Bound for Appalachia

Forrest has a dream. It is to hike the Appalachian Trail (or "AT," as it's apparently known). The trail is about 2180 miles and it goes from Maine to Georgia straight up and straight down each of the Appalachian Mountains (more or less). His mantra is "walk home by Christmas." My mantra is "Do you know about airplanes?"
Of the many things that I am worried about, one is that my backpack will be too heavy. So, I have been reading this book, "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips" (the "G" in 'backpacking was too heavy).  It tells you how to dehydrate your toothpaste, wipe your butt with a rock, and says that chapstick is a "luxury" item. Reading this book did not assuage my worries.
An ultralight pack is 10 pounds or less. My pack weighs in at 18.2 pounds "base weight" (without food or fuel). Forrest's is lighter. I have weighed, measured and contemplated each item. For example: I know that my Homer Women's Nordic ski cap is lighter than my other ski caps. I'm not sure if this will make the ski team proud when I collapse under my pack wearing their colors.  Forrest told me to stop weighing things, but now I know that to walk around in the woods for an undetermined amount of time, I need 18+ pounds of things. An airplane would have no problem carrying that load. We'll see about me.