[pct-l] Reality Check on Craig's PCT Planner

[b j]

Warning: Data geek alert for what follows!

I need a reality check off of Craig's PCT Planner at www.pctplanner.com

I put in a basic scenario just going with the defaults and I needed hear what people do differently for planning scenarios or in reality.

Start: April 15, 2013
Default speed: 2.25 mi/h
Default actual hiking time: 8 hr/d
Default elevation penalty (for every 1000 ft climbed add:) 45 min

With NO resupply days off, I get a Manning Park arrival of Oct 9th -- ouch!  What do I tweak?  Hours hiking / day? , elevation penalty?, is the default speed considered slow?  Because I know you all take days off here and there go into town to freshen up your pretty faces! :-)  

As a comparison, Ray Jardine's 5-month plan has 1 zero day / week, an average speed of 2.75 mi/hr and 8 hrs hiking a day.  If I up Craig's PCT planner speed to 2.75 mi/hr, I get an arrival of Sept 13, but that's still without any zero days anywhere.  

Is 2.25 or even 2.75 mi/hr still too slow?  Anybody know the pack's average hiking speed (or does that vary considerably)? recommended hours hiked per day to make it to the border? recommended max zeros?  Are the defaults for Craig's PCT planner tortoisely conservative?

Thanks,

-Rhiannon