Although less widely known than the “Zero Day,” a Nero Day is when you accomplish “nearly zero miles” on the trail. I don't know of any fast and hard rule in the backpacking community of what constitutes a near-zero day, and I hesitate to be the first to put any kind of a limit on it, but for us I consider it to be anything where our family accomplishes a handful of miles or fewer.
Often, you'll hear hikers talking about accomplishing a nero day when they spend most of the day in town but don't want to pay for a hotel, so they get back on the trail to get an extra couple miles under their belt before they camp for the night. Sometimes environmental concerns will force you into a nero day, such as a storm or other weather event, or an injury or illness.
For our purposes, at least to date, our nero days are usually due to leaving home the same day we hike and spending a few hours driving before we get to the trail. Our first day on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail was also a nero, due primarily to the trail conditions plus having to hike in the snow from the road just to get to the terminus. Yesterday, Day 55, was another as we eked out a mere 4.6 miles. We were trying to gather information on the trails ahead after the huge storm last Friday left many communities without power, and the trail impassable due to downed trees and flooding, before driving over 3 hours away to start our hike.
I have read in a couple forums lately where some people think that nero days are ridiculous, or a waste of time. I think this dismissive attitude rules out many legitimate reasons for accomplishing very little on the trail. I believe most of these sentiments come from armchair warriors, or those who think backpacking consists of only going out for a weekend, but I'm certainly open to other opinions. What do you think of a near-zero day? Why? Have you taken any?
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