QUOTE : If your goal is to walk the entire Appalachian Trail, then do it. People who take shortcuts do so because they are usually shorter, quicker, or easier. So where is the challenge and honor in that? We have enough of this in the real world. • Expect the worst. If after one week on the Trail you can honestly say that it is easier than you expected, then you will probably finish your journey. • We all have our own temperaments, levels of comfort, and thresholds of pain. If these are congruent with what the Trail requires, you should succeed on your pilgrimage.