Covid-19

[xrp]

Now they're threatening to jail/fine people for going out and hiking in the outdoors because of Coronavirus?

Clown shoes.

Skamania County Sheriff's Dept is 16 full time deputies.

They don't want you there. It doesn't matter whether it's practically enforceable; if you go, you're just being a jerk.

[xrp]

I wonder. Skamania County suffers from proximity to Portland, and the VAST majority of the people hiking there are not locals.

Primary reason for Skamania's action is to keep the Portlanders out!

[Water]

removed

[drm]

Right. Has anybody heard of any actual prosecution at any level for violating any of these various orders nationwide? My guess is that in Skamania County, nobody will get prosecuted unless they need a SAR or somehow otherwise make a nuisance of themselves. And while the impact is county-wide, I expect the motivation was 90% Dog Mountain.

Klickitat County may not have a Dog Mtn, but it does have a few confirmed cases, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they follow suit. But it probably depends on whether law enforcement asks for it.

[retired jerry]

I don't think they want to prosecute people. The police are not a force that will be used to take over the country and take away our freedoms, that's just a ridiculous conspiracy theory.

They just want us to stay 6 feet apart so the virus doesn't spread.

[adamschneider]

Klickitat County may not have a Dog Mtn

They do have Coyote Wall, Catherine Creek, and Dalles Mountain Ranch -- all of which get most of their visitors from outside the county.

[Charley]

I think the point of the orders is far more important than the legalistic interpretations I'm reading in this thread. I cancelled a day of cross country skiing I was going to enjoy up in a quiet corner of Mt Hood this week. At least for the moment, I'd rather not take that remote chance of injury (either on the drive or in the woods). I don't want to be...
A. A burden on our soon to be overtaxed healthcare system.
B. Exposed to the amount of Covid-19 soon to be floating around our healthcare spaces.

Seriously, I know we all love hiking and skiing and seeing the spring wildflowers, but now's just not a good time. I believe that's an ethical imperative.

[Lurch]

Right. Has anybody heard of any actual prosecution at any level for violating any of these various orders nationwide? My guess is that in Skamania County, nobody will get prosecuted unless they need a SAR or somehow otherwise make a nuisance of themselves. And while the impact is county-wide, I expect the motivation was 90% Dog Mountain.

Klickitat County may not have a Dog Mtn, but it does have a few confirmed cases, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they follow suit. But it probably depends on whether law enforcement asks for it.

In countries that are a bit ahead of us in the timeline of outbreak, you best believe they're detaining/arresting, and charging people for violating these shelter in place orders. As of 3 days ago over 53,000 people in Italy have been charged with it. COVID-19 positive patients can even be charge with homicide for breaking quarantine, as was the case for one man in Sicily who is now facing 12 years in prison.

It's frustrating that people still aren't taking this seriously, and still somehow don't think this applies to them. The results of the exposure people had last weekend won't be seen for a couple weeks still, and the result of those people exposed to the ones who were exposed a few weeks after that.... Just STOP. Quit treating this like a damn vacation, tens (if not hundreds) of thousands are going to die in the next couple months.

[teachpdx]

If you can't find an open, unpopular trailhead, don't hike.
If your hike would potentially require SAR (too far away from trailhead to self-rescue), don't hike.
If you can't maintain 6' of distance from others, don't hike.
If your hike contains higher-risk objectives, don't hike.

It's all about two things: eliminating contact with other people, and reducing your (potential) burden on first responders and healthcare workers.

If you take a spill and break your leg hiking in a couple weeks, or end up in a car accident on your way to or from hiking, you'll be spending a lot of time waiting for care, squandering precious hospital resources, and unnecessarily exposing yourself to COVID in the ER.

I'm really torn on this. I know how to get well off the beaten path and away from the hordes of hikers. And getting out of the house is so important for my mental well-being. But that remoteness carries extra risk, and it's that extra risk that we should all be avoiding right now. I've been super fortunate to have hiked thousands of miles without any major injury, but I know that all it takes is one wrong step to be carried out of the woods on a stretcher. So until this all clears up, I'll be doing the local city nature park hikes or staying close to the trailhead on low-risk trails, not my normal high-adventure stuff.

[justpeachy]

I'm really torn on this. I know how to get well off the beaten path and away from the hordes of hikers. And getting out of the house is so important for my mental well-being. But that remoteness carries extra risk, and it's that extra risk that we should all be avoiding right now.

Yeah, this is not a time where you want to be taxing hospital resources with a hiking injury, let alone exposing yourself to the virus in a medical facility. It's pretty hard to fathom not hiking this summer, but every day I'm working on mentally preparing myself for that possibility. The trails will still be there next summer.

This is worth reading: Oregon State Police answers FAQs related to stay-at-home order

Also, for what it's worth, TKO has released a statement about this.