I guess the start of next year the trail could be packed at the start because of the 2 years of starters
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I guess the start of next year the trail could be packed at the start because of the 2 years of starters
Many people may be in financial burden. Possibly, some have already canceled for next year just because of how the economy is collapsing. I wonder how everything (hostels, restaurants) is doing around the AT right now since they are no hikers.
I hope that all the business's can make it through and not have to close
Maybe other days of the week will be less busy... oh, wait - that wasn't supposed to be thur(sday) hikers only? ;)
But it could probably go either way. Many still will want to do a hike that they couldn't do this year, and some might not financially, but others might figure it is a good time to go (if they wind up otherwise not working, for instance) and could actually save some money by hiking and not having as many other bills (particularly someone who normally rents a living space, as not having to pay that for a few months alone would offset the costs of hiking and probably still leave some money left over, even by renting a small storage place).
I would guess you might see a few more older folk for whom this is a wake up call (life is short and all) and a few less younger folk who for the past few years have been able to assume there will be some sort of work available when they get done, so no risk in quitting current job. They probably won’t be making that assumption for a year or two now.
No hikers? This guy is out there and is seeing very few problems. There are other hikers around him and he is staying in hostels and motels. In Hot Springs he ate inside a closed restaurant with another hiker. Can't wait to see what's in store for him as he travels thru Va. https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/24202Quote:
Originally Posted by Nolan "Guido" Jordan
saw 7 hikers in Damascus a few minutes ago. every day they're comin' through stayin' at crazy larrys. he should be closed. shamefulQuote:
Originally Posted by Nolan "Guido" Jordan
Crazy Larry isn’t nearly young and healthy enough to be exposing himself to this virus.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lone Wolf
So, it looks like most people on WB have written off this season. As the eternal optimist, what about a Flip-Flop or SOBO starting in June? (F-F would be best for me.) The USG is saying that they may start sending people back to work in May, and the projections show that we should have a good handle on the virus by June 1st. Here is the link to the U of Wahsington's IMHE (Covid projections) that are very similar to what NIH is using: https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america
chris, thanks for the link. I notice that the shaded areas indicate a quite large amount of uncertainty about the figures. Hope that the dotted line holds for the next 6 weeks.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisH900
It's a good link. The USA is displayed, but you can also drill down state by state. The projections were significantly revised about a week or two ago; these are much more positive than the initial projections.
The people I know all go off in TN and still planning on restarting when legal. But I suspect we wlll choose a lot of different starting points, and will fiip-flop or head SOBO depending when the trail reopens.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisH900
All States the AT passes through have current "Shelter/Stay in Place Orders" issued by the respective State Governor. This may or may not represent a legal issue for those who ignore the order. Beyond State SIP orders, there exists a patchwork of Federal, State, and/or ATC Chapter prohibitions that will likely interfere with an unbroken walk along the AT that include:
NPS - has closed camping and privy resources managed by Appalachian National Scenic Office along the entire AT indefinitely
TN - GSMNP closed to all hiking and camping indefinitely
VA - 10 shelters, 12 privies closed indefinitely, Shenandoah NP closed to hiking and camping indefinitely
MD - All camping areas, shelters, and privies closed indefinitely
PA - ATC closed 8 shelters, 6 privies. State DNR closed all shelters indefinitely on DNR managed lands
NJ - All shelters and privies closed indefinitely, camping discouraged
NY - 5 shelters, 5 privies closed indefinitely
CT - 7 shelters, 16 privies closed indefinitely
MA - 1 shelter, 4 privies State has closed all shelters and camping areas along the AT indefinitely, camping is prohibited anywhere along the AT
NH - AMC shelters are closed including huts to May 4th (current date may extend)
ME - 22 shelters, 24 privies closed indefinitely
It's a mess out there and likely not going to be much better by June.
Like I stated before, I am an optimist. The governors are all meeting to determine how to get people back to work in May. I assume that once the governors get people back to a daily work routine, the parks will open up. I was supposed to start NOBO the 3rd week of March but aborted prior to traveling to GA based upon the feedback from several YouTubers and the ATC. We'll see how this all plays out over the next month. Otherwise, I'll have to get a job. LOL