Pretty quick here. Won't work for this season, but might be ready for next. Which would be historically pretty quick.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51906604
Pretty quick here. Won't work for this season, but might be ready for next. Which would be historically pretty quick.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51906604
I am supposed to start in Amicalola April 9th ,as of right now I am holding on to a wee bit of hope . But realistically I think that will change . If all gets cleared up by May 15th I am considering a flip-flop . If it gets into June 15th a sobo , Much after that I would push it to 2021. Being retired gives a bit of flexibility . The trail is a big enough challenge without the added stress of where there would and wouldn't be resupply items. And resupply boxes while an option and are good occasionally ,I think would be a huge hassle to do the entire trail that way . Dan
And as recently as 17 March there is a call to suspend all thru hiking and get off the trail and if you haven't started, dont start. I thi k this is going way too far.
This would also seem to apply to section hikers.
I dont think that shelters can actually be closed unless it's in a Natl Park so this is quite unenforceable. I dont see how anyone can prevent you from walking in the woods just because it happens to be the AT or PCT or any other "trail.".
I seriously doubt you could be arrested and Natl Forest Service employees aren't Law Enforcement so they cant do anything.
I have a section hike planned end of april that will go as planned.
Suit yourself, but use your brain. Common shared spaces right now are suspect. The last place you want to be is sleeping or eating in a shelter or picnic table space close to another person. Dispersed tent camping via Tipi Walter would work. Please listen to what ever authority might happen to close a shelter and avoid temptation to squidgle with the rules. Unenforceable means jackcrap if you get sick and die, or get someone else sick and they die.
If hiker numbers significantly decrease this year, as seems likely, it will.be interesting to see how certain seasonally overused areas look next year.
fortis fortuna adjuvat
I'm canceling my yearly LASH this spring. First time in like 15 years. Doesn't seem worth the risk or hassle. Instead I'll wait for the fall and do Maine.
Meanwhile, I'll stay close to home and work on red lining my White Mountain map. I have some big voids, mostly the wilderness area traverses. Maybe I'll finish up my 4,000 footer and 100 highest list too.
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I seriously doubt you could be arrested and Natl Forest Service employees aren't Law Enforcement so they cant do anything.
that is not true....
there are national forest employees that are law enforcement....
https://www.fs.fed.us/lei/
Yep. There are also state parks employees who are "law". National Parks and State Parks, we call them all "Park Rangers". Usually you can tell the difference in which one carries a utility belt with a taser, a weapon and some handcuffs. I was at a state park one evening awaiting an activity we were doing (Orienteering at night). There was a ruckus up the hill in one of the tent-camping sites. A "ranger" showed up. He got out of the truck, reached for his radio and called for another "ranger". First ranger, no utility belt. Second Ranger (with a weapon and handcuffs) showed up, stepped out of his truck and called for back up to the county sheriff. Instead of a night slumbering in some tents, an entire group of people who got drunk and started fighting, got to "Camp" that night in the local jail and see the judge in the morning. The Ranger with the utility belt arrested most of them.
For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF
National Parks and State Parks, we call them all "Park Rangers".
yup..
there are law enforcement rangers, education rangers, interpretive rangers, maintenance rangers, heck, even the guy who picks up the trash is considered a ranger......
On the other hand there is exactly one NPS aw enforcement officer assigned half time to the entire AT. I was advised as a volunteer that given this fact that its highly likely that someone would ever even see this officer unless it was a very high profile incident.
The US Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management all have law enforcement officers (LEOs), as do many state park and forest service agencies.
I will remind everyone that the WB User Agreement states
If parts or all of the trail get closed by authorities, discussions about continued use of those sections will not be permitted.4. Discussions involving how to commit illegal acts, or involving the use, production and/or distribution of illegal drugs are forbidden.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
The US is under a state of emergency. Schools, restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, casinos, and gyms are closed in many places. Everyone needs to do their part to minimize the spread of the virus. I have a loop hike of the BMT and AT planned for the end of April. I will probably postpone this hike even though I probably won't see another hiker on the BMT. Am I disappointed, sure. But this inconvenience is minor compared to the workers in bars and restaurants who are out of work. The AT is a unit of the National Parks so I am quite sure they could close shelters if they choose. At this time I don't think anyone is discouraging using trails and walking in the woods. Authorities are just stressing the need to maintain social distancing. The problem I see is for any kind of long distance hike is resupplying.
More walking, less talking.
Assuming the relevant sections weren't closed, why would you skip your hike, Soilman? As you said, you are very likely not to see anyone at all on the BMT. Social distancing at its finest.
I understand the severity of this health crisis. But, wouldn't hiking actually be one of the better and safer alternatives you could do to practice "social distancing". Unless you stay in your house 24/7 you will come into proximity of others.
I do think resupply won't be as easy as usual but it can still be done.
My new job training is being delayed until end of May. I am giving serious thought to starting at Springer this weekend and hiking north until then.
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My plan was to hike Springer Mt to Fontana on the BMT then Fontana to Springer on the AT. I think the BMT portion would have less problems. I was planning on 3 mail drops and no overnight stays in town on the BMT. But I was looking forward to eating as several restaurants. The AT is a different story. I was planning on resupply in Franklin and Hiawassee and stopping at NOC. NOC has limited it services already. There is a chance Fontana Village will have some restrictions. The irony is that I originally planned a thru hike of the BMT back in Sept. 2107. Two days before I was planning to start hurricane Irma hit and parts of the BMT in GA was closed. So I waited a week and skipped the first 100 miles. This hike was to fill in this section.
More walking, less talking.
Gotcha. One of these days I need to finish the BMT. Got through Tellico Springs in '14 but never made it back. Definitely sounds like you've thought it through carefully.
This could become a "shelter in place" event. It might be a wiser choice to wait until a vaccine is approved before tackling a thru.
unsupported hikes only way to fly right now
Every point on your road trip that you exit your vehicle and every point on your hike that you leave the trail you will be at risk of exposure to or exposing others to the virus. So that you can recreate instead of helping the community and country stay safe. Because you are unwilling to do your civic duty for a couple months. Watch this map for a few days, follow the statistics here, there are estimates of doubling times for cases and death by country here. There won't be enough hospital beds. There are people dying in Italy because they don't have enough equipment and beds. It's looking like the only way to avoid that is going to be to shelter in place. Not there yet, give it 1-3 weeks. Maybe not the whole country but large sections of it.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.