I hope Swank Camp and LashPair Mountain Retreat are not mutually exclusive. I note there are common swankers to both, but not all campers are retreaters and not all retreaters are campers. Hopefully there will the appetite (and the will) for both.

I certainly anticipate having the personal appetite and will for both.



As for a third cabin .... i'm on the picket fence about that. One of the points of a waiting list is the assumption that some people will have to change plans come ten months from now. And I think more than a few people on the waiting list are on there because they cannot commit to next April right now.

Therer are a few on the waiting list that are willing to commit now. Of course, they will get priority over those who cannot currently commit. I'm just offering a suggestion for those who want to go but don't have a place to stay currently. A second cabin would assure that those who would like to confirm have a place to stay. Those who cannot or will not confirm are on their own anyways.

Nine months, one week and 4 days... but who's counting? :cheers:

Does Put Me On the Waiting List consitute a committment? Because I intended it to. As in, if a spot opens and comes available, I will take it, paying for the 4 days of which I would use only 2.

I'll send our part of the deposit right away, NA- and thanks again for the research and booking. I think that if enough people express a semi-committed commitment then it might be wise of them to hedge bets and place a deposit on another cabin. The deposit isn't that much, and it would guarantee a spot rather than having to pull a standby- what if no one cancels and you decide you really do want to be there? I'd feel bad, and I know everyone else would as well. I'd much rather have a reservation and not have to worry about it. I'd also really miss a lot of you if you weren't there!

Since a cabin is not, in fact, camping, I would presume that Yosemite and Swank Camp III are not mutually exclusive. So I'm still presuming Big Sur for some time around early June-ish until an actual date is set.

Totally wish I could commit for Yosemite, but I just can't :(

And if anyone on the enormous wait list want to arrange for a second (or is it third?) cabin, I'll buy in right now. I just don't have the wherewithal to arrange it.

Otherwise, i'm content to wait and see.

We'll probably not join Swank Camp next year, because Ken's already taking a week off for this, and I'm taking an additional week immediately after for my conference, and then we're both tentatively taking another week-long trip with a couple friends in September 2009. So, those pretty much eat all of our 2009 vacation time. If Swank Camp ends up being earlier in the year closer to home (like Joshua Tree), then we might show Friday-Sunday for that.

I'll miss camping, but to me, the Lashpair visit wins the decision without contest.

I don't know how it slipped my mind but my vacation time next year is being used by a trip to PA for graduation and NY for vacation.

It's really hard to get more than a day or two off without it being on the end of a weekend so I need to take it in one shot.

LashTour in Yosemite falls over my dad's bday I'll most likely miss Swank Camp too.

Bummer!

Hmmmm, I should probably be shot for floating this. But how about a much smaller Swank Camp in .... wait for it .... Yosemite?

During the season when the wonders of the Valley are open and waiting.


At the recent Swank Camp we talked about how Yosemite was impractical for large groups of campers. And it is. Um, it's looking like a much smaller group of campers this year, so though I hate to say it ... it would perhaps be the perfect year to tackle Yosemite on a much smaller Swank scale.

You can only reserve two adjacent campsites in the Valley. They are snapped up within seconds, so the chances of getting even them are slim. But Wolf Creek, just outside the Valley, is a no-reservation campground, with chances reasonable for getting 3 or so adjacent sites on a Thursday arrival.



Yes, I must be out of my mind to suggest this. By now you folks know how I can't get Yosemite Swank Camp out of my system until we have a Yosemite Swank Camp. NA and GC's day trip there to kick off the last Swank Camp and the planned LashPair cabin retreat there that threatens to supplant next Swank Camp do nothing to tamp down my Yosemite fever.




Fewer people are higher on my love list than Lash and Stoat. So it's no reflection on them, and what I'm about to say is of a piddling level in comparison to how happy I am they'll be visiting again ... but I'm beginning to resent an event that's replaced the trip to Japan and threatens to scuttle next year's Swank Camp.

:(