Do leves and use the commercial survival guide, fc 10% exp gathering buff with gathering food for 3% exp boost ( all at the same time ). Use cordials when low on gp and be efficient. Got my AF poorly melded miner & botanist to 55/56 in 6hrs or so ( took some breaks ).

When u hit an odd level number i.e 53 you can spam triangle nodes with all the exp buffs and u'll level up in an hour ish from pure node gathering xp.
Most of the standard nodes do not require a gathering requirement so u can gather a level 55 node with vendor gear/ old 2.0 af gear.