What's the best, most gorgeous part of the Appalachian Trail?

I'm planning on spending about a month on the AT near the end of the summer, but I'm having trouble deciding what part to spend it in.

This will be my first time on the AT, but I have years of hiking and woodsman experience from my time in the Army. My loadout will be made up of my old gear that I still have. I want to pick up some more things though, so if anyone has gear suggestions for:

A lightweight tent

A MOLLE compatible bag for carrying some basic DSLR stuff

New boots

Maybe a new knife? I want to bring along a hatchet with a wooden handle, but it's been really hard trying to find one that isn't made of some composite plastic. If that breaks I'm fucked and I want to be able to fix it in the field.

Also general AT tips for first-timers.