I didn't realize that she did it southbound. Most people do the AT south to north. The reason is that it allows them to start early in the spring, when it's wa

I didn't realize that she did it southbound. Most people do the AT south to north. The reason is that it allows them to start early in the spring, when it's warm in the south, so the can finish before autumn in the north. If she can do it in a month, then that matters less. It does mean a slight net elevation loss (5,270' to 3,780'), but given the hundreds of thousands feet of elevation gain and loss I can't imagine that this matters much. She would have been running against traffic most of the time. Which probably means a lot less having to ask people to move when you pass, since they can see you coming. Perhaps that's sufficient reason to do it that way.