I just caught up on this thread, and though it wasn’t a huge part of it, I’m pretty sure Upchuck started coming to the Gathering in 2004.  I got my pic with him then, and have every year ever since:

Guest said
Thanks for clearing that up, Like I said, I knew he wasn’t at 03, so there are 4 Gatherings that Upchuck can not even comment on. Just for the opinion of someone who has been to all 13 of them, @ScottieD do you think the Gathering has “peaked”? and follow up… in your opinion what was the best year?

Knowing is half the battle.

No worries. Some of them are a blur to me honestly.  I’ll say that ’06 was by FAR the worst of the bunch.  My favorite that I hold near and dear is probably the first one in 2000.  I was 19 then, and the whole idea of a 2 day music festival was so alien to me that the concept of it was probably better than it actually was.  Don’t get me wrong though, it was still super dope (besides the 26 hour Greyhound trip each way.) I think if you compare everything that’s available to do now vs then though, it’s no contest that the outdoor ones are better.  I think this year is going to be a big factor in saying whether the Gathering has “peaked” yet or not.  This is the 7th time at the same location, so you pretty much know what to expect.  2011 was fun as fuck, but I had just as much fun, if not more last year.  Most of what I base off of being “fun” though is my experiences with the people who are also attending.  You run into some real shitheads just about every year, but if you surround yourself with people you’d probably hang out with if they lived closer to you, then you’re gonna have a hell of a good time.