LineupHow Did Our Camping Host And Car Camping Improvements Work? By Pickathon . 2012-08-30 . (33) comments
Last year after Pickathon we received feedback that led us us realize two possible areas of needed improvement around helping everyone secure a good weekend tent or car camping site.
We tried to address both of these improvements in 2012, and want to know how each of them worked and how each can be made better for 2013 and beyond.
Questions for you…
If you purchased a “Camp In Your Car” or “Camp Near Your Car” pass you likely noticed there were far less cars present and it felt liked it was far less crowded and contentious this year vs. last year. Was this your experience too?
If you Tent Camped In The Woods, you hopefully encountered our newly formed Camp Host Crew. This was set up kind of like a Pickathon front desk service for campers where you could get advice on where to camp before you entered the woods, then get escorted to spots with the help of our roaming camping scouts, then potentially check out a shovel or rake to help improve your campsite. There are a ton of amazing internal stories of how the Camp Host helped a number of people when arriving at Pickathon, but what we would like to know is what experiences you had if willing to share with the greater Pickathon community.
The camping component of Pickathon is an important piece of the experience and as organizers we take this very seriously. It is important to reassess each year and strive for the right kinds of improvements and adjustments that come with each new mix of circumstances.
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We tried to address both of these improvements in 2012, and want to know how each of them worked and how each can be made better for 2013 and beyond.
Questions for you…
If you purchased a “Camp In Your Car” or “Camp Near Your Car” pass you likely noticed there were far less cars present and it felt liked it was far less crowded and contentious this year vs. last year. Was this your experience too?
If you Tent Camped In The Woods, you hopefully encountered our newly formed Camp Host Crew. This was set up kind of like a Pickathon front desk service for campers where you could get advice on where to camp before you entered the woods, then get escorted to spots with the help of our roaming camping scouts, then potentially check out a shovel or rake to help improve your campsite. There are a ton of amazing internal stories of how the Camp Host helped a number of people when arriving at Pickathon, but what we would like to know is what experiences you had if willing to share with the greater Pickathon community.
The camping component of Pickathon is an important piece of the experience and as organizers we take this very seriously. It is important to reassess each year and strive for the right kinds of improvements and adjustments that come with each new mix of circumstances.
Photo: Tim LaBarge . Pickathon
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Pickathon is turning 15 << Older:
Thoughts on Music
2013-05-06 20:00:55
isabellemilligan@yahoo.com
Camper is a means of entertainment is mostly done by everyone. You can invite more people to do this together with family in one place. Seattlefishing.com
2013-05-06 07:51:04
Camper together with the family be a good option to spend the night together. You can search for the right time that can exist with them and doing things together. Scottsdale Garage Door Repair
2013-03-16 04:33:04
Doing camper is often undertaken by many people who stress. There are many people who avoid doing much business with camping in the open. speedway gas credit card
2013-03-14 03:13:57
Camper is a lot being done by those who need it. You can use many types of tools that can be put in a backpack in your back. online soccer manager
2013-03-04 05:16:49
Doing camper is one of the activities that are good for your soul refreshment. There are plenty of camping is done by those who just love the natural atmosphere. sell my structured settlement
2013-03-01 18:01:35
Camper made by many people is going to be more exciting than the camper is done alone. There are many people who will come to this event. Homer Alaska Hotel
2013-02-28 17:50:02
Doing camping with the family is fun. You get together with them and see their activities in a relaxing holiday. This does not necessarily happen every time. mbthomes.com
2013-02-28 06:57:31
Beautiful nature and calming atmosphere will be the right thing to do camping there. You can invite parents and children and your family. Xeon E5
2013-02-28 01:21:21
annabelleslessor@yahoo.com
Doing camper in a place visited by many people it becomes something that is not comfortable. There are many other places more comfortable you can go. Landscape Lighting Austin
2013-02-16 04:45:31
FOJS is taking a plan used by the Baltimore Symphony and tailoring it to the needs of the Jacksonville Symphony. The musicians are counting on it and have returned to work. There will be challenges along the way and bumps in the road but the financial goal set for FOJS will be reached. We can either join them and help meet those goals or get out of their way. online forensic psychology degree
2013-02-07 21:53:22
I would ask that early arrivers be held to a more conscientious use of space, so that the rest of us who also paid for camping can find a comfortable spot too. There were some very palacial camps set up by Friday morning (Van, tent, and a huge awning for one "camp in" tag, for example.)
2012-10-24 07:57:34
As a photographer arriving Saturday to shoot for the weekend, there wasn't anything at all available, although I was told our passes included camping. I ended up heading to a hotel ~10 miles away. I'd appreciate a camping area available for media if possible in the future.
2012-10-21 23:19:53
playzugzwang12@gmail.com
Thanks for the camping tips shared in this article! This would be very helpful. Our family plans to go camping this coming summer.
2012-10-01 16:57:31
We didn't use the new services as we're old hands at it, but it did seem like there was less confusion and frustration among campers. Thanks!!!
2012-09-03 12:16:59
My goodness but Camp in Your Car felt downright deluxe this year after the last two! We drove in Thursday about 1pm like we were preparing for battle after our experience last year (Thursday admission, arrived 2 hours after gate opened and had to shoe horn into a spot that other campers graciously moved over to make). Not only did we have tons of time to consider how to best position our rig, but there also were plenty of options available. We ended up with super friendly, super fun neighbors to boot (but then, we always seem too). We did have one camp in close proximity that had Camp Near Your Car but was setting up in clearly Camp In space. We attempted to inform them in a friendly manner but they were short with us and determined to stay put. It didn't effect our weekend but did take a nice space away from campers that arrived the next day that had paid for the priviledge. The tent tags were a brilliant idea and went a long way towards keeping folks to a reasonable number of tents - it would help if the different types of tags were noticeably different in appearance. Thanks to all y'all for your thoughtful attention to campers' needs - it is truly appreciated!
2012-08-31 16:12:03
Hi! When I arrived early on saturday morning, I asked the pair of folks checking tix at the front gate about the camp host. They had no idea what I was talking about. Sooo... maybe better info to the first-contact volunteers?
2012-08-30 22:37:35
Camp near the car was generally awesome. My only problem was the camper in their car who, even after I offered to move my tent, broke it on their way out, hit and run style. That got me down.
2012-08-30 22:07:24
Next year, please provide some sturdy wagons for hauling gear, like you have previously. I also wonder whether there should be some ground rules about saving sites for people who haven't arrived yet. I took full advantage of the anarchy myself (tarped off sites for like 10 of my friends), but I'm guessing that this practice led to a fair amount of frustration for the not-so-well-connected.
2012-08-30 16:54:55
barry@denkifuro.com
I arrived at about 7:00 pm on Thursday and found a sweeeet spot pretty close in -- but my needs were modest (one person in a small tent). I hope to find that same spot next year -- and, no, I won't tell anyone where it was.
2012-08-30 16:46:02
I'm not sure what you were looking for if you couldn't find what you wanted at noon on Thursday. Didn't the gates open at noon on Thursday? Noon on Thursday seems like the best time to find what you were looking for.
2012-08-30 15:58:58
Ditto, paid for early entry to get room for our kids + parents group, found basically nothing left for us even though it was Thursday at noon. We loved Pickathon and will be back, but would have loved some Camp Host help. It wasn't clear to us that there was anyone to help out to find a spot.
2012-08-30 15:54:45
Thought the host was a great idea, but it kinda lost it's impact when everything was basically full by mid Friday. Ended up camping way way way out and it was still hard to find a spot. I think a challenge for next year is to figure out the early entry thing. Doesn't seem to add up in the end. I did like the cart drop system. That was handy for the heavier stuff.
2012-08-30 15:48:02
Those mountain trails were pretty confusing on ten hits of acid in 100+ degree weather. Then at night, oh boy. Not sure I ever found my campsite.
2012-08-30 15:44:56
As a Pickathon first timer, firstly I am so sad I've missed out up until now. What an amazing event just 20 mins from home!! Camping away from our car was our intent and although we had some instruction and recommendations from friends who'd been before, we certainly did not prepare for a panicked hunt for a postage stamp sized spot in the woods. We arrived around 1 pm on Friday to a nearly full woods, even to the Back 40 area. Most level or semi-level areas were 100% reserved with very small and marginal areas to choose from. (stinging nettle, small stumps, roots above the surface) Luckily we scored some spare Camp near your Car tent tags and had a wonderful time! We now have frame of reference for the kind of camping we will attempt to secure for next year! Bathrooms and water were clean and close in proximity. We had a blast! Thanks to all volunteers and organizers and the bands! p.s. used the Camp Host concierge only to ask for where they could predict to find a spot in the woods and I think their % capacities were quite off by then.
2012-08-30 15:04:45
Really loved the Camp Host - got there on Thursday and a very helpful volunteer pointed us to a fantastic spot, which was already leveled and we had to do very little work on. Thanks, Pickathon, we couldn't have been better taken care of...
2012-08-30 14:43:17
As a first-time Pickathoner (?) I was really happy to find the Camp Hosts up front - they were friendly and had some good ideas. Keep them! That being said, the way they were determining site availability was super random and not always accurate. I also had no idea how to catch a ride with my gear or rent equipment (or any idea why I would NEED to rent equipment) until I was way up in the hills. It would be great to have access to a bigger printable map (I understand that goes against the green ideals), or to at least have more map boards through the woods with YOU ARE HERE notices. The trails are often poorly marked and it was really hard to find the places the host recommended (even Thursday before the crowds came in).
2012-08-30 14:39:00
My only suggestion is to tell those golf cart drivers in the woods to SLOW DOWN! Many of them were driving way too fast and recklessly for those tiny paths, especially with children about. I would often see empty ones driving around with no one in them while people were trying to haul all thier gear way out into the woods. I couldn't understand why they didn't just stop for whoever they saw and helped them on thier way.
2012-08-30 14:38:27
melia.tichenor@gmail.com
That map was genius! It was so easy to find a good camping spot... easier than past years, when we had someone come Thursday night, and this year we came Friday morning. Instead of trekking around to multiple places we thought might be good, we looked at the map, chose a location that seemed to have space and was in a good spot, went directly there and voila! We were done. Really appreciated the map and our helpful camp host spokesperson who helped point out some good spots. It was also helpful to hear him say "you might trek a bit off trail to find some good spots not easily visible from the trail"... I think some folks are reticent to blaze their own path, but it makes a world of difference, and it helps to be given the go-ahead. Definitely would suggest keeping the maps and helpers next year!
2012-08-30 14:25:20
The car camping area seemed downright spacious compared to the last two years. Great idea and great execution. I didn't use the camp host, but I witnessed several confused folks in the woods saying "but the camp host said there were available spots here. now what?".
2012-08-30 14:24:30
PICKATHON
Howdy, Those comments are present in that previous post, which can be accessed by browsing back through the earlier blog entries.
2012-08-30 14:22:30
We bought a camp near your car pass and think that the car camping area was VASTLY more organized than last year. My only suggestion would be to allow "camp near your car" ticket holders to drive their cars into the area to drop off all their stuff. For some of us with families, shade structures, ice chests, etc....thats a LOT of heavy loads back and forth, back and forth to the car in 95 degree weather. I realize this would make things slightly chaotic for a few hours but it would have made set up much faster and easier! Thanks for taking suggestions! We love Pickathon!
2012-08-30 14:20:54
bycroft9413@comcast.net
My friends and I love camping in the woods for Pickathon! We love the sounds of jams all around when we decide to get into our tents. We did not use the camp host, except to borrow a shovel.Love everything about Pickathon, dread too many rules changing it into something else. We do think the camp host is a great idea, though.
2012-08-30 14:19:42
What happened to the 70+ comments that were already posted on this blog since Pickathon 2012?
