Originally Posted by
colorado_rob
We're all very different in this respect, so this is just my M.O.
I get up fairly early, but after it starts getting light at least, have my coffee and a good breakfast, then pack up and hit the trail within 45 minutes to an hour of getting up, then I hike all day. I don't take breaks as I just plain don't feel I need any, but I hike a very modest pace. I just eat and drink while walking for the most part. the only stopping I do is at overlooks/peaks/features to enjoy. Every once in a while I will take a nice break at a high view point. I don't do the "lunch thing", never have (even in "real" life), because I'm a "grazer", I have to eat all day at a slow trickle. I believe this is the most efficient way to use your food energy, but of course, YMMV.
I then hike until maybe an hour before dusk or so, making sure I get to a decent camp in time to set up and eat in some sort of light, then after dinner and a few quick chores ("chores" amount to about 15-20 minutes a day, tops), I read an hour or so before crashing. In the summer, this amounts to maybe 11 hours of hiking, in the spring/fall, 8-10, but basically I'm hiking non-stop from an hour after first light to an hour before full dark, something like that.
So, even though I hike slowly, I tend to do fairly big miles on average. Again, this was just my own Modus Operandi (and my wife's as well) for hiking the Appalachian Trail.