They Were Asked To Stay Home. But Some Thru-Hikers Insisted On Finishing The Appalachian Trail

This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, thru hikers have been advised to put their dreams on hold. (Susan Sharon/Maine Public)

Every year, several thousand adventurous souls set out to hike all 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail. But this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, thru-hikers have been advised to put their dreams on hold.

Some have refused.

That refusal has created tension between those who want to push personal boundaries and those who say there should be limits on public safety.

Back in March, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which manages and protects the trail from Georgia to Maine, made an unusual decision: “we asked people that hadn’t started their hike to postpone it, and we asked people who were on the trail to please leave.”

Sandi Marra is president and CEO of the Conservancy. She says that even before COVID-19 there were regular outbreaks of other viruses in crowded bunkhouses and shelters. Hikers often do not have access to soap and water for days at a time, so hygiene can be a challenge. There were concerns hikers would infect each other or spread the virus in rural towns where they stopped to pick up food and supplies.

Overnight facilities and privies along the trail were closed.

But then came a tremendous flood of day hikers in more populated areas trying to escape the confines of their homes.

Read the rest of this story at Maine Public’s website.