im an active duty marine, and my contract ends next january. im interested in thru-hiking the AT beginning in february northbound from springer mountain as soon as i can. after some research about the community's knowledge surrounding the trail, it struck me that this crowd is a bit "gen-pop" compared to what im used to, and the standards and expectations they provide in their youtube vlogs and blogs seems underwhelming. 2,190 miles at the shortest average time of 5 months to complete is roughly 14 miles a day with the obvious elevation changes along the way. is this just because it's soccer moms and social workers out there walking at a leisurely pace?

we sometimes ruck 20-something odd miles during company events, and that's with loads equivalent to roughly 50% body weight most of the time. it doesn't take a year to get it done. can i realistically expect to out-perform these mild expectations, or am i just being egotistical about this? is it really that difficult? with my physical fitness where it's at, i believe i can comfortably hike the trail shorter than five months if i carry as little as these folks do and still enjoy the wilderness.