Oregon Hikers

Ramona Falls Trailhead, Saturday July 18, 2020
A lot of people parked at trailhead

I was able to walk on the trail and just get 12 feet off trail whenever someone came along

A lot of people wore masks

Supposedly, briefly passing someone outdoors is less risky for getting covid

Maybe you're better off going somewhere less busy

McNeil and Riley campgrounds open. Mostly full on the weekends. Lots of dispersed campers all over. The thing that concerns me most is going into outhouses. Covid may remain after someone leaves

We hit the trail on Saturday the 25th. Even knowing it was going to be busy, we were surprised how many cars were there. We parked about a quarter mile down the road to avoid the lot. By the time we got back, the number of cars seemed to have doubled and was overflowing to both sides of the road for a good stretch.

Fairly easy to distance or wear our mask, but definitely heavy usage. Also, several dogs off-leash if you have a pup that doesn't like other dogs.

I wonder if someone's dog would become a carrier of covid if the humans were infected?

I have avoided touching other people's dogs. Normally I would be friendly with dog. Dog's are so appreciative of attention. Which increases my healthful hormones like oxytocin.

Oh interesting! I didn't think about other people's pups potentially being carriers.

I dont know if that's a significant risk

They have tested positive people's animals, but question whether it's possible for humans to be infected by animals

If you can get it off a doorknob, it seems like you could get it from animal fur if an infected person petted the animal previously

Weird. I've been at that huge parking lot so many times, but have never seen more than maybe three other vehicles. I tend to go off-season, start in dark, finish in dark. It's a little surreal to see that many cars there.

Funny thing is, Ramona Falls is objectively not that great of a hike. It's only popular because it's popular, for the exact same reason people care about the Kardashians. [I'm assuming the vast vast vast majority of those cars belong to people strolling up to Ramona.]

Oh, by the way, you won't catch covid from somebody on the trail, unless they're doing something stupid, like coughing in your face. [And, as you know, people never do stupid irresponsible things, right?]

retired jerry wrote: ↑

July 27th, 2020, 3:05 pm

...you can get it off a doorknob...

Let's be fair to doorknobs: You can only get covid from a doorknob if you take a finger and run it around the doorknob to swipe up any viable viruses on it, and then rub that finger around a mucous membrane. Nobody would ever do something that foolish, right? Right?!

You're probably right

Wont get covid from a hiker - you really need a longer exposure than a brief passing

Or from dog - but they really dont know for sure

retired jerry wrote: ↑

July 27th, 2020, 7:20 pm

You're probably right

Wont get covid from a hiker - you really need a longer exposure than a brief passing

Or from dog - but they really dont know for sure

The dogs don't know?

I'm not gonna hike with a mask on. When I encounter someone, I step off the trail, lean out, and face away from them until they pass.

On the trail to McNeil Point a couple weeks ago, I encountered an angry woman (a "Wilderness Karen"?) who was upset that people were not moving a full 6 feet off the path when passing. The thing I don't get is, if she's that worried, why is she on one of the most popular trails around?

Anyway, I've been picking obscure destinations this year to avoid people like that rather than to avoid coronavirus.