I found this article on the Outside website to be fairly objective. It quotes people who fall into three groups: those who are attempting to thru-hike this year, those who have started and are debating getting off, and those who have cancelled their thru-hikes for this year.

The author, who thru-hiked the AT last year, also gives his two cents:

"...thru-hiking becomes so intoxicating that you put yourself at real risk every day, despite how little sense it may make. The notion that you might be putting someone else in danger during such a personal, visceral journey may seem unimaginable, especially if you’re not watching daily press briefings. Staring from my window at a distant bald mountain, I wonder if I would have had the courage to quit if this was my year on the trail. My selfish heart says no, that I would trudge ahead. My more logical head says yes, that I would save myself and possibly someone else by heading home. The head versus the heart—it’s the same story every year for any thru-hike, just now with unfathomably higher stakes."