Hi all. I'm starting to prep for a 2010 NOBO thru-hike, and one of the issues I'm looking to address is the intimidation factor of the trail. I haven't seen it talked about too much recently, but a 5-6 month hike can be quite intimidating (not that I'm going to let that stop me, of course), especially if you've never been on the AT before.
One of the things I'd like to do this summer is get out to the AT over a long weekend and hike a few days. I'm coming from cleveland, so I'm thinking about driving to a section between Linden, VA and Harrisburg, PA (just under 6 hours to either place). I'd appreciate any suggestions for good sections starting anywhere in or close to those areas.
Idealy, the starting point would have somewhere safe for me to leave my car for 4-5 days and the end point would have reasonable access for me to get back to my car (taxi, bus, shuttle, friendly people, etc). If it helps, I'd probably get out there between mid august to mid september.
Thanks a bunch.