Spring is in the air! As the 2020 hiking/SOTA season approaches, I wanted to share information about what is open and what isn't under Governor Inslee's order. Despite closures of many state, local, and private properties, there are still many SOTA possibilities that are legal under Inslee's order. That doesn't mean activating is a good idea! I leave that to you to decide for yourself. I hope to shed light on what is and isn't accessible, and provide some guidance on permissible activations under the rules of SOTA.
Rule 3.7 of the SOTA General Rules (pdf) comes into play under the current federal, state and local restrictions:
All Expeditions must use legitimate access routes and comply with any local rules regarding use of the land. In particular, Activators must ensure that they have any necessary permission to operate from their chosen Summit, or that access is customary. [...] In particular, Activators should be satisfied that there is no indication that access to the summit is forbidden, as access is subject to change. Here checking access rights means checking websites, maps, notices in the nearest village or tourist centre as well as onsite footpath notices. Activating a summit where permission has not been given or implied by ‘open access’ will invalidate the activation.
Under this rule, a valid activation must not involve going into any public or private lands that have been deemed “closed.” As actvators, we are required to use all available information to determine the status of the lands we intend to use. We confirm that we have adhered to the rules before our logs are accepted.
Are we even allowed to go out hiking? Governor Inslee's order (pdf), currently in effect until May 4th, states:
... all people in Washington State are immediately prohibited from leaving their home or place of residence except to conduct or participate in (1) essential activities, and/or (2) employment in providing essential business services:
“Essential activities” are defined:
Essential activities permitted under this Proclamation are limited to the following: [...1-3 deleted...] 4) Engaging in outdoor exercise activities, such as walking, hiking, running or biking, but only if appropriate social distancing practices are used.
From a reading of the entire order, there seems to be no prohibition on driving somewhere and hiking up to a summit. The governor has verbally asked people to not drive long distances for hiking, biking, etc., but that is not a part of the formal order.
It IS mandatory under the order for you to remain one wavelength at 144 MHz (i.e. 2m) away from other people (unless you live with them). Otherwise, it constitutes an illegal gathering.
Again, this doesn't mean it is a good idea to travel or hike. But it is not illegal under the current order. There MAY, however, be stricter orders in specific counties and municipalities. At the very lease, an activator should check the appropriate county web site for closures.
Where can we go? I'll break this question down into State lands, National Forests, National Parks, private lands and lower level administrative units (counties, cities, etc).
We have an easy answer for Washington state lands. All state parks, DNR lands and Washington Fish and Wildlife Lands are closed. For the duration of this closure, SOTA activations cannot be done on summits that are on state lands or require you to traverse state lands.
National Forests are a bit more complex. Each forest has its own closure order, so you should find that closure order for specifics, but they tend to be broadly similar. I'll use the Gifford Pinchot National Forest as a typical example. The official closure order can be found here (pdf) and a map of the specific closures can be found here (pdf).
The crux of the order:
1. It is prohibited to go into or be upon any area which is closed for the protection of public health or safety. § 261.53e
2. Being on a road as described in the “Closure area section below § CFR 261.54(e)
CLOSURE AREA
All developed recreational sites within the boundaries of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest as displayed on Map Exhibit A Developed recreational site means an area which has been improved or developed for recreation, § 36 CFR 261.2
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Roads 81, 83, 8303, and 90, as displayed on Map exhibit B.
In other words, all “developed” trail heads, day use areas, OHV staging areas, camping sites, as well as four specific roads are closed. Note that you are not even permitted to walk across a parking lot at a developed trail head to get to the trail.
What the order doesn't prohibit is the use of hundreds of other roads in the forest. Also, sites that are not “developed” are available for parking or activating. And trails are generally open, provided you can get to them without traversing a developed site. The map (pdf) shows where each developed site is located. Note that the closure order does not close everything in the red hatched area. Only the sites and road specified as closed on the two maps are verboten.
National Parks are also a bit complex. I'll use Mt. Rainier National Park as an example. Other parks have similar types of restrictions. A description of the closure is here.
Closed
- Park Roads are closed to vehicle access including cars, buses, motorcycles and nonmotorized vehicles such as bicycles
- Nisqually Entrance/Road is also closed to pedestrian traffic
- Park visitor centers
- The National Park Inn and gift shop; visit mtrainierguestservices.com for updates on Inn operations
- Restrooms
Open
· The park backcountry is accessible for dispersed recreation such as hiking and winter camping.
· Winter recreation at the northeast (SR410) and southeast (SR123) park boundary closures including snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Once snow clearing on begins, winter recreation access on roads will cease.
· Updates to this temporary closure will be posted here and on Twitter @MountRainierNPS.
· All regulations concerning backcountry access use apply during winter. Check updates on obtaining backcountry and climbing permits and learn about safe winter recreation in the park.
You can hike into MRNP (except via the Nisqually Entrance and Road), you can even camp, but you cannot bring any vehicle into the park.
There are private, usually logging, lands that provide either open access or access by permit. Some of these lands are still open; some are not. For example, the Snoqualmie Forest, managed by Campbell Global (and full of accessible SOTA summits) is open for permit holders. Other places, like Handcock recreational lands, are closed. Weyerhaeuser seems to be selling permits for their recreational lands.
Some Washington summits are on county our city properties. And some of these bodies have closed access to the land. King County, for example, has closed all County parks, including regional and backcountry trails. That puts Taylor Mountain (W7W/KG-118) and Grand Ridge North (W7W/KG-137) off limits for now. Little Mountain (W7W/SK-173), which is a city park in Mount Vernon, is open!
Before you go hiking, do a complete “land access briefing” along with your weather briefing and avalanche briefing. Look at your route and make sure you have permission to go there. One way to do this is to go to the county parcel map. For example, googling “Snohomish county parcel viewer” will get you an interactive map that identifies property ownership. Another resource is the paid subscription to Gaia Maps, that gets you a propery ownership layer.
Finally, before you go out, consider the way you can negatively impact other people as well as yourself. You may come into contact with other people at the gas station, or if your vehicle breaks down. You will be taxing emergency responders should you get into an accident. And if you are injured from driving or hiking, you will place an additional burden on a potentially overtaxed medical system (although, it seems Washington's are currently in good shape). If you are lost or injured on the trail, it is unlikely Search and Rescue will help you—many of them have publicly ruled out doing so (see Etienne's recent post). So, if you do go out, have a plan in place to self-extract under even the worst circumstances. Or don't go out.
I wish you happy and safe hiking,
Darryl, ww7d
W7W AM