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

[Alston_Neal]

@chumley
I really don't how I made it this far in life without your 24/7 spiritual guidance.

[AZLumberjack]

Well, they said they were going to do it. The Forest Service has closed First Water Road at the Crosscut/Massacre trailhead, about a mile from where the road connects with the Apache Trail.

The Crosscut trailhead is still open and it's packed, the other parking lots are also open with quite a bit of traffic and parked cars. The Lost Dutchman State Park is still open, but I don't know if that's going to last.

[chumley]

Lost Dutchman State Park is still open, but I don't know if that's going to last.

Under the current Executive Order, it has to remain open.

AZ Executive Order 2020-12 Prohibiting the Closure of Essential Services:
§3.e.iii) Outdoor recreation activities: any outdoor recreation area, park, site or trail that provides opportunities for outdoor recreation with social distancing such as walking, hiking and biking.

This applies to state, county, city and town land. The feds can do whatever they want!

[hikerdw]

@AZLumberjack And the road looks like it’s in great shape.

[wildwesthikes]

Tortilla TH Superstitions vs. Deer Creek TH Mazatzals.

Flip a coin.

Which one will be too crowded to be worth it tomorrow Friday?

[AZLumberjack]

And the road looks like it’s in great shape.

The road's in pretty good shape following its annual scraping but it's deteriorating fast with all the traffic.

[toddak]

On March 16 British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London published a report predicting more than half a million Brits and up to 2.2 million Americans would be killed by coronavirus and that at least 18 months of lockdown would be required until large stocks of vaccine became available. But Ferguson yesterday testified to the U.K. parliamentary committee on science and technology that he now feels “reasonably confident” our health care system can cope when the predicted peak of the epidemic arrives in a few weeks. He now predicts U.K. deaths from the disease will not exceed 20,000, and could be much lower.

Wow.

[chumley]

@toddak
10 days apart.

That's one of the frustrations right now. Every day is like a month. And there are still incredible uncertainties.

Don't forget, Hubei Provence is still on lockdown. Yes, infections have stabilized there, but they've been locked in their homes for over two months. Much more aggressively than even our locked down states like NY and CA.

[toddak]

@chumley
Not only that, the British lockdown only went into effect on the evening of Monday March 23, so there's no way anyone can say that the lockdown is what produced the drastic change in the predictions. Policy makers rely on experts like this to make major decisions with serious ramifications for millions of people. I would hope they could be a little more prudent in their pronouncements.

[outdoor_lover]

Sucks that they leave Crosscut open. People are stupid. But it's undeveloped and now it's going to be a Germ Factory.

[chumley]

@outdoor_lover
[ Coronavirus and hiking ]

[outdoor_lover]

@chumley
OK, I was in the middle of doing my taxes and was slightly distracted.

[DixieFlyer]

It looks like the corridor trails and campgrounds at the Grand Canyon will be closed starting at noon today: https://gcmaz.com/grand-canyon-national ... -closures/

Here is more info on what is open and what is closed at the GC: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/ ... update.htm

[RedRoxx44]

More DIY that can be used or not. If you have them take the short plasticoted wire ties that come on some items, they are usually just a few inches long. Take your bandana or thin neck gaiter and place the tie near one edge, roll down a few times tightly. Place or tie the item over your face and form the tie along the bridge of your nose and below eyes. It will close the gap there usually left by just pulling those items up over your face. Yeah it's not a mask but if you are just going out and have some allergies or whatever can help not freak out another person.

[SAMBA]

We're talking Arizona hiking! Save for the more popular trails, hiking in Arizona is/should be the definition of "social distancing".

[SpiderLegs]

Not sure if this was posted before, but stumbled across this. It appears that everything is shut down is the way I'm reading this.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... GrtN6MbvYg

[chumley]

@SpiderLegs
No groups larger than the local public health order permitted to gather on Forest Land. Seems reasonable. In Arizona, that size is currently defined as 10 people.

You can still go hiking, camping, fishing, etc. on forest land, and technically even do so with up to 9 people.

[wildwesthikes]

@SpiderLegs
The general lack of clarity from forest orders is a bit of its own epidemic. I had to read over it about 3 times earlier this morning to fully make sure it means "all public lands are still open". It's just that groups larger than 10 people are prohibited. Notwithstanding the separately posted closures of most developed recreation sites.

You want to do a day hike, overnighter, etc with a couple buddies in wilderness as long as you maintain distancing from others - go right ahead.

[sidhayes]

@SpiderLegs
The Edict says that persons are a group. A person is not a group. Am I now free of the threat of Incarceration and Fines to enter the infected lands alone?

[chumley]

The general lack of clarity from forest orders is a bit of its own epidemic.

This has been true forever! You almost need a law degree to understand them.