A “zero” day is a day where zero miles are hiked. Almost all thru hikers take them. This is one of the many misconceptions I had about hiking the AT. I thought when you thru hiked the AT you got on the trail and you didn’t get off until you hiked 2200 miles to Maine or Georgia (depending on which direction you were hiking). I thought people brought your boxes of food / supplies to you on the trail. Nope. What I’ve found is most thru hikers these days take a “zero” every 3 – 5 days. On their days off the trail, they resupply food, do laundry, shower, rest / sleep in a comfortable bed, swap out / get new gear, pay bills, handle any personal business they need to.
On my “zero” days, I’ll be working. Huh? That’s right, as a lot of you know, I have a small digital advertising agency. We build websites and help companies generate leads online. I’ve researched and switched up some technology that allows me to have internet access about 65% of the time while on the trail. Originally I was going to lug my laptop around with me. I thought 4 lbs would be no big deal. Boy was I wrong about that. Every oz matters. I originally weighed my pack and it came out to about 25 lbs. When it came time to load up and hit the trail with our “big boy packs” (again we’ve been slack packing the first week through GA), it weighed in at 40 lbs including food and water? That didn’t include my laptop. I was also carrying a nice camera at first as well.
So if I don’t have my laptop with me on the trail, how am I working? Good question. As we all know our phones are little computers and can do just about anything these days. Email, web, review files, send files, make phone calls, text message, skype, etc. So I work in the mornings before taking down my tent, check on things throughout the day, and then after setting my tent back up, cooking dinner, being social for a bit, I climb back in and plow through more work, before heading to bed. “Rinse and repeat” everyday I’m on the trail. For my “zero” days I’m in a cabin, hotel, hostel, somewhere with privacy, and I have my computer there. So I can handle more of the “heavy lifting” work related items. Also that’s when a lot of my business calls are scheduled.
With all of that said, I’m super sensitive to the fact that almost everyone else that’s hiking the AT is there to get away from technology, cell phones, phone calls, computers, WORK, etc. So I don’t conduct calls in front of others. If I need to handle anything mid-day while hiking I tell the others to go ahead and I’ll catch up with them. I know what you’re thinking– its unfortunate I have to work while hiking the AT. Actually, I’m fortunate to have a business and amazing staff that allow me to hike the AT ?
Aside from working on my first “zero” I nursed my wounds. From swollen feet, to an armpit that’s gone numb (pinched nerve??), to hands that hurt from banging my trekking poles on rocks all week… I’d say I’ve gotten a good taste of what’s to come. We’ve hiked about 70 miles so far. Larry and I also “test drove” my new tent in the basement of our cabin. It looked pretty simple and straight forward. We even watched a video online as it didn’t come with instructions. This is my first trekking pole tent. As in, in order for it to be erected, you have to use your trekking poles. As with a lot of things on the trail you just got to get out there and give it a try, tweak, change things, improve, as you go. I learned later there’s some things you shouldn’t take this approach with. Your tent it one of them….
We had one more home cooked meal that evening before we hit the trail the next morning, with our real packs, and no plans to come back to the cabin. Though my Dad made a great suggestion. That was, to spend a day hiking with our real packs, then come back to the cabin to make any changes necessary, before we really set sail into the wilderness not looking back. We didn’t listen to his suggestion. I wished we had though. Find out why in tomorrow’s post “Georgia Complete / Extraction Mishap / Plan B Blunder”.
I also want to update everyone on my fundraiser “Hike for Hope”. Between donations made directly to Show Hope and those made via Facebook, we’ve raised $585 in the first week! I can’t thank you all enough. I really appreciate it. I’d like to find a way to get $.01 for every mile I hike on the AT. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it will add up. So every step I take on the AT brings an abandoned baby one step closer to finding loving parents and a place to call home ❤️
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