Update: Stay off the Appalachian Trail as access points are closed amid coronavirus spread

Mayor Bob Scott has never seen his happy, little, official Appalachian Trail town of Franklin so sad at the start of spring.

The Macon County town, which lies 110 miles from the start of the 2,190-mile trail in Springer Mountain, Georgia, would normally be in the midst of its two-week Appalachian Trail Days festival, swarming with hundreds of “thru-hikers” getting off the trail to resupply, chow down and hang out for a few days before heading north on the trail to Maine.

But as the coronavirus pandemic has been striking and killing thousands of people across the world, the country and North Carolina, Scott has seen a sorry trickle of hikers stopping in a ghost town, where all the businesses – including the two outdoor outfitters Three Eagles and Outdoor 76 – and hostels have shuttered, the only food is take-out and the festival was canceled.

“I don’t know what to do for the hikers. For the most part they’re young, some have been planning for years to hike the A.T., come off to resupply and have a little R&R in Franklin, and this thing has hit,” said Scott, who makes a daily round to greet the visitors who are eating in parking lots.

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He said he has seen more international hikers than ever, who began what often is a six-month hike earlier than normal this year, in January or February, before the deadly gravity of the coronavirus hit, and have no way to get back home.

“The First Baptist Church served breakfast every day last year to about 600 hikers, the breweries were open for them, we always had a big old time. We always considered the hikers like the swallows coming back to Capistrano,” Scott said. “It’s heartbreaking. It was also a big economic boost for the town.”

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But the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages, maintains and protects the trail that runs through 14 states, including nearly 96 miles in North Carolina, made swift and strict decisions as soon as COVID-19 started to appear in the state.

This has put them and the public land managers they work with, including state and national parks and forests, between a rock and a hard, scary place as complaints from hikers swirled on social media.

ATC President and CEO Sandra Marra issued a letter to all registered thru-hikers March 17 asking them to postpone their section- or thru-hike to minimize spread of the virus, and to especially stay away from the starting trailheads in Georgia, where thousands start in a “bubble” each March for the trek to Mount Katahdin, Maine. The organization also recalled all its many volunteers and paid “Ridgerunners,” who camp out on the trail to assist hikers in the backcountry.

“We realized that there was no way any overnight hiker would be able to maintain social distancing, just by virtue of what it takes to hike the A.T.,” Marra told the Citizen Times. “Staying in shelters is impossible to stay 6 feet apart, where you’re sleeping 6-8 inches from a stranger, eating at picnic tables, sharing privies that could be handling hundreds of people on a daily basis.”

Not all hikers have heeded the advice, as evidenced in places like Franklin.

Marra said even in the best of times, the southern end of the A.T., which also passes through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, can be fraught with viral outbreaks, such as the annual norovirus, which causes a debilitating gastrointestinal illness.

“We don’t want people soaping up in fresh water sources, because of Leave No Trace standards, so with the advisories to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, it became clear there was no way to stay safe,” she said.

“Most people like to think of our trails as completely remote ... but the A.T., in particular in the South, during the beginning of thru-hiking, can in no way be described as remote and away from other individuals.”

RELATED: Great Smokies employees tests positive for COVID-19

PARK CLOSED: Great Smoky Mountains National Park closed due to COVID-19

Appalachian Trail shelters began to be closed by their respective land management agencies on March 20, when the New Jersey State Park Service closed all overnight camping. On March 23 the ATC urged all hikers to stay off the trail, even those doing short day hikes in the Smokies, on Max Patch or around Hot Springs.

On March 24, the Great Smokies closed, including all its facilities, trails and backcountry campgrounds, except for the Foothills Parkway and Spur, effectively making it illegal to hike through the park.

U.S. Forest Service takes action

But large crowds of hikers continue to congregate on the Appalachian Trail, which led the U.S. Forest Service March 28 to temporarily shut down trailhead facilities and other access points to the A.T. in the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests in North Carolina, and the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee during the coronavirus epidemic.

Lisa Jennings, Forest Service spokeswoman, said the decision was made in concert with state and local measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, and guidance from the CDC.

Popular access sites are affected by these changes include Max Patch and Roan Mountain/Carvers Gap, both in the Cherokee and Pisgah national forests, Lovers Leap in Hot Springs, and Wayah Bald and Cheoah Bald in the Nantahala National Forest.

For a complete list of access sites affected, visit the Forest Service website.

Stay home, stay safe: Buncombe County orders residents to stay home

Jennings said that law enforcement officers are patrolling the most heavily used areas and reminding national forest visitors to recreate responsibly by avoiding gathering in groups of more than 10 and not engaging in high-risk activities, like rock climbing, which increase the chance of injury or distress.

She said law enforcement and search and rescue operations may be limited due to COVID-19.

Jennifer Pharr Davis, Appalachian Trail multi-time thru-hiker, and female record-holder for fastest time completing the trail (46 days), of Asheville, agrees with the decisions being made by the ATC and land managers.

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A mom of two small children at home, as well as the owner of an A.T. hostel in Hot Springs and an Asheville retail shop and guiding outfitter, Blue Ridge Hiking Co., which both had to close, said the closures are hard on everyone, but necessary.

“They’re not closing trails to protect the people who are the most knowledgeable and the most experienced," Davis said. "They’re doing it for people who don’t know where to go and find the easiest access points and then it’s impossible to do safety practices. I would not go near an outhouse, but not everyone thinks that way,” Davis said.

She is encouraging people to hike or walk near their homes, and said is spending lots of time with her children “trying to find nature in our yard.”

Marra said she’s has heard incessantly from hikers who have sold or rented out their homes, saved money and trained for months or years to do a thru-hike. They say it’s not fair, and that fresh air and hiking are good during these stressful times.

“You’re absolutely right – it’s not fair. Unfortunately, this virus isn’t fair, and it’s not fair to people who have lost their incomes overnight, it’s not fair to or doctors or nurses on the front lines afraid to go to home for fear of infecting their families because they’re dealing with infected people day in and day out,” Marra said, adding that she was frustrated at taking heat by trying to keep people safe.

RELATED: Coronavirus: WNC outdoors-related closures

“Hiking is a privilege, it is entertainment. I get the mental health thing, but at end of the day, hiking is a luxury. A lot of people can’t take advantage of it, people who live in cities, or because of their jobs. So I do not believe it’s that huge of a sacrifice for us to just stay home for next 4-6 weeks and see if we can beat this.

“We’re at the point as a world that we need to start taking responsibility and understand that our actions have consequences beyond ourselves, and that this is serious.”

Karen Chávez is an award-winning outdoors and environment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and USA TODAY Network. She is the author of "Best Hikes with Dogs: North Carolina," and is a former National Park Service ranger.

Reach me: KChavez@CitizenTimes.com or on Twitter @KarenChavezACT

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