[pct-l] A potential member of the ADZ heard

[Laura Fox]

This "herd" discussion is interesting to me as I'm trying to figure  
out my start date.  It would be difficult for me to start before the  
ADZ and get a ride back to it (the earlier I start, the more of a  
pain it will be for me to deal with, for non-hiking-life reasons).   
It would be easy enough for me to start after the ADZ, sometime in  
the first couple weeks of May, but that would mean I couldn't attend  
the ADZ at all (I live on the east coast, and don't have the $$ to  
fly out there and back here for the ADZ and then out again to  
start ... I also can't attend Trail Fest for that reason).

I would be interested in going to the ADZ for the fun, camaraderie,  
etc., but also because I thought I was going to have a hiking partner  
for the whole trail, but that fell through, and not being a super  
solitary person I'd like to meet (and potentially hike with) other  
people (some other people ... not 100s of other people!).  I had been  
planning to go to the ADZ and start then, but this talk of the "herd"  
and LNT implications has given me pause.  I hiked the AT in '01 (with  
a partner) and started on February 24th, which was well ahead of the  
AT herd, so I'm not sure what it's like to hike with a giant clump of  
people.  I think maybe I'd be better off starting a bit later to help  
spread things out, but then I'd miss the fun and people-meeting  
opportunity of the ADZ.

Anyway, not sure what my point is.  What should I do??  :)