I do not consider myself a "speed hiker". I see a lot of emotional responses above. Let's put some real numbers to this concept. A hiking pace of 2 mph carrying a light to moderate pack is very reasonable for an experienced backpacker. This even includes about 5 minutes per hour for a short rest stop. Now add 1 hour extra for each 1000 feet elevation gain. Once aclimated, nearly everyone can beat this very conservative figure. Thus a 10-mile day on the flat is 5 hours of hiking. A 10-mile day with 3,000 feet elevation gain (really a lot - most days in the mountains are more like 2,000 feet gain). This amounts to an 8-hour day. If you get on the trail by 8AM (really easy to do) you will get into camp at 4PM. In the summer the sun goes down about 8PM or later. That leaves 4 hours of daylight! I really do not agree that a 10-mile day is speed hiking. My average on-trail hiking day is 12 miles and I have plenty of time to relaxe in camp and fish. I also am able to take tons of photos and look around while hiking. (My average difficult off-trail milage day is 7 miles - but I think this post is about trail travel). Most of my hiking is high altitiude, with an average of 2,000+ elevation gain. And I am not any spring chicken- over 60 Grandma, I am. People who backpack a lot and who through-hike are VERY effiecient campers, able to set up and break down camp in less than an hour. Most PCT hikers I have talked to average 20-25 miles per day, and it is not that they "bust butt" to do this - it just is what they do after weeks of hiking. They say it is not that hard. They often get bored doing less!