Outdoor Recreation In A Time Of (Even More) Social Distance

Welcome back Steph.

MURDERER!!!!!!!

Just kidding, thank you for this post.

"For those of you hoping not to flatten your Strava Activity curve"

LOL - I appreciate the pun

FYI, it's *uphill* hikers that have the right of way, not downhill.

I've been trying to wrap my mind around the logic or hype surrounding all this since I was forced to cancel a simple road trip to the beach this week.

Beach=Bad (closed)
National Parks (except beaches I assume)=Good (and free which they should be anyway since we already own them)
Rock Climbing = Bad (as recommended by rock climbers that are afraid of the flu but not falling to their death off the side of a cliff).
Skiing=Bad (closed)
Golf=Bad (many courses closed)
Running or Walking around town=Good, maybe

We haven't even addressed swimming, horseback riding, ATV's, boating, etc.

I think I have it figured out though.
Outdoor activity in general in fresh clean air=Good
Hype=Bad

@Billy - Legit typo on my part that got past at least two of us - fixed! Apologies to any uphill hiker who was impacted this morning 😉

Estes Park and the surrounding counties were able to get Rocky Mountain National Park shut down yesterday. Fortunately out here the cities and towns have a lot of outdoor recreation trails.

As more people are getting Covid 19 and even some healthy non-elderly are dying,I wouldn't rely on social distancing to protect me. Stay home, clean stuff, organize finances, learn new hobbies, wash car; there's plenty to do.

One underrated problem is that you become symptomatic for covid while in the middle of nowhere. Wouldn’t risk it.

Thanks for the timely post Steph. I think the key point to make is that outdoor exercise is good, provided you do it locally and appropriately distanced. I live in a mountain town in the Sierra Nevada in California and a lot of 2nd home owners from the Bay Area seem to think shelter in place means drive 4 hours away to your second home so you can potentially overwhelm the small hospitals there. This is playing out in mountain towns all across the country because people are placing their own selfish desires ahead of those in the communities that are hosting them.

Also, I'll second your comments about backcountry skiing. Yesterday our local trailheads around Tahoe were packed and it's concerning seeing so many inexperienced skiers in the backcountry for the first time. A few days ago, I spoke with an employee at a well know backcountry ski store in Colorado and he said they had their largest sales day of the year last Sunday, the day after Vail/Alterra/Aspen SkiCo closed.

I've heard this following concern about running/jogging: there's a lot of forceful inhaling and exhaling because of the increased activity. Runners should keep a much larger circle of social distance to avoid either infecting themselves or if they are asymptomatic carriers breathing too heavily on others.

Full disclosure I'm not a runner and I can't speak personally about these risks. But as a non runner I plan to keep quite distant from any and all runners.

Can you get @Lucky to comment on beaches? I live in Florida like him. While I'm too old (40) to be spring breaking, any thoughts on going to more secluded beaches? Don't need to mention where; FL residents know where to find them..

It's worth noting that Italy, Spain, and France have banned recreational cycling for the time being. The rationale is that a recreational cyclists getting into accidents on the road could put additional strain on hospital resources.

Just remember it's not about regulations and how to get around them - ask Italians whether La Dolce Vita worked for them. Spreading the infection from YOU to others is how we go about causing a healthcare collapse and, bluntly, killing strangers.

This crisis is about personal/social responsibility. Keep your distance from other people. Become obsessive about person hygiene, especially washing hands to clinical standards.

Getting outdoors is vital for mental health and physical well-being. Avoid groups of people and enjoy the Great Outdoors.

In Southern California the dramatic reduction in air pollution with our recent rain has made for very favorable conditions for mountain biking.

A good job of covering the ins and outs of various forms of outdoor rec. I'm continuing to bike, but only near home. If and when our local medical resources are getting stressed it will be time to hang it up for fear of needing medical services myself. My wife and I are isolating with our daughter and husband and grandkids so don't want to do anything that would break my isolation and thus cut me off from them.

Did you really just use "clap back" in an article?

FYI, Yosemite NP is closed.

"shoutout to the biker in full Gore-Tex and a neoprene face mask in 55 degree weather"

at first i was like wow thats some intense heat to be biking in wearing gore-tex and a neoprene mask

then i remember....America. Fahrenheit. where nothing makes sense. lol.

My main place I like to surf is a secluded break where I never have a hard time finding far more than 6 feet between people (usually just myself and a buddy sharing hundreds of yards of shoreline.) But that safe sport is no longer an option as the beaches have all been closed in that area. Maybe it's a conspiracy to get me pumping up the economy to buy a boat that will give me access.

Some warnings for anyone considering going to a state or national park:

1) Most of the National Parks, and I'd imagine many state parks, have prohibited overnight use, including camping, and have closed all in-park lodging. So don't just show up and expect to set up shop.
2) You hint at this but I'd imagine you are going to see increasing pressure from public health authorities to close or at least significantly restrict access to the more popular parks and recreation areas if they start attracting too much traffic (see the situations at Yosemite - total closure and Joshua Tree - only hike and bike access). This will happen without much advance warning, so plan at your own risk.
3) The restaurant dining room bans are especially hard on small town restaurants that may not have the infrastructure to support takeout or delivery. And the panic buying and hoarding is making it really difficult to even get groceries these days (though at least here in TX, rural areas seem to be faring a little better in that regard). Don't count on being able to get the supplies or food you need when you get there, in other words.
4) As you noted, if you get sick with COVID-19, the health care facilities in the far-flung areas where many of the parks are located are not really going to be equipped to help. And as an example, getting transported from someplace like Moab to Salt Lake or even Grand Junction isn't going to be cheap.

I love the National Parks and state parks, but I would be wary of trying to go unless you live close enough to make it a day trip, and have supplies on hand to see you through.

Instead of using "social distancing" I like the use of "self-distancing" or "physical distancing."

I can understand going out for some exercise using social distancing, but using this time to go on some sort of trip is just reckless and selfish. Stay home. If we get people who keep going out unnecessarily then this is just going to drag on and on.

Likely the parks and back country will be forcibly closed as search and rescue services lack the Covid19 PPE supplies to safely work at an incident.

These are not normal times. Stay local and de-stress emergency services.

GJ~ how about ‘Imperial intervalancy’ ? Or maybe you have a few other ideas to help us put a label on all this fun?

alps been closed 3 wks crazy times and no football or any sport OMG

Lol, this post is about outdoor recreation but half the "tips" involve staying home. The unfortunate fact is that whatever outdoor activity you think of, there are dozens of other people who already thought of it which ends up defeating the purpose. This applies to hiking, rock climbing, or visiting national parks. You think every beach/park-goer left the house intending to be part of a crowd?

In Minneapolis the park board is closing some of the roads near heavy use park trails so that more pedestrians can use the trails without getting too close. It's going to be 55F today! That's usually shoulder to shoulder on the trails in a normal year (and probably lots of shorts being worn on very white legs).

Whose mocking Peleton now? Maybe that stupid mirror with a personal trainer 'ghosted' in it isn't so silly after all... given all the recent rage with @home workout systems - maybe they are behind this Coronavirus pandemic - *que XFiles music*...

My kids are constantly bummed seeing the storms plowing our little Sundance with snow... My eleven year old looked at the mtn the other day, covered in clouds, and said 'looks like they're getting a lot of good powder.' We even pulled the ski racks off the car, a sad time indeed. But we're committed to staying healthy and to not spread any sickness.