[pct-l] Clumps, herds and where to find them...

[Point North]

I don't think that'll happen to the PCT.  It hasn't happened to the AT, and crowds on the AT compared to the PCT are like traffic jams on the 405 compared to Route 66.

If you want freedom, hike the CDT.

dsaufley at sprynet.com wrote:

There are a number of popular hiking trails out west where they have instituted lotteries and per day limits on the number of people on the trail.  It would break my heart to see this happen on the PCT, because it would take away the fundamental attraction of the trail, which to me is all about freedom.  

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
>From: David Toms 
>Sent: Mar 14, 2007 12:42 AM
>To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] Clumps, herds and where to find them...
>
>The key question that I think remains unanswered is:
>What do people think a 'normal' pattern, absent a KO, would be? i.e. are you 
>expecting a steady trickle of 10-20 hikers/day over 3-4 weeks?
>
>
>In 05 (a pretty bizarre year given the conditions and lack of recent 
>experience with high snow years) what fascinated me is that there was still 
>a herd...
>
>... but it was coming southbound.
>
>It comprised people who had flipped from Agua Dulce, Walker Pass, Kennedy 
>Meadows, Lone Pine, Whitney Portal, pure SOBOs, in fact folk from everywhere 
>imaginable. Some had started at the kickoff, some before, some after, and 
>some pure SOBO. Some didn't even attend the kickoff.
>
>Despite all the different locations, dates etc., we met c. 90% of people 
>within a week, between Seiad Valley and Crater Lake. These people were 
>800-1500 miles into their hiking, with start dates varying by weeks, yet 
>they had clumped.
>
>I find it hard to attribute such a heterogeneous herd to the kickoff. 
>Instead, I attribute it to human nature. For some odd reason, people seem to 
>like being around other people, even weirdos like us PCT hikers.
>
>3-400 people starting a trail within 3-4 weeks = 14/day assuming even 
>dispersion (no kickoff). One bad storm on Fuller Ridge holding people in 
>Idyllwlid for 3 days, and you've got 42 people leaving on the same day. We 
>saw >12 hikers in Idyllwild on the same day in 05, and we left the border 2 
>weeks _before_ the kickoff, in a year when 'received wisdom' was that the KO 
>was way too early.
>
>We loved the KO, and also loved the kindness and generosity of trail angels. 
>It would be a huge shame if either were damaged over the herd problem, and 
>IMO an even bigger shame if the KO changed but the herd remained. Then 
>everyone would have lost.
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>MSN Hotmail is evolving - check out the new Windows Live Mail 
>http://ideas.live.co.uk
>
>_______________________________________________
>pct-l mailing list
>pct-l at backcountry.net
>unsubscribe or change options:
>http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

_______________________________________________
pct-l mailing list
pct-l at backcountry.net
unsubscribe or change options:
http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l


  
---------------------------------
Looking for earth-friendly autos? 
 Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.