Starting early, about 6:15, to avoid the mob was a good idea, but it wasn’t early enough!
Walking in the dark was easy because in front of me, stretching hundreds of metres was a parade of more than 100 people. Many with head-torches it felt like I was following a giant glow worm. It was really helpful!
The school group, summer camp, hiked without a sound. Perhaps too early for them. Older kids in small groups travelling independently were really noisy and off putting.