Daily average mileage

[Former Admin]

Daily average hiking mileage

[EarlyRiser]

yeah i really tend to take my time, but i enjoy it.

[Jack Tarlin]

The wording on this poll is a little vague. Over the course of a 180 day trip (i.e. 6 months, give or take a day), most folks average 12 miles a day (The math is easy; divide 2170 by 180 and this is what you get). However, when you consider short days, days off, etc., your average is actually higher. I think for most folks, except in some particularly tough stretches like Maine, and not including your first week or two, I think for most folks, if you hike all day, your daily average is more like 14-17 miles a day. Obviously, there are all sorts of factors that will affect this---the terrain, the weather, the condition of the Trail (i.e. wet, muddy, etc.), YOUR condition (are you injured, or recovering from an injury?), your pack weight, whether or not you just re-supplied, etc. However, all things considered, for most folks, once you get past the initial slower mileage days at the beginning, and once you get in shape, lose your winter gear, and trim your pack down to your essentials, 14-17 miles per day is about right, and in many cases, there will be days when you do better.

[Frog]

May be I misunderstood the question. If its just a weekend hike it will be most likely shorter mileages. Any one hiking for a week should get more miles in per day after a couple days out which would make for a higher average.

[Jaybird]

i've always prided myself @ doing normal/average mileage...(12 miles per day). but, on my last section (14 days=121 miles) i averaged the same, but had several 17 mile days in there....which wore me out & took a toll on my old, tired knees! i'm hoping to be in a bit better shape when i step on the trail April 30th this year. (20 lbs lighter)




see ya'll UP the trail

[Kozmic Zian]

Yea...Mileage. I agree, Jack. Fourteen to seventeen, on average over a distance walk, like the AT. That dosent mean you don't have some long days...in the 20's, maybe even 30's on good soft, flat terrain....but you got zero days, too. Don't say you don't, cause over the course of 6 months, you're bound to. So, do the math. It works out to about 15-18 miles a day. That's what I do, anywho....KZ@

[Buckingham]

I could cover alot more miles, but my hiking partners are slow as turtles, just keeping to their snail like pace is pure torture.

[Footslogger]

I can hike faster and cover more mileage ...but I find that consistent 12 mile days are more congenial than sudden bursts of >20 miles followed by days of exhaustion/incapacitation.

Takes me all night what I used to do all night ...but I still get the job done !!

'Slogger

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Dinosaurs are slow moving creatures

[Kerosene]

I find that the condition of the trail (little rocks, moving rocks, sand, boulders, slippery rocks, smooth, muddy, etc.) has a bigger impact on my miles per hour/day/week than the elevation changes seen along most of the AT. I voted for '11-13' miles per day when this poll came out in 2002, but in the last few years as I've started to hike southern sections, I see my daily mileage averaging more like 16 miles. On my most recent section hike in southern Virginia, I averaged over 17 miles per day for 8 days, but the weather was nice, the trail bed was surprisingly smooth for long stretches, and I started out in pretty good shape with a 25-pound pack with 3 days of food and 100 ounces of water. I certainly slow down on long uphills, but I rarely stop and I find that I make up the time when the trail levels out. I'm actually slowing down on the downhills as I get older and a touch more cautious.

[neo]

i average minimum 20 miles a day to 25 a day neo