OP, terminology nit: a thru-hike is a way of completing a long-distance hike, not a type of hike in itself. It just means completing the entire trail in one con

OP, terminology nit: a thru-hike is a way of completing a long-distance hike, not a type of hike in itself. It just means completing the entire trail in one continuous go. You can section hike (do pieces over the years) any of these long-distance trails, and that would not be a thru.