Well, it appears that the Annual Day Zero PCT Kick-Off event has been cancelled for 2016 because of bureaucratic issues with San Diego County Parks, leaving me with no clear date for my Celebrate Anza event, which has traditionally* followed ADZPCTKO by a week — just about the time that the bulk of the thru hikers who start from the border for ADZPCTKO have hiked 145 miles to my place. What to do? With the heavy snow pack in the Sierra, should I assume thru hikers will be starting later than in the past couple years? With the (already) hot temperatures in SoCal, should I hold the event at its usual time (the first weekend in May), or even earlier, on the theory that hikers will be starting earlier than usual? I’ve already met a few thru hikers who started very early (but were planning on taking time off before hitting the Sierra). Stay tuned.

* “Traditionally” is a bit of a stretch, considering that 2016 will only be the third Celebrate Anza I have hosted for thru hikers on my property.