[pct-l] ADZ

[Sean 'Miner' Nordeen]

> like i said , it's getting bigger. where will it be held in the 
>future ? (surely you don't think growth will be halted because the arena 
>became too small)

Well, its filled up early for the last couple of years and yet no one has tried to move it.  After all, Ray Jardine had wanted a June11-12 gathering in Kennedy Meadows that never caught on.  While that idea failed, he did indirectly create the current ADZPCTKO by defining when many hikers start north form Mexico.

As a piece of trivia, in his 1st edition of the PCT Handbook, June 13th was stated as the ideal day to leave Kennedy Meadows.  June 15th comes from his 5.5 to 6month itenery schedule while all the other schedules used June 13th.  But since most people back then were planning a 6 month journey, guess which date was passed forward via word of mouth.  No reason was given for this date in his book other then to create a trail gathering at KM.  For both Ray Jardine's NOBO PCT hikes, he entered the High Sierra much earlier and never used the date himself.  So much for the idea that its a carefully researched date for optimal conditions.

The ADZPCTKO is mainly about the current hikers starting on their journey north and giving them a helping hand.  It's the rest of us who want to show up who are the ones being limited by the park regulations on occupancy.  There are other trail gatherings such as PCT Day in Cascade Locks to take up the slack for the rest of us.  I rather enjoy the smaller gathering size and hopes that it never becomes like Damascus Trail Days on the AT.  The current location insures that can't happen.

-Miner



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Check my 2009 PCT Journal out at www.postholer.com/Miner