Coronavirus and hiking

[DixieFlyer]

Now that we are living in the era of "social distancing", it shouldn't be too surprising to see some hiking venues closed.

Here are a couple of examples:
* The Navajo Nation has closed all of their tribal parks: https://navajonationparks.org/public-notice/
* The road up to Kitt Peak is closed to the public...here is a pic that a friend took when he attempted to ride his bicycle up to the top: [ broken link removed ]

It would seem like hiking, especially in remote areas, would be one of the safer things that you can do...but with the frenzy that is going on, I imagine that there will be more closures in the coming days

[wildwesthikes]

@sidhayes @chumley

All it says is: "Entering the Restricted Areas with a “group” in excess of the number specified in any public health order. 36 C.F.R. § 261.58(f)"

Unfortunately they have not referred to any specific public health order. I am going to assume 10 since that has been then number thrown about since this all began. Considering I don't plan on hikes with group sizes of more than "1" in the near term I think I'll be ok.

If you ask me, I don't necessarily consider it a terrible thing that one requires an armchair law degree to figure this out if we hope to keep crowds at a minimum.

[rcorfman]

@RedRoxx44
Or just use baling wire.

[DixieFlyer]

I noticed that Snowbowl Road is closed to motor vehicles: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino ... EPRD717022

[trekkin_gecko]

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/lo ... 930849001/

[wildwesthikes]

New study on respiratory droplets and COVID-19:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/f ... 763852?utm

Up front, this is a direct link to a scientific journal article that was published March 26th. It is not a biased mainstream media interpretation. The long short of it is that aerosolized respiratory droplets travel about 30 ft in the air. Do with this information what you may. No need for partisan arm-chair science contrarians to waste time at their keyboards as I know they will continue to do their favorite thing regardless. I am not suggesting behavioral changes to anyone other than myself and close friends. Happy hiking y'all.

[xthine]

Last week I thought people were taking the pandemic seriously, only would see a couple of people on the trail. Wrong. By the the end of the hike after close to 11am.. it was business as usual..tourists everywhere, no regard for physical distance or even basic trail etiquette. Didn’t matter if I holler ‘on your left’, just standing there while I step off 6 feet into the cacti and thorny bushes.

Today, off the trail by 930 am, significant difference..there were a handful of parking spots left...but still a lot of out of state cars.
Happy about the forest service putting up a cardboard sign about social distancing and taking precautions right on the path. How many will actually read it and follow recommendations?

So for now we’ll switch to summer hiking times to avoid the tourists that continue to pour into town.

Stay safe everyone!

[herdbull]

Sometimes it just might just come down to knowing where to go. I've only been here since November but this morning I took an almost 2 hr run and only passed 1 older couple. No cars at the TH/parking area. Beautiful views and I know just a few miles away people are still pouring into the trails like crazy.

I was also 100% ready to turn around at the parking area if there was only a handful of vehicles there. It ain't worth it. Be smart and live to hike another day.

[SAMBA]

Arizona is the sixth largest state in the Union and I believe some 80% of the state is public land. It shouldn't be that hard to find a trail sans hikers save you. Hell, there are thousands of obscure trails posted right here on HikeArizona.com.

[hikeaz]

Safer...

[sidhayes]

@hikeaz
Right. It's a death sentence out there.

[wildwesthikes]

Remember... hiking is dangerous and never go alone!

In keeping with the spirit of SAMBA's post, there are more than a dozen BLM low desert wilderness areas in western AZ that are only 4WD/HC accessible that receive perhaps a few hundred (or less) visitors per year. Many of them have no defined trails, so that ensures even less visitation. A lot of these wilderness areas include a good deal of washes and low desert, so it's a good opportunity to work on low-risk off-trail skills.

Now, I do not own a 4WD or HC vehicle. My Hyundai Accent tops out at about 1st water road level dirt driving. Don't let this stop you if you're in the same predicament. I have a bicycle; it has wide knobby tires. It fits in my trunk. What better way to cross-train and see the outdoors from a different perspective than to park where the road gets bad and ride your bike to the trailhead.

Lots of places can be accessed this way. You can be sure that due to remoteness, the trouble and hard work to get to these spots means you are sure to be socially distancing yourself. Camelback and Piestewa addicts, y'all are taking your chances with the crowds if you ask me. I get it, I do - I love a good trail run after work. I took a bike ride along the AZ canal path the other day and found it about as effective at social distancing as queueing up at the grocery store. Now I'm about to clean off the old road bike - way I figure it is there is less close contact with people in the average bike lane.

[RedRoxx44]

Social distancing not a problem on probably 80 % of my hiking career.

[CannondaleKid]

Governor Ducey just issued a state-wide Stay at home Executive Order:
(See next post for the link)
Anyway, of most interest to the HAZ community is this section:
Section 4. Under this policy, Essential Activities include:
- d. Engaging in outdoor exercise activities, such as walking, hiking, running, biking or golfing, but only if appropriate physical distancing practices are used.

[hikeaz]

https://azgovernor.gov/sites/default/fi ... 2021_0.pdf

[chumley]

I can't find anything that is more restrictive in this order than the last order. This one actually makes a bullet point to clarify that none of this is enforceable.

[hikeaz]

I can't find anything that is more restrictive in this order than the last order. This one actually makes a bullet point to clarify that none of this is enforceable.

Shhhhh...... don't tell Kate and Coral...

[hikerdw]

https://azgovernor.gov/sites/default/fi ... ed_1.0.pdf

[wildwesthikes]

It's still called hiking whether the trailhead is out your back door and you're going for an hour or it's a 3 hour drive away and you're backpacking for a week. Much ado about nothing.

[LindaAnn]

Phoenix City Council is voting on Wednesday on closing all city hiking trails to the public. This afternoon, I emailed the mayor and seven of the eight council members regarding my thoughts on that terrible idea.

[outdoor_lover]

@LindaAnn
I agree. If they close all the city trails, you know what happens? All those Hikers go into the surrounding communities and make them even more crowded!