Author: Carol Strickland

The following is an update to the GHTA Inc COVID-19 protocol, effective immediately.

– Participants in scheduled GHTA club hikes must be fully vaccinated.

– Carpooling can now be resumed with 4 people max (incl. the driver) per car, wearing a mask (because of the indoor space and lack of social distancing), windows left cracked open.  It is entirely the choice of drivers to allow 4 persons, or fewer if they are not comfortable with 4.

– We count on the honesty of our members with respect to their vaccination status.  However, drivers who offer to shuttle participants in their private cars may ask passengers for proof of their vaccination status.

– During the hikes, public health measures continue including maintaining social distance and wearing masks when unable to do so.

– Individuals who do not feel well are asked not to participate in group hikes. 

In September the Executive debated what to do regarding requiring Covid-19 vaccination for hike participation, but in the end decided to leave that up to individual hike leaders. The following message went out to the clubs to explain the position, and is still in force.

“In response to a question from some hike leaders regarding whether hike attendance can be restricted to fully-vaccinated hikers, the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. does not have a policy on this issue.  Individual hike leaders may choose to stipulate that only fully-vaccinated persons may attend their hikes, or they may choose not to so stipulate. For those hikes requiring attendees to be fully-vaccinated, it is important to make the stipulation clear in the hike description, for the information of all attendees.  Wording such as:  ATTENDANCE RESTRICTED TO FULLY (COVID-19) VACCINATED HIKERS should be inserted into the hike description.  The digital sign-up apps and Google Calendar descriptions should be changed to reflect the restriction stipulation.”

The province has changed the outdoor gatherings limit to 25, which means that the Ganaraska Hiking Club can allow hike group sizes to increase to a maximum of 25. As many hike leaders are uncomfortable with larger groups, we encourage them to limit the size of the group to whatever they feel comfortable with. Otherwise, the GHTA Inc. Covid-19 protocol is unchanged – still no car-pooling allowed.

This is to update the GHTA Inc. Covid-19 policy, in light of this afternoon’s announcement, for changes to go into effect 12:01 Saturday, April 17, 2021.
As outdoor gatherings are now prohibited except for between members of the same household +/- one member of another household who lives alone, all Ganaraska hikes are now suspended.  We are told that the current Stay at Home orders will extend to at least May 20, 2020.
We will update members as the situation changes.
We hope that you are still able to get out into the woods once in a while – the wildflowers are really springing to life right now with the warm spring and rains.  Stay safe.

Carol Strickland, for Frieda Baldwin, President, GHTA Inc.

GHTA Inc. Covid-19 Update – April 9, 2021

Since April 1, 2021, only a few days have passed, but a world of difference in protocol has happened.

As of April 8 (yesterday), the Provincial Stay-at-Home orders mandate that citizens may only leave their homes for certain essential purposes, which include exercise – but on certain government websites the wording is: “exercise with persons in your own household” (or if you live alone, with one other household).   We have been in touch with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit for clarification and they confirm that persons can still gather in groups of up to 5, maintaining social distance, wearing masks when that can’t happen.

Further, the Stay-at-Home orders restrict travel to “within your community”.  We asked for clarification of “community”, and the answer still did not give us a clear definition, but we understood that at a minimum, it means “within your local health unit region”.  To minimize the risk of transmitting Covid between actual communities, we therefore continue recommending  the limiting of travel time to a trailhead  within 15-30 minutes’ driving distance. 

So, the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. is pleased to announce that its clubs can continue to offer hikes with up to 5 persons maximum including the leader and following all our previously described social distancing Covid protocols.  

Continue safe hiking – enjoy the spring!

Frieda Baldwin, President, 

Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association, Inc.

705 245 1005

Please be advised that in accordance with the new provincial lock-down rules announced today, as of Saturday, April 3, outdoor gatherings are restricted to 5 persons, which means our hikes can only be with a maximum of 5 persons, including the leader.  At the moment it seems that this will apply for a month, but if there is a change, we will again update our protocol.  All other pieces of the protocol apply – including maintain 2 meters’ physical distance from each other and from oncoming other hikers or bikers, wear masks when gathering or can’t maintain physical distance, don’t come on hikes if you yourself have symptoms, or have had significant contact with someone being tested for suspected Covid-infection.