May 8: Zero Day

Hikers commonly use the term "zero day" for a day off. It is termed this because you are hiking zero miles that day. Zero days are an important part of a long hike because everyone needs rest. Even when you still feel strong it is good to rest as this prevents injury and is often good for the spirit as well.
Idyllwild was the sight of our first zero day. We planned on this from the beginning as we mailed ourselves a large package of ingredients for making our protein shakes. We spent a few hours of the mid day mixing powders and tying our little baggies. We mailed off 3 separate packages after Jessica had made 45 shakes and myself 56. It works well to do this on a day off since the primary goal of a zero day is to take as few steps as possible.

Other purposes for the day include consuming as much food as possible and cleaning yourself and clothing. Trips to the Post office, phone calls, catching up on journals, trying to find a new pair of socks or whatever gear you might want are some of the many other tasks that begin to fill your day.

We found a local outdoor outfitter were we each bought a pair of super feet and some new socks. Superfeet are an insole for your shoe that are very popular with hikers. I knew mine were pretty worn out and after being on the trail I realized I had over 1,000 trail miles on my pair in addition to a few years of everyday use. Jessica is excited about her new socks that fit like a glove where each toe has its own pocket like your fingers would. They should help with any blisters inbetween the toes. As for looks they are quite cute, but we'll see if they work.

By the end of the day we are quite exhausted from all the little errands we had to complete, but our bodies are rested and well fed. In the morning we will begin our climb out of town 4.5 miles before we even reach the actual PCT. We don't get credit for those miles. And leaving town your pack is always heaviest because you are loaded with all new food and some water. Our packs base weight is about 10 lbs each (no food or water). We weighed them as we walked out of town and Jessica came in at 26 lbs and I at 27 lbs. Yeah, food and water are heavy! Our 4 liters of water each adds 8 lbs to our packs. We felt bad for the hiker with us whose pack weighed 42 lbs (and he had only 1 quart of water). But, he is much closer to the norm of what most hikers seem to be carrying.

Total milage: 178.6
Today's milage: 0
Camp 11: Idyllwild Inn

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