I hiked the Lower Table Rock Trail in Southern Oregon on Friday, March 20. Sadly, most hikers were NOT doing the social distancing necessary to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Note: by Friday, March 20, 2020, all Americans should have known that coronavirus is a serious problem, and that social distancing is a key way to slow its spread.
Social Distancing and the Coronavirus
As hopefully everyone now knows, the coronavirus is a serious threat to human health. In addition to minimizing being around other people in general, CDC guidelines call for maintaining a minimum of six feet of distance from others.
In my last post, I advocated for hiking and walking locally during the coronavirus pandemic as an important way of maintaining our physical and mental health. I discussed the importance of social distancing and choosing trails that are a good combination of wide, less-traveled, and nearby, all while following regulations regarding movement outside the home.
Coronavirus, Inadequate Social Distancing, and Our Hike
Stephanie and I live in nearby Ashland and wanted to take advantage of a beautiful day to hike. I chose the Lower Table Rock Trail near Medford because it’s four feet wide and nearly always has room to step off the trail to get the recommended six feet of social distance, and I hoped it wouldn’t be too crowded.
When we started the hike, I just assumed people would practice good social distancing, like nearly everyone does in Ashland. I was wrong. Here’s what I observed.
Out of about 50 times we passed other hikers on the trail, only 5 or so times did the other party exhibit awareness of social distancing, and these were all hikers in their 40s to 60s. Most of the time (but not all of the time), Stephanie and I were able to move off the trail, but even then, many people were oblivious and would still walk on the edge of the trail nearest us, often closer than 6 feet.
There were several groups of two or more mothers with 3-12 kids. Neither the mothers nor the children exhibited any obvious concern about social distancing from us. The mothers never asked their kids to move to the side, or even walk in single file on their side of the trail.
There were multiple groups of 3-10 young people in their teens and twenties. These young people practiced no social distancing at all. They were touching each other, walking side by side in tight groups, and putting their arms around each other for pictures.
Finally, when we were in the parking lot preparing to leave, two full carloads of people showed up. They were obviously meeting to hike the trail. They got out and mingled closely, while one young man from one car shook hands with an older man from the group in the other car.
I acknowledge the developing concept of “social cohort” in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This involves being at closer distance to a small and select group of a few people that mutually choose to spend time with each other during the duration of the crisis. But much of what I saw seemed to go well beyond that.
(Note: there was a flyer at the beginning of the trail that discussed social distancing. It was small, and we actually didn’t see it when we started the hike.)
When I Can’t Do Adequate Social Distancing, I Do This
I’ve been practicing this technique for decades whenever I have to pass near someone that seems sick with a cold or flu, and I of course diligently apply it now during the coronavirus pandemic:
- When I’m about 15 feet away, I begin taking a deep breath.
- By the time I’m about 10 feet away, I’m holding my breath with my mouth closed.
- From about 8 feet away, I slowly release a small stream of air out my nose, and I do this until I’m about 8 feet past the person. My reasoning is that the air coming out of my nose will prevent most or all of any pathogens from entering my nose.
- Once I’m 8-10 feet past the person, I release my breath and resume normal breathing
I apply this all the time, especially now when I’m shopping and have to pass close to people. Stephanie and I did this every time we passed people on the Lower Table Rock Trail.
Note: the likelihood of picking up the coronavirus by just walking past someone at relatively close distance is not very high; it’s far lower than spending extended time with an infected person at close quarters. So I’m not going to freak out about briefly passing people a couple times on the trail at a distance of 3-4 feet. But it’s not good when it’s frequent, and you have to pass closely to large group of people.
Social Distancing and Hiking: My Suggestions
First, do everything you can to practice social distancing yourself at all times, including when you’re on hiking trails.
Second, choose trails that are a combination of wide enough, easy step off of, and with low enough usage that you can practice effective social distancing.
Third, choose trails that are close by, hopefully within walking distance of your house, or at least only a short drive.
Fourth, politely remind and educate others about social distancing every way you can. If you can’t easily move the minimum distance off the trail, ask the other hikers to do so. You may also need to ask them to walk single file instead of side by side or in a clump.
Fifth, follow all regulations.
Questions or Comments About Hiking and Social Distancing?
What have you observed on the trails?
Put your thoughts in the comment form below. Note: I moderate comments, so I’ll have to approve it before it shows up.
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If Stephanie was so concerned about distancing shouldn’t SHE have moved away ? If it triggers you so much better stay inside where it’s safer ? Why post those concerns here it’s more like complaining and scolding, Just saying
She had moved to the side of the trail, and she was looking out at the view. The two hikers should have walked in single file on the far side of the trail. Yes, perhaps she should have paid more attention to others not doing what they should do, but this was near the beginning of the hike, before we’d encountered many hikers and I had become alarmed by their lack of social distancing.
The key point is that everyone needs to do social distancing to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, not just those who take the coronavirus seriously.
As stated in the post, getting outside is important for our physical and mental health, but only if we can do it with the proper social distancing. I shouldn’t feel like I have to stay home because others choose to disregard CDC guidelines.
John, I totally agree with you. It’s up to all of us to not only take care of ourselves, but also consider others. I live in the S.F. Bay Area and after last weekends super-crowded trails, the rangers and other authorities closed several major parks and trails near us because too many were ignoring the social distancing.
On our hike this past Sunday, we passed very few hikers on the ascents, but on the flat parts of the trail there were many. I would say 95% of them moved over to the right. And I, as you did, held my breath while passing those who seemed oblivious. I didn’t mind the few kids running first ahead and then behind us, but we had to wait a long time to pass one little group that blocked our way because they decided they wanted to stop and try rock skipping from the trail. If they had just stepped off the trail, we could have proceeded. Too bad their parents were paying no attention–or didn’t care.
We are now facing further closures of our beloved trails because of the people who refuse to follow the orders! Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
The research shows that we most likely spread and catch the virus, when we are in close proximity to each other, mostly indoors, not outdoors. This is why the virus has hit urban areas like NY, New Orleans, New Jersey, so hard, versus rural areas. While not impossible to catch on a hike, you are certainly far more in danger of being exposed to catching the virus, while shopping for groceries in town, than you are on a hike, where, people who are fit and healthy enough to hike, are less likely to be infected than the average person in a grocery store, who may or may not be well, but they still need to shop for groceries. I can’t remember a time in my life where I ever went on a long hike, when I felt unwell. Yet, I can remember numerous times where I went to a grocery store when I didn’t feel well because I needed food, medicine, a thermometer, etc., and I had nobody to go shopping for me to pick up supplies.
Also, considering things like air circulation, sunlight, and open space, the virus has been shown to be easily dispersed by wind into small tiny particles, and killed by uv rays outside. This is not the case indoors, where the air can stay contaminated for a lot longer and continue to circulate indoors, even after infected people have left the vicinity.
I’ve tried the holding my breath technique you described when passing joggers or walkers in SF, but not sure how well it works. Still I figure it’s worth a shot. I think there are other things we can do to mitigate our risks of contracting the virus or passing it on to others, unknowingly. First, when you do go indoors, go to places where the employees are all practicing good social distancing, hygiene, and safety protocols. I find that the Trader Joes by my house is great for this, but the Safeway a block away, doesn’t take as many precautions. I always wear my one N95 mask when I go shopping, but for my daily bike ride, I wear a different mask, that allows me to breath more easily. When I shop I am trying to protect my self, when I bike on the open road, away from people, I am more concerned with sneezing, coughing, or breathing heavily on others that I might pass by in a bike lane, or trail.
In reflecting on backpacking trips I’ve taken, pre-covid. I can honestly say, that I never felt at risk of catching a cold, or the flu, outside on a trail, where I have gone days without seeing a single person, so if you wanna stay safe while hiking, I think your best bet is too choose places that aren’t so popular. The scene that you show with that large group is probably one unit of people, but even if it’s not, that’s too many people for my kinda backpacking. I always chose my trails like I chose my stores in SF. In other words, I chose places where few if any people go, and therefore I mitigate my risk of catching cover-19. I know that I would be far less likely to catch cover-19 on a hiking trail in the wilderness, than I would be to catch it my densely populated neighborhood, where there are homeless people on the street, without health care, not wearing masks, and a higher number of people per square inch, than in the wilderness by a long shot. Even, when I go downstairs to take out the trash, which I do every few days, I feel that I am a higher risk than hiking on a trail outside where I might see 2-5 people in a five day span. If you wanna stay safe, chose your hiking times, days, and locations wisely.
We live in the Bay Area and this is why I haven’t gone out and enjoyed the trails just across the street from our house since early March. I miss hiking SO much, but based on the number of cars I see parking at the trail heads I’m too nervous to go. I don’t trust people to properly social distance and/or wear masks, so sadly I’ve forgone doing the thing I love the most for three months now.