Or is there something more to this starting than I'm aware of?


from http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hike/thru_hike/start.html:

The majority of thru-hikers start at Springer Mountain in Georgia and hike north towards Katahdin in Maine. In the past several years, ATC has received approximately nine northbound "2,000-miler" completion reports for every one southbound report.

. . .

A southbound hike will allow you much more solitude, but you will be "breaking in" on the most rugged part of the Trail. A Maine-to-Georgia hike also requires that you traverse long distances between resupply points in the early part of your trek. In many ways it's a tougher hike than a northbound thru-hike. Fewer than 400 people have reported completion of the A.T. southbound.