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Corona Virus and the Trail

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    • University President just sent email telling students to stay home and not come back from Spring Break to school Monday, as we will be going online.
      If decent weather I might get some more hiking in next week. :thumbup:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • odd man out wrote:

      My university canceled classes today and tomorrow. I have until Monday to figure out how to teach an on-line class.
      My Community College just announced a one-week extension to Spring Break to buy time while they figure this out. I would like to use Zoom to move my classes online, but the school has license limits on that and a tight budget. My experience with BlackBoard Collaborate has been terrible, so I am not even going to bother trying to use that to replicate the 'in-class' experience. Looks like recording videos with Camtasia will be the way I go.

      Labs are a another can of worms.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Astro wrote:

      University President just sent email telling students to stay home and not come back from Spring Break to school Monday, as we will be going online.
      If decent weather I might get some more hiking in next week. :thumbup:
      Fortunately I have lots of recorded presentations of my online masters classes that I can use.
      I had already started planning a Sunday-Monday hike, but unfortunately the Dean called a Monday 10am meeting. Probably end up having to help some of the others that are more technically challenged.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • Doesn't affect me, but the ATC just posted on FB that the flip flop festival has been cancelled for this year.

      <snip>

      Due to public health concerns, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Visitor Center in Harpers Ferry will be closed until March 20, 2020. The 2020 Flip Flop Festival has also been canceled. We will post more information as it becomes available.
      2,000 miler
    • I normally keep my cell phone in the kitchen overnight so it doesn't wake me up. Last night, I felt the need to put it on my nightstand. Sure enough, a text came in just after I turned off the lights. Work from home for the next two weeks unless there is important validation work that needs to be completed in the lab.

      Looks like I'll be heading back to Central PA this afternoon and work from house #1. With the added bonus of being with Mrs. Tortoise. :D Mo bettah than the weekend visit schedule we've been doing since December.

      Her father's memory care facility is expected to go on lockdown any day. Our dog won't know what to do with all the attention!

      Getting back to the original thread topic, I would be tenting and avoiding privys at all costs if I was out on the trail. Town visits would lose their appeal. Imagine picking up the virus in town and then hiking for 30 - 40 miles before feeling the symptoms. Having hiked with pneumonia, I can personally attest to the fact that it wouldn't be fun to keep hiking towards the nearest treatment facility.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • Being a backpacker makes all this a little easier...I know how to get by with only one extra pair of underwear. Plus I have a lot of Starbucks Via. gif.014.gif

      I’ve packed a sleeping bag and pad in the car, along with a few essentials. I predict by the middle or end of next week, there’s a good chance my hospital will be dealing with a staff shortage.

      Hoping I’m wrong though.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • The CDT Coalition says unless you are mentally and financially prepared to self quarantine for 2 weeks in a private hotel room (not hostel), pay for food delivery, and pay for medication you should postpone your long distance hike on the CDT until things improve.

      <snip>

      These communities are home to vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those without health insurance, and many have limited medical facilities that could become easily overwhelmed by even a small number of COVID-19 cases. If you are planning to begin a long-distance hike or ride on the CDT in the next six weeks, you must be prepared – mentally and financially – to self-quarantine in a private hotel room for at least two weeks if you think you are exposed to the virus and/or begin to develop symptoms. Traveling home from the trail to self-quarantine would be ill-advised and would endanger those around you and people on your route home.

      We understand that finances are often already tight on a long-distance hike and that preparing for such an outcome may be impossible for you. If you are unable to budget for the possibility of paying for a hotel room, food delivery, and medication for two weeks in the event that you are exposed to COVID-19, we urge you to consider postponing your CDT journey until the situation improves.

      continentaldividetrail.org/abo…ncidents-and-information/
      2,000 miler
    • Instead of hiking the AT this year, my sister prevailed on me to join her on a Road Scholar trip to Red River Gorge in KY the 3rd week of April. It was going to be 2 all day hikes, a day of rock climbing then kayaking & ziplining on the 4th day. Well, they've suspended all trips through April. We're still going but we're going to do 3 all day hikes and go ziplining on the 4th. Then on the way home we'll stop and check out Big Bone Lick State Park.

      Went to the Rec Center this morning very early to do my PT on the NuStep since there normally is barely a handfull of people that early. Well the place was locked up tighter than a drum. Closed until April 13. Came home, checked my email and sure enough, there was an email sent yesterday evening that said they were closing as of 10pm last night. I work in the Admin office there. Texted an Assistant Director and was told that my schedule was still intact but that my bookkeepers hours were cut in half. So, then I had to call the other Accountant that I job share with, our 2 Bookkeepers and the Internal Control Specialist as to how we were going to work out a schedule for the coming week.

      The Archdiocese of Detroit closed all churches until April 6, no masses, stations of the cross, or gatherings for any purpose. They can just open the churches for individual worship. Since 2 local television stations televise mass on Sunday for shut-ins, I've set the DVR.

      So, I have a lot of books that I bought through the AAUW sale last September. I bet I'll get through all of them by the time the Rec Center reopens.
    • Trillium wrote:

      Instead of hiking the AT this year, my sister prevailed on me to join her on a Road Scholar trip to Red River Gorge in KY the 3rd week of April. It was going to be 2 all day hikes, a day of rock climbing then kayaking & ziplining on the 4th day. Well, they've suspended all trips through April. We're still going but we're going to do 3 all day hikes and go ziplining on the 4th. Then on the way home we'll stop and check out Big Bone Lick State Park.
      I get the Road Scholar catalogs and was planning on taking one of their trips for the first time this year. Hadn't decided which one yet; probably was going to be one their multi day day hikes or a week in Key West. That's not going to happen until things change and I think it's safe to be around other people and hotels.

      Our church is closed until furthur notice. They stream online so that's the plan for now.

      I haven't gone to the Y for a couple weeks. I still walk almost every day either in the woods or around the soccer field. I'm headed out now to walk around the neighborhood -- save whatever gas 5 miles round trip uses.
      2,000 miler
    • Georgia just moved the presidential primary from March 24 to May 19.

      If you haven't voted absentee before this is the year to start. Although it's be going a real job for the state to mail out 7 million absentee ballots and then get em counted if everyone opted to do so.
      2,000 miler
    • It is sunny and not horribly cold so everyone was out at our local park enjoying the outside. It's one way to get out without me interacting too closely with others. We did a loop from the parking lot, down to the river, along the bottom of the ravine, up the hill, through the meadow, to the overlook deck and back to the car. I've never seen the park so crowded.
    • It is going to become increasingly difficult for the thru-hikers to resupply. More stores, shuttles and hostels will probably be closing. I've already seen a few planned hikes called off till next year.

      Good luck getting a ride hitching to town.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      It is going to become increasingly difficult for the thru-hikers to resupply. More stores, shuttles and hostels will probably be closing. I've already seen a few planned hikes called off till next year.

      Good luck getting a ride hitching to town.
      I hope it clears up by July when I head to NH.
      I know a lot can happen in 4 months. In this case hopefully good. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • People :(

      Hall County, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, had to make the decision today to lock the bathrooms in all of the county parks. Over the weekend someone went to two parks, smashed and destroyed the toilet paper dispensers, and stole the toilet paper.
      2,000 miler
    • These are weird times. I don’t know what to think about all this. I’m worried about people in the service industry who will lose their jobs (or already have), and also about violence if people feel desperate.

      I don’t think hiking is a bad idea if one can minimize contact to and from the trailhead and manage reduced resupply options.

      Heck, if I were in a position and told to stay home but still got a paycheck, I’d be packing my backpack.

      At work, it feels like an ax is hanging over our heads and we’re waiting for it to fall.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • IMScotty wrote:

      It is going to become increasingly difficult for the thru-hikers to resupply. More stores, shuttles and hostels will probably be closing. I've already seen a few planned hikes called off till next year.

      Good luck getting a ride hitching to town.
      Yep, It seems like the ideal trip is 5-6 days and closer to home. No resupply and drive straight to the trai and home.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • max.patch wrote:

      People :(

      Hall County, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, had to make the decision today to lock the bathrooms in all of the county parks. Over the weekend someone went to two parks, smashed and destroyed the toilet paper dispensers, and stole the toilet paper.
      That is truly pathetic. :thumbdown:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      These are weird times. I don’t know what to think about all this. I’m worried about people in the service industry who will lose their jobs (or already have), and also about violence if people feel desperate.

      I don’t think hiking is a bad idea if one can minimize contact to and from the trailhead and manage reduced resupply options.

      Heck, if I were in a position and told to stay home but still got a paycheck, I’d be packing my backpack.

      At work, it feels like an ax is hanging over our heads and we’re waiting for it to fall.
      More like a wave that is coming at you that has not crested yet. The hospitals and nursing home up here have all gone into 'no visitors allowed' mode. Tough on family members, but necessary I think.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • max.patch wrote:

      That'll be fun in August...

      Those guys immediately made me think of Minnesota Smith, who liked to keep all of his body hidden from the sun. Followed by wondering how much toilet paper he has hoarded. :)
      I thought about him when all stores last week were out of TP. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • My wife, Kathy, is a school bus driver. The schools where she drives are closed at least to the end of March so she's unemployed at least until then
      It wouldn't surprise me if it goes longer. We"ll have to make some adjustments but will be OK financially. Who knows maybe it'll be time for her to quit working.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      IMScotty wrote:

      It is going to become increasingly difficult for the thru-hikers to resupply. More stores, shuttles and hostels will probably be closing. I've already seen a few planned hikes called off till next year.

      Good luck getting a ride hitching to town.
      Yep, It seems like the ideal trip is 5-6 days and closer to home. No resupply and drive straight to the trai and home.
      Yep, if this pandemic drags on, my Grand Canyon trip will get cancelled and I'll be hiking some trail in Virginia for a few days to a week at a time.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • Here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, the gyms closed. Theaters. Dallas county pretty much went on lock-down. All restaurants are now "pick up" only. So the wait staff is probably out of work. Schools are closed indefinitely. Most grocery stores are closing at 10 or 11 PM and stocking all night.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork
    • max.patch wrote:

      The ATC finally comes out and recommends that thru and section hikes be postponed.

      appalachiantrail.org/home/comm…9tU3jMyycHi7u7we43K52nDxU
      Wow, I obvioulsly hope things turn in the next few months.

      If not hopefuly MLB will resume by July. Perhaps cheaper tickets for those other 16 ballparks I still need to go to. And then finish AT in 2021.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • odd man out wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      There's a shortage of hand sanitizer which I verified when I went to buy some yesterday at Publix -- all gone.

      There's supposed to be a shortage of freeze dried foods (mountain house, etc) although I don't know if that applies to some of small vendors some of us use. In any event, there are other options other than freeze dried foods we can use when backpacking. After the first few weeks on my thru I changed from mountain house every night to once a week; using cheaper (and smaller) packages of rice and pasta sides. I hope to start backpacking again after a 2 year absence due to getting old :( and would use commercial meals for supper if available. If not no big deal.

      I wouldn't sleep in shelters, but I stopped doing that years ago except where required.

      I don't think I'll do a long hike this year, but if I was to do so I hope I would be able to avoid hostels.

      I'd drive to the trailhead; no train, bus, or plane.
      Here's how to make your own hand sanitizer. Go to the drugstore and buy aloe vera gel and the 91% or better rubbing alcohol. Mix one part aloe to two parts alcohol.
      I would rather use everclear
      Good old fashioned bar of soap or Dove is hands down better than any hand sanitizer. Everclear is a reason to do a face plant on the trail... Hi folks... just visiting.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • We had a week long trip planned for Roan Mountain campground the first week in April. Looks like that will be cancelled.

      My wife is a nurse at a nursing home. They now have two rooms converted to containment rooms so the hospital can send infected patients there. .. Why?? The elderly are the most likely to get it. So why send it to a nursing home? Makes no sence to me. Five managers there this week turned in their notice. Which started a discussion last night about older health care workers quitting, to stay healthy. We figure it's probably happening across the nation. I bet those positions are going to be really hard to fill. So, the nurses left on the job are gonna get burned out fast trying to cover all the shifts.

      I've seen less hikers here in town, Erwin. I only saw two in town on Sunday....