That makes sense. They won't be taking the hard way. Adding to what others have said, there's nothing wrong with saying, "I hiked X sections on the AT."
Nope. The addicts and party people are mostly weeded out (pun intended) by then, anyway, so, while you might meet up with some of them in the middle, it's evidently progressively better as you go. Nope. Nothing wrong with that at all, really.