How to hike and maintain social distance (non-thruhiking oriented)

[Sasquatch!]

So it seems that thru hiking may be out this year. A good way to hike and avoid contact with other people is to drive to your hiking destination, then do a 4-7 day loop, or out and back. This way you can still hike, and literally have no contact with anyone. If you happen across someone on the trail give them a wide berth when passing. If you want to hang out with another hiker simply try and maintain a six food radius. At the very least try not to sneeze and cough on one another. This is a weird virus where plenty of people are infected without experiencing any symptoms. At the same time, some people seem to have a very poor outcome. There is no way to know which one you may be. Don't assume just because you are young and healthy that you are invulnerable. The goal is to slow the spread, and avoid overwhelming our underwhelming medical system.

[FromNH]

So it seems that thru hiking may be out this year. A good way to hike and avoid contact with other people is to drive to your hiking destination, then do a 4-7 day loop, or out and back. This way you can still hike, and literally have no contact with anyone. If you happen across someone on the trail give them a wide berth when passing. If you want to hang out with another hiker simply try and maintain a six food radius. At the very least try not to sneeze and cough on one another. This is a weird virus where plenty of people are infected without experiencing any symptoms. At the same time, some people seem to have a very poor outcome. There is no way to know which one you may be. Don't assume just because you are young and healthy that you are invulnerable. The goal is to slow the spread, and avoid overwhelming our underwhelming medical system.

Droplets from a sneeze or cough can travel well over 20 feet and stay in the air for up to 10 minutes. Give a very wide berth if you really need to go out. But you might still walk into a cloud of snot if some you just passed sneezed a couple minutes earlier on the trail. As someone said in regards to a different post, you’d be using up valuable resources if you get hurt out there.
Scientists are only beginning to understand this complex, extremely fast spreading virus, don’t be fooled by the relative low death rates for now.

[colorado_rob]

Yeah, I pulled myself off the PCT after just 7 days and a little over 100 miles.... :-( Because of the need to use town facilities on long hikes, it's just not smart to stick with a thru hike, especially at my age.

BUT, now my wife's work has closed for three weeks (mostly because all the morons running around with the much needed N95 medical masks) and we plan a couple of car-camping trips with a lot of long hikes, mostly out in the middle of nowhere in Utah, I'd be surprised if we see any people. We're going to be completely self-sufficient and should not have to use any facilities, nor make any food purchases. The only contact we should have is when buying gas, very infrequent because we have a nearly 700 mile range on our truck, and of course gas is all pay at the pump anyway (and we'll use gloves and hand sanitizer, for sure), so no contact there either.

Maybe I'm being naiive, but I really think it's perfectly safe to camp and hike right now even with occasionally seeing some other folks, just avoiding any physical contact and keeping that reasonable radius.

[Traillium]

Yeah, I pulled myself off the PCT after just 7 days and a little over 100 miles.... :-( Because of the need to use town facilities on long hikes, it's just not smart to stick with a thru hike, especially at my age.

BUT, now my wife's work has closed for three weeks (mostly because all the morons running around with the much needed N95 medical masks) and we plan a couple of car-camping trips with a lot of long hikes, mostly out in the middle of nowhere in Utah, I'd be surprised if we see any people. We're going to be completely self-sufficient and should not have to use any facilities, nor make any food purchases. The only contact we should have is when buying gas, very infrequent because we have a nearly 700 mile range on our truck, and of course gas is all pay at the pump anyway (and we'll use gloves and hand sanitizer, for sure), so no contact there either.

Maybe I'm being naiive, but I really think it's perfectly safe to camp and hike right now even with occasionally seeing some other folks, just avoiding any physical contact and keeping that reasonable radius.

I’m in agreement. I wish I could be with you two … respectfully far behind …


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sasquatch!]

Yeah, I pulled myself off the PCT after just 7 days and a little over 100 miles.... :-( Because of the need to use town facilities on long hikes, it's just not smart to stick with a thru hike, especially at my age.

BUT, now my wife's work has closed for three weeks (mostly because all the morons running around with the much needed N95 medical masks) and we plan a couple of car-camping trips with a lot of long hikes, mostly out in the middle of nowhere in Utah, I'd be surprised if we see any people. We're going to be completely self-sufficient and should not have to use any facilities, nor make any food purchases. The only contact we should have is when buying gas, very infrequent because we have a nearly 700 mile range on our truck, and of course gas is all pay at the pump anyway (and we'll use gloves and hand sanitizer, for sure), so no contact there either.

Maybe I'm being naiive, but I really think it's perfectly safe to camp and hike right now even with occasionally seeing some other folks, just avoiding any physical contact and keeping that reasonable radius.

The goal is simply to minimize contact as much as possible. Some people still have to go to the grocery store, pharmacy, etc. Plenty of people can't work from home.

Hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities are fine as long as you take steps to minimize close contact with other people. Exercise is very important to maximize immune system function. If you have a friend who can help support you while hiking, that is a big bonus. You could have this friend meet you at various points while hiking for resupply. You wouldn't need to have close personal contact to receive a resupply. Then you could go right back to hiking.

[colorado_rob]

The goal is simply to minimize contact as much as possible. Some people still have to go to the grocery store, pharmacy, etc. Plenty of people can't work from home.

Hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities are fine as long as you take steps to minimize close contact with other people. Exercise is very important to maximize immune system function. If you have a friend who can help support you while hiking, that is a big bonus. You could have this friend meet you at various points while hiking for resupply. You wouldn't need to have close personal contact to receive a resupply. Then you could go right back to hiking. Yeah, I do suppose one could reasonably still do a long hike if he/she had direct support. Still, he/she would probably want an occasional actual shower/hotel/hostel, and to do some laundry I would think. It would be tough to do a long hike w/o ANY town support, but it is feasible, especially in the summer (lots of swimming to get clean).

Another option if hiking with another (friend, spouse, whatever) is to do a leap-frog resupply hike with two vehicles. My wife and I did the CO trail this way, it worked really well, it would completely eliminate the need for any outside interaction whatsoever, assuming you're willing to only clean yourself and clothes in the wild.

In case you've never heard of the leap-frog method, basically you drive two cars to the far end of the trail, take one car back to the beginning of a 4-5 day section (or whatever time works), hike to the end of the trail, get the one vehicle, drive back two sections, hike to the other vehicle, drive back another two sections, repeat, repeat. Load both vehicles with all resupplies needed, then hike away. This method would even work hiking solo, as long as you had a pal help you out at the start (and end) with your 2nd car.

I met a guy "pringles" on the AT doing the entire trail this way (solo). I saw him every day for a week or so, always hiking southbound, though he (and I) were making our way northbound, if you follow all of that. He was called "pringles" because he always carried a couple cans of these horrible, yet wonderful "chips" and passed them out to the northbounders.

[Sasquatch!]

Yeah, I do suppose one could reasonably still do a long hike if he/she had direct support. Still, he/she would probably want an occasional actual shower/hotel/hostel, and to do some laundry I would think. It would be tough to do a long hike w/o ANY town support, but it is feasible, especially in the summer (lots of swimming to get clean).

Another option if hiking with another (friend, spouse, whatever) is to do a leap-frog resupply hike with two vehicles. My wife and I did the CO trail this way, it worked really well, it would completely eliminate the need for any outside interaction whatsoever, assuming you're willing to only clean yourself and clothes in the wild.

In case you've never heard of the leap-frog method, basically you drive two cars to the far end of the trail, take one car back to the beginning of a 4-5 day section (or whatever time works), hike to the end of the trail, get the one vehicle, drive back two sections, hike to the other vehicle, drive back another two sections, repeat, repeat. Load both vehicles with all resupplies needed, then hike away. This method would even work hiking solo, as long as you had a pal help you out at the start (and end) with your 2nd car.

I met a guy "pringles" on the AT doing the entire trail this way (solo). I saw him every day for a week or so, always hiking southbound, though he (and I) were making our way northbound, if you follow all of that. He was called "pringles" because he always carried a couple cans of these horrible, yet wonderful "chips" and passed them out to the northbounders.

It's funny that you mentioned it. I've often thought about the leap frog method. I've yet to actually try it, however. Two people with cars who hike at a similar pace could hike the whole PCT using the leap frog method, and never have to closely interact. One person would have to be cool with going SOBO however.

I live in Washington, so I'm never more than a few hours from home. I also have a portable heater shower which works great for car camping.

An option for getting or giving rides is to ride in the back of a covered pickup. It might not be safe or legal in some areas but it precludes any close contact.

[colorado_rob]

It's funny that you mentioned it. I've often thought about the leap frog method. I've yet to actually try it, however. Two people with cars who hike at a similar pace could hike the whole PCT using the leap frog method, and never have to closely interact. One person would have to be cool with going SOBO however. I dind't explain the leap-frog method well, because actually, both hikers are together, though they don't have to actually hike together or even camp together, going the same direction, the only requirement is that they meet at the end of each section at a car. This isn't any sort of key-exchange thing.

I've tried before to explain this to others, not many seem to get it because I'm bad at the explanation....

[CalebJ]

It makes sense. You're just handling moving a car up to the end each morning and heading back in one to the trailhead?

[colorado_rob]

It makes sense. You're just handling moving a car up to the end each morning and heading back in one to the trailhead? Here's the leap-frog method I'm referring to in detail...

Say you have a trail, like the CO trail, and you break the trail into 8 segments of 4 days each. Segment 1 is the start, 8 the finish. There is parking at each of the segments start/end.

You and partner drive one car each to the end of the trail, the end of section 8. Leave one car there.

Both of you pile into other car, and drive to the section 7/8 junction, when you start hiking section 8, say for 4 days, ending at the end of the trail, where there is one car parked (and resupplies).

You both hop into that car and drive it to the section 6/7 junction trailhead. Leave that car and now hike section 7 for 4 days, ending at the other car parked at the section 7/8 junction.

Hop in that car and drive to the section 5/6 junction, hike 4 days on section 6 to the car at the section 6/7 junction.

Repeat until you're done.

This is almost precisely to the letter how we hiked the CO trail, the sections were such that 4 days was just about right, but it can be applied to any long trail with regular road access. On the AT, this means in many places your "section" can be only one day, give all the many road crossings.

Advantages: no need to hitch, at the end of a section you have a car to get into town for R&R, laundry, whatever. Resupplies pre-loaded into vehicles, no mailing, no town shopping. And a bonus, both of our vehicles are set up to sleep in, which saved on hotel/hostel costs.

Disadvantages: Even though your hiking in one direction, in our case hiking south, you make your way north, if you follow. So, you make hiking friends on one section, then you leave them because the next section you hike is the previous section. so all your trail pals are short-term.

[CalebJ]

Makes sense. I definitely like that idea.

[lonehiker]

One person can do it as well. Pickup with a motor bike would work. The year I started my first section of the PCT there was a guy doing this.

[Sasquatch!]

I dind't explain the leap-frog method well, because actually, both hikers are together, though they don't have to actually hike together or even camp together, going the same direction, the only requirement is that they meet at the end of each section at a car. This isn't any sort of key-exchange thing.

I've tried before to explain this to others, not many seem to get it because I'm bad at the explanation....

No, I got it. I just like the idea of each person hiking separate directions better. I wouldn't want to exchange keys. Rather, I'd prefer each person had keys for both vehicles to start. It would be an interesting logistical challenge.

[Traveler]

No, I got it. I just like the idea of each person hiking separate directions better. I wouldn't want to exchange keys. Rather, I'd prefer each person had keys for both vehicles to start. It would be an interesting logistical challenge.

I have used this approach a few times, first hiker is dropped off at a trailhead to hike north, second hiker drives to the next (or predetermined) trailhead up the trail and hikes south, exchanging keys where they meet along the way. The first time I did this, I missed the southbound hiker due to his unmarked call of nature at the perfect time for me to miss him, which created some problems. I recommend a second set of keys or stashing the keys in a magnetic box somewhere on the vehicle for this type of hike, all things considered.

If two people enjoy hiking alone, this method gives both an opportunity to do that while expanding hike selections and distances that can be hiked during a day or multi-day trip.

[Traffic Jam]

It’s impossible to give people a wide berth on most of the trails in my area. Today, the trails were very crowded and the nature of the trail is such that all one can do is step to the side. I must have come within 1-2’ of 15 people.

Wearing a bandana around the neck that you pull over your mouth and nose might be a viable option when passing people.

[JNI64]

It’s impossible to give people a wide berth on most of the trails in my area. Today, the trails were very crowded and the nature of the trail is such that all one can do is step to the side. I must have come within 1-2’ of 15 people.

Wearing a bandana around the neck that you pull over your mouth and nose might be a viable option when passing people.

Or a buff and sunglasses

[Nanatuk]

Having just come off the trail, I can tell you that its not crowded at all. The only place I camped that was cro6'wded was Hauser Creek on the first night. Even then, it was easy to keep my distance from the other hikers. Someone started up a Yoga stretching session and even then there was more than 6 feet between people. Passing one another within 1-2' of others on the trail is not a big deal. You pass each other facing your face away and turn around 6' apart if you want to say hello. If your not touching and have your mouths and nosed turned away as you pass, the risk is as low as standing 6' apart.

I like the two vehicle approach as well as the start from opposite ends approach. Either would be good strategies.

Grocery stores are still open so it wouldn't hard to continue a thru hike, but the biggest challenge right now would be keeping electronics charged. There is no place out there that will allow you to plug in and solar panels are not very effective in the rain and overcast. Using shuttle vehicles would solve that issue.

[Crossbar]

The trails aren’t crowded because the majority of us are staying home like we were asked to do. The people risking their lives right now to keep the grocery stores open are there so we can still feed ourselves and our families. The less people that have to go through the check out line equates to less risk for them. They’re not there for hikers to continuing their thru-hikes.

[Nanatuk]

How does serving hikers increase the risk to the grocery clerks more than say someone who drives to the store? If your weren't on the trail you would still need to buy groceries from somewhere. Or are you saying that the thru hikers should get off the trail to transfer the risk to a store that isn't near the trail?

I don't understand the logic.

[Alligator]

How does serving hikers increase the risk to the grocery clerks more than say someone who drives to the store? If your weren't on the trail you would still need to buy groceries from somewhere. Or are you saying that the thru hikers should get off the trail to transfer the risk to a store that isn't near the trail?

I don't understand the logic.The person at home has a fridge, freezer, and pantry and won't need to resupply as often. The hiker may also need transportation into town, putting the hiker and the driver at increased risk as opposed to using their own personal vehicle at home (That's not always the case.)

We are covering these thruhiker topics in the other thread "The Ethics of Thru-Hiking During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/136383-quot-The-Ethics-of-Thru-Hiking-During-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-quot)
This thread was started as not being about thruhiking so let's keep it that way. I am going to move it out of the PCT forum and modify the title.

[Crossbar]

Because you are 'traveling'. As a traveler, you are being exposed and possibly infected in one area and then traveling to another area where you are exposing and possibly infecting others. You are unnecessarily risking transmitting the virus between communities and unnecessarily increasing exposure to the workers of the grocery store who otherwise would not have had that exposure from a traveler.

To keep to the topic; I would question any hike right now as most places are still at the start of the curve. The more we adhere to Stay-at-Home, the quicker we get a handle on this thing.

[Paleolith54]

Droplets from a sneeze or cough can travel well over 20 feet and stay in the air for up to 10 minutes. Give a very wide berth if you really need to go out. But you might still walk into a cloud of snot if some you just passed sneezed a couple minutes earlier on the trail. As someone said in regards to a different post, you’d be using up valuable resources if you get hurt out there.
Scientists are only beginning to understand this complex, extremely fast spreading virus, don’t be fooled by the relative low death rates for now.

You keep repeating this thing about 20 feet/ten minutes, and as I pointed out in the other thread in which you said it there seems to be no credible source for it. No authority I've been able to find says anything near this extreme. Maybe you can point me to something I missed, I'm perfectly willing to be corrected. The closest thing is an anecdotal report from a Chinese bus where one person was said to have infected a couple of dozen people because their "spray" traveled about 4.5 meters over a fairly protracted period of time. Even if accurate, this hardly equates to trail conditions.

[Slo-go'en]

On a trail, unless someone sneezes or coughs in your general direction - at the exact moment your passing them, I don't see a problem.

Being in a confined environment with still air is the most likely way to catch it. Especially if your there for a while and with a whole lot of other people. Like at church or in a restaurant or on a bus or at a party.

[Traveler]

It's not fully understood how the COVID 19 virus spreads, but enough is known to make several assertions. There is an aerosol transmission mechanism beyond droplets expelled by coughing or sneezes by infected people. Droplets tend to fall quickly out of the air when expelled in a cough or sneeze, which is where the 6-foot separation parameter comes from. Aerosol transmissions however have different delivery mechanisms, this virus is small enough to ride microscopic vapor particles in breath as it is exhaled.

Bacteria can be seen with the aid of most microscopes, the COVID 19 virus requires an electron microscope to see and support the fact viruses are anywhere from 10 to 100 times smaller than bacteria. Their size making them extremely difficult to stop unless specialized protective masks like the N95 type, specifically designed to trap and prevent these incredibly small particles from reaching the mouth and nose. This type of aerosol transmission, as we saw with other highly infective disease like measles, can linger for quite a while.

Think of a sunbeam in a room lighting up tiny particles of dust suspended in air. These dust particles drift about but don't settle unless they contact a surface like a table top or chair. Watching these particles you can clearly see them responding to thermal differences as they pass through the sunbeam itself, or when someone passes nearby. Virus particles cannot be seen in the sunbeam with the human eye, but they exist where there is an infected person and the phenomenon is similar. Adding the pathology element to this, it's either unknown or there is no consensus yet of how long the virus can remain infective in this aerosol form, which complicates things. This is where the 20-foot separation concept originates.

The 20-foot concept is really more for inside consideration. Outside the variables can be very complex, wind velocity, wind direction, proximity of the person to the downwind vector, rain/snow impacts on virus particles, convection or descent of air mass via pressure systems or sun exposure, ambient temperature, etc.. Some people feel safer wearing a simple dust or DYI mask in public, though the virus is so small wearing these types of masks is akin to using a window screen to prevent pollen from getting into the house. But sometimes peace of mind trumps medical value, like eating whole wheat toast to counteract bacon at breakfast or a Diet Coke with large fries and Whopper.

The bottom line remains, as used in 1918 (probably centuries prior as well) shelter in place and avoiding as much contact with others as possible is the only real defense one has.

[Traillium]

Well-said, Travelers!

[BlackCloud]

One person can do it as well. Pickup with a motor bike would work. The year I started my first section of the PCT there was a guy doing this.
That's how I have section hiked the AT. 49cc Honda Scooter gets chained to a tree and draped w/ a camo cover near my endpoint. Drive to the trailhead and hike however many days along the AT to the scooter. Chain the pack to the tree and ride back to my 4Runner, and then go pick up the pack. It's a fair amount of driving back & forth but it works for a solo hiker on his own schedule.

[BlackCloud]

To the OP's point, 3 weeks ago I drove from MD to TN, stopping only once for fuel and bathroom. Hiked 3 days and drove back home, stopping only for fuel and the McDonald's drive through. Encountered about 20 folks on the trail total. Most everyone walked right past me; a few stepped away from the trail. A few day hikers wore masks. Stayed in my tent, as always.

Most dangerous, reckless thing I did? Drove 80mph the whole way. Some 36-40,000 people die every year in car accidents in the USA. I won't drive 100, but I won't drive 55 either.

[Sunburn]

Social distancing on a hike is borderline absurd. You are not going to get COVID-19 on the trail. The average hiker is at basically no risk of contracting the virus. Viruses spread indoors. You get sick at work and school primarily. Of course, you can get sick easily at a restaurant.

People hiking are largely very healthy and unlikely to suffer much from the virus.

When it comes to thru-hiking these trails, the risk is probably still very low but obviously a lot of more chance when you start sleeping in shelters and eating at picnic tables. I think there is a good chance it could spread as noro does and then there is a chance it spreads into towns.

[Sunburn]

There are three places a hiker is going to get COVID-19:

1) At the gas station filling up for the hike
2) At the restaurant going to or coming back or in the middle of
3) Using the privy.

Pretty much everywhere else you are safe.

We have already had extensive hiking during a pandemic and no known transmissions so far as we are aware.

[Traveler]

Social distancing on a hike is borderline absurd. You are not going to get COVID-19 on the trail. The average hiker is at basically no risk of contracting the virus. Viruses spread indoors. You get sick at work and school primarily. Of course, you can get sick easily at a restaurant.

People hiking are largely very healthy and unlikely to suffer much from the virus.

When it comes to thru-hiking these trails, the risk is probably still very low but obviously a lot of more chance when you start sleeping in shelters and eating at picnic tables. I think there is a good chance it could spread as noro does and then there is a chance it spreads into towns.

Lots of dangerous presumptions in this. We have learned a lot about this contagion over the past two months, not the least of it includes one can get sick anytime they are exposed anywhere it occurs by breathing expelled air from infected people who may not know they are infecting others regardless if it is indoors our outside. The virus is incredibly fast in replication within the body and tends to spread most quickly via community spread making it a very dangerous contagion.

Research has found vapor from uncovered talking indoors needs at minimum of 6-feet of distance to avoid, uncovered coughing/sneezing can travel 20-feet indoors, all of these likely travel much further outdoors if there is any kind of breeze. When vapor from talking, sneezing, coughing is expelled, it can also land on surfaces that can easy be touched without thinking, with transmission completed when you touch your face. Things like shrubs or branches used to help balance a climb or descent are a good example of a common vector along with picnic tables, privy doors, other people's gear, etc.

People hiking generally are healthy overall, but they run a great risk if they have had pneumonia or other serious respiratory disease in the past. Wearing a mask does not protect the wearer from infection, but does help reduce exposure potential to others when wearing one as it captures vapor from breathing and talking along with coughing and sneezing that would otherwise be broadcast into the environment. So the 6-foot distance rule is really a minimum. Recent data shows some concerning trends with respect to those under 60 years old as opposed to what was thought several months ago like strokes in 30 - 40 year olds, so it no longer is a disease "of the old" exclusively.

Current data indicates a fatality rate of approximately 5% (as opposed to flu fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) which may be high or low and won't know for a long time what that percentage is. Suffice to say, this is a very dangerous contagion worthy of respect and an abundance of caution to avoid and one of the reasons the ATC is asking people to avoid the AT.

[Sunburn]

This does not spread through the air like the flu. There is some limited ability for it to. Viruses spread indoors. It is hard for them to spread outdoors because they are exposed to sun and do not collect on repeatedly used surfaces like bathroom door handles. There has been almost no spread in Wyoming.

Hikers are also extremely concerned about getting viruses so they take great precaution.

Since I stopped working 12 years ago, I have not been sick once. You cannot get sick when you are not exposed to the public.

Privies and hostels are definitely dangerous places. Because of the volume of hikers on the AT, it should probably maintain its position that it would prefer that people not hike or it should place a limit on the number of hikers.

Privies should remain closed. Hostels should remain closed. If you stay out of privies, restaurants and hostels, there is very little chance of getting it. People that are sick also do not start long-distance hikes.

[colorado_rob]

So it seems that thru hiking may be out this year. A good way to hike and avoid contact with other people is to drive to your hiking destination, then do a 4-7 day loop, or out and back. This way you can still hike, and literally have no contact with anyone. If you happen across someone on the trail give them a wide berth when passing. If you want to hang out with another hiker simply try and maintain a six food radius. At the very least try not to sneeze and cough on one another. This is a weird virus where plenty of people are infected without experiencing any symptoms. At the same time, some people seem to have a very poor outcome. There is no way to know which one you may be. Don't assume just because you are young and healthy that you are invulnerable. The goal is to slow the spread, and avoid overwhelming our underwhelming medical system. Going back to the original post... (being amateur medical experts seems silly), I still hold out, 6 weeks later with what I wrote in post #3, I truly believe we can all get out there and do some fine long distance hiking (even thru hiking, when you include much shorter trails, like the CO trail).

Sure, PCT's and AT's, etc, have gone t!ts up, so what, plenty of BIG loop hikes all over the place. I just returned from a little 40 mile 3-day loop (Dominguez Canyon loop in western CO), managed to drive to/from the trailhead non-stop both ways, never had to stop for anything (I have a huge gas tank), did a super-cool loop seeing a half dozen other hikers, we all kept respectfully apart, I believe that's safe enough for both myself and others.

I plan a month-long CO hike starting in late June, basically the non CO trail part of the CDT in Colorado, assuming the counties I enter will not have restrictions at the time. If they do, I'll adjust. It's not a loop, but I have my wife to shuttle me and she's 100% supportive.

My stay safe checklist: No public transportation, including no hitching and no shuttles
All resupply via my wife or US mail, and I'll mask up in PO's, or for any occasional store visits, including hand cleaning/sanitizing after
No hostel stays, but I will occasionally use a decent chain-type Hotel, basically when my wife joins me a few times along the way.

It's a numbers game and all a calculated risk, and (knock on wood) I'll accept that risk for myself, and be as responsible as possible with others.

[BlackCloud]

So it seems that thru hiking may be out this year. A good way to hike and avoid contact with other people is to drive to your hiking destination, then do a 4-7 day loop, or out and back. This way you can still hike, and literally have no contact with anyone. If you happen across someone on the trail give them a wide berth when passing. If you want to hang out with another hiker simply try and maintain a six food radius. At the very least try not to sneeze and cough on one another. This is a weird virus where plenty of people are infected without experiencing any symptoms. At the same time, some people seem to have a very poor outcome. There is no way to know which one you may be. Don't assume just because you are young and healthy that you are invulnerable. The goal is to slow the spread, and avoid overwhelming our underwhelming medical system.

What do you mean "our underwhelming medical system"?

[chknfngrs]

I think one needs to make the health of others their priority until further notice.

[CalebJ]

What do you mean "our underwhelming medical system"?
What -he- meant was unambiguous. He feels our system is underwhelming and its capacity could be exceeded.

Yours was rhetorical. Try explaining your own position directly. Do you feel our system is fully capable of handling any volume of cases?

[Alligator]

This thread was left open for tips on improving social distance (beyond not going at all). Discussions about not going at all belong in the ethics thread.
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/136383-quot-The-Ethics-of-Thru-Hiking-During-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-quot

Thank you for your cooperation.

[SkeeterPee]

Hopefully this is a valid question for this thread.

Some of the privies are closed on the AT, not sure about other trails or if all privies are closed. Does anyone know of the reason for this? And now months later are those concerns still valid? Is it an issues with no maintenance of the privy or a social distance concern. If social distance, does that mean all public restrooms are unsafe

[Slo-go'en]

Many privies require periodic maintenance, so that could be a valid reason. I suspect it was more to help discourage use of the associated shelter area. I can't imagine a privy would be much of an infection risk. A privy has other risks, like Norovirus, something else you don't want to catch!

As for public restrooms, high traffic ones are all touch free these days, so that helps. That came about due to the last near pandemic we had. The only risk is if it's a busy restroom like at a highway rest stop, a lot of people are coming and going into a relatively confined space. I'd wear a mask, preferably of N95 grade.

[Alligator]

A privy could be a risk just as a regular bathroom is (and hardly all touchless, there's often a door of course and something is usually not touchless). Anyway, not everyone on the AT was even using hand sanitizer, let alone using a sink with running water or even washing their hands that frequently. You have to wonder if some folks are even carrying soap with the boasts about not washing out a pot. Privies can be high traffic, particularly in the morning. So don't forget the hand sanitizer and soap.

[TexasBob]

Hopefully this is a valid question for this thread.

Some of the privies are closed on the AT, not sure about other trails or if all privies are closed. Does anyone know of the reason for this? And now months later are those concerns still valid? Is it an issues with no maintenance of the privy or a social distance concern. If social distance, does that mean all public restrooms are unsafe


From the CDC website:
"The virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in the feces of some patients diagnosed with COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether the virus found in feces may be capable of causing COVID-19. There has not been any confirmed report of the virus spreading from feces to a person. Scientists also do not know how much risk there is that the virus could be spread from the feces of an infected person to another person. However, they think this risk is low based on data from previous outbreaks of diseases caused by related coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)."

I read that public health departments are monitoring sewage for the virus as a way to determine virus levels in the population.

[SkeeterPee]

From the CDC website:
"The virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in the feces of some patients diagnosed with COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether the virus found in feces may be capable of causing COVID-19. There has not been any confirmed report of the virus spreading from feces to a person. Scientists also do not know how much risk there is that the virus could be spread from the feces of an infected person to another person. However, they think this risk is low based on data from previous outbreaks of diseases caused by related coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)."

I read that public health departments are monitoring sewage for the virus as a way to determine virus levels in the population.




I have read the same. As long a you wash your hands with soap/water or use sanitizer I think you are OK. For Noro you need to use soap so I would plan to use both.

[Sunburn]

Hopefully this is a valid question for this thread.

Some of the privies are closed on the AT, not sure about other trails or if all privies are closed. Does anyone know of the reason for this? And now months later are those concerns still valid? Is it an issues with no maintenance of the privy or a social distance concern. If social distance, does that mean all public restrooms are unsafe

Yes, when they decided to request people get off the trails, they decided to close privies because they were not going to be maintained nor were the shelters going to be maintained because they did not want to expose those individuals to the virus in addition to the fact that they could spread the virus to hikers.

As for public restrooms, obviously there is some risk there but you have soap and water and can avoid touching the door handle if you of a mind to so you can control your risk somewhat but public restrooms are obviously a little higher risk at all times. They did not close the privies due to an extraordinary risk. It was more of a precaution.

Keep in mind, when they made that decision it was completely unknown how virulent the virus might be. It now known the virus is not nearly as deadly as it potentially could have been but is also known to be more contagious than at first thought.