Time outdoors improves our mental and physical health
the great reconnection Scott Titterington
I PAUSE IN A GREEN MEADOW above Hewlitt Gulch in the Cache la Poudre Canyon on a foggy morning. Patches of blue sky and ridgelines appear then retreat as the mist shifts. Bird chirps interrupt the silence. And that’s when I get it. It’s quiet. No jet sounds, no distant truck brakes, no other people, just the chirping. I was about an hour into a morning run on sweet single track when I took that moment. Poets and songwriters have been trying to capture that feeling or whatever it is that we get when we’re out there surrounded by trees and hills and critters and fresh air. We connect to something, whatever it may be that just makes us feel better. But most of our lives we’re too busy buzzing around or stuck in front 24 |
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of the TV. Time in nature is left for a different day. Well the coronavirus has moved that day to today. As events are cancelled, bars and restaurants shuttered, theaters silenced, what is a person to do? Well, it appears the answer for many of us is to head for the hills or rivers or lakes or any other natural space we can find. “We’re seeing record numbers of people recreating who didn’t have that chance because they were busy doing other things,” says Zoe Shark, public engagement manager and interim natural areas director. “And now they have the opportunity to remember the value that natural areas bring to us.” A minimum of 40 to 150 percent more people are visiting natural areas than previous records, Shark says, and
crowding is becoming a challenge. The busiest times are between 9am and 5pm on the weekends; the least crowded are early and late in the day. Fort Collins and Larimer County maintain webcams at the most popular trailheads so you can check before you leave home. You can also check trail conditions at www.nocotrailreport.org. “We’re all about getting people outdoors, so it’s wonderful,” Shark says. “It’s just so important for mental and physical health.” I returned from my little excursion that day refreshed and recharged, and my problems seemed just a little bit less consequential. I hope our rediscovered connection with our natural world persists long after the coronavirus is an old story that we pass down to the grandkids.
