Should be off season. Early AM and summer peak yet the pilgrimage is full on. Rush hour. I ponder the day when the park service starts to limit the trail count. The locals are annoyed. Still it’s more fun then a trip to the (no less crowded) mall. People watching is so much more meaningful. You judge people less by their clothes, jeweley, hair, and makeup rather muscles, tans, respiration rates, sweat, and postures. It’s fun to catch snippets of conversation as they pass. Glimpses of other worlds and life styles.