Appalachian Trail Conservancy urges hikers to postpone long Appalachian Trail trips until 2022 due to COVID | Charlotte Observer

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Hikers with plans to conquer the Appalachian Trail are urged to postpone their long-distance trips.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, an organization that helps to maintain the 2,100-mile walking path, recommends people halt major hikes due to coronavirus-related risks.

“We’re concerned about the safety of AT volunteers, AT hikers, of the members of AT communities and of course ATC staff and staff of our federal partners,” said Morgan Sommerville, the conservancy’s regional director, the Citizen-Times reported Monday.

The group on its website said it will continue its recommendation to reschedule long hikes “until 2022 or when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has deemed the pandemic under control, and/or a COVID-19 vaccine or effective treatment is widely available and distributed.”

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Appalachian Trail Conservancy urges hikers to postpone long Appalachian Trail trips until 2022 due to COVID | Charlotte Observer

MoBikeFed comment: With Covid still raging across America and large-scale vaccination still on the horizon, a question many of us have is how the pandemic will affect outdoor events and activities for 2021 and beyond.

In this article, you can read the reasons the Appalachian Trail Conservancy urges long-distance through hikers to postpone their AT trips until the CDC eases restrictions on travel.

Appalachian through-hikes typically start rather early in the year, at a time when control of the pandemic seems particularly unlikely. That surely plays an important part in the Conservancy's recommendation. Additionally, though hiking is an outdoor sport, through-hikers typically spend considerable time indoors with other hikers and volunteers, staying the nights in huts and shelters.

We will have to see how pandemic restrictions affect other outdoor activities and events later in the year, when the vaccine has rolled out in much higher numbers