ramona falls trailhead July 2020

[Bosterson]

"Wilderness Karen"

[retired jerry]

Dogs dont know anything about covid or 6 feet:)

Yeah, if someone wants 6 feet, then get 6 feet off trail?

I usually get 12 feet off myself.

[gallione11]

I always wonder if people just go there and stop at the river crossing because the amount of cars never meshes with the amount of people I see. I know it's a loop so you won't necessarily pass everyone, but in the few times I've done it this year, I'll see/pass maybe 3-8 groups for the first six miles, and then 30+ for the last mile.

July 18th was definitely the most crowded I've ever seen the lot. I arrived later than I normally would have, around 9am, and there was already a double row of cars in the middle. Leaving was a bit of pain with everyone parking in the pull outs on the way down. I had to essentially drive my truck up a rock or two to let a stream of 8 cars head up 200 feet from the lot.

I haven't met any Karen's on the trail yet, but I have gotten some dirty looks for no mask, but on this trail, there's really no place you can't step off 6 feet, so meh. I will use one for passing if I'm on ridge where you can't step off.

[justpeachy]

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.]

They just have to get that Instagram-worthy shot of the falls, because everyone else has. I've noticed a sharp uptick in the number of people climbing all over the hillside and the rocks, which not only causes environmental damage but also makes it difficult for other people to take a photo of the waterfall.

[TwoPaw]

My guess is less people are carpooling together because of covid and are opting to group up at trailheads; especially on weekends. Plus with so many Gorge options off limits, for one reason or the other, popular places like Ramona are hit even harder.

I wear a bandana "masquer-chief" style that I can pull over my face if need be, which is rare. Usually I just pull off the trail, smile, say hello and everything is hunky dory. Plus avoiding crowds in the first place.

[KDfishbiologist]

I've definitely met a few of those this year. Agreed, they really should just be staying at home if they're that worried while on trail.

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.

[squidvicious]

On the trail to McNeil Point a couple weeks ago, I encountered an angry woman (a "Wilderness Karen"?)

Funny, that's where I had pretty much the flip side of that experience. I think I had my first case of anti-mask aggression.

I don't "hike with a mask on," but I wear a neck gaiter that I pull up if people approach. I'm not particularly uptight about the chance of getting/communicating covid hiking, but I wear it because I don't have a good answer to the question of "Why not?" It's an easy enough thing to do and just generally respectful, since a mask is really about protecting other people rather than yourself.

So I hit Top Spur TH at 6:45 am on a weekday, enjoyed the trail to myself (plus campers) for most of the trip, until halfway back when I started hitting hikers galore. Weird thing I noticed was most groups stepped off the trail as I approached, but to *opposite* sides of the trail, leaving me a narrow gauntlet to thread through. Um, not quite getting the distance thing here, guys, but whatever.

Now I'm nearly done, ready to be out of the people, when I see a group of three backpackers ahead. They're in a wide section of trail, and they seemed to be stopped and talking, so I pull my mask up and keep going, expecting no problem to pass. Then one of them starts up the trail. Hmm, a bit strange, since they were in a good place to pass and now we're going to meet in a narrow spot, but I start looking around if there's anywhere for either of us to step off--then look up and realize he's actually picked up speed. He was a really big guy (ie muscle, not fat), sticking smack in the middle of the trail, not twisting away at all, and he's got this nasty smirk on his face. He was clearly intentionally coming at me. I know he made some contact but honestly it was so fast and bizarre that I don't remember exactly. I was just, "WTF was THAT about?"

It wasn't until a couple hours later that I started thinking how I had a mask on, he did not, and remembering that weird nasty smirk that I started thinking, I bet that's what it was. Teach the pansy liberal a lesson or something.

[retired jerry]

current evidence is that a mask offers you some protection also

for most people, getting covid isn't that serious, you'll probably survive, especially if you're young, but, like Texas, Florida, and California, if a bunch of people get covid then hospitals start reaching capacity and things get so horrendous there that even in Florida or Texas, they'll eventually concede and start shutting down the economy

rather than waiting for things to get so bad, if we all social distance and wear masks and wash hands, then we can avoid this

it's more a societal problem rather than an individual problem

watch the "daily new reported cases" - if it goes low, slowly open thing back up. if it goes up like recently in Oregon and Washington - we need to be more careful

[retired jerry]

what I hate is when people stop to take a break at narrow sections so its hard for people to pass

for example, on the loop trail, just before the McNeil Point ridge, there's this rocky section where you (or at least I) have to use my hands a little. Difficult enough to just get through, much less get off "the trail" to let someone by. That was a bad section even pre covid.

All these people were just hanging out there so I had to get within a few feet of them. But I went briskly so was less than 6 feet for only a few seconds. I held my breath so I didn't have to breath their covid contaminated exhalations

[justpeachy]

what I hate is when people stop to take a break at narrow sections so its hard for people to pass

Agree. Also annoying is when groups take a break in front of trail signs at junctions. Sometimes you may not even realize there's a sign behind them, and sometimes you have to ask them to move so you can read it.