Today I was reading an article at a website called Spirit Eagle and it was about taking test hikes to insure you like sleeping on the ground before doing a thru-hike. Suggesting if you don’t like to sleep on the ground you are more likely than others to not make it beyond Neel’s Gap, approximately 30 miles past Springer Mountain. There are many other things that I can imagine that would keep you from completing the thru-hike, for me this isn't one of them. I assume as I hike my body will change and I will become use to sleeping on the ground or shelter floor.  I've done several test hikes ranging from day hikes to week long backpacking, and to-date I have not become habituated to sleeping on the ground. This doesn’t deter me because I know it takes time, 6 consecutive weeks or more, for your body and mind to change so you will be comfortable sleeping on the ground. Tolerating it in the beginning is just a necessary evil to thru-hiking. To ease yourself into nights on the ground I have found several steps which can improve your comfort: