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I'm not talking about the minefield of opinion and political discourse, there are some parts of this which affect us no matter how we feel (the Canadian border is closed, a lot of dining is closed, many attractions are closed..) and for many people the matter of social behavior at this time is just as much about etiquette and class as it is about the mechanics of virus transmission.
The first part of this is the very obvious one, I'm probably not taking my first trip to go get hurt at Whistler this summer even though I have a bike for it and it's within a realistic 3-day weekend for me. Quite a few things are closed and if a person's travel plans hinge on a particular attraction or a particular entry into another country the best bet is to make other plans.
Another part is something that could turn out a double edged sword in the long run - rumor is that with many popular attractions like Disney, concerts, Broadway and such closed or limited capacity a lot more people are heading outdoors. That leads to crowding and outright lack of availability for locations which require reservations or which institute daily limits or.. just have unavoidable occupancy limits by the nature of the attraction. Tragedy of the Commons, and all that. It's great to have more people recognize the value of the outdoors and participate - and hopefully advocate for access - but nature doesn't take well to sudden population booms and there are a fair number of new inductees to the outdoors lifestyle who haven't learned stewardship or leave no trace, impact minimization ethics. That's a struggle.
So those are things we can't really do anything about except keep an eye open and see how it progresses. I'm posting this thread to have a conversation about the minutia that appears between the destinations if we're going to travel during this time of confusing and difficult access.
Dining on the road is a fun one - even if a restaurant with table service isn't consistent with munching peanut butter tortillas and clif bars on a mountain top I've always made restaurants on the road a part of my travel plans. Why carry food halfway across the country if there are grocery stores and restaurants all along the way? Spread the wealth a little by trying little backwoods cafe's, save time by grabbing a burrito instead of setting up the whole camp kitchen. Enjoy a drink from a glass you don't have to wash afterward. But right now restaurants tend to fall into three categories, in Washington at least - entirely closed, take-out only, or weird fully enclosed patios that legally meet the definition of outdoors but functionally are just drafty and cold indoors spaces with uncomfortable seats. I can appreciate the business owners doing what they must to keep their dream alive.
We've made the best of this so far by bringing our little camp chairs and table with us, buy take-out and then eat it tailgate style in the parking lot or a nearby city park. Sure, we could eat in the truck but often the best part of a meal stop on the road is spending a little time outside of the vehicle, sitting on a different seat and breathing different air.
Making friends on the road has been a lot more difficult as of late. Whether it's caution, frustration, making the effort to practice distancing, nervousness about current events, the difficulty of sharing emotion with a covered face - the fact is some charm has been sucked out of meeting people on the trail & at camp and anywhere along the way. As before most people truly are nice and have warm hearts but it's more work. We're not hugging, patting shoulders or shaking hands and it's hard to redirect decades gravitas associated to physical contact into an elbow bump or uh.. "air high 5".
I don't have a solution to that except always staying mindful that most people truly are kind and I pretend there's a smile behind the mask whenever they say something that could be interpreted positively. I try to smile with my eyes and speak with added emphasis on the positive for the same reason - that doesn't come naturally to me so it still takes conscious effort.
What have you discovered about travel during this time?
Hey there, @shovel. You hit the nail squarely on the head.
Thankfully, at some point things will be back to “normal”, but so far since the Pandemic was declared, I have limited my travels to my home state of Arizona. A lot of people are traveling the country regardless of the Pandemic, and I’m okay with that, as long as they follow safe practices.
What I’ve discovered is that the majority of the people I have encountered have been mindful, but there are always a few who think otherwise. One thing I don’t do is confront those people who aren’t wearing a mask when they should be. I just steer clear and let them pass.
We also have traveled minimally since the end of 2019 - it's been bad timing for us because after years of caution and planning we moved to a new state just before Christmas '19, where we had no connections or established friendships. The effective closure of all nonreligious social gatherings and the nature of working from home has meant no local friends to advise us on nearby recreational opportunities nor to leave our plans with in case they have to help authorities find our bodies when we don't come back. Quite a lot of the nearby natural resources are located within Native American communities and they have asked people not to visit as those communities have fewer hospital and financial resources to depend on when a health crisis emerges.
I don't wish to complain or make this thread about myself personally so I'll make a general observation about vehicle-based travel here as well: disruptions in how one travels or when one can travel also presents a new puzzle to solve on equipment and preparedness!
When we moved we wanted to make a clean break on a lot of old clutter so we gave away almost everything and that included a fair bit of camp and travel gear. Part of that decision was to minimize the expense of moving and part of it was that we're entering a new climate so a bit of our Arizona gear may not even make sense in Washington.
Downstream effect of this has also been a slow start to organizing and optimizing our weekend kit! We have two decent tents, neither of which is truly set for four seasons. Still no bear vault... I expect we'll need one of those once it warms up a little this year. And because we don't have a local network of friends and family I expect this will be the year I finally subscribe to a satellite beacon.
We still have plans this fall to visit New York (state) for a wedding but only if the global situation on this health crisis is at an appropriate state of resolution by then; like a majority vaccinated or once we've crossed an adequate threshold of acquired herd immunity where terms like superspreader event are no longer current. Between now and then we're trying to stay fit on bicycles and neighborhood walks.. probably buy a couple inexpensive kayaks in spring and await the light at the end of the tunnel like everyone else.
I wish more people thought the way you do @shovel, it would really help the current situation.
One of my future plans for this Summer (situation-willing), is to take an extended trip up the West Coast to visit family and see some places that are no longer in my backyard, so to speak. I really miss the Redwoods and don't get me started on Oregon and Washington. Not sure what part of Washington you call home, but if I'm in your area and things are amenable, I would love to meet you and your wife for some kayaking!
Cheers!
I wish more people thought the way you do @shovel, it would really help the current situation.
One of my future plans for this Summer (situation-willing), is to take an extended trip up the West Coast to visit family and see some places that are no longer in my backyard, so to speak. I really miss the Redwoods and don't get me started on Oregon and Washington. Not sure what part of Washington you call home, but if I'm in your area and things are amenable, I would love to meet you and your wife for some kayaking!
Cheers!
I absolutely love the Redwoods of Redwood-Humboldt as well as the national park. Mendocino. I would move to that area if the taxes in California weren't so high. So much beauty.