[pct-l] Sensationalist

[dsaufley at sprynet.com]

Sly,

I don't know where this two week window thing started (Jardine??), but I am aware of a particular few who continue to perpetrate the myth.   There is NO ideal two week period to start.  Our observations (of literally thousands of hikers over a ten year period) show that there's about a six-to-eight week window that allows people to finish the trail, and it's a moving target every year depending on the snow down south, the snow in the middle, and the snow up north, both at the beginning and the end of the season.  Maybe there's a period that's ideal for particular individuals and their schedules, but the reality is that people start the trail anywhere from March into June and manage to finish their hike at the Canadian border.  Much depends on the life situation, skills, and preferences of the hiker.

Also, the organizers do not pick the "ideal" time to have the event -- they have to reserve Lake Morena a year in advance, with no knowledge of what the weather conditions will be.  I can also tell you, as a former ADZ organizing committee member, the date is also picked to suit the schedules of those making the plans.  

L-Rod


-----Original Message-----
>From: Slyatpct at aol.com
>Sent: Sep 4, 2006 2:26 PM
>To: blisterfree at yahoo.com, pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Sensationalist
>
> 
>In a message dated 9/4/2006 4:59:03 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
>blisterfree at yahoo.com writes:
>
>But...  but, there's a big difference between most hikers 
>starting at Campo within  two weeks of each other, and many 
>hikers starting out from Lake Morena on  the same day 
>
>
>Not everyone starts out the very same day, not all stay to the end.   Even if 
>everyone left from the border on any given day they wouldn't reach Aqua  
>Dulce the same time.  
> 
>What's the ideal window?  Probably from mid April to the 1st week in  May.  
>Put 300 hikers on the trail within 3 weeks and it's going to seem  like alot.  
>With the slower hikers starting earlier and the faster hikers  later, they're 
>going to cross paths somewhere, most likely between Aqua Dulce  and KM.
> 
>Long gone are the days when the PCT has only 100 thru-hikers, but the ideal  
>window is still the same.
> 
>Sly
> 
> 
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