Valued PCT Community Members:
March 13, 2020
ALSO: Read our Three Messages to PCT Long-Distance Permit Holders
Since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Washington, the PCTA has been closely monitoring the spread of the virus. The situation has evolved rapidly as the virus has spread nationwide, and reported cases are widely believed by experts to be underreported due to limited availability of testing kits.
Community spread of COVID-19 is now in Washington and California and undetermined in Oregon, and the president has just declared a National Emergency. The leading method of limiting the spread and impact of the virus is social distancing.
Out of deep concern for the health and safety of our PCT community and beyond, and in recognition of the continuing spread of COVID-19, the Pacific Crest Trail Association has made the difficult decision to immediately cancel and/or postpone all in-person PCTA-related events until May 1, at which time we will reevaluate the circumstances and update our community then.
This applies (but is not limited) to the following:
- The PCTA Annual Membership Meeting (that was scheduled for April 25)
- The Columbia-Cascades Trail Skills College
- All PCTA volunteer trail work
- All in-person meetings and training sessions
If you have already registered for any events, we will be in touch with you soon with more details.
Some scheduled meetings may still be held via videoconferencing and/or phonecalls—we’ll be in touch with attendees regarding these events and will do our best to provide support when needed for phone or video conferencing.
With this pandemic, we are all in new territory. And with more PCTA staff working remotely causing changes to our normal workflow, you may notice some delays in our responsiveness to your questions and other issues. Please know that we are making every attempt to continue our high level of service to the PCT community.
We’re concerned for everyone’s safety, and we urge you to follow the CDC guidelines, avoid non-essential travel, apply rigorous personal hygiene, and practice social distancing to the extent possible.
We understand the pandemic is already causing significant impacts to the PCT—to hikers and equestrians, volunteers, partner organizations, towns along the trail, our members and donors and more. And we are confident that taking immediate action to help limit the spread of the virus is the right thing to do.
Thank you for your passion and commitment, and together we’ll do all we can to reduce the spread and severity of COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Liz Bergeron
CEO and Executive Director