I have been asked to repost my earlier post on averages.
According to Roland Mueser, as printed in his book Long Distance Hiking, the typical thru-hiker takes 170 days, or about 5 1/2 months. This then subdivides into 146 days average of hiking, and 24 days off, or zero days. So, the overall average (not counting days off) is 14.5 miles per day. Myself, I took 142 days, consisting of 140 days hiking, and 2 zero days.
Mueser also notes that the average varies with the terrain. Based on a very limited survey of hikers, the average miles per day in various states is:
Georgia: 10 miles per day. I averaged 13.6 miles per day.
North Carolina & Tennessee: 12 miles per day. I averaged 13.9 miles per day
Virginia: 15 miles per day. I averaged 20 miles per day.
Maryland, Pennsylvania: 15 miles per day. I averaged 16.5 miles per day.
New Jersey, New York: 15 miles per day, I averaged 16.5 miles per day.
Connecticut: 15 miles per day. I averaged 15.8 miles per day.
Massachusetts: 14 miles per day. I averaged 15.8 miles per day.
Vermont: 14 miles per day, I averaged 14.8 miles per day.
New Hampshire: 12 miles per day, I averaged 10.9 miles per day.
Maine: 12 miles per day.I averaged 13.8 miles per day.
Overall, based on the above is 13.2 miles per day. Don't know if these averages includes zero days or not. My overall average was 15.5 miles per hiking day, or 15.3 miles per day overall.