Colorado Football star takes a hike

Addison Gillam is a really good football player. Over his three seasons with the Colorado Buffaloes he has made some great memories on the field. His freshman season was one of the most prolific for a linebacker in school history.

He did not practice this spring taking a “sabbatical.”

He was making up his mind on if he was going to take the field for a senior season after what had been some ups and downs. What he is doing on that sabbatical is now known. Gillam is hiking the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail. It passes through 14 states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, while making a 6,000 foot change in elevation.

Anyway, Gillam needs some help, here is what he wrote on his GoFundMe.

Hello, my name is Addison Gillam and it is my goal to try and hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, the 2180 mile footpath from Georgia to Maine.  I want to hike the Appalachian Trail because I have been playing football since I was 6 years old, now 23, and living a specific schedule for such a long time that I wanted to experience something new and something that fits well into my interests.  Following the hike I plan on getting a job as a firefighter and I believe this experience will be beneficial.  The reason I wanted to start a GoFundMe is because it would take away some of the stress and worries while on the trail.  The money donated will mainly be used for food resupply when I reach towns and for equipment if I need to get new things.  Any size donation would be incredibly helpful as it is fairly cheap to get food for a weeks worth of hiking.  I am already about 170 miles into the hike and loving every minute of it.

If you want to help the Buffs linebacker, who we can vouch for as a very nice guy click here.

As for his football career it looks as though it may be over by what he posted and by the fact that this could qualify as impermissible benefits which would disqualify him from football. Last year Colorado State Basketball’s Emmanuel Omogbo’s family died in a house fire and he used a GoFundMe to help with his family’s expenses, the NCAA was less than pleased and obviously that situation was more serious than Gillam’s.

We hope Gillam has a great trip!