San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Pacific Crest Trail manager urges hikers to stay away
Hikers who had planned to take on the Pacific Crest Trail this year are being asked by the trail’s promoter to cancel their trips due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
“Because no one can travel long distances on the PCT and be certain of avoiding any exposure to the coronavirus, and because anyone at any time can be a carrier of the virus without knowing it, it is clear that anyone traveling the PCT and resupplying in communities along the trail represents a serious risk to others on the trail and people in those communities — particularly highrisk individuals for whom the virus could be deadly,” reads a note sent to hikers on March 19 from the Pacific Crest Trail Association, a nonprofit group that issues longdistance hiking permits for the trail.
Thruhiking the 2,650mile trail, which extends between Mexico and Canada through California, Oregon and Washington, is a life goal for many and draws several thousand hikers each year from around the world. Planning and training for a continuous thruhike can take years, and completing the trail often takes a hiker six months.
“We recognize that many have planned their PCT journeys for years and made major life changes such as quitting jobs or selling homes. We also understand that some have traveled to the PCT and have no clear option aside from starting your trek,” the association’s note reads. “But these circumstances should not justify putting other lives at risk. Limiting the spread of the virus — and the associated economic fallout — requires sacrifice from everyone.”
The association issues permits to thruhikers each year but does not have rule enforcers on the trail to stop people from hiking. Gauging the exact number of people on the trail at any given time is near impossible given that the trail passes through parks and public lands in three states and gets traffic from day hikers as well as thruhikers.
Although many hikers view the PCT as a place to find solitude, that doesn’t mean it’s beyond the reach of viruses. Outbreaks of norovirus have occurred over the years at places where longdistance hikers tend to bunch together.
Spring is when thruhiking season begins, and the association’s plea to hikers to cancel or postpone their trips comes as many hikers are setting out from the trail’s terminus at the Mexican border.
Reactions to the association’s note were starting to filter into social media by Friday.
“I’m headed home today,” one hiker wrote on Instagram. “At this point, it’s no longer about my hike and it’s about the safety of others. I’m so incredibly heartbroken that this journey had to end before it ever really started. But the stuff going on is much bigger than me. … The trail will be there for me when I can make it back.”