It's a bit of a toss up. North is slightly easier once you climb out of the valley. North the ridge is reasonably flat, south the ridge has some holes in it you got to climb down and back up. Either direction is a basic walk in the woods. Nice woods, and a noticeable amount of rocks.
The first view going south is at Raven Rocks, some 18 miles from HF and it's a limited view. I hit there mid day on day 2, having spent the night at David Lesser shelter.
The first view going north is at Weverton Cliffs (decent view) about 4 miles out of HF. Nice lunch spot. Shoot for Campton Gap shelter for the first night, it's a relatively easy 10 miles. Exit at the Dahlgren Campground or go a little farther and stop at the original Washington monument. On the way out you can get a nice view from White Rock and the tower on Lambs Knoll and pass by the unique war correspondents memorial.
One caveat, the water source for the Ed Garvey shelter is almost a one mile round trip, steeply down hill. So, it's worth the effort to carry enough water to get to Campton gap and not have to stop at Garvey to fill up.
If your doing this hike in the near future, keep in mind it will be hot and humid and it's rained a lot. Tropical conditions.