More than a year after Covid-19 disrupted hiking along the Appalachian Trail, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy has determined that the conditions it laid out for safe thru-hiking have been met.
As a result, the ATC said it would resume its 2,000-Miler program and that it would again distribute 2021 backpack hangtags for thru-hikers and eligible section hikers.
In a statement on its website on Tuesday, May 11, the ATC said the decision was made after it determined, in collaboration with its Covid-19 Task Force, that one of its two criteria for safe hiking had been met: that a Covid vaccine or effective treatment has become widely available and distributed. The ATC said that significant gains were being made toward the second criteria: that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems the pandemic “under control” (or similar determination).
The ATC, which oversees management of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, asked hikers to get off the AT in late March 2020 as Covid spread, and this year continued to ask hikers to stay off the the trail.
“The ATC acknowledges the past year has required significant sacrifices both within and outside the AT community of volunteers, supporters, and hikers,” the organization said. “Many of us have lost friends and family. Some have delayed lifelong plans and aspirations—including postponing attempts to thru-hike the trail—to better ensure they and those around them are at a lower risk of contracting or spreading Covid-19. We thank everyone who has taken, and continues to take, extra steps to help combat this pandemic.”
The ATC said that since the beginning of the pandemic it has “followed the science. … We have monitored conditions on the ground, and we continue to collaborate with our local, state, and federal agency partners; with trail maintaining clubs; with trailside communities; and with the hiker community to ensure coordination across the AT.”
The ATC noted several factors that contributed to its decision to recognize thru-hikes:
- Effective vaccines are widely available. The ATC encourages hikers to be vaccinated before starting a thru-hike, or if they are already on the trail find a location to receive the vaccine by visiting vaccines.gov.
- The CDC has determined that people no longer need to wear masks when they “walk, run, or bike outdoors with members of [their] household,” and small groups of both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people can meet outdoors safely.
- AT shelters on US Forest Service land from Georgia to Virginia have reopened. Fifty-five shelters on National Park Service AT corridor lands from northern Virginia to Maine remain closed, though the privies at those locations are open. In Massachusetts, no overnight camping is allowed on state lands or at AT shelters. Although many shelters have reopened, the ATC recommends that hikers sleep in their own personal shelters.
- The 14 states the AT passes through have removed or relaxed mandatory quarantines or other restrictions.
The ATC said its 2,000-Miler program will recognize miles hiked before the pause of the program on March 31, 2020, and after May 11, 2021. Hikers can submit applications starting May 17 at appalachiantrail.org/apply-2000-miler.
AT 2021 hangtags can be picked up at the ATC Headquarters and Visitor Center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, after it reopens May 27, 2021, and at the AT Visitor Center in Monson, Maine, after it reopens June 2, 2021.
The ATC Visitor Center in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, will remain closed until further notice.
The ATC continues to advise hikers to follow Covid safety guidelines by wearing a mask when they cannot maintain a safe distance from others, especially in shelters, shuttles, towns, and hostels.
Other health safety recommendations from the ATC include frequent hand washing, avoid sharing food, and avoid large groups, even outdoors.
In the early days of the pandemic, the AT was closed briefly in Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks; shelters in national forests were closed and some AT trailheads in national forests were closed; and at least one town tried to prevent thru-hikers from crossing roads. The ATC’s role was strictly advisory.
Featured imaged by Steve Raubenstine from Pixabay
