How much elevation gain was that in a day? Must have slept like a rock at the end of the day.
I have no idea what the elevation was like, we had separated at that point, but he was still in the heart of Maine, where the elevation was still pretty high. I believe by the end of the 54.7 he was getting to the easy part near the end of the entire trail heading toward Mount Katahdin. Either way, that is a long way to walk in one day. He never mentioned being tired, other than to say he took the next day off to let his fellow hikers, that he wanted to summit with, to catch back up with him for the final few days.
Coincidentally, we had been passed out by a guy who was trying to break the Appalachian Trail record for fastest time, I believe it was 46 days. He missed by several hours, but set the second fastest time ever. He did the 2200 miles in just over 46 days, for an average about 45 miles per day. Of course, he was supported, which meant he carried almost no gear, and he was a professional. We were two first time hikers.