USA TODAY International Edition
People flock outdoors even in cold weather
After being cooped up, recreation is a revelation
Here’s one more thing the coronavirus pandemic has changed: We’re all outside a lot more than we use to be, especially during the winter.
Attendance is up at ski areas as more people look to try out winter sports such as boarding and skiing for the first time. The parking lots at popular hiking spots are still full as more seek outdoor activities – even in January.
That’s good news to the Outdoor Industry of America, which tracks participation. The group reported dwindling interest in outdoor activities before the onset of the pandemic. In 2019, it cited 13.6 million participants who tried outdoor activities for the first time or returned after a hiatus that year, which was actually a decrease from the previous year.
In 2020, participation increased.
A few weeks ago, Pamela Perry was looking for an activity that would keep her moving, but she also wanted to continue to socially distance. Not wanting to exercise at a gym, Perry decided to take her first winter hike.
“We have always enjoyed hiking, but have never gone in the winter,” said Perry. She and her fiancé Paul O’Brien took
a day trip to Hickory Run State Park in Pennsylvania. “Walking in the snow with the ice was a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s so quiet and peaceful.”
Perry isn’t alone. She’s one of many looking to break free from quarantine and spend time outdoors in order to stay healthy and take in a view other than their own four walls.
Some are even getting competitive – with themselves.
When the quarantine began, Erica Higgs and her 5- year- old daughter, Abby, set a goal to walk as many miles as possible.
“When the pandemic hit, we didn’t want to be indoors, so we took to the trails and just started hiking,” said the Poughkeepsie, New York, mom. “We hiked over 100 miles and started to seek more and more remote locations.”
Now, the mother- daughter duo are currently on a personal quest to double down their hiking mileage from last year, which totaled around 300.
“We want to inspire everyone to try new things,” said Erica. “Usually no one else is with us. We have done bush
whacking and also completed our first Catskill 3500.”
Catskill 3500 means hiking in the Catskill Mountains in New York to a peak over 3,500 feet in elevation. “We just wanted to be away from everything and focus on something else.”
Now they keep track of their hikes in the AllTrails app and take photos and videos that they post on their social media accounts. They even started blogging about their experiences.
“The days where I honestly didn’t want to leave the house because of everything 2020 was tossing at us, were the days that my daughter would be there to get us going and back into our happy place, which is the trails,” said Erica.
“Also, Abby learns map skills, counting, math, leadership skills, compassion, respect, science, history, reading and art. I love it because every experience in the woods is different. There is always something to learn.”
Johnny Rocco Vacca said he knew
that this year’s winter sports season was not going to be the same as it has been for him for the last four years.
Back in 2017, the 19- year cancer survivor and left below- knee amputee had started taking adaptive standup downhill ski lessons at the New England Winter Sports Clinic for Disabled Veterans at Mount Sunapee, New Hampshire.
“I’ve done well developing my skills at many other Adaptive Sports Clinics & Camps following that, but this year, knowing that I would not have the same face- to- face or lesson opportunities, I decided to diversify my options,” said Vacca, a Poughkeepsie resident.
So he joined a ski club, rented his equipment for the season and took advantage of the opportunity to get a free New York State Access Pass allowing him to ski for free at Belleayre, Gore and Whiteface Mountains.
“The most challenging part was learning how to change out my everyday prosthetic leg to my ski leg from the car,” he said.
Vacca has already been skiing eight times this season. “I have set a goal for myself to increase that number past 20,” he said.
Vacca has really come into his own as an independent adaptive skier, something that would not have happened had it not been for the challenges that he faced due to the pandemic.
For Pamela Perry, her first winter hike came with another perk. “Paul arranged the hike to Hawk Falls to propose,” she said.