.

The hike will run below Buck Bald. A short hike to the bald (round trip 0.8 mile) will give us 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. As we descend to Coker Creek we will have views of the surrounding mountains and the Hiwassee River.

Unicoi Gap is near the Tennessee/North Carolina border and is a site on the historic Unicoi Turnpike National Historic Trail.This trail, which spanned the Cherokee Nation, reached from near Savannah to the Little Tennessee River. It is said to have been in use for over 1,000 years.

Plan to spend 5 to 6 hours on the trail for this hike. This will be a one-way hike and will require an auto shuttle.