We've only held the Trek three times. The first had the largest number of non-Alaskans. We had some birthing pangs but overall it went pretty smoothly. We had some really good quality participants. That makes all the difference. The second and the third event were dominated by Alaskans who all knew each other and had all run together before. Still a good quality greoup of people.
This time around I'm hoping and expecting to have a turnout which has a higher ratio of outsiders and maintains the high quality of people that we have had in the past. From feedback I have gotten from folks I know and/or who have been here before I'm expecting that this will almost certainly be the case.
When I say "high quality" I mean; People who have a decent amount of wheeling experience and above average wrenching ability. Folks who have a pretty good idea what their rig is capable of and what they are capable of. More importantly people who have a positive attitude and get along well with the others around them. Folks who want to see what's over the next ridge and are not afraid of running a trail that the guides have never run either if that is offered. Folks who look at a breakdown as simply something to deal with and not as a reason for histronics or drama. Folks who enjoy being as remote as we can manage and don't spend the week wishing for a campground with facilities. Folks who are NOT out to prove how macho they can be or what a Big Dog their rig is. People who are real and not a facade of talk with little to back it up.
So far this is what we have had in all three Treks. Just plain old Good People.
Anyway this is what has made the fairly large group managable. IIRC we had the high number (16) one year and have been at the 12 rig number for the other two. My ideal number for this run would below this lower number if the only consideration was effecient travel over the trail.
Splitting into smaller groups is at best awkward for this run. There will not normally be different options in route choice to get everyone to the same camp at the end of the day. And the group dynamics are the best part of the Trek.
This year we may take a closer look at splitting the group for at least one day. One of the stretches of trail will be following a canyon from it's terminus at a larger river all the way to it's origin in the alpine tundra foothills of the Talkeetnas. Only about a ten mile run. But it may be a bit technical for the heavier expedition style rigs and/or the folks with less adventerous off road experience. So we *may* split into two groups and send those folks on a 35 mile route down and up a couple of rivers to meet us at the other end where we drop back down. We won't know for sure how we will handle this until the time arrives.
We will also have a couple of planned days where camp will not shift. We can take day trips out from camp on those days which can be a little more challenging since everyone will not have to negotiate this section. Those will also give people some time for non-vehicular acrtivities or just relaxing around the camp if they prefer. This will be a bit of a change from the previous Treks where the goal was to move on every day. But since we got some really casual starts almost every day during those Treks (and generally had at least a day of downtime due to breakage) we will still cover as much or (probably) more ground than in the past.
In terms of breaking in to teams... We won't be sending anyone down the trail without someone who knows the area and is experienced enough to be called a "guide". We don't have a real large pool to draw from. Currently I am the only one in the Alaska Cruiser Crew who has run all of the trails we will be using in 2006. I've been spending time finding new (to us) and seldom used trails and have been pretty sucessful.
Some of the Crew is perfectly capable and confident about setting out down unknown trails with a couple of outsiders in tow (and would jump at the chance). But others would probably pass on the responsibility.
If we split it will likely be into two groups for a little while but not much more than that.
Mark...
I will do my best to make this run with all who come out for an adventure!
