I just cancelled a backpacking trip I had booked in January

My plan is to only do solo backpacking trips for the foreseeable future.  I try to avoid places that attract people anyway…now it is not simply a personality trait, but a medical necessity.

This doesn’t sway your argument, but it’s interesting that the homeless tent community down by the the river in Colorado Springs is not getting infected as the authorities has feared.  Maybe silnylon has some sort of protective function!  I’m suspect they can’t afford dyneema.

I’m planning on keeping my August trip to the Sierra’s.  I’ll be wearing a mask in the airport obviously and during the car ride.  We’ll be in separate cars except for when we have to ride together to shuttle.  Once we get in the backcountry, social distancing, even from each other isn’t that hard.  It’s the travel that is the risk.

Of course this is all assuming the world doesn’t end before then.  In the past month, I’ve seen social distancing all but cease, mask usage fall to next to none, and things resume to normal like Covid doesn’t exist.  My daughters travel softball team has not only resumed practice, but had two tournaments, my son’s high school football workouts resumed (though they did take temperatures daily and kept them in groups of 6-8), his high school basketball workouts resumed (also taking temps and kept in small groups).   He’s also resumed AAU basketball practices and that coach thinks Covid is a political hoax.

Now at work we’ve just had our 4th Covid positive case, which isn’t too bad considering we have over 800 people on site.  About 200 of us have been mostly working from home, and mask usage is required at work unless your alone in your office.

We continue to backpack…but it our family “bubble” of the two of us,  And when we meet people on the trail, we find that some are wearing masks, others merely attempting to keep a safe social distance.  And others not too worried…but we try to avoid getting too close to anyone.

So far, it is all going swimmingly.

same here

several trips, some other people, I or they get more than 6 feet off trail fro other to pass

a momentary closer approach is probably safe too – brief encounter – “they” say a 15 minutes exposure is more likely to transfer virus

I agree that a backpacking trip seems very safe to me, if traveling to the trailhead can be done safely. And if the participants are few and known to be healthy.

I run into people on the narrow paths of my local large park all the time. Everybody is either masked already or dons a mask. One person will stand aside as the others pass. I think it’s safe, unless you step in a patch of poison oak that’s everywhere.

Well, I work in a hospital.  So, first, I can’t really work from home.  We also of course screen at the door.  And second, I’m probably seeing higher case numbers than most of you.  If anything, though, I don’t worry so much about catching it myself as I do being a risk to others.  And that’s what the masks are for- they aren’t for the person wearing the mask, they’re to keep the person wearing the mask from spreading it.  So I’m wearing masks for the foreseeable future.

This may be a very unpopular opinion but its a personal choice as to if you attend a trip, get a test, or get a vaccine (once one is available). I don’t really see it as the government’s responsibility or a trip organizer’s responsibility to mandate testing. Do yourself a favor and read a lot of the data, this illness has over a 90% recovery rate and those that don’t recover are generally elderly or have underlying conditions. So unless you are in the higher risk category…

In fear is no way to live, go enjoy the fresh air!

Persons in a high risk category should avoid backpacking with others for awhile. I think the OP is over 65 years young.

Well, no the ‘personal choice’ argument really doesn’t hold water. Please read Dean’s post. Dean doesn’t have a ‘personal choice’ not to treat you or others that non mask wearers infect. And Dean and all of his cohorts are at risk thanks to all the people who made a personal choice not to take this seriously.

Don’t you know that one can infect people while being pre or a-symptomatic? None of the infected people had a personal choice in the matter.

There are hospital workers who have died treating covid patients. I guess it’s a personal choice not to care about that.

@jscott I was prepared for my post to not be popular, but if you are going to make a compelling argument pls feel free. What you wrote above is not compelling to me. Dean made a choice when he took his oath just like I did when I took my oath to protect and defend and I didn’t have a choice on who I protected while I was in the service. I have the choice not to wear a mask and being high risk myself I chose to self-quarantine. But that was my choice and was not and should not be imposed upon me by ANYONE period/full stop!

“I don’t really see it as the government’s responsibility or a trip organizer’s responsibility to mandate testing. Do yourself a favor and read a lot of the data, this illness has over a 90% recovery rate and those that don’t recover are generally elderly or have underlying conditions. So unless you are in the higher risk category…”

That’s the B.S. argument that people have been pushing more in the last few decades that’s been exposed by covid

If you and a bunch of other like minded people expose yourself, then some of you will get sick and go to the hospital for treatment, and if there are enough stupid people doing that, the hospitals become overwhelmed.

Then, things will get so bad, like Texas now, that the politicians will be forced to make draconian closings of the economy.  It is a horrible position to put health care workers in.

Better for people to take actions before things get so bad – wear mask, stay away from other people

Whether you like it or not, you’re a member of a society and we have to do things for the common good, or suffer the consequences

Backpacking trips should be pretty safe though.  The worse thing would be driving to the trailhead, although if you’re exposed to just a few people it wouldn’t be as bad.  Better to have people in separate familiy groups driving together.

This is chaff isn’t it?

“What you wrote above is not compelling to me. ”

that’s it? that’s your rebuttal? the way this works is, you have to counter my argument with reasons showing why it’s wrong. then you have to show how your position is a better alternative. You can’t simply make an assertion, sniff and walk away.

I suppose that attitude goes hand in hand with making “a personal choice” to endanger people around you by not taking the easy precautions that we all know about. which by the way are not that hard to implement. Try them! You might find it makes you feel good to care about other people.

125,000 deaths from covid in the U.S. and rising. that’s not nothing. Wait, I see you did make a case that most of those people are over 65 and only 10% of young people die from it. so, your rebuttal is that older people don’t matter and what’s a few thousand young people dying in the grand scheme of things? that’s as actual question. sorry to chaffifiy this.

My mother is 76 and just had her paintings featured in a traditional brush painting exhibition in China, the only non-Chinese artist in the show.  She walks at least 3 miles every day, loves birdwatching, and gives guided tours at a local nature center.

My 86 year old mother-in-law is a painter and a poet in the middle of trying to finish a retrospective of her work and put on a final show while she’s still got the energy.

Not to mention they’re both mom.

But hey, in the minds of many, they’re generally “just” the elderly.

COVID is shining some pretty bright light on some pretty dark attitudes about our elders, isn’t it?

edit to above: I could have taken a less high horse tone I suppose.

Nah the tone was fine. I don’t ruffle easily and don’t take offense to anything other than people telling me I don’t have a right to choose what is right for me. My body my choice. ;)

If you see me out, I won’t be wearing a mask, so stay away from me, if that scares you.

“my body my choice” is such BS.

So, I should be able to drive my car 95MPH through a residential area, right?  My car my choice?

If I own a factory that burns coal, I should be able to remove all the pollution scrubbers off my stacks and pump out as many acid rain and other pollution emissions as I like?  My factory, my choice?

When your actions affect those around you, you have an obligation to take others into consideration when you act.  That’s called being a part of a civilized society.

If you can’t deal with that, go live on a remote island somewhere.

I’m tired of the poor little “me, me, me” crybabies who are so terribly inconvenienced by wearing a mask or being burdened with some other action that just might positively impact those around them.

I’ll be 70 in a few months and I am still backpacking (solo which has always been the norm for me) any way.

I wear a mask in public and expect others to do the same.

To me it is like the HIV virus. If someone is sexually active with more than one partner they need protection for themselves and others. Coronavirus is similar. You can become infected and not know it, or not know it for a while. If someone is infected with coronavirus and infects someone else due to not wearing a mask, they should be held financially responsible for anyone they infect, to include any punitive damages due to loss of work or even death.

I am surprised this thread had not been reported and deleted by now!!!

“I am surprised this thread had not been reported and deleted by now!!!”

why? It’s just a little back and forth on an important topic. I’ll do better in civilly responding to anyone who wants to take a pro-“personal choice” stance. I think this should be reasoned out. I’d be glad if William were to go more into his reasons for going mask-less. I’ll dismount now.

edit: maybe William means ‘out in nature’, which is a different matter than ‘out in the store’.

There was a similar thread that was deleted just a week or so ago with a politically sensitive tone.  I am all in favor of this discussion going forward.

maybe “don’t feed the troll” is appropriate, no desire to understand anything, just wanting to start an argument.  The more personal the better.  Go get the popcorn.

Hey, if we reduce all of the speed limits by 30-40%, stop everyone from swimming and dictate the exact foods and portions that everyone could eat, thus eliminating obesity that is the primary cause of most of these COVID-19 deaths, think how many lives we could save every year from vehicular deaths, diabetes, cancer, Flu, the next COVID, etc….

If we could just get to the point that everyone cower down and live exactly as they were told, wouldn’t it be a much more beautiful world to live in?