[pct-l] Kickoff Party

[Bighummel at aol.com (Bighummel@aol.com)]

As the coordinator and one of the originators of the ADZPCTKO, I will take on 
answering this one.  Donna Saufley had brought this subject up and indicated 
that some businesses in Agua Dulce had a problem with too many thru-hikers 
pushing for their business over a very short time.  I polled other hikers and 
businesses up and down the trail and have found almost no other complaints along 
these lines.  Now, having said that, this is not to say that there is not a 
problem of overcrowding due, only in part, to the popularity of the ADZ.   
Please recognize that the popularity of hiking the trail has increased similarly to 
the attendence of the ADZ and, thus, more and more hikers are starting at a 
similar time each year, regardless of when the ADZ is held.  

We, the organizers of the ADZ, are sensitive to these issues regardless and 
have begun to pull together a letter addressed to many of the typical supply 
businesses and chamber of commerces for the trail supply towns between Mt. 
Laguna and Kennedy Meadows.  The letter will inform them of the approximate time 
that hikers will be arriving and provide a list of typical supplies and services 
that hikers are looking for in supply towns.  In this way we are encouraging 
the businesses to welcome the hikers by stocking what they need and taking 
their money and thereby profiting by the circumstances rather than panicking over 
it.

Secondly, we are continuing (note; "continuing", not starting) our 
"ride-sharing" page on the website that offers a way for drivers to link up with hikers 
to either bring them to the kickoff from the numerous points of transportation 
into Sth Calif., and/or pick them up at a prearranged trail head on a 
prearranged day and time in order to bring them back to the kickoff, and then return 
them to that trailhead following the event.

In these ways we hope to help alleviate the pressures put upon the supply 
town businesses by the increasing popularity of hiking the southern California 
sections of the PCT and the number of hikers that leave at a similar time from 
the kickoff.  

Other suggestions have been made proposing to move the date of the kickoff to 
a later date, hold it at a different location, etc.  These ideas have been 
considered and it has been a consensus of the organizers that they would defeat 
several of the original and enduring purposes of the ADZPCTKO that are its 
very foundation.

We are planning another great event next year and are STRIVING to keep the 
event the relatively non-commercial, low-key, informative event that it has 
grown to be.  

Ah, the growing pains of success are unanticipated, yet tickling to the pride 
of those who dreamed this event and led it to fruitition.

Best regards,

Greg Hummel

In a message dated 12/13/2004 1:59:36 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
kborski@yahoo.com writes:
As a hiker this year, I was quite shocked at how many
other thru-hikers were all heading into and out of
Lake Morena at the same time.  I think it would
benefit the hikers and many of their support
businesses (e.g. Mt. Laguna store/PO) -- not to
mention, the trail angels and their water caches -- if
the thru-hikers were encouraged to be spread out more.

In other words, a more vigorous advertisement of hiker
car pool service wherein trail angels/Kickoff
attendees could sign up to drive to designated places
north of Lake Morena (e.g. Mt. Laguna, Boulder Oaks,
Warner Springs....even Pines to Palms and Idyllwild)
where they would pick up thru-hikers and drive them
back to Mt. Laguna.  They could have multiple pickup
times and locations, as well as commensurate drop-off
shuttles.

This type of shuttling would take a lot of crowding
pressure off of businesses, trail angels, the
environment, and the hikers themselves.  Another
benefit would be the "fun factor" -- hikers and
ex-hikers and wanna-be hikers and kickoff attendees
who really don't want to hike but enjoy the comraderie
would have a chance to intermingle more during the
rides back and forth.

I'm sure some other more experienced ADZ folks have
better ideas about how to manage this problem, but
crowding is most certainly an issue that is not
limited to the weekend of the party.....it has
repurcussions for the trail community all the way to
Donna's house and beyond.   

The Kickoff is great.  No one wants to miss it.  But
it is now so big and there are now so many more PCT
thru-hikers, that the party has molded start dates
around that one weekend.  In '04, the party had grown
A BUNCH over '00 when I first attended.  I'm sure it
will continue to grow.  

Nocona