A waterfall and popular short-hike along the Trail
The Appalachian Trail is an amazing hike all across the Eastern US. For many, this is too large a distance to hike all in one go; instead, I chose to hike 20 miles up the trail from its beginning at Springer Mountain up until the Woody Gap all within the beautiful nature of Northern Georgia.
I set out on the trail in June and it was quite warm, between 60 and 80 most of the time, and I definitely do not recommend a jacket although it wasn't scorchingly hot either. We hiked the 20 miles over the course of three days, with 7 miles on the first day, 8 on the second, and 5 on the third. This is a reasonable distance for each day if you plan on taking it easy and stopping to see the sights.
The pack I carried was around 30 pounds and anyone hiking this trail should expect a similar weight to this. A 30 pound bag should be enough to carry all the equipment - such as the tent, sleeping bag, and air mattress - that you should need, along with any personalized things you wish to bring. Choice of clothing is also important, with thin shirts and pants as well as a hat and boots being my suggested attire.
We saw multiple animals, such as several snakes, along the trail but all were harmless and basic precaution towards these animals is sufficient for any hiker. I would recommend a water filter and a large amount of space for storing water because there are few places to collect water on the trail.
Overall, these three days were lots of fun for me and I will likely return for other sections of the hike over time. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this article.
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