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Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bruce #56823 04/03/20 02:38 PM
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Having said that, I do not want to visit a place where I would be unwelcome. So I'll follow the advice of local and state authorities regarding that matter when the time comes for my trip in September.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bruce #56824 04/03/20 02:47 PM
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Anyone who is an “admin” is probably retarded IMO. Same goes for 99% of Facebook. I’ll listen to the reports coming out and do my own research.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
ace #56825 04/03/20 05:12 PM
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Yes, I am a crusty, ill-tempered, old man, who has little tolerance for young kids with little real life experience who refuse to take the advice of their elders, but I know I'm right, ha ha.




Last edited by Bob West; 04/03/20 05:15 PM.
Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bruce #56826 04/03/20 05:18 PM
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Don't worry, Bruce. You will always be welcome in Bishop, and even over here on the left-coast. Just bring money...

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Bob West #56828 04/03/20 06:32 PM
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Thanks Bob, I hope so! I'd be visiting the Lone Pine area and staying at the Portal family campground, but I pass through Bishop each way every year and always drop some money there. wink

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bruce #56829 04/03/20 06:54 PM
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Not sure went I will return to Bishop, too much surf fishing to do over here in Los Osos.

Have fun in the Eastern Sierra!

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bruce #56839 04/05/20 09:34 PM
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I've been the camp host at Tuttle Creek BLM (still here, but CG closed) since November and yes, it seems like the perfect place (Lone Pine) to come, but the key to all of the fear & closures is about the folks that are asymptomatic (have the virus but no symptoms)... your sick and come here (feeling great) and you have bought fuel, supplies, etc for your "adventure", but now you've spread the virus in a small town with limited hospital resources... this goes for the entire Owens Valley.

This virus is 3X more infectious than the flu virus.

Please consider this... I had a camper here two weeks ago (before we closed) that sat by my campfire with his Asian girlfriend (they were from Seattle) and swore he had the virus in late December... really got my attention and I immediately got up and reminded him that the "experts" still don't know all the details of this virus.

As an example... lions & tigers in a New York zoo have been infected with this crazy virus (Washington Post news today)

I'm 68, in excellent health, but I don't want to find out how susceptible I am to this weird medical enigma !

Please respect the elderly everywhere and give it the 30 days recommended

IMHO


Depression is just anger without the enthusiasm
Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Bob West #56840 04/06/20 03:06 AM
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Regardless of what anyone here says or thinks, it’s safe to say that, if Covid-19 remains a threat, permits will not be issued.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
StorminMatt #56842 04/06/20 09:14 AM
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I think CV19 will remain a threat until a vaccine is put to full use. That is probably at least a year away.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Baja Dave #56843 04/06/20 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted By: Baja Dave

Please respect the elderly everywhere and give it the 30 days recommended


Except it is not just 30 days. When everything first closed they said 2 weeks, now they are saying until the end of April which would be about 6 weeks. In reality this will be a thing until a vaccine is found or enough people get it and recover for it to stop spreading. Spanish flu took 3 years to stop spreading.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Louie #56844 04/06/20 11:42 PM
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Lockdowns could also end if we find treatments for Covid-19 that can prevent bad outcomes. If Covid-19 could be reduced to something that is no more serious than a bad cold, we could end lockdowns. And this is something that could potentially come LONG before a vaccine.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
StorminMatt #56845 04/07/20 07:28 AM
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I don't think the lockdowns are going to last for more than a few months. After which time the restrictions will be slowly lifted, depending on geographic location. Essential for this of course will be the flattening of the curve, and we are already starting to see signs of this. Also essential will be widespread availability of masks and antibody testing, for contact tracing. Social distancing will remain the norm until there's a vaccine.

It's going to be a lot more complicated than a simple lockdown, regarding what non-essential activities are allowed to proceed and which aren't. But intuitively it would appear that restrictions on large, mass gathering will be the last to be lifted.

Speaking of which, I'm entered in the Boston marathon for Sept. 14th, which is a rescheduled date from April 20th. It so happens that my Whitney permit was awarded on that same day, so obviously I can't be at both. But at this point it seems pretty clear that the marathon will be cancelled and I just hope by then my permit (just for myself) will still be valid. That will determine whether I go or not. No point in worrying about it now, just hoping for things to get back to semi normal ASAP before the economy, especially tourism, gets too devastated to the point where many places in towns like Lone Pine go out of business because they can't survive and there's no more stimulus money.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
ace #56846 04/07/20 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted By: ace
I don’t think you understand the concept of the NPS. It’s not for locals, it’s for the country, and the whole country contributes to its survival via Federal Taxes. In fact, they probably contribute a lot more to the parks than the Bishop poors who make $50k per year? So I’ll hike whenever the hell I want. Don’t act like hiking is any different than any street in the country. People passing by each other.


I don't think you understand the concept of the NPS either. When a park is closed, you cannot hike there legally. Break the rules and you will be escorted out and fined.
Besides, "the Bishop poors who make $50k per year" include restaurant/hotel workers, park rangers, police officers and SAR - people who work hard so everyone can enjoy the mountains. Have some fu..ing respect.

Last edited by Anton; 04/07/20 08:30 AM.
Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Anton #56847 04/07/20 12:47 PM
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Ace, Anton, Bob, and others sometimes seem more interested in winning a point than getting the facts right or finding reasonable consensus. (BTW, is ace a reincarnation of Burchy?)

As I understand it, the USFS has closed all facilities except trailheads, and SEKI is closed, period. I’m sure the road to Whitney Portal is gaited at around 6,500’. If that is right, I can’t see why a local (or a tourist from L.A.) couldn’t legally park at 6,500’, hike up the road, and climb the East Face of Whitney to the summit. Getting back down without crossing into SEKI would be challenging, since the Final 400 is a few feet inside SEKI, but it’s possible. However, the chance of encountering a ranger on the summit, let alone one that would write you a ticket for downclimbing the Final 400, is zero.

I’m assuming that, since the trailheads are open, you can still get a self-issue permit. If not, I’m sure that there are young studs (both local and otherwise) that could do what I described in a day.

I understand the locals not wanting tourists spreading COVID-19 and overwhelming the tiny local hospitals or getting into trouble in the backcountry and overwhelming the SAR teams. The locals clearly want the tourists to stay home. What I don’t know is whether the locals are following the same rules and staying home themselves. Or are they playing outside as usual, now that the tourists are staying home. Remember, the rules apply to everybody, or they apply to nobody.

Legal or not, I think that traveling to Mammoth/Bishop/Lone Pine right now constitutes “being a dick”, and I won’t do it.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bobpickering #56848 04/07/20 01:44 PM
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My friends in Bishop tell me it is like a ghost town just now. The locals are playing by the rules. Before the hostels closed, there were still out of town folks around, but with the USFS and BLM closures, most of the hikers are gone. It is still possible to get food to go in several cafes, and groceries at Vons, but walk in cafes are shut.

Inyo SAR and the CHP helo crew had a body recovery mission a few days ago in Death Valley. Someone fell @ 300' near Zabriskie Point. https://www.sierrawave.net/death-valley-body-recovery/






Last edited by Bob West; 04/07/20 01:49 PM.
Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bobpickering #56849 04/07/20 01:50 PM
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I read yesterday that Mammoth Lakes is operating a check point somewhere on the road entering town. If you're not a resident, you're not allowed to enter. At least one local case of COVID-19, IIRC. 17 bed hospital with two ICU beds. Anyone who is seriously injured or ill in Mammoth is evacuated by air, usually to LA. That's weather permitting. The local head of the health department and the chief MD for the hospital are urging people to stay away. They said the same thing pertains to the entire Owens Valley area: sparse population with scaled down infrastructure compared with a medium sized city.

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
SoCal Jim #56850 04/07/20 02:16 PM
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Nobody should be going anywhere that's not essential right now, as long as the SIP is in effect. Especially someone (or group) traveling to Owens valley from SoCal or the Bay Area. I don't think anyone here was thinking of that anyway (except maybe ace?). My work is a 10 minute drive, and I enjoy having it as one of the few places I can go to now. Being stuck at home 24/7 would not sit well with me at all (especially if I lived in one of the areas where they ban outdoor exercise).

Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Bob West #56851 04/07/20 07:19 PM
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https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/03/29/...-to-public/amp/


"The order includes campgrounds, day-use areas, and picnic areas, but not trailheads as its intent is to allow visitors continued access to lands for hiking and walking"

Buy your needs before you get here and plan on day trips as Alabama Hills are completely shut-down to all traffic and any overnight camping... if you plan to hike elsewhere in the Owens Valley I'm not sure about overnight camping.


Depression is just anger without the enthusiasm
Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
Bob West #56852 04/07/20 07:42 PM
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A reminder: do not participate in risky outdoor recreation at this time due to emergency medical care being prioritized by COVID-19 patients and limited rescue resources.


Depression is just anger without the enthusiasm
Re: Corona Virus CV19: To hike or not to hike
bobpickering #56853 04/07/20 08:25 PM
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Originally Posted By: bobpickering
I understand the locals not wanting tourists spreading COVID-19 and overwhelming the tiny local hospitals


I would think that like everything else, the hospitals in an area is proportional to the population. That is the hospital beds to population ratio is roughly the same around Bishop as it is around Los Angles.

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