[pct-l] Thoughts on the ADZPCTKO thread

[rmoak at fallingwater.com (Ronald Moak)]

>> I don't know how much clearer Donna could communicate that this
discussion is not about her. When I first saw the Walk DVD the thing that
really stuck me is the incredible number of PCT hikers gathered together at
one time along the trail. The number of people hiking the trail is
skyrocketing. I think she is being very forward thinking about this issue.
There is no doubt that the number of PCT hikers will continue to grow and
create an impact on the trail. <<

Ryan, I full understand what Donna said on a previous post and I'm not
implying that she's attempting to shift the burden on someone else. In fact,
if the event was moved North, the impact on Aqua Dulce maybe significantly
greater. If I was early for a gathering and had a few days to kill, I can
think of no better place to hang out. Image 60 or 70 hikers hanging out
several days until some hiker event takes place.

The point is that no time or place where you hold the kickoff escapes
problems. 

Look the real thing is what is in the best interest of the thru-hikers (no I
don't have anything against section hikers on the CDT I am one). Both Donna
and the ADZ are attempting to best service their needs. That is the
constituency they should be listening too. 

The bottom line is that it's not the responsibility of the ADZ to alter its
policies to service Donna. Believe me this is not a slam at Donna, though
I'm sure some will construe it as such. It's simply how service
organizations work.

The questions the ADZ committee has to ask is if their activities add or
detract from the trail experience. The only people to whom they should ask
are the thru-hikers they are attempting to service. I can assure you that
Greg doesn't ask me how they can make vendors better off, nor should he. 

Since there are a number of 2004 hikers on this list it should be their
voices that should be heard. So far I've not heard any significant complaint
about last year's kickoff. Based upon this year's turnout it's pretty clear
that the people I talked too were also satisfied. 

Fallingwater