The thing is no matter how much is closed and open, people exhibit the same behavior: they pile into the well known trailheads. If a parking lot is full, they park and hike there anyways. They are oblivious to other people and don't care about what's going on in the world. They brag about how much of a badass they are for ignoring the rules. Unfortunately, suggesting being a mindful person doesn't change traffic flow, only shutting things down and saying NO like you're dealing with a toddler had an impact.A. Hugh Jass wrote: ↑March 29th, 2020, 6:27 pmSo, the Gorge, State Parks, and 46 million acres are closed. But what I witnessed today, in town, was terrible. Trying to "fix" a problem by closing so many trailheads really dumps people into dense areas in town, and popular BLM areas. Not sure it was a good call to close so much.
I hiked all over Bend both days this weekend and the only place I really saw crowds of people was on the River Trail. That's it. And it was packed (we only had to get on it for a couple minutes to make a connection back to the streets).
I also know of some great BLM options to go hiking and I'm planning on going there later this week. I sure as hell am not going to post pictures or publicly announce where everyone can go hiking. Because then those places will get packed and shut down!
I think a thoughtful human who wants to get out and hike just needs to pick up a local map, search for some options and use their heads when they get there. Parking lot full? Trail crowded? It's not your day. If it's empty, go get it. Enjoy your hike and shut up about it. Share pictures from one of a million hikes you've done in the past, dream about the next time you can explore those closed places.