[pct-l] Words about the HERD

Mon Mar 12 20:31:20 CDT 2007

That being said, I am changing my plans.  Here is the strategy.  I am now
going to AZD with my dog.  I will carry a bear canister from the border to
bequest to illegal immigrants as an offering to spare my life.  My dog will
carry the gun as a back-up.  With my heat-packing furry friend, we will kill
all mountain lions and use their fur to make coats for surviving the worst
snow in 170 years.  Call it "ultra-looped" hiking  

DONE!  I am ready.

BillB 

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of yogi
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 6:10 PM
To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Words about the HERD

The only stats I know of are on the 2007 PCT Yahoo!
group.  Based on this data only, there is NOT a herd created by the ADZ.
People are starting their hikes on the dates that suit them personally.
Same thing happened last year.  

A quick glance at TrailJournals shows ~20 hikers out of 72 who have journals
starting their hikes during the ADZ weekend.  Some journalists don't have
start dates listed, however.

Here's how the herd is created:

A bunch of hikers stop in Warner Springs and take a zero.  Others catch up.
Can't resist soaking in the pool for a day.  A bigger group hikes out
together than what hiked in together.

Next is Idyllwild.  Idyllwild is cool.  Many hikers take zeros.  Others
catch up.  The group grows.  

Hello Big Bear City!  Thelma's has good food.  The BBQ place is great.
Motel 6 is cheap.  The supermarkets are wonderful.  People take one or two
zeros.  The spread-out group consolidates a little more.

By the time most of the hikers reach the 450-mile mark, the original
well-spread-out starters have grouped together.  They're not spread out very
much. 
Many, many hikers take one or two or three zeros at the Saufleys.  You can't
resist it.  The group grows in Agua Dulce.

Start dates be damned!!  It didn't matter when everyone started.  Zero days,
meeting new friends, and enjoying the company of others causes hikers to
group together.  It's been one month on the trail.  Time to chill, hang out,
talk about the Mojave and the Sierra.
 Eventually the trail calls and everyone leaves Agua Dulce.  But now the
consolidated group is even tighter than before.

This thread is like the bear canister thread, hiking with a dog, guns on the
trail, illegal immigrants,
the-most-snow-EVER-in-the-history-of-the-world..........blah,
blah, blah.  It's beaten to the ground every year around this time as people
get stir crazy.

yogi
www.pcthandbook.com

--- Len Glassner <len5742 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Just trying to understand the dimensions of the load management 
> issue...
> 
> How many start immediately after the kick-off?  100, maybe?
> 
> How much would they have to spread out in order to solve the resource 
> demand problem?  For example, 25 per week, for four weeks?
> 
> I think it would be interesting to collect the start dates for thru 
> hikers, KO attendees and non-attendees alike, and map against a 
> calendar.  Has anyone done this?
> 
> Len
> On 3/12/07, dsaufley at sprynet.com
> <dsaufley at sprynet.com> wrote:
> > Dear Pygmy,
> >
> > I can assure you that the HERD is NOT exaggerated.
>  It was WORSE THAN EVER last year, which was a big snow year.  Please 
> don't think that because you didn't experience it that it doesn't 
> exist.  FYI, the herd dissapates when it hits the Sierras.
> >
> > In protest, boycotting, and otherwise trying to
> educate y'all that too many people all at once has and will continue 
> to have a negative impact on the trail, trail towns, and ultimately on 
> the services the thru hikers depend upon.
> >
> > L-Rod -- the ORIGINAL ADZ BOYCOTTER!!!
> >
> > p.s. I've never been against the ADZ party & hiker
> reunion per se, I'm against it being a starting event that bunches too 
> many starters on and around a specific weekend. I think it should be 
> later in the season and further up the trail (say, Lone Pine in June 
> or Tahoe in July).
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > >From: Trail Pygmy <trailpygmy at hotmail.com>
> > >Sent: Mar 12, 2007 11:26 AM
> > >To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
> > >Subject: [pct-l] additional items for hiking list
> > >
> > >plastic bags various sizes both zip lock and
> envelope style... trash bags various sizesaloha,
> Pygmyps- I'm going once again to the '07ADZ "gear convention"... i 
> mean hot air gathering... i mean REALLY COOL GET TOGETHER. lol Doing 
> the Campo to Morena group hike then sectioning Mt. Laguna to Warner 
> Springs... then I'll be waiting for the snow to melt before finishing 
> my "thru-hike" that I started in '05... I'll be getting back on at 
> Tahoe North Bound... any guesses on when??? No I will not be sporting 
> any crampons or ice axe. Look forward to meeting the '07 PCTers... 
> last year I hiked all alone... not much fun. I think the "herd" 
> concept is greatly exagerated... no "clicks" is another story... lol 
> HIKE ON!!!
> >
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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