Atlanta Outdoor Club

Carpooling:
OK, first thing I need to say is that carpooling is critical for this event. There are not enough parking spaces for everyone to drive separately without hiking half a mile. I know, we're AOC and have hiked a lot more than that, but who wants to do that in the summer heat carrying their cooler & chair?

Here's how the carpooling is going to work. It's a little different because different people want to show up at different times and leave at different times.
The car pool location will be at Chastain Park & Ride in Kennesaw.
Directions to carpool: http://tinyurl.com/AOC-Carpool-Kennesaw (The exact meeting place is by the covered area where you'll see an AOC sign.)
Directions to Picnic: http://tinyurl.com/AOC-Picnic-Directions

The idea is if you're a driver, then show up and take the first people in line looking for rides. Depending on when you go, you may have to wait several minutes for enough riders to fill your car.
If you're a rider, then show up and look for a driver. You may have to wait for one to show up.

When you get ready to leave, you will do the same thing (The car pool meeting spot on the way back is in the Green Parking Lot). Fill your car up with riders wanting to go back home. THEY MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE SAME PEOPLE YOU RODE WITH ON THE WAY UP. You must take back at least the same number of riders that rode up with you.

The benefits of carpooling is explained under parking.

You may also arrange your own carpool instead of meeting at the park & ride. You may call friends or try to organized one in your area by using this forum. I have started the carpool thread here and you can just reply to this thread. Registration is free if you haven't already done so.

Parking:
Once you cross the bridge on Red Top Mountain Rd, the picnic will be your first right. This will also be known as the GREEN Parking Lot.
If, instead of turning right, you go strait on Red Top Mountain Rd by another 250 feet and make your first left, this will be known as the YELLOW Parking Lot. There is a path that connects the Yellow parking lot with the picnic area.
If you continue on Red Top Mountain Rd another 1/4 mile and turn left on Red Top Beach Rd for another 1/4 mile you will find the RED Parking Lot.
The parking lot on your immediate left after you cross the bridge will be known as the BLUE Parking lot.

The Green & Yellow Parking Lots are reserved for those that came with a car full of people.
The Red Parking Lot will be for those that come alone or with only one other person.
The Blue Parking Lot is for boat owners only. The Rangers may ticket those with out boats.

We will have volunteers manning the parking lots to make sure the rules are adhered to.

If we all fill our cars with riders, then the Red Parking Lot won't have to be used at all. The Green & Yellow Parking Lots can hold 60 cars, which at 4 people per car is enough to hold 240 people.

I live in the Decatur area and am planning to leave for the picnic around 11:30 am or noon on Saturday. I can take three people and their gear, which I assume will be coolers and chairs. If more than that, there may be a space problem in my trunk. I don't have any fixed time to leave but will probably want to come back around 5 or 6 pm at the latest, as there is a concert I want to go to in Alpharetta that evening.

So if you are a driver from the carpool, do you get paid for gas? (any estimates on that?) If you take back people other than the ones you brought there, what happens then????

If I carpool with people from the Decatur area, I would be bringing back to Decatur the same people who I brought to the picnic. Contributions toward gas costs would be nice, but I am not worried about that, since I would be driving to the picnic in any event. The people who rode with me could contribute whatever they thought fair.

The estimated expense from the carpool to the picnic is $6 (total) per car, each way. Divide this by the number of drivers. You should collect from each person each way.
If you are car pooling from a different part of the city, then figure $0.37 cents per mile.

I will coming from Douglasville/Paulding County if anyone wants to ride with me. I can take three people and their coolers and chairs. If you want to ride along I will be going to the picnic around 12:00 and I wasn't planning on staying really late. Maybe 7 or 8?? See you there, Nancy

I would be happy to bring 1 other from Roswell or Alpharetta. I would offer more seats, but I don't have room.
If anyone is interested and doesn't have time to go through the whole registration process to get on this forum just to tell me so, then feel free to call me at seven seven oh, three two 9, 5550 after 6pm.
I expect to be there the whole day.

Nancy, just fyi....I believe the event ends at 6, (clean up begins at 4p) so you will likely be among the last to leave if you stay til 8.....of course, you can stay as long as the park is open, but I'm just sayin' that because you said you're not planning on staying late.

I live in Lawrenceville and am new to your club!! I will be leaving around 11:00 or 11:30 and can take 4 people and gear. Gas donations accepted!

Karen

BTW, contact me at 678-442-8865 if you need a ride!

Oops-for some reason I thought it ended later! Thanks for the info.