Hikers who trek the Long Trail end-to-end in a single trip spend an average of 19 days to finish it. However, some people complete the trail in as few as 7 days, while others take more than 30 days. The longest recorded time for a female hiker to complete the trail is 56 days, and for a male hiker, it's 44 days. The average person who hikes the Long Trail will walk about 50 miles per day. This includes rest days. Some hikers do not stop walking all day every day, but rather take short breaks throughout the journey. These break periods can be used to eat, drink, use the bathroom, or just calm your mind and body. A good rule of thumb is that you should walk as much as possible without falling over! People who want to speed up their hiking time can try to cover more distance in a day. For example, one could choose to wake up early and walk for several hours before stopping for breakfast, then continue until late at night when they sleep for several hours before getting up to walk some more. This method works well if one is able to keep up this pace for many days in a row without slowing down too much during breaks.