COVID-19 Affecting Your Plans?

For the last month, once school started for me again, I have gone to Bend every two weeks. After giving my students a test on a Friday, I'd peace off to Bend with my dad for the weekend. It's been really useful for me to do this and it has made me realize that I need to be outdoors.
 
Well, after months of staying home, I went stir crazy and ran away. I thought about it long and hard - what would be a place where nobody else would go? I rented a small house in East Carbon, UT (near Price) for a few weeks, and I will say there's hardly anybody here. One small grocery store and a gas station with 2 pumps that I wasn't sure was open. And lots of quiet (and deer), except for a very noisy Trump parade.

But the few times I've gone into Price, I've been astounded by the traffic in both directions, no matter the time of day or week. And it seems that 3 out of every 4 vehicles is an RV or some variation. It's like a freeway! It reminds me of how it used to look the day that Jeep Safari ended. @Udink is probably hiding out in some secret place.
 
Rockskipper said:
If you're heading to Ystone and hope to live the life of luxury in the Snowlodge or camp with the bison at the Madison Campground...

buckrail.com

COVID cases prompt sudden closure of Old Faithful Snow Lodge

Normally open for snowmobilers and other winter visitors, operators of the lodge, Xanterra, announced recently that overnight lodging just would not be prudent during this time of COVID.
buckrail.com buckrail.com
Click to expand...
well, I'll have a Yellowstone ski trip coming up the end of December. Hopefully, it will happen.
Like earlier this year I have to have my fingers crossed that I can go.
I have a cabin outside Yellowstone so I do not rely on lodging in the park
 
Time to get out of the PNW until enough snow is on the ground. Planning on the Mojave end of the first week of Nov for a few weeks. Though the CANY permit system thread has me longing for Upper Salt Creek and the many explorations around there. Impossible to get a permit?
Yesterday was the single highest number of Covid infections in one day, yet. For real. Am I going to be denied any travel at all by Nov 7? I sure hope not.
 
I had permits to climb Reigneer this year. The plans were canceled because of Covid. Hopefully next year.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
 
It has been an interesting year. Since early March I have not traveled farther than a 110 mile radius from home, granted that encompasses a lot of nice backcountry in my case. This was the first year in at least 15 years that I did not visit the Sierra.
 
Now was thinking of leaving work and retiring more or less last spring. Then Covid and the lockdown hit. So I continued to work. Have worked all year which has been a rarity for myself in life. But now thinking of retiring in the early spring. Plan on just going into the wilds, the deep deep wilds, and live. Now with how things are going in society ... Guess it will be going into the wilds and the deep wilds, disappearing, and living good.

This year has been interesting, lots of work with off on the weekends then biking, hiking, and birding nearby. This year made the most money ever that I have ever made in one year. But next year, into the wilds. It has been an interesting year.

Fossana, do hear what you are saying. I haven't traveled at all this year which is a rarity for myself. But all year just here in Jackson Hole, Wy. ... working all week and then the weekends off hiking, biking, and birding. Yes an interesting and unusual year.

Now remember a quote from the movie ' The Mountain Men ' which was this ... "Remember the first time you saw the Tetons, you could travel a year in any direction with just your rifle, live good and easy, never say 'Sir' to anybody. There are still this good wild country out there where one can can live good and easy and be by one's own lonesome self.
 
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Greetings @Kmatjhwy from the other side of the Tetons (Alta). I've been here a month (at the base of Floyd's Hill) and being so near the wilderness is wonderful. Lots of snow today! Unfortunately, I have to leave before long. I'm being extremely careful - my only contact is curbside groceries, yet I still worry about the virus. Like Brent in Corner Gas would say, what a time to be alive! Your coming retirement sounds fantastic!
 
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Rockskipper, so you are over in Alta. Wow! Gosh, if you get over in this side, during the week am working at the Dollar Tree Store in Jackson. Yes we were just hit by a good snowstorm. Guess winter has arrived now. Now I don't personally worry about the virus much. I personally do not let fear rule my life. But how much of the time am just by myself enjoying life. Now even with this virus, there is sooooo much to see and experience in life.
 
www.nytimes.com

Pandemic Crowds Bring ‘Rivergeddon’ to Montana’s Rivers (Published 2020)

As urbanites flock to forests and rivers to escape coronavirus threats, trailheads are cramped with parked cars and fishing on the Madison River is like a Disneyland ride.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Another one about covid crowds and population shift and their impacts I think the phenomenon they describe is happening all over the mountain west right now. I understand the irony of the fact that I'm posting this after moving in June, but hey, at least my move wasn't made in an effort to "escape" coronavirus.
 
Jackson said:
www.nytimes.com

Pandemic Crowds Bring ‘Rivergeddon’ to Montana’s Rivers (Published 2020)

As urbanites flock to forests and rivers to escape coronavirus threats, trailheads are cramped with parked cars and fishing on the Madison River is like a Disneyland ride.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Another one about covid crowds and population shift and their impacts I think the phenomenon they describe is happening all over the mountain west right now. I understand the irony of the fact that I'm posting this after moving in June, but hey, at least my move wasn't made in an effort to "escape" coronavirus.
Click to expand...

I can attest to the Madison River fishing being like Disneyland. I got so frustrated trying to fish the Madison that I ended up spending most of my time on smaller rivers. I might have missed out on the large browns but still had a good time and hardly saw anyone.
 
swmalone said:
I can attest to the Madison River fishing being like Disneyland. I got so frustrated trying to fish the Madison that I ended up spending most of my time on smaller rivers. I might have missed out on the large browns but still had a good time and hardly saw anyone.
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Good deal! I read articles like that and get sad about crowding, but I always remember that if you're willing to put in a little effort, there's still plenty of places you can go and find some quiet.
 
Madison is always crowded as well as the Henry's fork in. idaho.....
 
Covid-19 completely ruined our Southwest trip for the first time in 28 years! Hopefully only a temporary interruption to the more than 3,5 years on aggregate we spent in the US, mostly exploring the Southwest by 4WD and a lot of hiking to remote places.

Covid also ruined things for our American friends, 2 couples from Montrose and Moab, who would stay with us in april and june as part of their European trip.

We would have started our own trip last september and returned the day before the election. As expected our flight was cancelled but otherwise we sure wouldn't have taken the risk to board a plane for a long transatlantic flight anyway. United has fully refunded our airfare in the meantime.

So no new pics of the desert, but a 360 pan of the old town center of Hoorn were we live. I'ts on a beautiful day early May, taken at lunchtime, during our first lockdown. The Red Stone Square (execution place in the Middle Ages), that's normally filled with terraces occupied with hundreds of people eating and drinking, is almost empty.

Hoorn_JPC_Square.may.2020.s.jpg

Also our Always lively harbour in spring and now completely desolated.

20201201_135520_stitch.jpg

Since our 2nd "almost lockdown" that started mid october the square remains empty again. Our curve has peaked around the 1st of november, than gone down, but stabilised at a too high level around R=1 and tends to rise again. Apart from social distancing, 6 ft, wearing masks inside buildings etc. it further means no big events, Christmas dinner with max 5 adults in one home and all pubs and restaurants closed until mid january. Without improvents next week we can expect even more severe restrictions before Christmas!

We don't have a Thanksgiving in the Netherlands so no real surge as a result, but Health workers and Government are already nervous about the potential Christmas and New Year gatherings which are only separated by about the right incubation period!

As world citizens we look with increasing disbelief to all the developments the USA, and the dire increase in covid-19 infections. It looks like another 6 weeks could be wasted before common sense will return and "the doctors", that were "removed from power" a couple of months ago, can make a start to try to reverse the surge, flatten the curve and lower death rate, now already increased to 3000+ per day.

Sometimes i'm jealous to see Dutch descendants like Udink and Langstraat visit remote (safe) places we also would have liked to explore. On the other hand we feel lucky that our ancestors decided to keep our base over here.

With the arrival of the limited amounts of vaccins there will be little immediate improvements, i am almost sure our friends will have to postpone their visit for another year and it even remains questionable whether our hope for visiting the USA in sept/oct 2021 is a realistic option!

So this we do now, hiking in our much less spectacular "non-petrified" sanddunes that separate us from the North Sea, about 25 miles away.

20201126_144249af.jpg
 
I remember hiking to Ice Lakes when you might see a half-dozen people all day, maybe none. Early 90s. It was pristine and beautiful.
 
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