To those who arrive late or leave early...

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to stay for the entire time. In order to be able to see my friends and family in San Fran, I will have to shorten my stay at the Gathering. But If I were to cut short a couple of days, I'd like them to be the least populous days or the ones where nothing much is going on.

So, do I cut out the first couple days or the last? When you guys have gone in the past, did you notice fewer people or activities early on or towards the end? Please let me know so I can plan my trip accordingly. Thank you.

Mono

 

i've not been before , but my gf has been many times and since nobody else has responded yet i'll relay what she's told me...
that after the 4th of july the rainbow population really starts to thin out dramatically.
we found out that we're going to have to forfeit a week of our time we were planning on spending at rainbow so we decided to leave after the 4th , instead of getting there late.
hope that helps you some

RedStar

 

depends on how early ugoning and if u can stay till at least the 4th go after but if not go b4 beacue that is the highlight of the trip home

 

I'll definitely be there on the 4th. I'll either arrive on time and leave on the 5th or I'll arrive on the 3rd and stay through the 7th.

Thank you both for responding. Hopefully I can get a few more people to give me their input so I can figure this out. Location might have a bearing on it as well. But we'll see.

Mono

 

The 4th is on a Sunday. Lots of working folks will have Monday off, so I would expect you to be fighting some heavy traffic if you try to leave the 5th...Everybody with a job to get to Tuesday will want to get there. Don't remember what day of the week the 4th was last year, but somehow I remember the worst day for traffic jams was the 6th, and it didn't help any that Jesus got one of His school busses, that was towing a trailer, stuck crossways in the road for a couple of hours that day.

I guess it's largely a matter of taste. I tend to have more fun during Seed Camp than Cleanup, so I like to get there early.

 

Hi Monosphere,

I would definitely leave early.
Brother, you don't want to come late.
When you get there early, you evolve naturally with the scene. You become one with the scene just by having been there in its formative stages.

I'm leaving on the 12th or 13th to help set up, and I have room in my van for 1, 2, or 3 more folk. I live across the Sound from you just south of Port Townsend.

Moreover, after the Gathering I'm heading down to 'The City' myself. But I won't be leaving the Gathering till the 10th.

 

I've only been to one national (Penn '99), but we went early, and I'm really glad we did. Seeing it all come together, joining in to make it so, was really a beautiful thing to see. Also, the energy really diminished after the 4th, with lots of people leaving. I'd also recommend going early rather than late. Just my opinion based on one single time.

 

yeah, I've been twice (Montana 2000 and Idaho 2001) and have left early both times. Once before the 4th. So by what people have said here, I think it's probably in my best interest to get there at the start and leave after the 4th. Thank you everyone for the responses. I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the 4ums kitchen!

Mono