Not sure if it's okay to be revisiting this thread or not. I wasn't on here during the first go-round on the topic, and I guess I'm glad I wasn't, since my own reaction on learning the Parks had been closed was rather less than 100% supportive. But if this pandemic has taught me anything, it's that the new normal is a continuous state of change: changing infection/death statistics, changing government policy, and changing social reaction to name but a few. And for me what started as an attitude of haughty rebelliousness has slowly transformed into grim acceptance of the facts. 

The problem for me is over the past year or so I've pretty much made my life over to be about one thing: being in the backcountry. It's not that I have the luxury of doing this full time, but when I'm not out there almost all my off hours are spent either planning new trips or producing videos of past trips. Reason: I came to the realization that there's simply nothing else in this world that I can count on to restore and inspire myself than the great outdoors. 

So when I first heard the Parks were closing I thought, 'okay, time to start planning a crown land trip'. Then the Government announced the province-wide fire ban and I thought, 'okay, not as much fun but I can live without'. And now, finally, I realize that it's just not going to happen at all anytime soon.

So now all I wonder is, how long will it take to be past 'anytime soon'? How can I learn to accept such a nebulous target? How do you plan for trips when there is no visible time horizon to plan on? Will we lose half the paddling season or all of it? How come we aren't smart enough as a society to be able to put a specific end-date on this thing? And a whole host of other inane, childish and petty complaints that speak plainly of my egocentric, brooding state of mind. Of course it doesn't help to be more or less locked up at home all the time, with my morning commute reduced to the 10 steps between the kitchen and the place where I both sleep and work all day. 

So now that my self-indulgent rant is done, and since ice-out is not a relevant conversation this year, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the Park opening date. Is there any hope to be drawn from the news that the lockdown in Wuhan has now been lifted, 77 days (by my count) since it was issued? Could we forecast 80 days out from March 19th (June 7th I think) as a tentative re-opening of the Parks? 

Truthfully, I get that this is nothing more than wishful thinking. Moreover the mental drain I or anyone else may feel from the current situation pales drastically in comparison with the suffering of those infected and their loved ones, not to mention all those on the front lines battling the virus in hospitals and care facilities. It is not my intention in any way to make light of this pandemic and everything our society is enduring as a result. Just looking for a ray of hope from my little corner.

Paddlerunner wrote:

....So now all I wonder is, how long will it take to be past 'anytime soon'? How can I learn to accept such a nebulous target? How do you plan for trips when there is no visible time horizon to plan on? Will we lose half the paddling season or all of it? How come we aren't smart enough as a society to be able to put a specific end-date on this thing? And a whole host of other inane, childish and petty complaints that speak plainly of my egocentric, brooding state of mind. Of course it doesn't help to be more or less locked up at home all the time, with my morning commute reduced to the 10 steps between the kitchen and the place where I both sleep and work all day. 

So now that my self-indulgent rant is done, and since ice-out is not a relevant conversation this year, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the Park opening date. Is there any hope to be drawn from the news that the lockdown in Wuhan has now been lifted, 77 days (by my count) since it was issued? Could we forecast 80 days out from March 19th (June 7th I think) as a tentative re-opening of the Parks?.....

.....Just looking for a ray of hope from my little corner.

It's not realistic to apply the results of other countries to our own situation since the variables differ so much (# of tests done, strictness of lockdown, % of population infected, lifestyle measures like wearing masks, etc.) all of which will have a major impact on the continued spread of the virus. The best thing we can do at this point is look at our own data, make some assumptions, and forecast from there.

Right now our numbers look good (relatively speaking) considering we've been practicing social distancing for almost a month and we still have ICU capacity and our hospitals aren't overwhelmed yet. The death count is high but not as a % of total infected or relative to other countries CFR. Total infected isn't a good metric because it's majorly skewed by the # of tests given, which hasn't been nearly enough. But looking at all of the pieces of the puzzle together, it looks like we're doing a good job of starting to flatten the curve. Which is a good thing overall, but a bad thing when it comes to time spent in isolation (since the concept of flatting the curve is to make the pandemic last longer, but to avoid overwhelming our healthcare system).

Saying all that, my personal opinion is that the current measures will continue until mid to late May. Then they'll start to loosen measures by making the "essential businesses" list larger again while still recommending work-from-home and social distancing. By July/August I think most businesses will be back in the office and things will show their first signs of going back to normal, but social distancing will still be a term you hear and practice every day. By the fall, life will start to look a little bit more normal with the exception of things like big concerts, sporting events, conferences, etc. which I don't think will be allowed to take place. It really could be 18 months of this until a vaccine is developed. This is also assuming there is no second wave or major mutation of the virus.

The silver lining of it all ie. your ray of hope, is that Ontario Parks is low risk on the scale of activities. It makes sense to close the parks now for all the reasons previously mentioned in this thread, but when things do start to open up again, this will likely be one of the first. It's government revenue (albeit a small amount) and naturally practices social distancing. Once we know that our healthcare system can sustain the virus, they will probably open up the parks again. With everything changing day by day and no way of knowing any exact timeframes, I'm hoping the parks will open by August. I'm also hoping that a full season worth of campers won't saturate the few camping months that we'll (hopefully) have.

MooseWhizzer Dave wrote:

Looks like I should have followed up on a brilliant idea I had a few years ago. 

"Algonquin Park: The Board Game". 
....
Personally, I'm looking at a September/October trip.  And yeah, I really did think of putting a board game together a few years ago.  It could be pathetic, but it could be fun too.  Wish I had done it years ago though - we'd all be playing it right now if I had.  Next time I have a great idea I'll act on it.  That way nobody will be bored next pandemic.   
 

You should still do it! Sounds like a game that would open up a lot of fun conversation / reminiscing about trips while playing.

I've been swamped with work since the 'lockdown' so can't say I'm anywhere near bored yet, but I've started watching the Mark in the Park series that I never got around to watching last year... so that's at least bringing me back to the great outdoors in a small way.
 

I think I like trippythings' vision a little better than scoutergriz's . . . just saying.

Any link to that update kenny? Can't find anything and the parks are still allowing online bookings as of May 1st. Thanks.

NP. Thanks for the update.

This came across my Google feed.

https://www.895thelake.ca/2020/04/16/130396/

Fishing season will open as usual in Ontario in May.

That’s according the premier Doug Ford.

In an exclusive interview with Acadia News, he says though they aren’t encouraging any fishing tournaments at this time, due to physical distancing protocols as a result of COVID-19.

“Fishing will still be open, but the fishing derbies, we’re requesting, we’re not putting an order in, but I think it’s common sense, we don’t want the fishing derbies to happen.”

While a number of boat launches are closed, Ford is encouraging anglers to get out, mind their physical distances and fish from shore.

“If people want to make sure of their social distance and they’re on the shore and they want to throw a reel and hook in the water then by all means.”

Walleye season is scheduled to open the third Saturday in May.

I'm thankful we have Minister John Yakabuski who is an Ottawa Valley boy from Barry's Bay as the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry instead of some Liberal SJW calling the shots. I'm heading Splake fishing on crown land this weekend and patterning my shotgun in preparation of turkey opener on April 25th and will be surprised if I see anyone. 

RCSpartan wrote:

Lenny, you're referring to the liberal SJWs that are working to save thousands of Canadian lives, right? Just want to be sure.
Please avoid bringing politics into the posts. It takes away from the spirit of the forum.
Having said that, I'm happy to see that there are reasonable and logical measures to start to reopen spring and summer outdoor activities. Hopefully backcountry camping will soon be allowed as well.

+1