I'm 19 years old and plan to do a north bound thru-hike with 2 friends in the spring of 2009. I'm in good shape: 6'00"; 165 lbs; active (My friends are of similar build). My base pack weight is around just over 10lbs. We're needing to finish the trail by mid-august at the latest. How soon should we start? How should we pace ourselves? at the beginning specifically? (daily milage)