[pct-l] ADZPCTKO suggestion

[rbelshee at hotmail.com (Rod Belshee)]

The discussion initiated because of 2004. Having attended tthe KO in 2004, I 
think it meets it's goals to help new hikers admirably and I'd recommend it 
to new through-hikers.

I hiked in that initial swarm. For the first couple of weeks, caches were 
usually dry despite heroic efforts of volunteers. Stores were bought clean. 
Hikers were impacted, as were volunteers and merchants. For new hikers, the 
impact made the initial segment of the hike more difficult, contrary to the 
goals of the KO. After San Jacinto, the deluge thinned out a bit and I was 
usually hiking and camping through the San Gabriels solitude.

So, KO is a great event that helps hikers, but the swarm on the trail (in 
2004) was a real problem that made it more difficult for hikers for the 
first couple of weeks. I presume it was difficult for the merchants and 
water volunteers in this section, but I haven't seen any of them post on 
this thread and I'd rather let them speak for themselves.

The large swarm reformed at the Saufley's largely because many people stayed 
there for several days, but the trail on either side of Aqua Dulce didn't 
seem congested. In fact, the party at the Saufley's was a fun social time, 
meeting people who I hadn't seen since the KO. I didn't see that large crowd 
as a problem for hikers at all, and Donna says she didn't mind either.

So, IMHO there is a real problem, but it is just a couple of weeks long.

Can it be solved by an active, organized shuttle system? Encourage hikers to 
stagger their starts over the couple of weeks before the event, and then get 
volunteers to run pre-planned routes to bring everyone back to the KO and 
then take them back to the trail? Thoughts?

Steady (Sr)