> You would think sleeping by the beach is relaxing, but really that is far from the case. I didn’t sleep that well as the ocean was thundering in the middle of the night.
I agree sleeping on the beach is nowhere near as pleasant as it sounds. I remember one night I set up camp near the shore, and kept waking up throughout the night to the sound of lapping waves in a panic that the tide was rising and would inundate my tent... except on this occasion I was camped next to a lake!
> You would be surprised but there are so many debates in the hiking community. This debate is to bring hiking poles or not.
I definitely recommend using hiking poles. They are lightweight and easy to stow when not in use (many backpacking packs will have dedicated loops/straps for them). They have saved me from falling on numerous occasions when I have lost my footing on a slippery trail, and they also help to redistribute weight off of your legs which helps tremendously with fatigue on long hikes with heavy packs. I avoided hiking poles for many years because I thought they looked dorky, but eventually gave them a try when I was suffering from knee pain on descents - and have used them on just about every hike since. For me they making hiking so much more enjoyable.
> For the thru-hike there were two options, south to north or north to south. We opted to go south to north as it starts off super difficult, then slowly gets easier.
I can't comment on this trail specifically as I have never done it, but it might make more sense to start with the easy part and end with the difficult part. Reason being your pack will be lighter by the end of the trip, and also after a couple days I tend to settle into a rythm whereas the start of a trip can be a bit of a shock. On other trails where I have the choice I tend to prefer ascending on the steeper route and descending on the gentler route.