Joshua Galyon
Aneesh Sharma is an intern with the University of Georgia football program, where he helps coordinate Georgia Official Visits that introduce top student athletes to campus life and athletics operations. His background includes service as the Dartmouth College football team director of game management, providing real time input on fourth down decisions while maintaining sideline communication with coaches. A quantitative social studies student at Dartmouth, he built skills in statistics, multivariable calculus, and computer science, and contributed analysis to The 33rd Team, a media group led by former NFL head coaches. Outside football, he is an avid hiker who has completed the DOC 50, a continuous 54 mile Appalachian Trail effort, and undertaken a six week backpacking trip across the Northwest. With experience organizing logistics and evaluating options under time and terrain constraints, he is well positioned to outline practical ways newcomers and experienced hikers can approach an Appalachian Trail trip.
Options for Hiking the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (AT) is one of the longest and best-known hiking trails in the United States. The 2,190-mile trail passes through 14 states, providing hikers with sweeping views of eight national forests, six national parks, and many state parks and forests. Hikers interested in hiking the entire trail in one go must usually set aside from five to seven months for the trek. However, hikers can enjoy the AT in several different ways.
Day hiking, for example, represents a popular alternative to a complete through-hike of the AT. Hiking groups can spend time finding trailheads that lead to small sections of the AT that provide an adequate challenge. Hikers have considerable control over day hikes – they can spend a few hours on a leisurely loop trail or commit to a full day of rigorous hiking, beginning at one trailhead and arranging for a pickup at the end of the day at another. Individuals can visit appalachiantrail.org to learn everything they need to know about day hikes on the AT.
Hiking parties interested in a more comprehensive AT experience can plan a backpacking excursion. The term “backpacking” refers to hiking for multiple days in a row, which necessitates overnight camping on the AT. Hikers planning a backpacking trip must carry large packs to account for all of their needs, including food and water, tents, and other critical supplies.
In some cases, hikers may plan a backpacking outing for a nearby stretch of the AT, spending one or two nights on the trail. Others may make a concerted effort to complete the entirety of the AT via a series of backpacking excursions. These hikers may spend longer periods of time on the trail or attempt to complete the AT one weekend or week at a time over multiple years. In either case, this approach to the AT is referred to as section hiking.
While section hiking takes less effort than a continuous through-hike of the entire AT, section hikers who want to eventually complete the entire trail must put in considerable effort and planning. Section hiking provides individuals with many advantages, such as the ability to set their own pace and mileage, opportunities to spend more time in the many scenic small towns lining the AT, and the flexibility to plan certain sections of the trail for specific times of the year. Section hiking also has much less of an impact on a person’s professional and personal life.
Hiking groups can use various AT resources to learn about popular sections of the AT. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example, ranks as one of the most popular stretches of the trail. Spanning Tennessee and North Carolina, this section covers mile 166 to mile 239 of the trail (departing from the south). Hiking parties that enjoy this stretch of the AT should consider planning a trip to section of the AT that goes through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
Virginia is also home to one of the trail’s most unusual geographical features, the Virginia Triple Crown of mountains – Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs. Hikers can complete the region via a series of day hikes and overnights, or take on the entirety of the section, which spans up to 730 miles.
These are only a few of the notable sections of the AT. Others include the Four State Challenge, Lehigh Gap to Delaware Water Gap, Bear Mountain State Park in New York, and New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
About Aneesh Sharma
Aneesh Sharma serves as an intern with the University of Georgia football program, supporting recruiting through Georgia Official Visits. He previously directed game management for Dartmouth College football, advising the head coach on fourth down decisions and managing sideline communications. His academic focus in quantitative social studies included statistics, multivariable calculus, and computer science. He contributed analysis to The 33rd Team on league trends and media preparations. Beyond football, he authored the literature review book Weighing US Down and is an avid hiker who completed the DOC 50, a 54 mile continuous Appalachian Trail hike.
