"The Ethics of Thru-Hiking During the COVID-19 Pandemic"

[swjohnsey]

Folks who are afraid should stay home.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I suspect many would be far more comfortable risking the lives of strangers, than risking say a million dollars of their own money (or their parents’ money or all future social security benefits if they have yet to acquire any significant assets themselves).

If that is true (just my guess that it is) probably not such an ethical choice to assume that risk.

Getting sick from anything would suck in the middle of a thru hike. Getting sick from anything at all these days would be very difficult to deal with.

We are all pretty much at the risk of getting "something from somebody (aka strangers)" - everyday of our lives. But what of the person who is laid-off and loses their job say as a sporting goods sales rep or small business owner, because gear sales are down due to public health safety measures discouraging hiking that, while well intended, create more collateral economic harm than they do public health good? That person then loses their health insurance, and can't get routine medical appointments for themselves or family members, routine preventative medical care that might uncover some disease in its early stages. Appointments they can't get due to either lack of insurance and/or shutdown of non-emergency medical care? To what do we attribute the medical harm done to that person - especially if someone then gets sick due to that lack of health care? There are unintended (or perhaps more accurately overlooked - sometimes intentionally) consequences to every "obviously ethical" decision we make.

[rickb]

Folks who are afraid should stay home.

Agreed.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

For some, home may be an assisted living facility or nursing home. Or the home of a younger relative that does not have the luxury of staying home due to their work situation.

Others may need to venture out for medical or dental appointments. In smaller communities grocery delivery may not be available.

Good to remember that special nature of a thru hike — and not just because it as a recreational activity. The ATC did a pretty good job making that point, I think.

But yes, those that are afraid should stay home.

[TexasBob]

............Ethics, by its very nature, isn't a one sided coin.

So true. I think the thing that strikes me the most about this pandemic is the collision between individual desires and societal responsibility. The debate about thru hiking in the time of coronavirus boils down to that in my mind. This is a public health crisis that by its nature affects every person because we all vulnerable to catching the virus and every persons actions can potentially affect others in a very negative way if their behavior causes them to contract and spread the virus. The risk is real. 94,000 people have died of the virus so far and we are only 2.5 months into this pandemic. The ethical question to me is not how much risk you as an individual are willing to take but what is the risk your actions potentially pose to others who had no say in your decision. Where do you draw the line between what you want to do and what is the best thing to do for your community during a pandemic? That is the real question in my mind.

[Alligator]

If you post in this thread and it does not contain a sufficient discussion of thruhiking, you will booted. Nowhere on this site is there going to be a place to argue about Covid-19 in general. This is a hiking website, keep it related to hiking.

Thank you.