My daughter’s ambition is to hike the AT. She has been talking about it since high school and is now in college and is getting more serious about it. Just 2 weeks ago, she and a friend did 8 miles at Harper’s Ferry. She can finally say she did some of it! :) Right now, goal is to do at least section hiking after college.
Bless her! I opted for sections....which I regret b/c my knees are now too bad to finish. When I was younger...and always working...I never had the time for a through hike....now that I have the time ...I don’t have the health. C’est la vie.
Your daughter has my admiration...hope she enjoys every trek!
Good luck, she'd better get seriously in shape. My cousin - who wrestled in college, and was seriously in shape - tried it, and quit after a couple of weeks. He said, "I'm eating 5000 calories a day, and losing too much weight. I literally just can't eat enough, or fast enough, to keep up."
The Northern End, especially Katahdin and Knife's Edge, is some amazing scenery.