By ZACH URNESS/Salem Statesman-Journal
There are no Little League games to attend, overnight summer camps to stash the kids or music festivals to let loose and scream “play Free Bird” with beer-soaked brethren.
Family road trips have been largely put on hold. A vacation to Florida or British Columbia is off the table. Even watching a Blazers game in person is impossible without the nuclear codes required to enter the NBA “Bubble.”
There is, simply put, not much to do this summer with one major exception: the great outdoors.
In the quest to escape COVID-19, people are flooding Oregon’s beaches, forests and mountains in unprecedented numbers, say state and federal officials. And that’s brought a spike in accidents, made campsites scarce and brought an increase in garbage, damage and even bears at recreation sites.
“Especially on the Oregon Coast and west of the Cascades, we’re seeing a level of use well beyond a normal year,” Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Chris Havel said. “It’s like having the crowds you see for a holiday weekend, except all the time.”
More people outdoors is generally a good thing, parks officials say. The virus doesn’t spread as effectively outdoors, and that’s particularly true if people wear masks where social distancing isn’t possible.
Public lands are for everybody, and this is their time to shine.
The problem is finding a place for all those people. Campgrounds have been full almost every day during July, including remote sites normally overlooked.
The issue is supply and demand. At a moment when COVID-19 is fueling the rush outdoors, there are less campsites and limited capacity across the state due to COVID-19 related impacts.
Some sites in the Columbia River Gorge remain closed. Eight state parks are still closed, and other campgrounds have reduced capacity.
On the Oregon Coast, getting a campsite at a state park requires booking a month in advance. Few yurts and cabins are available for rental. The City of Bend has outright asked people to stay away.
“Everything is full: campgrounds are full and all of the good, established, dispersed campsites have also been full,” said Darren Cross, McKenzie River district ranger for Willamette National Forest.
“The problem is, people packed up and drove all the way out here. So what we’re seeing is that people are creating their own new dispersed sites,” he said.
Cross said they’ve seen a roughly 30 percent increase in “pioneered sites” — meaning people are clearing brush for a place to put their tent.
“It only takes two to five uses before the vegetation is denuded and it’s very hard for it to look like the forest again,” Cross said. Ethically, people aren’t supposed to create new campsites and there are laws limiting it, but trying to stop people in vast national forests is next to impossible, Cross said.
Another problem is that many visitors don’t appear to have as much experience recreating in a national forest with limited facilities.
“We’ve seen a lot of issues with people not knowing how to bury poop, or use maps or even have the right footwear,” Cross said.
Rangers say trash is luring bears to campsites in some areas.
Parking is another concern statewide. Many trailheads and recreation sites are full by early afternoon, leading to illegal parking that could block emergency vehicles.
“The best way to help is to come early, pick less crowded places and make sure to pack out all of your trash,” Havel said. “It’s strange time. Normally, with this level of use, we’d expand capacity at campgrounds and trailheads. But we can’t do that right now.”
The rise in visitors has also led to an uptick of accidents in the outdoors.
In the last week alone, a 19-year-old died climbing Three Fingered Jack, an 18-year-old died swimming in the Willamette River and a 6-year-old died after being hit by a runaway jet-ski at Foster Lake. On Sunday, an Albany man drowned in the Santiam River.
In addition, search and rescue teams have been very busy. Ten rescues have been conducted in two months at Blue Pool, also known as Tamolitch Falls, on the McKenzie River Trail. The most recent rescue required a person airlifted to a hospital after jumping off the high cliffs and into the pool.
A lost hiker required an overnight search party last Friday and Saturday in the Opal Creek area. And more than 30 people tubing have needed rescue from the Santiam River between Green Bridge and Jefferson.
“We’ve seen an increase in rescues throughout the county and (are) asking the public to take precautions when visiting,” the Linn County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Beyond accidents and crowding, the other elephant in the room is human-caused wildfires.
As Oregon dries out, and temperatures rise into the 100s, the forests will become increasingly ready to ignite, and with more people with less experience, the concern of a wayward cigarette or someone parking on grass that ignites increases, officials said.
The number of people in the forest is only expected to rise.
The virus is still spreading, leading Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to announce additional limits on gatherings and events. Many sports that begin practice in August will be delayed, and it’s unclear how and when kids will return to school.
That means the outdoors will remain the last best place to find enjoyment for many Oregonians.
But the outdoors will only remain a refuge as long as wildfires aren’t roaring and people are doing their best to treat the land with respect.