INCH Hikers,
 
An astonishing number of people are signing up for this hike, including 
people who I am fairly certain have never hiked at the necessary pace 
for this distance. So I would like to reiterate the following:
 
* You must be able to hike 26 miles in 8 hours.
 
That's about 3.25 miles per hour for the entire time. Don't guess--figure it 
out. The last two people on Steve's SuperHike (for instance) did not meet 
this pace. Only three people averaged over 3mph on the (much harder) Ohlone 
Trail. While I think this hike is very doable, there are people on the list 
who I cannot recall ever maintaining this pace (!). And that's a problem 
because: 
 
* We must leave the parking lot by 5 pm.
 
This hike is unlike others--we have to be out of the parking lot by 5pm, 
and out of the park by 6pm. It's a hard limit, not a suggestion. It doesn't 
matter if you try, you must finish quickly. All the whining in the world 
isn't going to make a difference. You will have a very angry carpool if you 
do not meet this time, as you'll all get to spend the entire night in front 
of the exit gate, figuring out how you are going to divvy up whatever Cliff 
bars people have left! 
 
If everything works out perfectly (we are among the first in line for entry), 
I figure we have another thirty minutes of wiggle room from getting to the 
trailhead early and leaving the parking lot late, but even that still requires
3+ mph. So please be absolutely certain you can do this hike. By the 
way--it is a loop, so there is no way to short cut back to make up time. 
 
Due to the crazy constraints of this hike, there will be no leaves for 
people who do not finish the whole hike by 5:15pm (can you tell I'm trying 
to be de-motivational?).
 
Cars for the car pool:
Steve H. can take 4 more
Sparky can get a van for 7 (but we'll see if we need it)
If anyone has a largish vehicle for the carpool that can handle a 
dirt road, please let me know.
 
We currently have 17 (!) people on the list.
Last 4 people to sign up:
Sparky -  6:17p 4/15
Rich R   - 2:15p 4/16
Ramesh - 4:26p 4/17
Nancy K - 9:39a 4/18