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CynJ
10-24-2005, 16:06
I'm getting an impression that a lot of folks automatically associate a zero day with a town day.

Can't you take a zero day on the trail itself? ie if you wake up with a wicked head cold couldn't you just take a day around your campsite to rest and recoup? (provided you have supplies/water)

It doesn't seem to me that every zero day should cost a fortune. But in reading other peoples plans for their hikes a lot of folks automatically dial in money and a town for a zero day.

Lone Wolf
10-24-2005, 16:08
Rarely does anyone take a day off from hiking by spending it in the woods.

chris
10-24-2005, 16:14
I haven't met too many people who do this. More frequently, people will take a super short day, say four miles. Find a nice lake, swim for a bit, lounge, get to talking, etc.

Doctari
10-24-2005, 17:02
I have taken nero* days, I hiked only 1.2 miles one day/trip and 3 miles on another day/trip. Both were in the woods, my experience is I rest better in the woods than in town, so don't generally take days off in town, it's just way to tireing.

Both Nero days were after a quick overnight to resupply in town, then I rested :clap I felt much better than the few times I have "Rested" in town, as suggested above, it's cheaper too.


Doctari

*Low milage days, "Near Zero" = Nero

Jack Tarlin
10-24-2005, 17:51
Cyn:

This year I did something I'd promised myself to do for years, which was to intentionally take some zero-mileage days in the middle of nowhere. I picked my spots carefully (North Carolina and Southwest Virginia) and was VERY happy I did this.

There are all sorts of benefits to zero days in the woods:

*You get to spend much more time in some really beautiful spots than folks who are just "passing thru.

*You'll get a chance to explore these areas, do some side trail hiking if you wish, and see things that 99% of other hikers will never see, as they're limited to what actualy lies on or immediately adjacent to the A.T. On my woods zero days, I was able to see some side trails, waterfalls, views, and all sorts of other places i never knew existed.

*You'll get some good rest. It's surprising how little "rest" one gets in a typical town "zero" day, especially in the more spread out Trail towns, like
Franklin or Erwin, where one typically spend several hours walking all over town and getting very little useful "down" time.

Wolf is right; very few folks take zero days in the middle of nowhere.

But personally, I think it's a great idea and I encourage more folks to give it a try.

Peaks
10-24-2005, 17:55
Like Jack posted, most people take most of their days off in towns. That's because that's where the restraurants and other services are. However, nothing wrong with taking a zero, or nero, on the trail. As you hike along, you will discover some beautiful places that are too good to just hike on through.

kyhipo
10-24-2005, 17:58
love to get lost and take many days off in the woods :rolleyes: ky

RedneckRye
10-24-2005, 19:26
One of my best zeros in '99, and I took many, was with 2 horrible western novels that I picked up in a shelter in MD just north of the Dog Patch Tavern on Rt70/40. I read them both, incredibly bad. And resisted the urge to walk back to the Tavern for another beer(s) and burger when I finished the books. Spent no money, had a good (???) day, and woke up the next day feeling great. Zeros in the woods rule.

CynJ
10-24-2005, 20:31
Knowing myself if I found an area that was particularly photogenic I would love to crash for a day and spend it happily taking pictures. I guess its to each his own. I've got nothing against a cold beer and a pizza but I think I would find it more recouperative to rest in the woods.

I like that idea of reading for a while. I am a bookworm so I would find that exceptionally relaxing. Especially if I were having a bad day of hiking -books can take you to another place and when you come back to where you are a lot of times your perspective/mood has changed.

The Solemates
10-25-2005, 10:05
met a guy named Sunday a few years back. he took every Sunday off, no matter where he was (on the trail or in town). interesting philosophy.

Spartan Hiker
10-25-2005, 10:10
Any stats or SWAGs on the average number of zero days taken by a "typical" thru hiker?

tlbj6142
10-25-2005, 10:19
One day per week seems to be a number used quite often. A bit of math...

2200 miles
15 miles per day hiking
6 days hiking per week

24.5 weeks (or 6 months)

Lone Wolf
10-25-2005, 10:22
In 2000 it took me 9 months to hike 1600 miles. All white blazes. Had about 120 "zero" days. Spent about 15 grand. Gotta be some sorta record. :)

rickb
10-25-2005, 10:46
It makes you an elite hiker. :D

the goat
10-25-2005, 12:05
love to take zeros in the woods....especially in a cool spot. it usually starts with the thought: "i won't start 'till noon today." ....sometimes turns out to be noon the next day.

flyfisher
10-25-2005, 12:55
met a guy named Sunday a few years back. he took every Sunday off, no matter where he was (on the trail or in town). interesting philosophy.
I hiked for a day with an Israli girl named Patience. She did not put her pack on when it was Sabbath. I thought it was a pretty good example.

She hiked a long way, but I don't think she finished.

Rick

The Solemates
10-25-2005, 14:34
Any stats or SWAGs on the average number of zero days taken by a "typical" thru hiker?

we took 10 zeros on our 150 day thru. from what i gather, thats a little below average.

Cookerhiker
10-25-2005, 15:02
October '04 at Mt. Collins Shelter in the Smokies, I arose to pouring rain accompanied by thunder and lightening, unusual for 9AM. Having sufficient food, I was prepared to zero that day and decided to do so if the rain hadn't let up by noon. It wasn't just a matter of discomfort; going SOBO on a section hike, I had hopes of ascending and seeing the views from Clingman's Dome in nicer weather. The rain dissipated by 11 so I set forth. Of course, Clingman's was socked in. Anyway, it was a short day to Siler Bald Shelter.

The Solemates
10-25-2005, 15:55
October '04 at Mt. Collins Shelter in the Smokies, I arose to pouring rain accompanied by thunder and lightening, unusual for 9AM. Having sufficient food, I was prepared to zero that day and decided to do so if the rain hadn't let up by noon. It wasn't just a matter of discomfort; going SOBO on a section hike, I had hopes of ascending and seeing the views from Clingman's Dome in nicer weather. The rain dissipated by 11 so I set forth. Of course, Clingman's was socked in. Anyway, it was a short day to Siler Bald Shelter.

we did the same thing at moose mtn shelter just north of hanover. we didnt start hiking until 12:30pm, had "lunch" at 4:30pm atop Smart Mtn firetower, and then continued to Hexacuba shelter by 7pm. 18 miles on the day, all after 12:30pm. i couldnt believe we did it. im glad we waited because the sun came out and it was clear for miles. beautiful hiking.

Peaks
10-25-2005, 16:02
Any stats or SWAGs on the average number of zero days taken by a "typical" thru hiker?

Roland Muser's survey in 1989 found the average was 24 hours. This equates to about 1 day out of 7.

It would be nice to get an update on this survey.

frieden
10-25-2005, 19:28
I have scheduled some zero days in some pretty spots I know in TN, and will try to leave some for that perfect spot I find that I don't know about yet. I want to set up my tent inside my postcard setting, and just bask in it. :D You just can't get that in a town stop. Towns have their own charms, but it isn't the same.

Moxie00
10-26-2005, 09:47
I actually took very few zero days. To me a zero day was meant to do my laundry, get my mail, shave and shower and that usually meant in town. I tried to schedule my town stops where I would arrive in town before noon, do my things and hike out in the morning. My first planed zero was at Fontana Dam and I arrived at the village just before dark, had supper and got a room. The next day I had a hard time relaxing so another hiker and I did the section from the marina to the dam, a little over a mile just to get it out of the way so we could start at the dam the next morning., In Shenonodah National Park I camped out one night and the next day arrived at a beautiful shelter after hiking about an hour. I was tired so I just stayed there and relaxed. As I hiked a couple of miles I don't know if that would count as a zero but it had the same effect. Even when my wife met me on the trail in New York and Vermont we would spot a car and slack pack a few miles together rather than take a whole day off. In Pa. and NJ. I hiked in the rain for days on end and actually took the first real zero days I can remember at The Church of the Mountan and Mohegan Outdoor Center just because my pack straps had rubbed my shoulders so they looked like hamburg and they needed to heal. I guess I just hated real zero days but made up for them by taking alot of three to five mile days and relaxed the rest of the day. I remember Lone Wolf setting the record for zero days in 2000. I met him in Troutdale and for about 400 miles I kept telling people he was right behind me and would be along in a day or so. He must have flip flopped because the next thing I heard he was in Andover.

lobster
10-26-2005, 09:56
LW is the King of Zero!!!!!

Moxie00
10-26-2005, 17:06
LW is the King of Zero!!!!!Long live the king:bse

DMA, 2000
10-26-2005, 20:52
I took a zero at a shelter in PA. (1st shelter after the 1/2 gallon challenge). My feet were in bad shape, and I really couldn't walk.

Lion King
10-26-2005, 21:20
Zero'ed in the Shennas due to 8 days of rain, just had had it and the Shelter was emtpy, but the sky was full.

Took a day off in Vermont right beside the Claredon Gorge area. Swam, and sunned till late, camped, woke up, repeated.

Took a day off in the hundred mile wilderness. Watched the cold rain and wind beat up everyone who stopped for a lunch break but who insisted, regardless of the weather, they had to make miles..hahahaha.

Outoddr zeros rock, and they are a buttload cheaper then zeros in a town.

DiamondDoug
10-27-2005, 09:29
I love the woods, and as I neared the end of my hike wished for a zero there. Pearce (Pierce?) Pond would have been a great place to zero. Beautiful spot, and loons to lull you to sleep at night.

But I was on a friggin' schedule, and I hated that. Over the 4th of July at Mother Hen's I bought tickets to see the Furthur Festival (Grateful Dead remnants) in Boston, and arranged for my best Deadhead friend who was living in Florida to meet me there. So I had to watch my itinerary in Maine to put me someplace I could get off the trail and to Boston easily. I took 4 zero days to go to Boston (a day each way to get there and two days there). Getting back on the trail with just two weeks left, well, I wish I hadn't gone to Boston.

And then my Dad was going to meet me at Katahdin, so we had to set a date. As my hike wound down I was morose - I really loved it out there - and the melencholy washed over me. I really wished I'd been able to take a zero in the hundred mile wilderness. Even if it was just to hang out at Antlers for a day with blind Bill. Northern Maine was gorgeous.

When Walkin' Home wrote me about his trail magic in the gravel pit the following year I sent him a box full of Little Debbies and a letter to show the thru hikers. In it I encouraged them to slow down, to enjoy the last two hundred miles, to soak it in, to revel in their accomplishment and the beauty around them. When I hike again I am absolutely going to take my own advice.

Onward. Furthur!
-<>-Doug
GAME2k

The General
10-27-2005, 10:38
I Zero'd in the woods on more than one occasion last year, great to just lay around in the sun or swim in a pond, do some chores around a shelter or gather wood for someone elses fire. best Zero day was in Glencliff NH whilst sitting out one weekend waiting for a mail drop for my winter gear. I met some great folks at the Hikers Welcome Bag of Tricks, Lion King and many more. I was Hiking with Frank Masters (Sunset) and Frank liked to be in town or near a church on a Sunday and applied a little pressure on me to acompany him to the little church up the main street. Now I'm not the most religeous soul you will come across and I was more interested in the fact that the morning service would seriously overun into my lunch time than I was in cleansing my soul, Sunset brushed aside my protests and said in a preacher like voice " General the Lord will provide" so along I went. It's a nice little church and the preacher asked us to introduce ourselves which Sunset duly did he then welcomed us to his flock and to my surprise invited us to join them after the service in their quarterly church luncheon. As we broke into the first hymm Sunset turned to me with a big grin on his face and under his breath said "General the Lord will provide" we sang our hearts out and after the service were treated to the most wonderfull spread of home made pies, salads, Ice cream and cookies cooked by the ladies of the congregation. We staggered back to the hostel with clean souls and full bellies. A Great Zero Day.

Red Hat
10-31-2005, 16:16
Planned to zero in Hiawassee, then did an unplanned one in Franklin just cause everyone else did. My most memorable zeros were the three extra days at Fontana dam...planned one, hiked out in snow, got sent back, spent that night and next waiting for end of blizzard. (so one zero was actually a 10 mile hike- five out and back)

Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-01-2005, 07:59
One of the nicest things about section hiking is the flexibility that you have to schedule in extra days. Hiking the AT is only one of our goals - seeing / experiencing as much of life as we can along the way is another. We have taken zero and nero days in the woods - mostly planned around beautiful spots we knew were in the area where we were hiking.

walkin' wally
11-01-2005, 10:32
I love the woods, and as I neared the end of my hike wished for a zero there. Pearce (Pierce?) Pond would have been a great place to zero. Beautiful spot, and loons to lull you to sleep at night.


When Walkin' Home wrote me about his trail magic in the gravel pit the following year I sent him a box full of Little Debbies and a letter to show the thru hikers. In it I encouraged them to slow down, to enjoy the last two hundred miles, to soak it in, to revel in their accomplishment and the beauty around them. When I hike again I am absolutely going to take my own advice.

Onward. Furthur!
-<>-Doug
GAME2k

After doing a lot of miles northbound in very hot weather one summer I stopped in the afternoon at Pierce Pond shelter and went for a swim. I agree that is a good place to take a zero day and you might be able to get a meal of pancakes in the morning too nearby. :sun

tiamalle
11-02-2005, 02:31
Planned to zero in Hiawassee, then did an unplanned one in Franklin just cause everyone else did. My most memorable zeros were the three extra days at Fontana dam...planned one, hiked out in snow, got sent back, spent that night and next waiting for end of blizzard. (so one zero was actually a 10 mile hike- five out and back)
I remember your zero in Franklin

tiamalle
11-02-2005, 02:43
In 2000 it took me 9 months to hike 1600 miles. All white blazes. Had about 120 "zero" days. Spent about 15 grand. Gotta be some sorta record. :)
MMM I love findingHikers with money and time to spend like that but I'm unlucky!!! Franklin Innfinds em all around here.