Want to travel to a NH destination? Not Yet.

[alexmtn]

It's great to see growing availability of state/local parks and WMNF trailheads, and to hear of friends' adventures getting back to the mountains. However, the state -- officially -- is not yet ready to receive non-local visitors to NH destinations.

From my read, I don't think that use of the term "close to home" was intended as a synonym for "in-state". If you're not truly local to a hoped-for destination, I encourage you to stay with your more local alternatives until we receive an update for the better from the state. FWIW, AMC volunteers will not be leading physical trips until June 16 at the earliest. Let's all hang back a little longer!

Alex
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COVID-19 Updates from NH Travel & Tourism as of 5/24/2020
[pasted in this message body as a date-stamped snapshot]

The health, safety and well-being of all residents and visitors continues to be a top priority in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Travel and Tourism officials are closely monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19 and are adhering to the expert advice of state and public health officials.

As part of the state’s response, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has issued Emergency Orders to stop the spread of the virus. In conjunction with New Hampshire's Public Health Department and recommendations from the Governor's Economic Re-opening Task Force, the Governor has announced a timeline to begin to safely reopen the state's economy. The timeline includes keeping some non-essential businesses closed and extending the initial Stay at Home Order through May 31, 2020.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has issued universal guidelines related to the safe reopening of New Hampshire businesses. For a complete list of what is currently open for business and to view guidance for employers and employees of these sectors, please click here.

We realize this is a difficult, stressful and challenging time, but we all can help stop the spread of COVID-19 by practicing social distancing and staying close to home. We look forward to welcoming you back to New Hampshire when it is safe to travel once again. Until then, we hope you stay safe and healthy.

For additional information regarding COVID-19 please visit the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services website.

Anyone with travel plans should follow the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Travel Association. Those most at risk of infection, including older adults and those with underlying health conditions, are encouraged to stay home when possible to avoid contracting the virus.

Healthy Practices to Help Avoid Becoming Sick

• Clean your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after being in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• If soap and water are not available use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
• Stay home if you are sick
• Avoid traveling if your sick
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue away; if you don’t have a tissue cough or sneeze into your sleeve in the elbow then wash your hands immediately after either
• Practice safe social distancing

 

[ChrisB]

Our beaches remain officially closed this holiday weekend to avoid an influx of you know who from you know where. But as of mid-day Sunday it is a mere 53 deg at the coast and blowing stink. Not a beach day !

N Conway however is a balmy 68.

 

[CaptCaper]

I believe folks should come and enjoy NH now. i see no reason to hold back. Lot's of trails to hike etc and would give plenty of room for safe passage. Much better then Walmarts and other places.
We live in NH and went to Becket AT trail and then on to Niagra Falls for a day. Everyone has learned to be safe and I'm not surprised in that as were all big boys and girls not babys. Went to Acadia Nat Park 2 times and expierenced the same.
Glad the states are opening up fast. About time. One shoe doesn't fit all. Were not NYC or Detroit by all means. Neither are most folks from Mass who love NH.

 

[TEO]

I believe folks should come and enjoy NH now. i see no reason to hold back. Lot's of trails to hike etc and would give plenty of room for safe passage. Much better then Walmarts and other places.
We live in NH and went to Becket AT trail and then on to Niagra Falls for a day. Everyone has learned to be safe and I'm not surprised in that as were all big boys and girls not babys. Went to Acadia Nat Park 2 times and expierenced the same.
Glad the states are opening up fast. About time. One shoe doesn't fit all. Were not NYC or Detroit by all means. Neither are most folks from Mass who love NH.

In two to six weeks we will see a significant surge in cases and deaths. We haven't suddenly become immune, just because we've been socially distancing for several months. States such as Vermont have done remarkably well, but the sobering corollary is that the vast majority of the state's population remains vulnerable. Short of a vaccine or herd immunity, the only safe way to reopen is with massive testing—eventually more than 20 million people per day—and hiring more than 100,000 people nationwide to do contact tracing. If you are serious about wanting to reopen, you should read at least the Executive Introduction and the Summary and Conclusion to the Roadmap to Resilience: Massive Scale Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation (TTSI) as the Path to Pandemic Resilience for a Free Society. This is a serious paper that lays out a way to fully reopen the economy by August. But, as they state in the introduction, "What we need to do is much bigger than most people realize."

That said, there's no reason why people can't travel across state boundaries to hike, paddle, etc., and remain safe and socially distant. Bring your own food and beverages, find appropriate alternatives to using public restrooms, pay at the pump if you need to gas up, avoid popular destinations, have a backup planned in the event that your destination is crowded, give people plenty of space when you encounter them, and wear a mask when appropriate. If you can't do those things, then yes, stay home.

 

[psyculman]

In two to six weeks we will see a significant surge in cases and deaths. We haven't suddenly become immune, just because we've been socially distancing for several months. States such as Vermont have done remarkably well, but the sobering corollary is that the vast majority of the state's population remains vulnerable. Short of a vaccine or herd immunity, the only safe way to reopen is with massive testing—eventually more than 20 million people per day—and hiring more than 100,000 people nationwide to do contact tracing. If you are serious about wanting to reopen, you should read at least the Executive Introduction and the Summary and Conclusion to the Roadmap to Resilience: Massive Scale Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation (TTSI) as the Path to Pandemic Resilience for a Free Society. This is a serious paper that lays out a way to fully reopen the economy by August. But, as they state in the introduction, "What we need to do is much bigger than most people realize."

That said, there's no reason why people can't travel across state boundaries to hike, paddle, etc., and remain safe and socially distant. Bring your own food and beverages, find appropriate alternatives to using public restrooms, pay at the pump if you need to gas up, avoid popular destinations, have a backup planned in the event that your destination is crowded, give people plenty of space when you encounter them, and wear a mask when appropriate. If you can't do those things, then yes, stay home.

"Find appropriate alternatives to using public restrooms"...................and that would be.................?

 

[Tom Rankin]

"Find appropriate alternatives to using public restrooms"...................and that would be.................?

That DEPENDS on what you need to use the restroom for!

Or, if circumstances permit, you can go into the woods and do your business there as well.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Not a beach day !

Tell that to all the green license plates heading to Crane's.

 

[richard]

That said, there's no reason why people can't travel across state boundaries to hike, paddle, etc., and remain safe and socially distant. Bring your own food and beverages, find appropriate alternatives to using public restrooms, pay at the pump if you need to gas up, avoid popular destinations, have a backup planned in the event that your destination is crowded, give people plenty of space when you encounter them, and wear a mask when appropriate. If you can't do those things, then yes, stay home. *** In other words. just use common sense ! ***

 

[Hachi]

I took a short drive to Waterville Valley from my NH home. 9 out of 10 license plates on 93 headed north were from MA. I ended up at the Welch Dickey Loop, the parking area was full and the road as well for 100 yards or so. The trail was loaded with small groups and families. Some had masks, some did not. Everyone - to a person, was respectful of distances. Children and pets too. I don't particularly relish crowded trails, but it was a joy to be out there on a spectacular day with so many happy people. I walked alone most of the time, with at least 75 yards to the next hikers. Normally I would chat with people along the way, but this time, there wasn't much of that. Folks just passed, or let me pass with a perfunctory hello or a nod.

The pit toilets at the parking lot were boarded up, but there were a couple of comfort castles that had been brought in. For such a short hike, I needed no accomodations.

 

[Mike P.]

Lines on a map don't decide if you are or are not smart enough to follow social distancing. Not surprising that the media (who I usually trust BTW) is focusing on examples of people not social distancing. Following my son, myself, another parent & two scouts (we are allowed five people in CT as long as you social distance) hiked over 10 miles seeing others on a holiday weekend & even on a fairly crowded summit, Case Mountain in Manchester CT) would have been a boring film clip for six hours. Crowded bar with drunk patrons are likely to do dumb things, as when too much alcohol is ever consumed.

I am curious how Gov. S. talks tough about his NH neighbors and then turns turtle in about three weeks when Bike Week occurs. Is there anyone who thinks all participants will be wearing masks (well they may be okay as long as they have logos on them vs, generic surgical masks) and will be socially distanced? Are you only allowed to cross state lines into NH on a Harley Gov. S?

Addendum: I just learned that Officially Bike Week is scheduled for Late August, a week after Sturgis. I am curious if no riders will come up, riders plan their calendar around these types of events.

 

[TEO]

...................and that would be.................?

As Tom suggested, the woods. I would not use portapotties.

In other words. just use common sense !

Ayup.

 

[sierra]

"Find appropriate alternatives to using public restrooms"...................and that would be.................?

How can a hiker even ask this question, lol. I was off for 7 days and hiked most of them in the Whites as I have been doing for sometime now. I will not use public restrooms or porta potties. At first my dog was quite perplexed at the new routine, I got a head tilt when digging my cat hole, then I got another when I used it. Now he takes it in stride as if we were at home where he sits at my feet when I go anyway. They don't call Aussies Velcro dogs for nothing.

 

[B the Hiker]

Everyone has learned to be safe and I'm not surprised in that as were all big boys and girls not babys.

Not according to my Facebook feed, where I'm looking at photos of people hailing from different states standing shoulder to shoulder on summits, seven or eight across, not a mask to be seen anywhere, with captions of crowded parking lots.

It's shocking! Especially when I see photos of people who should be bright enough to know better.

As TEO writes, several weeks from now, there will be a resurgence as people who have let their guard down wake up with a fever.

Brian


p.s. It's spelled "babies."

 

[peakbagger]

That is strange, I was on Lincoln Lafayette loop yesterday and the vast majority of folks were keeping separated. Sure there were some smaller groups but not knowing their living situation they could just be room mates. I guess it comes down to if you want to see the worst side of things, you can find them on the internet.

 

[TCD]

Even our Governor Cuomo now admits that all this fear mongering guesswork is just that:

"Now, people can speculate. People can guess. I think next week, I think two weeks, I think a month," Cuomo told reporters on Memorial Day. "I'm out of that business because we all failed at that business. Right? All the early national experts. Here's my projection model. Here's my projection model. They were all wrong. They were all wrong."

But here on this forum we "wannabe epidemiologists" can pump out all our BS about what is "certain to happen" in the future.

I'm no Cuomo fan, but I am with him on this: STOP GUESSING, AND PROMOTING YOUR GUESSES AS "SCIENCE." We will find out in a month or two what the results are from various policies around the country. And then we will be smarter, and have a better idea what to do next.

 

[Raven]

"A scientist, police chief, and politician all sit down at a table."

Anyone here ever see Jaws? Recall how the beaches were all deemed safe by the summer season opening weekend? The most dangerous animal in that movie was not the shark.

We all make our own decisions. Please make yours with kindness, compassion, and intelligence. Regardless of what talking mouths on TV, FB, Internet, etc are saying, take some time to think for yourself while considering your impact on others. You know, like usual, but under different circumstances.

Be kind. Be compassionate. Make decisions that keep others safe while you recreate. Listen to a bit more science, a bit less angry old man.

My 3 cents. I'm generous.

 

[hikerbrian]

In two to six weeks we will see a significant surge in cases and deaths. We haven't suddenly become immune, just because we've been socially distancing for several months.

Well, we'll see. It's true we haven't suddenly become immune, but we have become considerably better at understanding likely routes of transmission, and while it's demonstrably true that some folks completely ignore social distancing guidelines, a significant portion of the population is quite conscientious. If this virus works like others (and there's no good reason it wouldn't), then the rate of spread must decrease proportionately with population-level (i.e. average) adherence to social distancing guidelines. It can't not behave that way, as far as anyone knows. We're much better at this than we were in February-March. Despite dire predictions to the contrary, FL has not seen a spike in COVID-19 cases over the past couple of weeks, even though they opened beaches and some businesses at the beginning of the month. Could still happen, but I wouldn't make such a prediction at this point.

Short of a vaccine or herd immunity, the only safe way to reopen is with massive testing—eventually more than 20 million people per day—and hiring more than 100,000 people nationwide to do contact tracing. If you are serious about wanting to reopen, you should read at least the Executive Introduction and the Summary and Conclusion to the Roadmap to Resilience: Massive Scale Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation (TTSI) as the Path to Pandemic Resilience for a Free Society. This is a serious paper that lays out a way to fully reopen the economy by August. But, as they state in the introduction, "What we need to do is much bigger than most people realize."

I only read the Executive Summary and Intro, but what I read seems like solid science-based policy. I wish I had confidence that massive scale TTSI would come to fruition on the desired timescale. Such an approach requires massive coordination and focus over several months from parties with disparate interests. Our country is not particularly well-suited to such things. Not a complaint, just an observation. So I think we better have some alternate strategies.

There was an article in NPR a couple of days ago that gave subjective risk levels to a variety of summer activities, and camping is considered 'low risk,' with the caveats you'd expect (details of bathroom practices, for example). We know a lot more now than we did even a month ago. Based on the best current science, a back country camping trip to a low use area would seem to be exceptionally low risk. I understand where Gov. Sununu is coming from in his 'Stay local' advice, particularly as it applies to his neighbors to the south, where there's a much higher infection rate. But at some point a person (me) will make his own choices within the letter and spirit of the law.

 

[NHClimber]

The whole situation is interesting from both a social and political perspective. I know a lot of folks on both sides of the political spectrum who are struggling with how much trust to put in govt officials (again, regardless of political affiliation). I'm not choosing sides as between those who think absolute govt control and a complete shutdown of the economy is the right approach vs. those who think the govt is unconstitutionally inhibiting the freedom of the people to make their own choices and to provide economically for their families. But it is encouraging to see people applying greater scrutiny to how our leadership across all levels of govt are handling a situation for which there isn't much modern precedent.

 

[CaptCaper]

That DEPENDS on what you need to use the restroom for!

Or, if circumstances permit, you can go into the woods and do your business there as well.

I have to go to Cape Cod on business alot. Was just there for 3 days this week. Hard to find a place to do one's business. Find a off the beat quiet dirt road to stop? no way. Traffic in and out. Impossible to find a quiet place there. So I pollute the side parking lot's, streets and other fine spots inbetween my crew cab doors or behind empty or closed buildings. So much for keeping things clean in Mass. At least when they come up here it is so easy to find a spot to do it.

No easy social distancing there like here. Busy as heck every where.

 

[CaptCaper]

That is strange, I was on Lincoln Lafayette loop yesterday and the vast majority of folks were keeping separated. Sure there were some smaller groups but not knowing their living situation they could just be room mates. I guess it comes down to if you want to see the worst side of things, you can find them on the internet.

I believe this news report vs anything from a Facebook feed. Pictures are not good at showing the real social safe practive going on out there.