Last week the NY Times published an article looking at all sides of thruhiking the AT during the coronavirus pandemic. Many if not most thruhikers left the trail in March as news of the seriousness of the virus and its effect on the country began trickling through the AT wireless. But not all did, with many feeling that the backcountry is the perfect place to sit out, or walk through, rather, a pandemic.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy asked hikers to stay away, though it was not a decision made lightly. The livelihoods of thousands of locals along the trails 2,000-plus mile length was in the balance. Hostel owners in towns that dot the route, restaurants, gear shops, bars, people that collect an income helping out hikers along the way in many forms all stand to lose an entire season’s income.
“I’m willing to bet we’ll see 50 percent of hostels along the trail will close,” Odie Norman, a trail angel who piloted a bus along the length of roads paralleling the trail, offering aid to hikers in need, told the NY Times.
Some hostel owners have taken jobs at Walmart or delivering pizzas, as their income from hikers has dwindled to nothing.
Other hostel and business owners that support hikers feel a duty to serve those still on the trail, some of which are from overseas and can’t easily get back home. So, they stay open, watching their financial reserves crater.
While many of the remaining hikers are making efforts to practice social distancing, wear masks when they pass through towns, or avoid towns altogether, some take affront to what’s become a politically charged safeguard and simply refuse to wear a mask or behave as if anything is different.
The ramifications of shelter-in-place orders on an experience like the AT, which, of all the great American thruhikes, involves far more physical proximity to other hikers in the form of shelters, hostels, quick trips to town, and a general sense of community and camaraderie, make the decision to hike or avoid the trail far more complicated than it might at first seem.
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Photo: AT, Madalyn Cox
Smart ones stayed home.
While the back country does seem the perfect place to isolate, the danger the through hiker poses to each community they move through is not worth the risk. I think hiking during the pandemic (close to home) may be a useful way to stay sane. But travelling during this time is unwise.
+1 to Chelsea’s point.
Also, risk assessment here doesn’t pan out in a hiker’s favor. A trauma injury, e.g. ankle rolled, could send you to a facility that’s already strapped for resources or potentially put you at risk for an illness while receiving care. Stay home, get strong for your trip, and read Adventure Journal.
There are hikers who aren’t necessarily looking for the social experience and would live in isolation on the trail anyway. I don’t think there is going to be a quick answer to this Pandemic, and people are going to have to figure out how to live through this. if we wait to return to the trail until there is a cure, we won’t be hiking for a long time. I don’t believe that’s a realistic option.
I completely disagree. The actions taken because of this virus are completely disproportionate to the reality of it.
We bear a responsibility to the communities we recreate in to not be a disease vector.
Hahahahahaha. Silly.
I don’t like the question as it says nothing about thruhiking. I voted “no” because the AT should remain open but thruhiking should be discouraged. People packed into lean-tos, cabins, and dorms is not a good idea right now.
I’ve hiked my entire home state of PA on the AT during the last month and a half. In 3 separate 5 day trips so I didn’t have to resupply and staying in a tent mostly. The thru hikers I’ve met have been cautious and respectful to the situation. They carried masks for town and tried to resupply less often. They were more respectful of social distancing and precautions than many day hikers. Certainly more so than than people who defy the Governor’s order to wear masks in all businesses. After seeing it up close I don’t believe they were any more of a threat than anyone else shopping in a grocery store.
I totally agree, if you’re sick STAY HOME! Otherwise keep living life.
Dan (& others) has it right. One ‘exposed’ individual could do lots of damage to many communities which do not have sufficient resources to battle such an event. As a follower of the thru-hiking community, based on the comments I have heard first hand from them, as well as a well known thru hiker (Darwin) who actually abandoned the AT himself – I would say get off at the next stop. I would certainly base my opinion on input put forth by those experts and they are fairly unanimous in that…
Besides that, the ATC asked people to get off. All thru-hikers should be supportive of them (the ATC), and their mission.
Close shelter. Check
Close hostels. Check
Close shuttles to groups. Check
But close the trail? Nope!
My brother and I did a fully self-supported 4 day AT adventure this month that was about 4 hours from home. No one was at risk and it was a much needed mental reset with everything going on. Those who can and/or will self-support should be able to do so.
I had to cancel my thruhike of the CDT, which has far fewer towns and amenities. It just felt like the right thing to do. Thruhikers are the perfect vector for carrying the virus from one vulnerable population to the next (and the next, and the next…). My heart hurts for business owners along the AT, though. I hiked it last year and the hostel owners are some of the greatest people I’ve ever met. I hope they can weather the storm.
I’m still hoping to start my “flip flop ” from Harper’s Ferry around mid-May.
It’s obvious to anyone at this point that the predictions of this pandemic were way overstated( 2.5 million deaths in the U.S.) in the beginning. I’m chagrined by those who declare a portion of our population as “science denyers” when many of those accusers are reacting and shaming other’s choices to hike in a wilderness environment and at times, interfacing with small towns along their routes. There is no scientific proof that a few hundred people, practicing reasonable hygeine and social distancing would even slightly ” move the needle” statistically in light of the multiple and much more numerous contacts that occur in those towns DAILY i.e. deliveries of freight, gas, food, commuters, agri. Industry workers, tourists, public utility workers and on and on! As far as their hospitals being possibly ” overwhelmed” as we see now, those rural communities never even worried had a moment of concern regarding capacity, in fact they likely lost money as they were prohibited from performing any ” routine” surgeries,etc. Those i spoke to in Hot Springs, NC were more fearful of the loss of business than anything else! In fact, I encouraged two clerks to wear masks inside. I do not believe staying in shelters or some of the tightly spaced sleeping area hostels is smart is smart health wise, pandemic or not. I’ve talked to a few experienced AT hikers who learned that lesson via the common Norovirus outbreaks that occur from time to time. For true context, I encourage everyone to Google” Hong Kong Flu Outbreak” a pandemic which occurred when I was a kid in the late 1960’s. Yes, that virus was likely not quite as contagious or deadly as the present one, but our economy never shut down m, schools stayed open, no one even considered shutting down the AT or any other outdoor or even indoor activities then! They knew it would mostly impact the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, so they encouraged them to take precautions. Yes, they lost an even higher percentage of the population than we will today due to the virus, but they didn’t lose the folks we’re likely to lose due to suicide, heart attacks, untreated cancer, etc. we will lose due to financial ruin and being caged like animals!
Just want to point out that the 2.5 million death figure was assuming there were no changes made to society, no shelter-in-place orders, etc.
Justin, well stated. I personally love how people will take one staement or opinion and try to build an entire ‘black and white’ case that supports their view point alone. Unfortunately much of our society is severely lacking in common sense, which in turn, makes it sometimes necessary for our Gov’t to intervene for the good of all. Are those sometimes over-reactions ? Yes.
Likewise, please take the political rhetoric elsewhere. I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that this guy is still on trail…
You are correct. The point was the outlandish projections and it remains true. It turns out, even with mitigation, the stats were over projected by a long shot!
I wasn’t sure if you were referring to me or not since your statement seemed far afield of what I wrote. But if so;”Well stated?” There wasn’t any dispute on his (Justin’s) figure. BTW, I departed the AT in April. Please enjoy your self imposed quarantine limb you said you’re out on!” 🙂
Playing safe everyone should participate and take it I seriously I love hiking but I had to obey the rules and stay off the trails..
Adventure Journal..
Thank you
This is so hard. If I was a hiker I’d be so happy the trail was not so crowded. Every other trail in our state has full parking lots. So, there has been that increase in possible woodland rescue need.
It’s the traveling, and engaging along the way for resupply, being close in shelters during a rainstorm. Just perfect ways to spread, even if you don’t feel sick.
I’m so tired of this, still can’t believe it happened.
I think it is very prudent to discourage thruhiking the AT presently. That said, I do not agree with closing the AT itself. The trail serves more than thruhikers. Everyone has to be responsible for their actions. I don’t know the answer because there are so many variables. I did witness massive crowds in shelters in early March at the beginning of the pandemic, before the shelter at home order was issued. That was alarming to me and I stayed clear of big crowds on my day hikes in the Georgia area.
Calling the AT “backcountry” was funny
I say leave it open.
No more risky then going to Any big Box store for supplies.
If proper precautions were abided by I believe
it could be open
I think the decision to discourage hikers was smart in the beginning (mid-March) when we knew a lot less about the virus. But I think at this point, virus transmission outside seems a lot less risky than initially thought, can be mitigated by the use of face masks, and hospitals in the majority of places have not been overwhelmed. I think the AT should be open with appropriate social distancing and safety measures (like shelters should be avoided).
Absolutely NOT, the trail should not be closed. This claim that hikers would tax local hospitals, spread the virus willy nilly, is idiotic in retrospect of what we’ve seen these last few months. With the exception of a few hard-hit areas like NYC..and 40% of the entire nations cases have been within 40 miles of NYC, while people fleeing NYC caused many of the remainder…this has been a non-issue. And its not because people took precautions that cut the infection rate. There may have been stay at home orders in place in many areas, but in reality few people actually adhered to them. Some areas of the nation never shut down at all and experienced no wave of infections. The claim that we would be over-taxing the medical system was largely false. Instead we found hospitals laying off staff because they didn’t have enough patients to pay the bills.
This “pandemic” has been no different than the Hong Kong flu of 1968-9. The nation didn’t shut down then.
The only reason we’ve seen so many deaths is because a couple of states run by Democrats stuffed covid-positive patients into nursing homes, when the whole justification for locking down in the first place was to ostensibly protect those vulnerable populations. The governor who declared that we didn’t have a right to infect him or his mother thought nothing of sending sick people to nursing homes with a supply of body bags so they could infect other peoples mothers and grandmothers.
There will be no vaccine, just as there are no vaccines for the other Corona viruses. Ultimately 70-80% of us will contract this virus. Society will have to accept that some vulnerable people will die as a result, but we cannot afford to shut society down, wreck the economy and destroy peoples livelihoods.
I do not believe the Trail should be closed for any reason. The experience is to remind us that the great outdoors is a dream fulfilled and a responsibility all rolled into one. People that choose this time are intelligent enough to stay at home if sick and will practice safer guidelines than what is imposed. My 2007 Thru hike I encountered nothing but respectful,polite, and smart enthusiasts wanting to preserve and protect the trail. There are many places to stay as to not overcrowd any site. Hikers are smart let them enjoy the Applaichian Trail as it was intended.
People are walking around walmart with no mask, and some herr are commenting about thruhikers being so called “vectors,” loads of b.s.
The half life in the sun is ridiculously short and the infection rate/death/recovery outside of NY is very low. Nothing more than the flu season.
There’s a lot to touch on here, but I’ll pick my battles…. Hopefully those people walking around Walmart without masks aren’t traveling to small towns without hospitals and full of older and underinsured folks, like AT thruhikers are. The AT doesn’t get much direct sunlight. It is almost completely wooded. I wore my sunglasses for maybe 4 hours total for the duration of my thru. And the trail goes through the state of NY and has a train station that goes directly to NYC, as well as many other access points to NYC. Trust me, lots of New Yorkers are also itching for their nature fix… when they go for a day hike, they come in contact with thruhikers. By the end of the virus’s incubation, that hiker would have crossed several state lines and visited at least 3 towns. No walk in the woods is worth killing someone over.
Tough question.
I have a difficult time getting on board with public land being closed – ever.
(Not sure how much of the AT is public land)
I left the trail in March after the ATC announcement not because I wanted to, but because there were clearly 2 group viewpoints between people out on the trail with me. The “isolate at home” group was mostly intelligent and caring people who didn’t want to potentially hurt others. They all left the trail in March. The “stay on the trail” group was made up of far more arrogant and generally misinformed people, even before the pandemic was big news on the trail. They wilfully misinterpreted information and ignored anything that did not support what they wanted to be true.
As much as I want to get back out on the trail, it’s people like some of these commenters (Jim, Crusoe, etc) that remind me which group will skew anything to see what they want. If nonsense and misinformation are your best arguments for getting back on trail, then I just can’t agree, no matter how much I would rather be hiking.
Thanks for sharing Nathan
Nothing that I posted was misinformation or nonsense. If you or anyone else wants to volunteer to shelter in place, wear masks or do any of these other things being pushed on us, noone is stopping you. It’s when these steps are mandated for something that’s largely a non-issue for a majority of the population, in such a way that it destroys people’s lives and curtails our freedom…then I have an issue with any of those efforts. And so should any freedom loving American
Feel free to believe whatever you like – however, a virus is not politically motivated. It is free to pick and choose to infect anyone of any political tint. Once you brought politics into your argument, you in turn, lose all validity.
So while some of your points may indeed be valid, you lose all credibility once you play the politics card. Instead of looking for someone to blame, how about, instead, consider what you can do ..
BTW – I have been out hiking and camping during the past few months. Should the AT be closed, it is a tenuous ? but as I stated before – the ATC asked thru-hikers to get off the trail and those thru-hikers that I would deem most knowledgeable in regards to the AT, were all in agreement. Who am I to argue w/an expert ? Certainly if I considered myself high risk I would take extra precautions for myself. The thing is, it isn’t about ones self…it’s about what you may do if you infect others…Don’t be selfish.
I don’t think that the “experts” actually know much of anything on the virus issue when it comes right down to it. They model potential courses of actions and outcomes, but are really just guessing. Dr Fauchi has had no practical experience in the field for years. The initial models he worked from in devising courses of action were clearly wrong, but instead of admitting their errors, the “experts” have doubled down with bad policies that negatively impact all of us.
As for politics, events were what they were and are not by themselves political. It’s simply facts. Some of these blue state governors went against their own justifications for enacting restrictions on the general population, and people died as a result. You have other Governors violating their own stay at home orders, their own “no hair dressers” or “no travel to vacation homes” rules in order to benefit themselves; please tell me why we SHOULDN’T be discussing these things as taxpayers and citizens and holding those responsible accountable for their actions and policies. Meanwhile we have media platforms like Facebook and YouTube deleting any content which they feel doesn’t toe the party line on the virus issue.
Some very dangerous precedents are being established in these weeks and months, and we should ALL be discussing what we as the citizens will allow the government to do in our names. We are the ones in charge. The Governor who accused his citizens of being “insubordinate” on virus restrictions had it entirely wrong. The people who pay your salary and put a governor into office cannot BE insubordinate to that Governor. They are HIS bosses, not the other way around.
Politics makes for tough discussions among mixed company, but its political decisions that are impacting things like the AT being open or closed, so I feel that politics is fair game to bring into a discussion on this topic. Others may feel differently, but polite and informative conversations on the issues are possible, if people just make an effort.
Jim – I am referring to ‘experts’ w/in the hiking community, particularly the thru-hiking community. In regards to the closure of the AT….after all that was the question put forth…
Well stated!
I would point out that your comment about being told to wear a mask is against freedom. Yet you don’t have the freedom to drive drunk or knowingly expose others to HIV or not wear a seatbelt. Our freedoms are “infringed“ upon all the time in the interest of public safety.
The directive was to stay close to home, Thur hikers are not close to home! With the pandemic at its climax, many support services were almost non existent! I think that the people that continued to hike are selfish. I understand that these people might have taken six months from work, but it gives them no right to endanger someone else!
I guess I missed it where there were those here advocating “knowingly” infecting others in this discussion? I don’t think so. Check your DR license and our constitution. You’ll discover in the Constitution and Bill of Rights tell us we have God given and enumerated rights and among them “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” but the powers of gov’t. are limited. We drive on public roadways so driving is a “privilege” not a right thus seat belts and driving drunk are not options. The gov’t. is granted by the people, limited powers to impose “reasonable” rules and laws for general public safety. There is definitely room for argument, that the present rules for safety are flawed not being imposed in a fair and equitable manner and some official’s infringements have been declared as such, thrown out by judges across the country. Many of these rules imposed do not have any basis in scientific fact regarding their effectiveness. So if one degrees it’s not that they aren’t smart, it’s that they are smart enough to not buy in to irrational rules! It is our duty as citizens to push back when gov’t. exceeds it’s Constitutional powers, not to just sit back and say “awe shucks, they can infringe on our rights for public safety”! Although extreme, here’s a case in point; in the 1940’s thousands of U.S. Japanese citizens were stripped of their businesses, property and freedom and forced at gunpoint into internment camps by our Democrat President Roosevelt all for “public safety” during WW II! Do you think the gov’t. should be allowed to get to that point again incrementally? More often than not, the erosion of freedom happens gradually, innocently, but quicker in crises and at first well intentioned at times, but more often than not, giving comfort and rewards to the compliant citizenry much like the proverbial frog in boiling water. The Germans regarded the Jews as “vermin” and treated them in a lock down status as a virus and worse. We should never forget these atrocities were performed in the name of “Public Safety”.
Not really comparing apples to apples are we Chuck ? But then extremists and those who choose to rely on conspiracy theories rarely make sense, do they ? If more people had the ability or chose to exercise common sense for the good of themselves AND their neighbors this becomes a non-issue. Unfortunately, that will never be the case. Just as an aside, if I were to ‘choose’ a political party, i would be most closely aligned w/Libertarians, but no politcal parties rhetoric really suits me from top to bottom, nor should it you, unless you are no more than a sheep.
At this juncture, I would encourage you to, by all means, take a hike.
Is that really comparing apples to apples….?? No, I think not. For the most part the wearing of masks etc. is as much (if not moreso) for the safety of others, not yourself. Although w/the high level of folks who apparently have, or have had the virus totally lacking in symptoms at 80% or so….well you figure it out. By the same token I have little (if any) sympathy for the Spring Breakers, beach goers, partiers etc. who are ignoring all the rules w/no regard for anyone including themselves. Those folks deserve whatever they get. However, the people they knowingly or unknowingly infect, do not. There isn’t a perfect solution, but fear-mongering and conspiracy theories do little to make things better…for anyone @ anytime.
Thru-hiking is the greatest way to social distance. See you on the the trail!