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With any luck I begin a section/thru hike hybrid in 2021. I recognize rules change but hopefully someone has first hand information. Highway patrol, DOT, regular commuter.
I’ll be driving I95 to access the trail from Florida.. So finally the question.
Can one pass through states with quarantine? Are there checkpoints?
I’m thinking just stay on I95 and get to an open state
Thank you.
That's sort of a crapshoot at a moving target. Where do you want to go? From Fl, it's not far to Springer and that gets you on trail. IIRC the Florida Trail somehow connects to the AT via some other links so you can start from where you are from.
Just to add any NYC crossings (George Washington Bridge I-95)) there is a checkpoint, random cars are stopped for Covid related stuff. (My advice don't ever take the GWB unless you have to, and it appears you don't there are better alternatives, and this was before before Covid).
It's impossible to tell what the situation might be next spring. Given current conditions, I'm not very hopeful it will be much better then it is now, which is increasingly desperate.
Be that as it may, I avoid I95 at all cost. It's heavy traffic and lots of tolls. I75 to I81 is a more pleasant drive and is actually closer to the AT as it parallels the ridge line on the west side.
Most of the states and perhaps all along the AT that currently have traveler quarantine rules allow travelers to pass through if they are not staying longer than 24 hours. It would be your final destination where you may have an issue.
Right now, I am pretty sure PA and states south have no traveler quarantines as far as I know for US travelers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slo-go'en
I've been doing the 75>81>66>95 route to get from knoxville to maryland four times since may....
going to do my 5th trip in two weeks......
no checkpoints, no troopers stopping me......
i have to be up in maryland for a few more months but make the trip back to knoxville every couple of week or so....
once im in maryland, i stay in the house doing what i need to do and just going out for groceries and pickup food....
and got myself tested last week as it was free and the place was 3 minutes from me.....
And.... the results??Quote:
Originally Posted by TNhiker
............
There is essentially no such thing as a 'quarantine' that applies to anyone hiking the AT who has no reason to believe that he/she has been exposed. To my knowledge, there have been no incidents, no arrests in the AT corridor - please provide info if you have it. One need only look at any of the freeways connecting the states to see that the quarantine, with few exceptions, exists on paper only. The idea that a hiker must move slow enough to begin a new quarantine in each state is absurd - bureaucratic ritualism and mindlessness in its lowest form.
NJ, NY, CT, and VT have specific quarantine rules for visitors arriving from specific states. MA, NH, and ME also have rules for visitors too. Some of these restrictions apply to how long ago you may have been in the specified state or county. Whether anyone has been fined or arrested is irrelevant. The OP is traveling from FL which is listed on several states currently as requiring a quarantine on arrival for travelers staying longer than 24 hours.Quote:
Originally Posted by treroach
Here's NY's rules for instance. https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/co...ravel-advisory
NJ rules
https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/travel-and-transportation/which-states-are-on-the-travel-advisory-list-are-there-travel-restrictions-to-or-from-new-jersey
CT rules https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus/travel
VT https://www.healthvermont.gov/respon...veling-vermont
MA https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order
NH https://www.covidguidance.nh.gov/out-state-visitors
ME https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restar...epmainehealthy
Best to check before you go since states have been added at different times.
Northbound: NJ Turnpike to Garden State Parkway (GSP), to eastbound NY Thruway, to southbound to Tappan Zee Bridge, southbound to I-95, to eastbound New England states. If you are going all the way to Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine, take the I-495 loop around Boston to avoid the heavy I-95/128 traffic around Boston.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starchild
A slightly longer ride, mileage-wise, but actually a shorter ride, time-wise, as you avoid the NYC metropolitan area congestion, with the added bonus of a nice view of the NYC skyline in the distance. I did the GW Bridge once, never again!
Additionally, if you get off the GSP onto one of the several local highways that parallels it, you can find lots of locations to get cheaper gas & reasonably-priced restaurants & avoid the price-gouging of the GSP rest stops. There are multiple on-ramps to get back on the GSP all along these roads.
Campmor is located right off the GSP at 810 Route 17 North Paramus, New Jersey if you need to pick up any supplies for your hike.
I sectioned the AT and I avoided I95 like the plague and swung north of NYC. I 81 from VA to Wilkes Barre PA then I 84 east, I 81 runs you right close to the AT in TN, VA and MA WV and PA, I 84 gets you close to the AT in NJ and NY. In Hartford take I 91 north which runs parallel to the AT in Mass and VT. It crosses the AT near Hanover NH. If you are going farther North, just stay on I 91 and cut over to the whites and pick up RT2. Rt 2 is the best access to get to the trail in Maine until you hit I95 south of Bangor Maine. This route is longer but faster. With the the exception of Hartford CT, its almost all cruise control driving. Anytime you get closer to the coast like on I 95 or NYC, you risk almost consistent heavy traffic from 7 AM to 7 PM. I find I can do a lot of hours cruse control driving compared to bumper to bumper city driving.
Quote:
And.... the results??
negative.....
i plan on getting tested again in a month or so, especially since i will be doing runs back and forth between states...
i have cut down on what contact i have had with the outside world as i want this thing to get over with....
i have concerts and other plans for next year and we need to get this thing under control.
.............
Keep a very close eye on the guidelines for each state as you approach your hike, because they can significantly change. And, each state has a different schedule to update their restrictions.
That's been my experience in the last month or so.
I'm following all the rules and trying to be cautious. I really want to hike this summer though and have time off, so when things started to open up a bit and New Jersey residents (where I'm from) were allowed to travel to certain states, I ventured out on the AT in other states.
Here's a couple goofy things I ran into--that required some fast moves for me to adjust:
The Vermont map/restrictions were updated to prohibit travel from my County while I was headed up there. I was already hiking in adjacent Mass. and had planned to cross the border for a day hike in VT.
Virginia was added to the quarantine list for my state after I planned my trip, but just a few days before I hit the road.
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I'm from New Jersey, and there's a list of approx. 35 states that require quarantine for travel to or from NJ. That list happens to be updated every Tuesday. If you plan a trip to or from NJ, you have to re-check the list on Tuesday to find out the changes. In my case, Virginia was added to the list.
Vermont has a pretty complicated map that's based on counties and the number of covid cases. If your county is green on their map, travel is permitted. Vermont happens to update the list on Fridays, which can make things difficult since a lot of travel occurs on the weekends.
Also, as mentioned above, who knows where we'll be next year?
The question with that would be, would it then matter that you originally came from NJ, or only that it was OK for those from Berkshire County MA to cross into VT (if you had been there hiking)? That's part of the problem with these rules, most of those setting them up were thinking of people travelling directly (say flying from FL to NY, or even taking a train/car/bus) where you'd be leaving one state and in the other in hours or a couple days max. Someone hiking is travelling much slower.Quote:
Originally Posted by RiverbirchHiker
Depending on where you are headed, if you follow that Turnpike to Garden State Parkway, you might want to take the NY Thruway northbound when you intersect it and head to either I-84 (brings you into CT and eventually to Sturbridge, MA) or even up as far as where I-90 East breaks off towards the MA Turnpike (if you are trying to get to the AT in the Berkshires or into VT, or even that to I-91 to go up along the NH/VT line).Quote:
Originally Posted by atraildreamer