Outdoors During A Pandemic
Three individuals on their experiences with the outdoors in the last year
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the outdoors became an escape, a way to clear my mind. This has always been the case, but with the rampant spread of a disease that loves crowded indoor spaces, the outdoors became one of the only places that felt “safe.”
First I took to the forests near Santa Cruz, California, where trails weave through towering redwoods. Then, as wildfire smoke seared my lungs, the dusty trails of Colorado grounded me.
The past year has been one of profound stress. Sometimes not because of the pandemic, but because of the government response. All around the world, governments with different political and economic systems failed to prevent the mass death of their citizens. Here at home, in the United States, the former president threatened for months to not leave office if he lost, and after he did lose, insurgents breached the capitol building to halt democratic proceedings. It’s in that context that I observe that sometimes the only time I felt normal was when I was biking, or hiking, or skiing.
I wasn’t the only one who found refuge in the outdoors. In Colorado, national forest officials estimate a 50 percent increase in visitation in 2020. Certain recreation equipment categories saw rocketing sales, such as bicycles. And as winter approached, backcountry ski gear flew off the shelves.
I wanted to know how the pandemic has impacted other people’s relationships with the outdoors, for better or for worse. So I asked.
Stephen Martin owns an outdoor photography company in Colorado, and also runs an Instagram page for his dog. Much of his outdoor experiences centered around photography, but when the pandemic hit, clients cut their budgets so work was harder to come by.
Part of being a photographer is being around the people that you're taking pictures of, so Martin felt the need to be extra careful about not catching or spreading the virus when he was working.
“When the pandemic happened, even though the escape still was good for mental health, good for all those things, the extra added stress to even plan an outdoor adventure became harder,” he said.
When the pandemic is over, Martin says he’s looking forward to being able to plan an outdoor adventure with other people and not have to worry about the virus.
“I want to play catch up, both to continue my own skills and path along my career but to remind myself that getting out is just as important as it was before all this stuff happened,” he said.
For Celeste Roberts, a tech worker in California, working from home during the pandemic has allowed her to participate in outdoor activities such as mountain biking more often. Plus, having a full-time job means she can afford outdoor activities that were out of reach before the pandemic when she was a college student.
Roberts says she often goes on road trips and plans outdoor activities around working remotely. And back at home, the lack of a commute means she can more easily do activities in the mornings or evenings. This ease of access has brought her closer to the outdoors, even though she lives in a city.
“It’s a chase to find something bigger than myself, she said. “It kind of reminds me that we’re all connected in some way.”
On the opposite coast, Lauren Duncan has found joy in exploring New York City on foot and on bike. Before the pandemic, outdoor activities were a very community-based thing. But the need to distance caused Duncan to learn that the outdoors can be a solitary experience too. She began biking around her neighborhood and seeing the city in new ways.
“It’s just important for me to realize the world doesn’t revolve around me, and when you get outside you understand that so much more—that there’s so many other things going on, and they’re in a whole ecosystem,” she said.
Both Duncan, an event planner, and Roberts mentioned that they are considering future career changes to something outdoor-related.
Martin, the photographer, mentioned that it’s been hard not to beat himself up for being unproductive or not being able to go on as many adventures during the pandemic, a feeling that I think a lot of people can identify with.
“It’s tough to give yourself slack,” he said.
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