Top 5 Tips for Hiking in the Time of Covid-19
Here’s what we know:
Coronavirus has taken hold of the world and we’ve all been asked to take extraordinary measures to keep ourselves and our fellow humans safe from the pandemic. As of today, (March 26th, 2020), there are over 33,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus here in my home state of New York and numbers are climbing to half a million worldwide. The world economy has come to a grinding halt and our daily lives have been turned upside-down.
Here’s what we’re doing:
Living most of our lives inside our homes (or teeny-tiny apartments), altering our shopping habits (stockpiling and/or getting everything delivered), and some of us have contracted the virus and are dealing with the symptoms (if that’s you or a loved one, I’m so sorry, hang in there!) What we did and how we acted two weeks ago is vastly different from how we feel about it today. More than ever we’re striving to get outside and breathe some fresh air.
So…can this girl get out and hike? Is it safe?
Well, it depends. Primarily on where you live, who you live with, if you or anyone in your circle is immunocompromised and where you plan on going. As the scope of this epidemic changes shape, I urge everyone to please, please, puh-leeez stay on top of the latest recommendations from the CDC and your state and local governments to do what is right for your circumstances in your neck of the woods (or urban jungle).
Top 5 Tips for Hiking in the Time of Covid-19
1. Stay local. Like, hyper-local. Like, right in your own neighborhood or town.
I like heading for the hills as much as the next tightly-wound, living in less than 800 square feet apartment-dwelling New Yorker, but this is not the time to head up to the Adirondacks or across state lines. Traveling far means putting gas station attendants, drive-through workers and convenient store clerks at unnecessary risk. Instead, take a stroll across every footpath in your local park or consider zig-zagging around the blocks you don’t often visit on your usual bee-line to the subway. Think there’s nothing to see? Take note of shop windows you’ve never noticed, look for buds blooming on trees or make a game of finding shapes amongst the buildings.
2. Know before you go! Call in or check websites for open hours ahead of heading out.
As of now, New York City and New York State parks are open for individual recreation opportunities. But hours of some parks have been reduced and some Private Preserves and National Parks and trails have shut down entirely. Even long-distance hiking trails like the AT, PCT and CDT have asked thru-hikers to head home. Better to know before you go – nature should be fun, not frustrating!
3. If it’s crowded, go elsewhere, or at a different time of day.
With gyms, athletic fields, yoga studios & other fitness opportunities shuttered, there’s been a surge in folks heading out to hit the trails. It’s totally understandable that people want to move their bodies in space, but let’s just make sure we’re not getting in each other’s space. Keep a six-foot distance on-trail and in town. Try a different trailhead if your favorite spot is full of cars. If your schedule allows, go to the park mid-day when all the kiddos are distance-learning at home and before everyone has finished with their zoom calls for the day.
4. BYO everything. Water, snacks, toilet paper… (perhaps even a trowel)
City parks have it all! Water fountains, bathrooms and even hot dogs and pretzels for sale, but at this time it’s not guaranteed that they’ll be on or open. And even if they are, staff hours have been cut, so bathrooms may not be tended to as often as usual or fully stocked. Play it safe and bring along your own bottle, prepacked snacks and even your own toilet paper. If you’re following Tip #1, you should be close enough to home to wait to go #2, but if you’re further out on trail, you may want to skip the outhouse or port-a-potty and proceed with proper poop burial. Make sure you’re 150 feet away from trail or a water source. Using a trowel, dig a hole 6” deep, do your biz, then put the dirt back & bury your waste. Then slather on the hand sanitizer. FYI, this is not recommended for city parks – too many potential eyeballs abound, plus it may result in an indecent exposure ticket!
5. Download a trail map or an app.
If you haven’t been to your local park before, you won’t know where to go once you get there and there may not be a Park Ranger available to help you figure it out. Apps like AllTrails and Avenza are excellent tools for tracking progress on local trails and New York State Parks (and others) have maps available to download and/or print out from their home pages. I recommend having a hard copy on hand, or at the very least, making sure you have a fully charged phone and backup battery bank. Make a plan before you go and track your progress so you can be sure to get home before dark.
Again, the preceding tips are meant only for those that are healthy, are following CDC and local guidelines and are experiencing no symptoms of Coronavirus, nor have come in contact with anyone known to be sick. I want us all to be able to hit the trails together sooner than later and it will take us all following the rules to allow for that to happen. I know it feels good to get outside, in fact I need it to stay sane, but if we aren’t conscientious of each other now, we’re gonna be forced to stay inside longer. You feel me?! Ya hear me?! Play it safe outside and in!
For additional trail information and up to the minute recommendations:
NOLS — National Outdoor Leadership School
AHS — American Hiking Society
NPCA — National Parks Conservation Association
NYNJTC — New York New Jersey Trail Conference
ATC — Appalachian Trail Conservancy