[at-l] How to help a newbie: Part III WAS: crampons

[rafeb@adelphia.net (Raphael Bustin)]

At 11:58 AM 3/5/02 -0600, you wrote:

>His biggest concern is too many people on the trail.  He seems to have an
>idea that thousands of people leave from Springer every day in March and the
>trail is crowded.  Any advice on how to shake him out of it is
>appreciated...



The only real crowding will be at the shelters and campsites,
sunny weekends in the Whites, that sort of thing.

If your friend really wants solitude, he can have that any
time of year as long as he's willing to avoid the shelters.
There's a lotta trail out there, plenty to go around.

OTOH, if what he really wants is having the shelters to
himself, from GA to ME, that's a foolish and unrealistic
expectation, any time of year.

While I started in early April, I kept running into hikers
who had started days, if not weeks ahead of me.  That
suggests that the "head start" can be illusory.


rafe b.
aka terrapin