If vaccines are generally available day hikers will skeedaddle back to the ball park and bars. But there will probably be more thrus.
If vaccines are generally available day hikers will skeedaddle back to the ball park and bars. But there will probably be more thrus.
We had the same thing here in Scotland. Our mountains are 3,000 footers (called Munros, after Sir Henry Munro, the first person to climb all 200+ of them), and people collect them. Parking lots were jammed. Even smaller, local hills were and remain unusually busy.
I suspect this uptick in interest is a combination of hiking being relatively safe (Covid-19-wise), and other opportunities for travel being limited.
One challenge is how to handle these crowds. Parking is a big issue, as is instances of people not knowing about or following leave no trace behavior.
At the moment, we are about to enter another phase of lockdown, so I'll have to be creative about finding hiking and camping opportunities closer to home.
(trailname: Paul-from-Scotland)
Funny, you're across The Pond and everything you're saying is absolutely identical here in Colorado; parking issues at super-busy trailheads, littering, etc. Our local trails have at least 2X hiker traffic vs. pre-Covid, probably more. But I suppose this is pretty much true everywhere.
One potential silver lining is maybe, just maybe some folks having "discovered" a new hobby (hiking) might stick with it and as a society we'll be just a bit more fit. Of course to a lot of us, more hikers is a bad thing, but we've managed to avoid the crowds with more obscure trails; most of our recent hiking has been in near total solitude.
BTW, I'm intrigued by those Munros, having a good pal who's working on them (he has a sister in Scotland). I've climbed precisely one of them, albeit the Highest. Our Colorado 14ers (59 of them) have been nutso this last summer, crazier then usual, but thankfully my wife and I completed that much smaller list 15 years ago.
Yeah, I avoided CO hiking this summer after my friends out there declared it a clusterfook. I wonder how the newbies did trying to bag Long's Peak....or the Four Pass Loop in the Bells.
How ya doing Colorado Rob? Last I heard you were having some knee issues on a thru hike of the AT?
SB
Sorry for the drift.... Just curious, did we meet on the AT? Knees are doing OK, but O.L.D. is inevitable. BTW, a big group of us did the 4-pass this last summer on a weekday, not too bad, trailhead access was extremely limited due to limited quotas on the shuttle bus. But yeah, Longs? Fugedaboudid. But we hiked ALL OVER CO this summer, completely avoiding crowds. Big state.
I am mostly concerned with the parks (SMNP and SNP) and the shelters being open. Especially Shenandoah, with the camping restrictions already limiting where you can sleep over. If they close the shelters, they might as well close the park for hiking.
Personally,I don't think this crisis is ever going to be over.
Personally,I don't think this crisis is ever going to be over.
once the vaccines are proved effective-----and people actually get one-----then it will no
longer be a crisis.....
but, it won't be a short process...
it will be like diseases like chicken pox------always around, but (in theory) if you have vaccine, you
won't get sick.....
i heard a statistic on NPR yesterday saying one in every 378 americans have covid.....
and over the next couple of weeks, i'm sure that number will narrow (as in, something like one in every hundred)..
so it's not a matter of it one is getting it----it's a matter of when a person will get it....
I just seen 60% of people would take the vaccine if it came out tomorrow.
This and herd immunity.
Hoping and praying this time next year it'll be under control.
We here in Austria are in the middle of the second lockdown, infection rate seems to stabilize at a very high level.
Due to typical late-autumn bad weather, hiking (and all the overuse-troubles you described here) is no big issue at the moment.
Fo the near futue, we are afraid of a looming third lockdown in Jan-Feb 2021.
Typically, during Christmas/Newyear holydays there are lots of private parties and family feasts, which are perfect superspreader events.
Then, we have skiing, which is about the biggest business in the Alps, again a proofed&trusted superspeaer thing.
All outdoor people who do not join this big ski business will most likey head out for snowshoing and backcountry skiing, which will provoke the same, if not bigger issues you are describig here:
Jammed access roads, overflowing parking lots, overused summits, too many rescue events
Personally, I'm rather scared, not looking forward to this.
I think the increase in the popularity of hiking from Covid will probably be permanent. The parks in my area were really crowded back in April and May. I thought it would eventually dive down as a fad among most of the new hikers. It's increased. I did a 12 mile loop at a state forest 2 hours from me a couple weeks ago. Before 2020 I almost never saw more than 5 people on this trail. I saw at least 50. On a societal level it's a good thing more people are getting out into the woods, but man. I'm getting increasingly inspired to move to Alaska.
I think the popularity will die off to some degree once everything is open again and there's more to do. Likely hiking will stay more popular then before covid though. On the other side I think winter and bad weather hiking will still not gain much in popularity, and around here it's mainly the popular spots and the shortest trails to them where you see the most people.
NoDoz
nobo 2018 March 10th - October 19th
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I'm just one too many mornings and 1,000 miles behind
I think the popularity will die off to some degree once everything is open again and there's more to do. Likely hiking will stay more popular then before covid though
this is my thought process as well......
there will be a slight increase but not keeping with numbers of late.....
the movie "Deliverance" and canoeing went through this same sorta effect....
I know a lot of people say this but if you wear a mask, social distance etc., etc. I think the odds are in your favor that you can avoid getting it until a vaccine is available. Anyway that is my goal. Of course there are always things you can't control and just plain bad luck that can work against you.
I think a sizable number of folks who have taking up hiking recently will revert to their previous activities when the Covid crisis is over. Not all of them I am sure but most I would bet. Probably be some good deals on used RVs in the next year or two also.
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
Probably be some good deals on used RVs in the next year or two
And unfortunately more dogs and cats back in shelters.
I know a lot of people say this but if you wear a mask, social distance etc., etc. I think the odds are in your favor that you can avoid getting it until a vaccine is available. Anyway that is my goal. Of course there are always things you can't control and just plain bad luck that can work against you.
that's my plan as well.......
but i need to travel between MD and TN every few weeks and the south is not as, hmmmmmmm, not sure what exact word
fits in here, diligent about wearing a mask and keeping their distance as what i have seen in MD...
walmart last night in knoxville------easily 30 people over the age of 5 without a mask..........had to get my car
repaired----only the guy at the counter was wearing a mask......all other employees, and minus one customer, did
not have a mask on....
and for knoxville----this past week has the highest number of cases since this thing has started....
at the end of the day----i can do what i can do but since society has to rely on other people's actions,
they are putting everyone at risk.....
i've gotten tested twice since this thing has started----once in july, once in october and while i have come
up negative----i'm fully expecting that to change.....
Probably be some good deals on used RVs in the next year or two
and on gear as well....
happens every time something "new" comes around-----people are into it for a little while and then
something leads one to scale back...........and then sell........