With work and family commitments , I'm lucky to get in one backpacking trip a year. This year, my 6 day hike turned into a 4 day hike, a zero, and a day hike, thanks to knee pain. I saw some great sights (AT in central VA, McAfee Know, Drangon's Tooth, saw a bear, etc..), and met some great people, but I couldn't help but feel the trip was a failure as I couldn't even finish what I thought was a relatively modest 12 mpd pace I planned. As Map Man said, the gap between dreams and reality can widen. Still, I was encouraged by lots of people on the trail. The thru and long distance section hikers I saw said that it took them a few weeks to get into shape and that 12 mpd right out of the gate wasn't bad. I guess if I'm going to be limited to short section hikes for the foreseeable future, I should either plan more modest hikes, get in better shape before going out, or both. And if I ever get that chance to do a multi-month expedition, then I'll plan on taking it real slow and hope I don't lose interest.